Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.12.1995, Blaðsíða 3

Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.12.1995, Blaðsíða 3
Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 1. desember 1995 • 3 By Tom Oleson rhe city of Reykj avík seems some- how both exotic and familiar to a visiting North American. It is obviously a European city. The patterns of streets of the old part of town — or, perhaps more correctly, the lack of pattern in those narrow streets ; the coffee shops scattered about where people linger over a cup of Iceland’s unique coffee — perhaps the best in the world — reading news- papers or debating for hours; the bars, many of them small like English pubs or French bars and where people gath- er to discuss and share conversation and good company as well as drink; the way the locals drive their cars down the streets and the way they (juestion: Answers Halli Johnson of Oak Harbour, Washington has put forward a question to test the scholars in our communi- ty. He hopes that questions and answers may appear periodically on our pages. We think it is a great idea and await your input. Here is the fírst ofour Q&A’s: A difference of opinion exists as to the actual stature of the Vikings — some suggest a height of only 4 to 5 feet, while others suggest a height of 6 or 7 feet. How tall were they? For our answer we went to Kevin Johnson of Winnipeg who wrote: “The youth today in Iceland stand higher on the average than their grandparents as a result of better nutrition; the same holds true for Japan. Nutrition impinges strongly upon stature, but our genetic her- itage closely resembles that of the Viking age peoples. “No reliable statistical evidence provides us with evidence, but anecdotal evidence recommends the presence of giants. “Egill Skallagrímsson stood head and shoulders over his peers — as big as a troll. Snorri Sturluson calls Rollo, the founder of Normandy, Hrólf the Walker, because no horse could support his gigantic stature. “Any population reflects a range of stature. Your answer may be found by looking around Nordic communities today, but the Viking- age people enjoyed worse nutri- tion, so generally stood somewhat shorter than contemporary Nordic peoples.” wear their clothes and dress and look; the preponderance of small shops and stores — bakeries, fish shops, bou- tiques, book stores, corner grocery stores — all of these are definitely European in their flavour. Yet to North Americans, there is something familiar about the city. Outside of the old section, the roads are straight and wide and designed to move traffic. Here the houses are newer, and one can find a shopping mall. Some coffee houses offer English-language newspapers for their customers to read and some of the bars aimed at younger people defy you, once you are inside, to guess at what city you are in; you could be in almost any city in Canada or the United States except for the fact most people are speaking Icelandic. American television shows appear often on the TV stations available in the country and one channel offers an English-accented imitation of CNN. The North American influence is strong even here on this small island in the North Atlantic. Iceland is the westemmost part of Europe — Greenland, although part of Denmark, geographically belongs to North America. That is a result of history, however, and one might rea- sonably argue that Iceland might be considered to be the easternmost part of North America. It is truly a place where east does meet west and that may be one reason that visiting North Americans find it both exciting and comfortable. The contrasts of Iceland exist beyond just its physical features, its remarkable landscape — the fabled land of fire and ice. Reykjavík, for example, is an old city; it grew out of the homestead of the country’s first settler, Ingólfur Arnarson, well over 1,000 years ago. That’s old by North American standards, but by European ones it is new. There is little, howev- er, about its cities and towns that is actually old and the buildings that are historic and look old are mostly mod- Near Akureyri, a stop on the Ring Road. ern reconstructions. There are no ancient cathedrals here. Its most famous churches are like Reykjavík’s Hallgrímskirkja, which blends the old and the new in striking form, or they are small churches scattered around the country, more famous for the histo- ry they represent than for their archi- tectural wonders. Pictures of Reykjavík around the tum of the century show it as being not much more than a village. Even in the 1930s and the 1940s it still had a small town look by North American stan- dards. Today it holds more than half of the country’s population and has a sophisticated, cosmopolitan look to it. It does not appear old, but neither does it feel new. After going through the airport at ICeflavík and the drive to the capital, mostly through lava fields, Reykjavík is the first experience most visitors have of Iceland. After the excesses of New York and the horrors of huge airports, the city looks inviting, sprawled around the bay that gives it its name. Many North Americans of Icelandic descent have already experienced the dream of seeing it one day. Some may Sour Cream Coffee Cake 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 3 tbsp. white sugar 2 tsp. cinnamon Ron Eyolfson 1 cup margarine (2 squares) 1-1/2 cups white sugar 2 eggs 1 cup sour cream Topping: 1 tsp. vanilla 2 cups flour, unbleached Beat the margarine and white sugar together until creamy. Add the eggs and beat again. Add the sour cream and vanilla, beat to mix. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the creamed mixture, beating constantly, until the batter has the consistency of whipped cream. Put half the batter into 1 9 in. by 9 in. baking pan (greased). Sprinkle with half of the topping mixture. Add the rest of the batter and then sprinkle with the remaining top- ping. Place in 350 degree F. oven. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until skew- er put in centre comes out clean. This recipe was taken from the cookbook Our Daily Bread. Within its pages you will find many “Amma” special recipes which will prove a valuable source of reference for future generations in maintaining the tra- ditional foods of their heritage. It is available from the First Lutheran Church, 580 Victor Street, Winnipeg, MB R3G 1R2. be planning to enjoy that sight next summer. Anyone who is should be planning their trip now. Iceland is busy in the summer, when most tourists go. The hotels can be full, the farm holiday program, which arranges for holidays on farms around the country that can range from an overnight stay to an extended vacation, is already taking bookings for next year. Hotel rooms around the country are usually at a premium in the summer months. Reykjavfk is also the logical starting point for a tour of Iceland on the Circle Road. The road goes right around the island so one could, in fact, pick it up at any point where there is an airport, a car rental agency or a bus stop. This is not a big island, so it is not a very long road; you could proba- bly drive the whole thing in two or three days, depending on how hard you wanted to push it. But while it may not be a long road it is a big one in the landscape it passes through and the history that it passes by. Just staying on the road itself will take you through beautiful country of unprecedented variety but the route also affords you the opportunity of innumerable side trips to some of the country’s most spectacular sights and historic places. Only a person in great hurry or with a dead soul would miss the chance to see these if he didn’t have to. The Circle Road also gives you access to many of the farms registered with the farm holiday program. These vary greatly in the kind of accommo- dation and services that they offer, but all afford the visitor the opportunity to see how a rural Icelandic family lives and many invite the guest to take part in the activities of the farm. It is wise to book ahead in the peak season as the program is becoming increasingly popular. In the off season, they are less busy and this fall I spent one at the farm of Sigurlaug and Jón at their farm guesthouse Brunnhóll á Mýrum near Höfn on the east coast of Iceland where I was the only guest. At first I was a little embarrassed by the situation. It seemed a little pre- sumptuous to ask them to open up their guest facilities for one day. But they invited me into their kitchen, they fed me coffee and cakes. They talked about their farm — a dairy farm — and their lives and asked me about mine (my life, not my farm.) That night I ate dinner in the guest quarters in solitary splendour. I felt a bit like a medieval king when a whole leg of lamb, a heaping bowl of potatoes and several other vegetables were set in front of me (I had to pass on dessert). The next day, Jón drove me the 30 kilometres to Höfn to catch my bus so that I could start the next leg of my joumey on the Circle Road. The sky was a bril- liant Icelandic blue against the snow- tipped starkness of the mountains and the glacier gleamed brightly in the dis- tance. It was a remarkable contrast to the scene in Reykjavík, not better or worse but just different. I was looking forward to being back in Reykjavík in a few day’s time and here, at this moment in time, it seemed as if all were right with the world.

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