The Trip North

So as many of you know from my Penis Museum post, my parents came for a visit, and we took a short trip up north.  And guess what?  We did more than see the penis museum.

Our first night we stayed at a friends sumarbusta, or cabin, in the tiny village of Hofsos.  This is an important place to Vesterníslandingur (Western Icelanders) because this is where a lot of the emigrants left from.  The place has only about 175 residents, but it has a wonderful museum on the emigration to North America, and also the most beautiful swimming pool I´ve seen here.  It sits on a cliff, over looking the ocean and the Island Drangey, and when you swim, it looks like you´re just going to keep going into the ocean.  No photos unfortunately.  We also visited the oldest church in Iceland just outside of town as well.  My parents couldn´t walk through it without ducking, it´s so tiny.  But lovely.

Oldest Church in Iceland

 The next day we started on our drive to Akureyi, the largest city in the North. Which is pretty tiny.  A full 60 percent of the country´s population lives in the greater Reykjavik area, so there are only just over 120,000 people to inhabit the rest of the country.

The drive was beautiful.  The nicest thing about the North is the weather.  Where Reykjavik is rainy and gloomy, the North is snowy and bright.  The sort of weather I´m much more used to dealing with.

 Beautiful.  Also, notice the lack of guard rails.

Along the way, we had to stop to pick up some sand for a friend in Canada who collects it.  We stopped in Dalvik, which has black sand beaches, and is also where his grandfather is from.  Apparently there is a statue of good old Zophonius (not kidding.  Best name ever) in a forest here somewhere, but we lacked the ambition to go looking.

Beach in Dalvík

In Akureyri, I saw a lovely photography show, we went to the pool, drank some Easter beer, and just relaxed from a long day of driving.

The next day, we drove to Husavík for the penis museum, and then on to Lake Myvatn, a large nature area.  Its claim to fame is the large number of duck species that live there, but unfortunately non were there, as the lake was still frozen.  The area was still amazing. 

There were fields of bubbling sulfur mud.  

The wind smelled terrible.

There were sheep with evil, scary eyes.

These sheep were both friendly and terrifying.

And then we went to Dimmiborgi, a crazy lava crater-ish formation.  We got a little lost, but it was just breathtaking.  My mom kept seeing trolls in everything, which is one of the myths about the place.  Apparently a large group of trolls got caught out in the daylight, and were turned to stone.  It seems legitimate.

We also went to the Northern version of the Blue Lagoon, and relaxed in some weird smelling mineral water. You really do get used to the sulfuric smell after a bit.  It really was lovely.

On the way home, we also stopped by Guðfoss, the waterfall where it is said the Chieftain who was first to accept Christianity, threw his weapons.  It was a huge and spectacular waterfall, and you could walk right up to the edge.  The amazing thing about Iceland is that there are no guard rails, or fences anywhere.  Do you want to stand on an icy cliff right beside a huge waterfall?  Go right ahead.  Is there a fence between the edge of the road on that sheer dropoff?  Nope.  It´s one of the strange things about Iceland you just have to love.

It was a short trip, but really nice.  I love cities, but a lot of the amazing things about Iceland are outside of Reykjavik, and I haven´t seen as much as I would like to.  I think I will have to come back as a tourist one day.

And thanks to my parents for an amazing trip!

Boats

It´s been a gross, rainy week.  Sometimes I need a reminder that sometimes that can be beautiful.

More Icelandic Penis News

http://grapevine.is/News/ReadArticle/You-Gotta-Fight-For-Your-Right-To-Be-Naked

First off, we have the trial of a man who is fighting for his right to be naked in his apartment with windows open, and naked out on his balcony.

http://grapevine.is/News/ReadArticle/Penis-Museum-Donation-Attracts-Global-Attention

And then comes the news that the human penis now on display at the Reðasafn is a Nazi sympathizing penis.

I would like to say hello to all the Argentinians, Bolivians, Slovenians, and Indonesians who have started reading.  I have no idea who you are, but thanks.  And here´s some more dick for you.

Reðasafnið or, The Penis Museum

Warning.  If not obvious enough from the title, there are penises ahead.

It seems like a lot of you have heard about the penis museum in Husavik lately.  Conan is apparently talking about it?  All the fuss lately is that they just received their first human specimen, one Páll Arason.  They got this the day after I went.  Timing failure.  Still though, what a place.  What an interesting fellow who runs it.

Apparently he got started when he was 14 after getting this walking stick or cane type business made out of a bulls penis.  The French military used to carry these.  From there, it just progressed.  He now has over 180 specimens, featuring everything from a mouse to a whale.  Also some elves, but I seem to not possess second sight, so I couldn´t see it.

So, without further explaination, here are the penises.  Peni?

