Thursday Thoughts – Icelandic Waters

8 augusti, 201923 februari, 2020 / Leya / 25 kommentarer

Lava, volcanic activity, water and horses. Four words that to me describe Iceland best. In colours, this means a country of mainly black, blue and green.

Let’s take a look at some of my favorite waters. Hopefully they will give you a sense of the significant shades of this island – seen through My eyes.

Blue Lagoon

Water – Blue Lagoon. – Green, I would say…This hot water pool is a must when you visit Iceland. Its water and white clay work healing effects on your skin.

South coast

Water landscape, South coast – maybe the Iceland I find most intriguing of all. The land I see when I read about the hero Gunnar, in Njáls Saga.

Seljalandsfoss

Seljalandsfoss, South coast. Many years ago, on our first visit, I fell in love with this waterfall – the most beautiful of them all. It is still my favorite.

Krýsuvík

Krýsuvík hot springs area, southern Iceland. Do not immerse any part of your body in this water – after some minutes it might not belong to you anymore…

The serenity of this land is exceptional. Yet we know how violent nature can treat it. But, maybe that knowledge is part of the infatuation – because I, and so many others, will return here again, and again.

This is the land of old Sagas and the strong Vikings. Rough, wild and untamed – but the Iceland of today, offers the fresh air and freedom you have been longing for…feeling the wind in your face and your mind open up to the elements.

Thursday Thoughts – Heimaey, Vestmannaeyar

1 augusti, 20191 augusti, 2019 / Leya / 24 kommentarer

Some Thursdays ago, my post took us off for Vestmannaeyar – and now we have arrived!

The harbour of Heimaey was the only thing that changed for the positive after the eruption of Eldfell. It was walled in and became more protected against the sea. Click the link above to read the story in my first post.

Ships coming in – this is still a lively harbour.

There are birds everywhere on the spectacular cliffs. Gulls, puffins…

Common redshank showing us what happened here all those years ago

Eldfell

…common redshanks, golden plovers… The path towards Eldfell took us past signs showing the eruption and the remains or memories of buried houses.

Can you find the golden plover?

Life returning

So many different colours

Somewhere out there is Surtsey, the new island that was created from the eruption

We reached the peak easily, and were met with stunning views.

The rain had stopped and the mist lifted, displaying the many colours in all their glory. We even got a warming ray of sun as we admired the sea and the harbour from above.

To sum up, much had changed since our last visit in 1979. The lava and ashes were now filled with flowers and rich bird life, and Eldfell could no longer give us fried or boiled eggs directly from the ground. Life is returning.

Interested in visiting? Click here to read more.

Thursday Thoughts – The Reykjavik Concert Hall

25 juli, 201926 juli, 2019 / Leya / 15 kommentarer

Harpa is the name of the concert hall and conference center in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The structure consists of a steel framework clad with geometric shaped glass panels of different colours. The distinctive colored glass facade was inspired by the basalt landscape of Iceland.

The opening concert was held on May 4, 2011. As this unfortunately was our last day in Iceland, we could not attend any concert this time.

Harpa was designed by the Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects in co-operation with Danish – Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson.

The building is the first purpose-built concert hall in Reykjavík and it was developed in consultation with artistic advisor Vladimir Ashkenazy and international consultant Jasper Parrott of HarrisonParrot. It houses the Iceland Symphonic Orchestra and the offices of The Icelandic Opera.

Needless to say, I was deeply impressed and in awe. The Icelanders are so aesthetically perfect, and so skilled at every possible art form.

Thursday Thoughts – Hraunfossar

17 juli, 201917 juli, 2019 / Leya / 33 kommentarer

There are so many grand waterfalls in Iceland. Hraunfossar are not the highest falls, but maybe one of the most beautiful ones on the island. The waterfalls are located in the Hallmundarhraun lava field in Borgarfjörður bay, West-Iceland. The white uncountable falls originates from Langjökull glacier, the second largest glacier in Iceland, and run in a cascade series down a lava cliff of about 900 meters wide.

The water cascades down from under Hallmundarhraun lava field and runs into the famous Hvítá (White) river. Hraun means lava and fossar mean waterfalls, so the name basically means Lava Waterfalls.

Don’t they remind a bit of each other? The White Cotton Grass is cascading too.

Thursday Thoughts – Going Vestmannaeyar

11 juli, 2019 / Leya / 11 kommentarer

Vestmannaeyjar came to international attention in 1973 with the eruption of Eldfell volcano, which destroyed many buildings and forced a months-long evacuation of the entire population to mainland Iceland.

