WASHBURN FAMILY

Hello Sila, Nuna and Land
thank you so much for the book. it's great. i look forward to read it.
it's so much fun beeing in contact with you.

i'm working on a little picturebook about my time in mestersvig, but it's not quite ready yet. but when it is you will get a copy :0)

thank you so much
hugs
bjarki

snowing and snowing, a winter wonder land...

the last couple of days it has been snowing like madness here. the ski resort in blafjøll has opened. I only need my skis, which are in norway... :0( hehe

inflation in iceland has risen to 19% so everything has gotten really expensive here during the last year. the government has fallen and a new one is to be established, probably by the social democrats and the left-green movement. then we will see how they will manage...time will show.

yesterday there was a huge NATO conference i Reykjavik, and the demonstrators "attended" that too. i guess they don't have anything else to demonstrate about. they should go and do something usefull instead!

the nice icelandic cuisine and rotten stuff you can eat

http://www.icelandgourmetguide.com/index.html

the link is to a really nice web-page about the icelandic cuisine and all its good ingredients and recepies...

the last 2 days anna and i have been eating thorramatur, which is an old tradition in iceland. most of the food is prepared in the way of the viking ages, and some of it even smells as is was that old...;0) everything from rotten shark and sheep testicles to ryebread, hangikjøt, brennivin and bjor...

today i had to put all my clothes into the washing-machine due to the smell of something dead...

the current economical situation in Iceland???

As for the rest of Iceland there has been huge demonstrations in Reykjavik. most people are calm, though with a lot of noise, banging pots and pans...

During the last days some people have become more and more violent, throwing eggs, paint, human excrements and rocks at the police. no wonder the police strikes back with batons, pepper-spray and tear-gas.

Yesterday the demonstrators even tried to set the door to Althingid (Parliament) on fire.

no need to behave like kids!

the pictures are not mine. the first one is from www.mbl.is and the second one from Johann Ingi Sigtryggsson.

sunday trip to Esja

On sunday anna and i walked up to mount Esja in the most beautifull weather. everything was crisp and clear and one had a great view over Reykjavik. some places were a bit slippery but most of the way it was quite good walking. towards the sumit there came more and more snow.

we turned around just below the sumit, both because of the walking conditions and the steepness. yes, i know it's not that steep, but i i'm not that happy about hights...;0)

there are more pictures out o my picture page!

sitting at around 800 metres enjoying the view i started blowing so we headed back down to the car and drove back to reykjavik and dropped by the heitapottur. a really nice way to end your walking trip!

winter swimming

on Wednesday anna and i went to the thermal beach in Nautholsvik, just by Perlan. the water isn't thermal any more but holds between +2 and +4 degrees, depending on the current weather situation. the best thing is that when you have been in the cold water you can get into the largest out-door heitur pottur in iceland, this one holds around +40. very nice...

climbing mountains instead of school...

yeasterday the weather cleared up in iceland. cold and sunny weather made me go climbing a mountain instead of going to school. anna and one of her friends came with me. it was a really nice trip with a fantastic view over reykjavik and keflavik. after a quick lunch at annas house we went to school and stayed there until the evening when we went to the seltjarnarnes swimming pool to sit in the hot pot and then of to dinner at one of kennys friends. the dinner was absolutely superb and the company great. we had a bit of a hangover today, but it doesn't happen every day...
today it has been snowing a bit and hopefully the skiing in Blaafjøll will open soon, so i can skip school a bit more ;0)
i put out some more pictures on my web page

dining out and swimming in the sea...

Nautholsvik thermal beach and hot pot

Fish Market

Well i didn't swim in the sea, but anna did. at least for 4-5 strokes, while i was enjoying the warm water in the hot pot. it was really nice and lots of people.

last night we went to the fish market, which is a really nice fish restaurant in down town reykjavik. the food was excellent and plenty of it. it's really worth a try if you ever come to iceland. the only thing i had problmes with was eating with chop-sticks, especially the rice...;0)

back in school...

i got back to iceland. since then it has been raining, windy and cloudy. a strong contrast to the weather I left home in Norway. It doesn't matter that much as we have the heitapottur and I have to do some reading...
i started in school again, reading my articles and studying satelite pictures.
my cousin Kenny is here so we have been having some fun, trying out the loacl and not so local drinks downtown reykjavik...

now anna and one of her friends are trying to lure me into a swim in the cold and dark ocean, but i rather stay in the thermal pools and enjoy the nice, clear and hot water. i think i had to much of cold weather and cold water in Greenland...

christmas vaccation home in norway

After having spent 3 christmases abroad and without my family it was time to come home and celebrate christmas at our cottage in the mountains. the day after i arrived from iceland we drove up to the cottage, which is 2 hours drive from oslo. while we stayed in the mountains the temperature changed between -2 and -18 degrees celsius. we went cross country skiing many of the days, and it was great! my brother and his wife stayed with us until the 27 when the drove down to southern norway to stay with her family.

the rest of us came back to oslo on the 29th. i had to have my eyes looked atbut everything was ok. during my stay in the mountains i broke of some pieces of my tooth so i think i have to visist the dentist when i come back to iceland...

time flies and i don't have time for everything i planned, mayby next time...

i wish all of you a merry christmas and a happy new year and the best to come for 2009 and hope to see as many of you as posssible ;0)

pictures on the webpage!