Mom and a Blue Whale 

Jars, full of them, everywhere 

I think this was a Reindeer 

Some were very tiny

Some were big.  This is a minke whale.

Changeling

Best Phone Ever

Seals

I find myself at a bit of a loss as to what to say about this place.  It´s full of dicks.  It´s a testament to the human desire to collect really weird stuff.  It´s the penis museum.  What else can be said.

The Seagull and the Ugly Lopapeysa

Penises will be posted shortly, but to tide you over, here is a stuffed seagull and the world's worst Icelandic sweater.  Enjoy.

Sort of Recovered?

So I don't have my hard drive fully working again, but it's been way too long since I've posted anything.  Currently I'm in Akureyri on a mini holiday with my parents who are visiting.  They are so lovely that they also brought me a wide angle lens that I ordered from Don's in Winnipeg, as Pentax doesn't seem to exist in Iceland.  Expect to see a lot of wide angle shots in the next little while.  Like this.

Horses!!!

I'm also going to start doing short posts instead of long posts that I never actually do.  Tomorrow we are off to natural hotsprings, and a penis museum.  Should be fun, and I'll post the evidence.

Apologies

Sorry that I haven't posted in a bit.  I will try to fix that shortly.  My photo hard drive seems to have self-destructed.  Fortunately, I am backed up, but it's still an annoying process.

But please let this be a reminder people.  Always have a backup.  Hopefully I'll be back up and running soon, this time with a daily photo!

I´m Newsworthy

Oh boy! Ikea soup!

Here is my Icelandic television debut.  Before you get too excited, it's not a big deal to get on the news.  There was also a story about a bird that got inside a building at the university.  I have also seen a news report on a cat stuck in a tree.  No lie.

Also, here's a picture from my city.  I haven´t posted many of it.

So Much Food

I haven´t forgotten about Siglufjörður, but I have some more timely news to report.

Like many places in the world, Iceland celebrates a few days before lent.  However the customs here, like everything in the country, are quite unique.

Yesterday was Bollurdagur, or bun day.  Basically, everyone just eats really delicious cream puffs.  Some people also eat other round food, like fish or meat balls.  But that´s all there is to it.  Eating good food.  I can handle that.

So good.

Today Fat Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday most other places in the Christian world, but here is was Sprengidagur, literally exploding day, because you eat so much.  Because I´m a good Scandinavian now, I headed down to Ikea.

This is roughly 4 cents Canadian

Guess what my boss and I turned this pocket change into?

Saltkjöt

This is my 2 cents worth.

I was astonished.  For 2 cents, you got a plate of salt cured sheep, veggies and a refillable bowl of pea soup.  It wasn't anything fancy, but it was good.  And 2 cents.  My mind is still blown.  You really can eat until you explode.  The hospital actually takes this day into account with scheduling, as everything is so salty, they do see an increase of people with heart problems coming in.  What surprised me most was that the place didn't look the like Salvation Army soup kitchen today.  It was still pretty classy.  Way to go Iceland.

While sitting at Ikea eating, I was interviewed by an Icelandic TV station doing a piece on the Ikea meal.  I did it in Icelandic, though I'm sure it's awful.  I missed it on the news tonight, but apparently I'll be able to find it online later.

Tomorrow is Öskudagur, or Ash Wednesday.  Here, the kids dress up like it's Halloween, and try to hang small bags of ash on peoples clothing.  The boys are so excited about dressing up, since they don't celebrate Halloween here.  As far as I know, I can take a break from eating tomorrow as well.

What strikes me as odd though, is that the Icelanders don´t seem to understand the concept of giving up something for lent.  Both I and another au pair had a bit of a struggle explaining this.  So whereas the rest of the world is eating and partying in preparation for 40 days of deprivation, the Icelanders are just eating.  I really like Icelandic Christianity.   

Siglufjöður, part 1

Last weekend, I had the amazing fortune to go up north with some relatives of mine to the small town of Siglufjöður.  Other than the rainy day trip to the Golden Circle, this was really my first time out of the Reykjavik area.  While I love the city, it was so nice to get a chance to see some of the country side.  And go skiing!

It was about a 5 hour drive, and we did it mostly in the dark.  We went through a bunch of tunnels along the way, some under the ocean, and some through mountains.  It's hard to imagine how hard it must have been to get around before they were built, though some have been around longer than others.  Like the one entering Siglufjöður.  It's one lane, and scares me.  My cousin apparently used to walk through it, which sounds like a pretty dangerous thing to do.

Nice, safe, two lane modern tunnel.

Terrifying tunnel of doom into Siglufjöður

My cousin is originally from Siglufjöður, and her parents still have an apartment there which we stayed at.  It reminded me so much of Amma and Afi's, right down to the smell.  The place is an amazing time capsule, and a really lovely place to stay.

My room was the best. 

