Beautiful Names

Here's a sampling of some modern Icelandic names translated into English, just for fun.

(á=ow, é=ye, í=ee, ó=oh, ú=oo, ð=the, þ=bath, æ=eye, ö=smurf)

Svanhvít Ósk= White Swan Wish
Brynja Eir= Metal Armour
Ástríður = Beautiful Love
Aðalsteinn = Main Stone
Alda Gyða = Sea Goddess
Guðmundur = Hand of God
Birkir Fjalar = Birch of Many Wisdoms
Ófeigur Örn = Death-Defiant Eagle
Sigríður Helga = Holy Beautiful Victory
Sólveig Lilja= Sun Strong Lily
Úlfar Snær = Snow Wolf
Birna Unnur = Love Bear
Indriði = Lone Rider
Hjálmar Helgi = Holy Helmet
Hrafnhildur = Battle Raven
Kolbrún = Dark Brow
Sveinbjörn = Male Bear
Þorgeir = Thor's Spear

All of these names are very current and common, and can be mixed and matched as one pleases. Interesting, isn't it?

Meat

Öskjuhlíð forest

Today's Hot Tip: When in Iceland, eat lamb. As opposed to beef, I mean. Seafood is always also a must here, but if you get a craving for red meat, opt for our tender and flavorful local lamb over, say, a steak. Icelandic beef simply isn't very tasty; it's very lean but also on the tough side. These are, after all, hearty arctic cattle we're talking about, not fattened-up lazy heifers like you find in the States. Hamburgers are generally good, but don't expect juicy slabs of ground beef between your bun...the generic burger patty is about a quarter-inch thick and that's it. If you do want a burger though, go to Hamborgarabúllan,a tiny joint on Myrargata at Ægisgata (look on the upper left side of this map). Its simple, classic and comfortable. If you need a steak, go to Argentina. It doesn't look like much from the outside but I've heard it's amazing on the inside, where it counts. Now you know.

Snowy Trees

Reykjavik, 9 am.

Still dark outside but somehow cozy with all the glowing snow and people huddled in down coats and hats and mittens. They stomp their feet and rub their hands together when they get inside their schools and offices and stores, almost always well-heated against the arctic chill outside. They talk about the weather, about the new fluffy snow, and have cups of coffee to warm their reddened noses. There's a buzz in the air, almost of excitement and a little tinged with danger. Will this be a winter like winters once were, with drifts of snow as tall as houses lingering on til long past Easter? Or will it all blow away in raw winds, leaving the city parched, freeze-dried, stark, til summer's come again? Can we hope for a white Christmas? Or will it barely dip below frost, leaving us wondering if the world isn't really changing after all?

Reykjavik is getting ready for its long, dark winter, whatever the season may bring.

Morning Snow

Snowman

This time they're not orbs, my friends...they're snowflakes! Yippee! The big, wet, silent, heavy kind that make the city a mystery and just like brand new. Traffic slows to a slushy crawl, branches grow heavy with icy white frosting, and kids sculpt out the year's first snowmen, complete with carrot noses. Every year it's like the first time all over again...

Orbs

It wasn't raining when took this photo, so I was a little curious about all the little spots. Then I remembered having read about ghostly Orbs that show up on film sometimes. What I think is odd is 1) that some of the orbs look farther away than others, 2) that even if id had been raining, my lens digital cameral lens is only like two cm across and 3) the spots are perfectly round, even when viewed in super close-up.

Here's some info on Orbs from Ghost Study:

Orbs are believed (by many) to be ghosts in the form of balls of light. They are life forms that travel in groups and are believed to be the human soul or life force of those that once inhabited a physical body here on earth. Psychics claim to talk to them on a regular basis, and ghost hunters encounter them quite frequently. It is said that they are those spirits that have willingly stayed behind because they feel bound to their previous life or previous location for whatever reason. Because of this obsession they tend to become similar to a psychotic human beings. It should be said that the majority of us when we die proceed gladly and willingly to the next level of existence after saying our quiet good-byes, which means we're off to the spirit world. Then again, as stated, a select few elect to stay behind because of a refusal to move on. Apparently the longer they stay behind, the harder it is to find their way to the next level, which again, is the spirit world.


Ghostly orbs are the most photographed anomalies caught on film by ghost hunters and are quite photogenic (when they want to be). They can be completely transparent or display themselves in a bright solid form. It is not hard to capture them on film in their circular form. It is theorized that ghosts prefer the form of an Orb (ball of light) because it takes less energy thus being the mode of choice among the ghosts. The consensus is that small orbs take up the least amount of energy and apparitions and other fuller shapes take up the most. In the colder parts of the year, it seems that ghosts tend to find it easier to take on shapes other than orbs. That's when there is the most static electricity in the atmosphere. Those months being October through February. It is also believed that they are able to draw on our own energy when needed.

I know there are spirits all over Reykjavík (I think most Icelanders accept that) and it seems this alley, called Válastigur, is an active travel path for our otheworldly ancestors and friends. On the other hand, maybe it's just light refraction...

The Church on the Hill