The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1955, Qupperneq 24

22
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Spring 1955
cA Piltyximaye to j\oX3eland
by PROFESSOR RICHARD BECK
As already reported in The Iceland-
ic Canadian, Mrs. Beck and I had the
great pleasure of spending the past
summer in Scandinavia, largely in Ice-
land and Norway, with shorter visits
to Denmark and Sweden. This was the
realization of a long-cherished dream
on our part, and it is pleasant to
report, in all truthfulness, that the
reality in this case surpassed the
dream, due in no small measure to the
warm-hearted reception which we were
accorded by our relatives and others,
publicly and privately, for which we
shall ever be deeply grateful.
Our journey was in the nature of a
pilgrimage, in the sense that we were
particularly interested in visiting
places where great events in the history
of the Northern countries, notably Ice-
land and Norway, had occurred,
places which, therefore, in many cases,
have become veritable national
shrines, surrounded by hallowed mem-
ories which stir the imagination and
warm the hearts of the people to
whom they belong. Along with such
national shrines of various kinds, we
were likewise especially interested in
visiting museums and related institu-
tions where the cultural history of the
nations of the North is strikingly re-
corded in remarkable archaelogical
finds or other visible remnants from
ancient or more recent times .
Let no one think, however, that we
were so absorbed in the past that we
neglected paying attention to present-
day life, social progress, and contemp-
orary cultural achievements in the
Scandinavian countries. Nothing of
the kind. But because of our Icelandic
origin, we desired to make use of the
rare opportunity which was ours dur-
ing the past summer in the lands of
forbears, to learn, first hand, as much
as possible about our racial and cul-
tural background; it is still the better
part of wisdom to know oneself.
On board “Hekla” of the Icelandic
Airlines (LoftleiSir) we flew from New
York to Reykjavik in the afternoon of
June 1, arriving about noon the next
day. It was a thrilling experience to
travel in an airoplane owned by Ice-
landers, manned by an Icelandic
crew, and flying the Icelandic flag. It
was a striking illustration of the great
material progress which has taken
place in Iceland in recent years in the
realm of modern transportation and
communications as well as in other
fields of activity.
Approaching Iceland from the air
is a memorable experience. However,
as this was Mrs. Beck’s first visit to her
ancestral country, I prefer to give you
her first impression of Iceland. In a
recent address she described our ar-
rival at Reykjavik as follows:
“As the plane circled the airfield
for a landing. I was amazed at the
beauty of the landscape below:—The
beautiful colors of the mountains, the
lush green of the coastal plain, the
deep blue of the ocean with white surf
beating against dark rocks. Somehow
1 was not quite prepared for all this.
I had often heard my husband describe
Iceland, but I thought his descriptions
were some nostalgic dreams.”
I am happy to add that 'this first
impression on her part was confirmed
and strengthened through seeing at a