Archive: December, 2011

Some great skiing weather in northern Iceland this festive season, and is that a polar bear?!

Merry Christmas from Reykjavik!

Anyone wandering the streets of Reykjavik today may have been intrigued by the smell wafting out through restaurant windows – to most, a rather unpleasant smell!

At the Icelandic Open-Air Folk Museum in Reykjavik yesterday, children rode a horse and cart, played with old-fashioned toys, made Christmas decorations and danced around the Christmas tree.

It’s a lovely time of year to wander around downtown Reykjavik soaking up the festive atmosphere. Shops are open until 10pm from today.

The National Museum of Iceland’s Christmas exhibition includes objects concerning the 13 Yuletide Lads.

There’s a lot on in Reykjavik today, from the arrival of Yuletide Lad Gully Gawk, to a St Lucia procession, to a performance by the renowned Reykjavik Wind Quintet.

The first of the thirteen long-awaited Yuletide Lads (Jólasveinar) made his way down from the mountains sometime last night, leaving a little present in the shoes of Icelandic children.

Sunday Times readers recently voted Iceland “Best Adventure Travel Destination” but if you’re reading this news with a sense of déjà-vu, it could be because Iceland was also voted “Best in Travel 2012” in Lonely Planet’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards, and was among the National Geographic Travellers’ pick of “Best of the World 2012”. And [...]

In just one week, Iceland’s Yuletide lads will start coming down from the mountains to cause mischief in all Icelandic homes. I’ll keep you posted as each arrives, but if you’re visiting Reykjavik before then you can see some of these Christmas creatures in various places around town – and if you note the location [...]