Move over, Egypt.
Iceland has a sphinx, too.
The Sphinx of Randarhóll
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Monthly Archives: March 2019
Alpine Gentians in North Iceland
Here’s one of the pretty little ones that will bright your summer day in Iceland.
Alpine Gentian (Gentiana nivalis), Dettifoss
The Elves of the Borg
The stone radiates energy that humans recognize in elvish shape.
And, unsurprisingly, these communities have continued for 1,000 years.
Icelandic Teens
In Ísafjörður, I chanced on this Icelandic teacher taking his students out for a bit of grass-raking time.
Young Icelanders are a clever bunch, there’s no arguing that.
The Beaten Path
Did you wonder where it was? It’s in þingvellir. 
If you don’t walk it, it will disappear. That would be like letting the ancient romanesque cathedrals of Europe fall into ruins and be carted away as bricks. That’s what you’re looking at, so get on out there!
Copse, Volcano and Troll, Head to Head
Birch copse, with path.
Shield volcano, with path.
Skogarkot
Both are heads. Literally. The word remains in English as a cob, known in cobblestones (each has a round head) or a cape, which is also a headland, and that’s the Icelandic word: hæð, or head, or height. Remember that for the culture that settled this magical place, these really were heads. And so they remain.
Troll, Just Hatched, at Dimmu Borgir
Watch Your Head!
The Arctic Tern, Sterna Paradisaea, more lovingly known by its piercing cry, Skría, makes any visit to North Iceland a treat in the summer.
They go right for your scalp, screaming. The trick is not to duck but to hold a stick above your head, the Icelander’s say, which is fine and beautiful advice …
… in a land without trees. I think this is why rams have horns. Just a guess.
The Fun of Fooling Yourself in Iceland
Sure, you can sneak up on a waterfall, but it can also sneak up on you.
Hey, it’s just as much fun as picking up cigarette butts in Reykjavik, eh.
Or fooling yourself into thinking you are sneaking up on a troll.
Or lying in wait for the sun, trying to look like a block of ice. Loads of fun, that.
And just try to sneak up on an Icelandic horse.
Wild!
All together now!
At Home In North Iceland
Iceland was settled by people of the North Atlantic. If you got there early, you got one of the choicest spots. Here on the Skagaströnd in the far north, that is abundantly clear. 
Even the sheep, grazing at the foot of an old elf fortress, know as much.
And a good place for landing the longboat, too.
An Icelandic Family Idyll
Mom.
Hvitserkur
The kids.
The ogre family treasure.
Family is important.
A Farm in Iceland 