Iceland review - 2012, Page 89

muSeumS
in the wild wild weSt

In the West Fjords (population 6,955) you
can visit no less than seventeen museums.
So, whether it is sea monsters, antique
dolls, sea faring of the past, the arctic
fox, or sheep you’re interested in, you’ll
be sure to find something to your lik-
ing. And, don’t forget the museum at the
birthplace of Iceland’s independence hero
Jón Sigurðsson. Located at Hrafnseyri and
overlooking Arnarfjörður Fjord, it makes
for an essential stop on your way across
the region, considered by many to be the
country’s most magnificent. ÁA
SPoiled For ChoiCe
In the last parliamentary elections,
participation was 85.1 percent. ÁA
Some winnerS...

The Icelandic Football League was
established one hundred years ago, in
1912. Since then, only 10 teams have
won the national title. KR, the team
from the western part of Reykjavík, is
the most successful so far, with 25 titles
to their name. Valur, from the eastern
part of central Reykjavík, has won the
championship 20 times, Fram, another
Reykjavík team, has one it 18 times,
as has ÍA, from the town of Akranes,
west Iceland. ÍA is the most success-
ful team outside the capital region.
These four teams have won the cham-
pionship a total of 81 times over the
past 100 years. Next on the list, are
Víkingur, from Reykjavík’s suburb of
Fossvogur, and FH, from the town of
Hafnarfjörður, arguably the best and
most successful team in the past ten
years. Keflavík has taken the cup four
times, ÍBV, from the Westman Islands,
has won three times, while Akureyri
team KA, and Breiðablik, from
Kópavogur, have only won once each.
My team, Þróttur from Laugardalur,
Reykjavík, has never won the cup but
will soon, I believe. But first they’ll
have to win the B league. PS
FaCing the book

According to Socialbakers.com, sta-
tistics on social networking show
that Facebook penetration in Iceland is
approximately 72 percent as a propor-
tion of the country’s total population,
and 73.8 percent in relation to the
number of Internet users. Users of the
social networking site in Iceland num-
ber more than 222,000, a figure which
continues to grow rapidly. Currently,
Iceland has an approximately five per-
cent higher penetration than Gibraltar
and an 18 percent lower penetration
than the Falkland Islands. ÁA
Photos By PÁll stefÁnsson
Here are a few facts you might not
know about the Republic of Iceland
and the island rock on which it stands.