Atlantica - 01.12.2004, Blaðsíða 60

58 AT L A N T I C A HOTELS
i-site
There is a wooden box near the entrance to the Phallological Museum that is cov-
ered with a black sheet. Inside are the fifteen or so erotic specimens that aren’t for
everyone – the rest of the sizable museum dedicated to the phallus is. An odd thing
to boast: the penis museum is not erotic.
Museum curator Sigurdur Hjartarson, a retired headmaster and teacher of history
and Spanish among other subjects, collected the specimens out of a passive inter-
est. Pointing to what turns out to be a dried bull’s phallus, he explains that when he
was a child this tool was used for whipping and herding animals. The bull’s phallus
began a collection that now contains a sample of every mammal found in Iceland.
Almost. The exceptions: two species of whale that are only occasionally seen in
Icelandic waters, and a human, though three noble souls have arranged to donate
upon their deaths, including a curiously enthusiastic American who boasts of his
piercings and includes a mould of the specimen.
A visit to the Phallological Museum will not inspire passion. You will, however,
have a good time. And if you get a chance to speak with Hjartarson, who, among
his many interests, is a translator of Graham Greene into Icelandic, you’ll have a
conversation that you won’t soon forget. BC
Icelandic Phallological Museum Husavík www.phallus.is +354 566-8668
Around 930 AD, while the rest of Europe was bogged down with feudalism and war,
Icelandic chieftains formed what is said to be the world’s first parliament at what
is now Thingvellir National Park.
The name Thingvellir actually means “parliament plains”, and for the next 300 years
the local leaders gathered here once a year to settle disputes. Since parliament
was a new phenomenon parliamentary procedure had not yet been ironed out,
ensuring that some disputes were solved with the sword rather than the pen.
On July 2, 2004, the park was decleared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a list which
includes such revered sites the pyramids in Egypt, Stonehenge in England and the
Great Wall of China to name a few. UNESCO sites are places that are considered to
be unique and form a joint heritage of mankind.
Thingvellir, which is 50 km to the east of Reykjavík, serves as a historical reminder
of Iceland’s independence and the most important moments in Iceland’s history are
usually marked by a celebration at the park, such as the 1100th anniversary of the
first settlement, back in 1974, which saw over 60,000 Icelanders pack into the these
parliamentary plains.
It’s more than a rich political history that makes Thingvellir National Park a UNESCO
site. Cutting through Thingvellir on its way north and east into Iceland’s interior, is
the Mid-Atlantic ridge which is slowly but surely pulling this country apart. Scurry
up to the top of the bluff that overlooks the small church, and stare down into the
vast fissure and your stomach grows a bit queasy. The deep depression is a prime
sample of Iceland’s geological wonders, as you can actually see the American
Plate as it pulls westward away from the Eurasian Plate.
The natural beauty of the park attracts thousands of visitors each year. The most
popular tour is called the Golden Circle, which in addition to taking visitors to
Thingvellir, also stops at the hotsprings known as Geysir and the spectacular water
fall that is Gullfoss. But even with busloads of tourists, Thingvellir is so large that it’s
as if you have the park all to yourself. The beauty of the park is magnified by water-
falls, the surrounding mountains and Thingvallavatn, Iceland’s largest lake which
covers 83 km sq and is over 100m deep. On a clear day, the view from atop the ridge
is like a snapshot that will last long after your Golden Circle trip has ended.
But before you go, make sure to drop a few coins into Peningagjá, a deep fissure
filled with crystal clear spring water that has become a wishing well. Watch as the
coin you flipped into the water sinks to the bottom and your wish just might come
true. EW
They Ain’t Cigars
The Plains
of Parliament
Iceland’s Thingvellir National Park
has been named a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. It’s about time.
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043I-Site Atl604.indd 58 24.10.2004 19:45:56