Approximately one fifth of the town was destroyed before the lava flow was halted by application of 6.8 billion litres of cold sea water.

About 1500 people decided not to come back to the islands.

In 1979 We visited Heimaey, in the archipelago south of Iceland mainland, which is the only inhabited island here, and home to Eldfell. You could still boil an egg in the lava ashes, and putting down a finger would make your skin peeling off.

Our plan was to revisit now, 40 years later, to see in what ways the island had changed.

The photos show the views from the ferry takeoff and in the header, you can spot the whole range of the archipelago islands in the distance.

Thursday Thoughts – Birthday

4 juli, 201929 juni, 2019 / Leya / 24 kommentarer

This June, my mother turned 84, and was celebrated at a renowned restaurant – a wonderful old farm by the name of Humlalyckan. In English that would translate into something like… Bumble Bee Happiness.

And yes – there might be two of them!

Thursday Thoughts – Revival

27 juni, 201927 juni, 2019 / Leya / 17 kommentarer

The weather is very warm and inviting for bicycle rides these last days of June. So my daughter and I decided to spend some time with the old Flora in hand. When the children were younger, we always did every summer, so today meant sweet memories.

We brought water as well, and biked for some hours, just enjoying each others’ company in the lovely summer fields. And wow, how much one forgets about flower names…

I used to be very good at their names… We also fell in love with this little, quite lovely, mushroom – looking like it was planted right there by someone, on the road.

And, to our greatest joy, we met some Highland Cattle. My absolute favorites.

Somehow they always look so relaxed, and I love their colours. I am not really comfortable having to cross a meadow where they are grazing though – they are said to be rather grumpy.

A lovely day –

Thursday Thoughts – Midsummer

20 juni, 201919 juni, 2019 / Leya / 29 kommentarer

The most beautiful time in my country, Sweden, is now – around Midsummer. The flowers and colours are abundant and it is a busy time for everything growing and for the animals raising their young.

Tomorrow is Midsummer’s Eve – in olden days a magical night. But also the night after which the bright light will start fading and we are heading towards winter.

If you celebrate or not – I wish you all a wonderful weekend –

And may you have a good night…

…should you be in Sweden, you will stay up to watch the sunset – and the sunrise. There is no real darkness in between.

Thursday Thoughts – Garden News

13 juni, 201923 februari, 2020 / Leya / 30 kommentarer

So far this Spring and start of Summer has given the ideal weather for the garden: Raining during the nights and sunshine during the days. Such wonderful difference from last year’s extreme heat. Come along for a short walk!

These are only some of my flowers – but I am so glad they survived last summer’s heat! I adore the little rain gauge my son bought for mother’s day.

My wild roses were planted maybe 20 years ago – I got them from a friend who in his turn had got them from a little old lady in a forest cottage.

I love those little ones – a sea of pink! If you study the bumble bees below, you will understand how small these roses are.

This year, the Painted Lady, being a long-distance migrant, caused the most spectacular butterfly migration observed in Sweden.

Each year, it spreads northwards from the desert fringes of North Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia, recolonizing mainland Europe and reaching Sweden and even Svalbard. In some years it is an abundant butterfly, but never as early as this year. I usually see them in my Buddleijas in late summer.

This year they migrated in millions, and Gotland, our biggest island, received more than 6000 of them in some hours. In my garden now, I have hundreds of them. Some battered and torn – but who wouldn’t be after such a flight!

Thursday Thoughts – A Life’s Work

6 juni, 2019 / Leya / 42 kommentarer

Söderto is a tiny place in the southern part of Skåne, Sweden, where Karl-Göran Persson built a fortress for himself, his family and friends – in case of an attack from Russia. Karl-Göran died in 1975, and he had spent his whole life building and reinforcing this fortress.

One day we decided to try and find it, all of us intrigued by the story. So this spring we went, the three of us. And it became a strange adventure, a day to remember. You can come along if you want to…

It is not a very big place, Söderto, and the remains of his own home nearby were gone.

Karl-Göran was a simple man, a single farmer, and well known in the neighborhood for his warm heart, for his building and for his transporting all material on his bicycle.

He even mastered setting rails and railroad ties into the fortress – all by himself. The thought was to build a balcony.

He used what he could find to reinforce his fortress, be it iron beds, chamber pots, baskets or bicycle parts. Look closely at the pictures, and maybe you will find them…

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After so many years of withering down, it is not advised to go inside anymore. But…