Iceland review - 2013, Page 37

I dropped to my knees in sheer joy. And here I’d thought
I wouldn’t get the chance to pick any wild berries this
year! The rainy summer in South and West Iceland had
resulted in an extremely poor harvest. Meanwhile, in North and
East Iceland, it had been exceptionally warm and sunny, leading
to a remarkable berry season.
One sunshiny day in late August, I felt lucky to find myself
in a bright green birch forest in Öxarfjörður, while on a brief
visit to North Iceland. All around me were plump and juicy bil-
berries, known as aðalbláber, or ‘prime blueberries,’ in Icelandic.
The heather was filled with them, it was more blue than green,
Iceland Review goes berry picking in Öxarfjörður, North Iceland,
shaking off the blues of a rainy summer in the capital.