ByGD
Last week I posted a picture of Dimmu Borgir, an area of unique rock formations in Iceland. This week I’m pulling the camera back a bit for a wider view. I think it’s interesting that in a country famous for unique rock formations, this particular area is named for such. Actually, what is most notable to me about it is its lush vegetation. That is far less common in this volcanic land.
ByGD
The name Dimmu Borgir translates to Dark Cities. That’s quite the evocative name, and certainly worthy of an elven castle or a metal band. But like its namesake Norwegian band, the real Dimmu Borgir is not really very scary. It’s actually quite lovely. Much nicer than the Fire Swamp. I’d like to build a summer home there.
ByGD
The neighborhood I live in bills itself as the center of the universe. A sign at the neighborhood’s main intersection indicates the distance to a whimsical assortment of destinations to prove it. The small northern Icelandic city of Akureyri has no such pretensions. But it does have this very similar sign. Maybe that’s why I felt so immediately at home there? Because quite inexplicably, despite having only visited the place twice and for less than a total of 24 hours, I have always felt that if I didn’t live in Seattle, I’d like to live in Akureyri.
ByGD
I personally dislike sportsball of all kinds. But I like my kids and I like Iceland. Back in 2016, both of my kids were on soccer teams. And Iceland almost made it to the World Cup. So that year, I paid a little bit of attention.
Since I’m blurry on the details of European soccer (or, let’s face it, youth rec leagues despite years as a reluctant soccer mom) I’ll quote Wikipedia:
Iceland reached its first major tournament, UEFA Euro 2016, after a qualification campaign which included home and away wins over the Netherlands. After advancing to the knockout stages of Euro 2016, Iceland defeated England in the Round of 16, advancing to the quarter-finals, where they lost to host nation France 5–2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland_national_football_team
That doesn’t sound like much, but until about a decade earlier, it was impossible to play soccer year-round in Iceland because there were no indoor pitches. Playing against some of the best professional teams in the world, Iceland’s top soccer players all had day jobs.
It was just a coincidence that my husband and I were in Reykjavik on the day they team returned. We had no foreknowledge of the event and just happened to be walking around the neighborhood when it became apparent that something was going on. And that’s how I came to join in as all of Iceland came out to hail the conquering heroes.
Áfram Ísland!
