The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1955, Síða 25

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
23
closer range the varied scenic beauty
of Iceland in all its glory. Let it be
added that we flew, literally speaking,
into that “nightless .world”, which
Iceland enjoys in the spring of the
year and early summer, and which its
poets, not least our own Stephan G.
Stephansson, have described In a
graphic and memorable fashion, al-
though its enchantment is in reality
indescribable, and must be experienc-
ed. Small wonder ithiat Mrs. Beck
found it difficult to sleep during her
first nights in Iceland. The bright
daylight at night simply kept her
awake!
Thanks to modern means of trans-
portation, and no less thanks to the
generosity of the Icelandic govern-
ment, as well as of various institutions
and organizations and numerous
friends, we were able in a relatively
short time to travel extensively
throughout Iceland and visit noted
historical places and beauty spots.
The air has become the highway
of the Icelanders, and will be that in
a still greater degree in the future.
Last year, for instance, the Icelandic
Airways (Flugfelag Islands) carried
fifty thousand passengers on its
domestic flights. We flew from Reykja-
vik (in the South) to IsafjorSur (in the
Northwest) and returned, from
Reykjavik to the East Fjords, and from
Akureyri and SauSarkrokur in the
North to Reykjavik; and as the weath-
er generally was favorable, we saw Ice-
land from the air in all its scenic
grandeur, and no one has really seen
how impressive it is, and unlike other
countries, unless he has viewed it from
the air on a sunny summerday.
However, unique and unforgettable
as Iceland is seen from the air, one
must, nevertheless, travel on land and
visit the various historic and scenic
places, in order to see them in their
right environment and to full advan-
tage. Travelling by car, we were en-
abled 'to do just this in an unusually
large measure.
In the afternoon of our first Sunday
in Iceland, which was Whitsunday
and a truly beautiful day, we drove
to bingvellir (Plains of the Parliament)
as the guests of Dr. Alexander Johann-
esson, President of the University of
Iceland, and Mrs Johannesson. Locat-
ed some thirty miles east from Reykja-
vik, the hingvellir region is one of un-
usual grandeur: a sunken lava-plain,
wrought in ages past by volcanic fires
and earthquakes, “It has a wild beauty
of vertical walls, foaming cataracts and
water-filled chasms”. Snow-capped
mountains rise majestically on the
horizon, and on the south side the plain
is bordered by the silvery waters of a
large lake, hingvallavatn. No word
picture does justice to the uniqueness
of the scene. Lord Dufferin, visiting
the place, said it was worth going
around the world to see.
In this impressive amphitheatre,
outdoors, the Icelandic parliament
(Aiding) met from 930 to 1800. On
that stage, set in the grandest natural
surroundings, were enacted the most
important events in the history of the
Icelandic nation: The Founding of
the Icelandic Republic of old in 930,
and the introduction of Christianity
to Iceland in the year 1000. More re-
cently, there was commemorated in
1930 the 1000th anniversary of the
Icelandic Aiding, and there also came
true the long-cherished dream of free-
dom of the Icelandic nation with the
re-establishment of the Icelandic Rep-
ublic in 1944. No wonder that, as we
stood on that historic spot last sum-
mer and contemplated its central