What are Réttir – September sheep round-up?

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The annual Icelandic sheep and horse round up, known as réttir, is by now finished in all parts of Iceland.

Réttir is one of the highlights of the Icelandic autumn season, drawing visitors from all over the world to witness the round up of sheep and horses that have grazed wild for the summer. The round up is still conducted on horseback and the animals are herded into a corral where the sorting takes place. This traditional event is a highly festive occasion, with dances and other communal festivities an integral part of the celebrations.

At spring sheep are driven to the highlands where they go around wild for the summer period, in the fall it is time to collect them back for housing.  Each sheep is market with the farm it belongs to, and part of rettir is the farmers go around in and look for their own sheep.  Then they take them back to their own farms, either with car or by herding them on horse back.

During réttir there are festivities and tradition of singing and drinking.

The Réttir are very popular by tourists and give great option for photographing real Icelandic people at their best.

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Where do the most people live in Iceland?

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Iceland is not densely populated, but there is big difference between areas of the country.  This gives you idea of where the most and fewest people live in Iceland.

Icelandic name Translation Capital ISO 3166-2 Population
(01/07/2008)		 Area
(km²)		 Density
(inhab/km²)
Austurland Is Egilsstaðir IS-7 12 786 22 721 0.61
Höfuðborgarsvæði The capital region Reykjavik IS-1 200 969 1 062 189.24
Norðurland eystra Northeast Akureyri IS-6 28 925 21 968 1.32
Norðurland vestra Northwest Sauðárkrókur IS-5 7 392 12 737 0.58
Suðurland South Selfoss IS-8 23 972 24 526 0.98
Suðurnes Southern peninsula Keflavík IS-2 21 431 829 25,85
Westfjords West Fjords Ísafjörður IS-4 7 279 9 409 0.77
Vesturland West Borgarnes IS-3 15 601 9 554 1.63
Iceland 319-355 102 928 3.1
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Common Icelandic Phrases

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Good Day / Good Morning Góðan dag
Good Evening Gott kvöld
Good Night Góða nótt
Do you speak English? Talarðu ensku?
I only speak English Ég tala bara ensku
Nice to meet you Gleður mig að kynnast þér
See you later! Sjáumst síðar!
I don’t know Ég veit ekki
How are you? Hvernig gengur?
What is your name? Hvað heitir þú?
My name is … Ég heiti …
Where are you from? Hvaðan ertu?
I am from … Ég er frá …
What time is it? Hvað er klukkan?
You are very beautiful Þú ert mjög falleg
You are very funny Þú ert mjog fyndin(n)
You are an angel falled to earth Þú ert engill af himni ofan
I have never seen a woman more lovely Ég hef aldrei seð yndislegri konu
How many sisters do you have? Hversu margar systur áttu?
Could your father beat-me up? Getur pabbi þinn lúbarið mig?
Can you help me with my Icelandic? Geturðu hjálpað mér með íslenskuna mína?
I am lost Ég er týnd(ur)
Where is the hospital? Hvar er sjúkrahús?
Where can I exchange money? Hvar get ég skipt peningum?
Where is a telephone? Hvar er sími?
Where is the bathroom? Hvar er salernið?
Where is the general store? Hvar er Fjarðarkaup?
Where is a clothing store? Hvar er fataverslun?
I am allergic to fish Ég hef ofnæmi fyrir fiski
I am looking for a place to eat Ég er að leita að matsölustað
What is this? Hvað er þetta?
I would like … Ég ætla að fá …
I would like more Ég myndi vilja meira
Could I have an ashtray? Gæti ég fengið öskubakka?
What do you recommend? Með hverju mælir þú?
How much for that? Hvað kostar þetta?
I like that Þetta líkar mér
I don’t like that Mér líkar þetta ekki
I don’t understand Ég skil ekki
Where is the …? Hvar er …?
I need to send a fax Ég þarf að senda fax
Do Icelanders “haggle”? Prútta Íslendingar?
Where can I get American food? Hvar get ég fengið bandarískan mat?
Can you take us to the airport? Geturðu farið með okkur á flugvöllinn?
Can you take us to our hotel? Geturðu keyrt okkur á hótelið okkar?
Where is a hotel? Hvar er hótel?
Where are you staying? Hvar gistir þú?
I would like a room please Get ég leigt herbergi?
I need to buy a map Ég þarf að kaupa kort
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What is the Imagine Peace Tower in Reykjavik

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The Imagine Peace Tower is a work of art conceived by the legendary artist, musician and peace advocate Yoko Ono as a beacon to world peace.

The tower is a light tower and is composed of a number of individual lights that join together to form a single beam. Buried underneath the light tower are upward of 500,000 written wishes that Ono gathered over the years in another project, called “Wish Trees”.

