Raving Ravens

Elves on the Move in Iceland

"The elves are about this big" Ragnhildur Jónsdóttir says to Árni Johnsen, as they move the elf stone.

Árni Johnsen, a member of the Icelandic parliament, had a car accident two years ago, when his car rolled over five times down a hill before stopping beside a large stone. Árni crawled out of the car unharmed and sat outside the car staring at this big stone until help arrived.

When Árni found out that the stone needed to be moved due to widening of the road, he decided he had to act. You see, stones like that are usually homes to the elves that have been living side by side with Icelanders since the beginning of times. Árni called to his assistance Ragnhildur Jónsdóttir, a woman from Hafnarfjordur, the capital of the elves, who has the unique talent of being able to see and talk to elves. They negotiated with the elves and Árni offered them to move to his home in the Westman Islands. The elves were relatively easy to convince as the stone was tilting. The oldest of the elves, the grandfather of the three generations living there, said his bed was almost vertical so when offered a more leveled ground with an ocean view and grass for the sheep, they were up for it. 

Yesterday the 24 ton home of the elves was transported with a trailer from the location. The elves themselves did not stay in the stone during transportation but followed in Ragnhildur's small Peugeot, sitting in wicker baskets. The family is an elderly couple living on the upper floor in the stone and a younger couple on the lower floor with their three children. For comfort Ragnhildur brought their favorite treat, some honey they could enjoy along the ride. 

Árni, who is known for his excellent bargaining skills, got some excellent prices for the transport, only having to pay the price of a truck on the ferry and tickets for two of the seven elves, the younger elf couple. The seniors and the children got a free fare. 

Hjörtur 

Images are from GVA at Visir.is

Monster caught on video in an Icelandic lagoon

This video of what looks like a monster worm was made at Lagarfljót, where legends say a giant worm or a monster of some sort lives. I've never seen it myself, but I remember when I was in school for a few weeks in Hallormstadarskogur, a forrest village by the lagoon, I used to stare out to the lagoon in the hope I'd see the worm monster. 

A few years back I took my kids sailing there and we visited the captain in the bridge. We watched the monitors to see if there was anything unusual and at one moment, there was something on the screen that was very much out of the ordinary, a little bit like a monster. It never surfaced though so we couldn't tell for sure if it was the monster or not.

This week someone finally managed to get a video of the alleged monster. You can view the video here:

 

The video is no fake, however it is debated what it is we see there. Looks a lot like a giant worm!

What do you think? Could it be the worm monster?

Hjörtur

 

ps. I've been nominated for the ShortyAwards for travel, so if you like my posts, my tweets and my pics, your support would be higly appreciated: ShortyAwards - Hjörtur

Arnarfjörður - My Happy Place!

 This post is inspired by today's FriFotos theme on twitter, Happy Place.

 

Standing by a Viking grave overlooking the Arnarfjörður fjord in the west fjords of Iceland, my happy place!

The first years of my life I lived in less then optimal conditions in downtown Reykjavik with my mom. There was drug abuse and alcohol. When I was six years old, my mother was offered a summer job in fishing village in the Westfjords, in the town of Bildudalur located in the beautiful Arnarfjörður - Eagle fjord. 

It was a complete change in my life in many ways. Not only was it the change my mom needed to wake up and quit using drugs and alcohol, I was also entering a fascinating fjord with beautiful mountains and white beaches, charming old houses and tales of adventure, Vikings and sea monsters.

 

Enjoying a swim in a pool that just like pops up by the road, filled with warm water from a hot spring just a few meters away, with the midnight sun in the mouth of the fjord. The perfect way to end the day.

 

I loved growing up there with the freedom of exploring the fjord, riding my bicycle 20 km in fjord to be able to swim in a geothermal swimming pool that just is there for anyone to enjoy, or ride my bike 8 km in the other direction to run on the white sandy beach and swim in the freezing ocean. Every fall I would run the mountains herding sheep and even after I went away at the age of 15 I'd come back for the sheep.

 

 

The home of the free!

For a few years I didn't come back, I was busy with work, family and university in Reykjavik. After I moved to charming, but very flat Denmark I started to crave for the mountains, the smell of arctit timian and blueberries, the fresh sea breeze and the freedom of being in the middle of no-mans land. I tried to get to Iceland and hike in the Westfjords once every year.

After I moved back to Iceland I worked on started a hiking festival, offering a week of guided hikes mixed up with cultural events, plays, poetry, food and fairytales, all for free. It never became big, but very much appreciated by all those participated. And I got to know the environment in a new way digging deeper into the stories of Vikings, sea monsters, witch trials and strange people who had lived in the area.

The sand beach in Hvesta, Arnarfjörður.

 

For one thousand years there have been stories about the Vikings that lived there, fought there and died there. Stories of where they fought and where they were buried. Archeological finds have been confirming the stories that were thought to be myth and folklore. Research have even shown that the wildlife in the see in the fjord is unique, with species that are only found in the fjord. And a sea monster institute has been opened. Those stories aren't just fairytales...

 

Yes, this is a real sign by the road!

 

This is a place of amazing natural beauty, rich history and fascinating mythology. This is my happy place!

Hjörtur

 

ps. Someone wrote "Happiness is only real when shared", so I share. This summer I'm planning a 4 day Viking hike, sailing around the fjord in a Viking ship exploring the amazing stories of Vikings and sea monsters, magic and mythology. Wan't to know more? Stay tuned!

 

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Iceland Welcomes Aliens

Iceland has been running a campaign called inspired by Iceland to encourage people to keep on coming to Iceland, showing them there's nothing to fear. A lot of people have been giving a hand in the campaign including some world famous actors like Viggo Mortensen and Eli Roth: 

Eli Roth is inspired by Iceland from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.

And that's not all. A group of artists has organized a gathering at the magical Snæfellsjokull volcano next Friday night to help promote Iceland and attract new visitors. There target group is however somewhat more ambitious than of the official inspired by iceland campaign. They are sending a message to outer space trying to attract ... yes, you guessed it ... aliens!

 On June 18th the group led by artist Rosa Sigrun Jonsdottir, who will be the main communicator of the welcome committee, will place transmitters on "scientifically" chosen spots to broadcast the signal. 

"The message we will be sending out to space will be peaceful and we just hope the aliens aren't hostile, because then we'll be worse off than if we'd just have stayed home." says Rosa Sigrun. 

No weapons will be brought to Snæfellsjokull but the aliens will be greeted with Icelandic hospitality. 

"Hikers are encouraged to pack excessive lunch so they can feed the aliens, but I think Icelandic hospitality will be the best way to go if they show up." says Rosa Sigrun.

If they'll be successful, it will be interesting to see if the next tourist boom in Iceland will be from outer space. Hopefully the aliens are big spenders and will be inspired by Iceland. We'll keep you posted.

For those who want to participate in the summer solstice hike and enjoy the spectacular view and the midnight sun from the top, departure will be from Mörkin in Reykjavik at 5pm, Friday June 18th.

Sunset over Snaefellsjokull by sigurjons

Hjörtur

(via Pressan)