Tips

Men of Iron. Last Saturday, for the 26th time in history long-distance runners, competed in the Laugavegur Ultra Marathon. The 55km course takes runners through the most beautiful hiking trek in the southern highlands of Iceland. Most people, built without any iron but regular flesh, cover this distance in four days. This year’s winner Arnar Pétursson came to the finish line in 4 hours and 4 minutes!!! The quickest female competitor Andrea Kolbeinsdóttir finished only 29 minutes later, dusting 90% of the male runners. Both winners are Icelanders but about 30% of the competitors came from abroad. The fastest foreigner, Andrew Douglas, who was last year’s winner, came second.

Keep Iceland clean. The increased tourist traffic has made it increasingly difficult to keep popular tourist spots in Iceland clean. The bins quickly overflow, so a lot of trash builds up in the area. Then, it’s only a matter of time before the wind blows them all over. The biggest mess can be “admired” in Skógafoss or Geysir – the most popular points on the ring road.

German airline Condor Airlines has announced regular flights from Frankfurt to Akureyri and Egilsstaðir in Iceland. The first flights will start in May next year. The German planes will fly to Iceland once a week until the end of October.

Smiðjan Brugghús in Vík is the first brewery to be granted a concession to sell beer on-site thanks to newly liberalized regulations. Until now, alcohol in Iceland could only be bought in a special chain of shops and in bars or restaurants. Yet another reason to visit the south of Iceland this season 😉

50 new types of road signs. Iceland introduces new road signs as well as more than 20 new pavement markings with a view to improving road safety. The warning signs category includes four new signs: accidents, poor visibility due to weather, traffic jam, and broken pavement. 

Talking about road safety last week we wrote about how tricky river crossings can be. Once every few weeks, there is news about tourists stuck in the middle of a river which may solidify the fact that it doesn’t happen very often. In fact, such accidents occur every day. Very often, even powerful vehicles with huge wheels driven by experienced local drivers are stuck in rivers too. Yep, mother nature has the upper hand on everyone here. 

New paid parking space next to Hverir. One of Iceland’s most famous gems of nature, the Hverir geothermal fields joined the growing number of tourist attractions, to which access- previously free, is now paid. Some tourists have difficulty understanding the payment instructions. There are also voices that if a parking space is paid, it should also be monitored. What is your opinion on paid parking at tourist attractions in Iceland?

Seal with a hook stuck in its snout rescued in Reykjavík Harbour. The exhausted animal was found by two friends who were on an evening walk. An employee of the emergency line, after receiving a call, asked for help from an employee of the city zoo. A zoo employee, after removing the hook, transported the seal to the zoo, where she will be rehabilitated before release. 

Clothes out of dog fur? A dog breeder in Eyjafjörður, instead of dragging the lazy coat of his 18 huskies into a vacuum cleaner, makes yarn out of it. Then the man gives the material to his wife, who sews hats, gloves, and other items of clothing from it. Huskies molt constantly, for an endless supply of hats and scarves. 

This week’s word of the day won’t be sexy at all. It is “ruslafata” – trash can. Please if you see the nearest  “ruslafata” is full, keep your trash with you and throw it away in the next empty trash container.