Six of the lights travel through corridors across a platform that surrounds the well and are reflected upwards to the sky with mirrors. The strength, intensity and brilliance of the light tower continually changes as the particles in the air fluctuate with the prevailing weather and atmospheric conditions unique to Iceland.

Every year the Imagine Peace Tower will emerge between October 9th (Lennon’s birthday) and December 8th (the day of his death). In addition the Imagine Peace Tower will emanate on New Year’s Eve, during the first week of spring and on some rare special occasions agreed on by the artist and the City of Reykjavík.

The tower is very well visible during dark evenings in Reykjavik.

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Why are there no McDonald’s restaurants in Iceland?

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McDonald’s opened in Reykjavik in 1993 but closed in 2008 after the financial collapse in Iceland. Iceland is therefore one of the few European countries, including Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, without a McDonald’s.

The holder of the McDonald’s franchise in Iceland, said the rising cost of importing ingredients and no sign of economic recovery meant the business was no longer financially viable, so they decided to close.

On the other hand the restaurants where not closed, they still sell McDonald’s like food, just with different names. It is kind of like in the movie “Coming to America”, well only with out the Golden Arcs. So if you thrive for McDonald’s like burger you can have a visit.

There are plenty of burger joints in Iceland where you can get better burgers. For one there is the one called American Style and other Hamborgarabúllan (the hamburger joint). In most urban area there is at least one of these joints, at least at the nearest petrol station.

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Is WI-FI available on board Smyrilline?

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Do not expect it! You are sailing over the Atlantic ocean.

Even though it is possible to obtain WI-FI through satellite it will alway be very costly and we suggest that you prepare for not having any WI-FI.

How ever each part of the sailing is only about 24 hours, so when the ship is not at sea you will be able to get access to the internet through local currier.

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What is Bæjarins bestu pylsur?

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Bæjarins bestu - icelandic hot dog stand

Bæjarins bestu - icelandic hot dog stand

Bæjarins bestu pylsur (or just Bæjarins bestu) is a popular hot dog stand in central Reykjavík. The stand has been in center of the city near the harbour since 1937. The majority of Icelanders have eaten at Bæjarins bestu, if you stand in the que you might expect to see any one from the Major of Reykjavik, member of parlament or janitor. In August 2006, the British newspaper The Guardian selected Bæjarins bestu as the best hot dog stand in Europe.

Clinton was visiting Iceland for discussions about alternative energies. Photographer called to the woman working at the stand that she should offer the President a hot dog. She shouted to the President: “Best hot dogs in the world.” Clinton turned to the photographer, smiled and said: “Why not?” The hot dog was on the house.

The image is the property of the photograher (Gunnar).

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What is the Icelandic hot dog?

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The icelandic hot dog

The icelandic hot dog

The Icelandic Hot dogs are derived from the danish hot dog. They are served in bread, ketchup, mustard, fried onion, raw onion and Remoulade. Icelanders have their own preference of what should be included on a hot dog, if the preference is “one with all” (ein með öllu).

SS (aka. Slaturfélag Suðurlands) is the main producer of Icelandic hot dogs and most Icelanders prefer hot dog from that producer, even though many other producers are on the market. If you buy from hot dog stand you will expect hot dog from SS.

Many hot dog vendors say they have secret reception for the cooking water.

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When is the Gay Price in Reykjavik?

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This annual event in Iceland always takes place in the second week of August.
The Reykjavik Gay Pride is one of the fastest growing pride events in the world, with over 85,000 visitors each August. This huge, colorful and merry parade had become very popular with the residents of the capital who join the festivities every year and many foreign guests come specially to Iceland for this occasion. The Gay Pride festivities in Reykjavík, organized by the board and pride committee of the organization, have been a marvellous success since 1999 and has grown every year since the start.

Parties begin early on Thursday night before the official Pride Opening Ceremony on Friday evening. On Saturday, a colourful and noisy parade makes its way down the Laugavegur main shopping street after which there is a fun open-air party that is open to all. On Sunday there is usually a well-supported sporting event before the fun comes to an end at the official Farwell Party in the evening.

There is more to Gay Pride than the parade it self. Every year a full schedule of events related to the festival fills the city exciting things to see and discover during the festival days.

To find out more about the schedule you can visit the Gay Pride website.

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What bait can I used in Iceland for fishing?

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In Iceland it is legal to use every kind of bait that the fish do case and take willingly. It is forbidden to use any kind of tackle that hooks into the fish unawares or without the fish casing it.

Almost all of the bigger rivers market the prime time of the season internationally and fly-fishing only is strictly enforced in that period.

Few lakes offer nets, but usually it is strictly forbidden.

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