I want to know where everyone got these.  Amma had a similar thing.

Amazing old hand tinted photographs.

The town itself was really lovely.  Originally based on fishing and agriculture, the town is shrinking, but still brings in people with the ski hill.  The scenery is absolutely incredible.  Or I´m just still really impressed by mountains.

Wow.

I´m trying to think in square format again. 

Pining for the fjörds.

You don´t understand how much I want to live in a silver house.

Or a yellow one.

The beautiful church.

The church is really something.  It's the center of town, and for a place that was only 3000 people at most, it's really very impressive.  One of my relatives who plays organ was able to get in to practice on the beautiful old pipe organ they have.  The church also has a full set of German made and designed stained glass windows.  I'm not sure how a town this size was able to get all this, but I'm glad they did.

The organ.

1970's German stained glass

Very obviously a fishing town.

I still have to ask what exactly the hanging boat is about.

I apparently have too much stuff on here now, and blog spot is giving me trouble, so wait for part 2 coming soon!

Þorrablót

I had the great luck to be invited to a Þorrablot dinner on Saturday night.  Þorrablót is a winter festival, held to coincide with the old Icelandic month of Þorra.  This is usually somewhere in late January, to late February.  The tradition at a Þorrablót is to eat þorramatur, drink Brennevin, and tell stories or sing songs.

I went to a rather large private party, held by some very distant relatives from what I understand.  I was told there were 92 people there, but by my count I only ever found 50 or 60.  Still a huge amount no doubt.

The first food of the evening was what everyone has been waiting to hear about.  The rotten shark, hákarl.  Truth be told, it´s not rotten, it´s a curing or aging process like other meats.  True, it does get buried.  I do also worry a bit that we are eating something that has to be buried in order to not be poison, but hey, why not.  The deal with the shark it that to live in the ocean, the shark needs to make its own antifreeze to not die.  That internal antifreeze is what is poison to eat, but if you ferment it, it becomes non toxic.  Here is a good website explaining how it´s made.  Mmmm, shark.

Here it is, what you've all been waiting for.

A lot of the kids loved it.

Let´s not sugar coat this here.  Antony Bourdain calls this the single worst thing he´s ever eaten.  Gordon Ramsay vomited.  Andrew Zimmerman called the smell horrific, but did note that it tasted better than it smelled.  He was more generous than the others and just said it was not for beginners.  So, basically, a bunch of men who make their living out of eating gross things, couldn´t handle the hákarl.  What chance did I stand?

But I ate it.  At first, it did taste a bit like a strong cheese, which made some sense, as I have seen it translated to English as 'shark cheese'.  Then the ammonia hit.  I was suddenly having flashbacks to dying my hair in a tiny, poorly ventilated bathroom.  Fortunately, I drink, and the shot of brennivin you get along with it was a big help.  I actually like brennevin, though I imagine that it as well is an acquired taste for some.  The texture was strange as well, very very chewy.  Not helpful in getting it down quickly.  I did manage to put on a brave face though, and I swallowed it.  Yay me!  I'm tougher than Ramsay!

This smile is forced. 

Trying to swallow.

Hákarl done with, it was time to move onto the real dinner.  I am ashamed to say I chickened out a lot.  I couldn´t deal with the surmatur, or the sour food.  My employers brought home the sour whale blubber to try one night, and I wasn´t sure I wanted to be spitting out food at a nice fancy party.  I did try the sheep's head, svið, which was a bit strong, but not too bad.  I also ate hangikjöt, a type of smoked lamb, some potatoes in a lovely sweet cream sauce, and some veggies.  Things I wimped out on include sour testicles, liver and blood sausage (again, sour), and the sour whale, which I´ve tried thanks to my employers.  I don't like the sour.

The plate of food. 

Surmatur

Svið.  Here´s looking at you.

Svið in loaf form. 

Hangikjöt 

Brennivín wearing a peysa

The feast begins

People really enjoy the hákarl

The dinner was enjoyable.  Don´t get me wrong.  There were just a lot of things I am very unaccustomed to, which is why I wanted to come.

After dinner, there was a singalong and the kids performed musical numbers.  There were some amazing singers there, and Jón, who played the piano was fantastic as well.  This family seems very musical, as apparently I was talking to the bass player from the band Dikta for a while.  My first brush with Icelandic celebrity other than seeing the children´s entertainer Sveppi buying sushi.

I did have some lovely 3 year old prosciutto that Jón keeps in his attic.  It was really really amazing.  He also keeps his hárkarl and his hangikjöt hanging up there.

Sweet, sweet meat

Shark

Lots of meat 

Oooh, I could eat this forever

 After the party, I went downtown and partied some more.  But you don´t need to hear about that.  So here´s more Helgrims.

I love my new camera.  This is handheld.