Hægt eins og búrhveli
líðum við gegnum sortann
sem er hvítur
hér á heiðinni
Hann er fastheldinn á sitt
og gefur aðeins eftir
eina stiku í einu
Örskamma stund leiftra þær
í vegarkantinum
eins og eldspýtur
litlu stúlkunnar í ævintýrinu
og lýsa okkur
þar til við komum aftur
upp í vök
að blása
By Gerður Kristný
From Höggstaður, published 2007.
Slow as sperm whales
we glide through the gloom
which is white
here on the heath
It holds fast to its own
conceding only
one post at a time
For an instant they flash
on the side of the road
like the little girl’s matches
in the fairytale
lighting us
until we return
to the hole in the ice
to breathe
Translated by Victoria Cribb.
The Northern Lights season is soon upon us - the first tour of the season is 26 August.
Source
What are the northern lights?
The northern lights or aurora borealis are caused by solar storms and cosmic rays from the sun which interact with the oxygen atoms in the upper atmosphere. The cosmic rays are steered to the northern and southern poles by the Earth‘s magnetic fields. This results in a spectacular lights show in the northern and southern hemispheres.
Colours of the northern lights
Green is the most common colour, but red, yellow, orange, purple and blue are regularly seen. The colour of the lights depends on the concentration of oxygen atoms in the upper atmosphere.
Green: Green is the most common colour of the aurora borealis. It is due to the fairly high concentration of oxygen atoms in the atmosphere and the eyes‘ ability to perceive the green light.
Red: The top of the northern lights curtains sometimes appear to be red. This is due to the low concentration of oxygen atoms and the low capability of the eyes to perceive light at this wavelength. It is only possible to see the red colour when the lights are very active.
Source
Yellow, orange and pink: Pink or yellow lights can sometimes be seen when the activity is high. The colours appear as a mix of green and red or green and blue. Occasionally, the northern lights seem orange in colour, but yellow-green is the most common of these colours.
Blue: Blue colour is usually at the bottom of the curtains. Oxygen atoms are less common there and ionised molecular nitrogen produces light instead. When solar activity is at its highest, you can see the blue and purple emissions at the lower edges.
When can you see the northern lights?
When the sky is dark and clear.
Source
Folklore
Iceland is known for its midnight sun in the summer and darkness in the winter. On the shortest day of the year, 21 December, Icelanders only get about four hours of daylight.
Before electricity people had to endure the pitch black darkness, from which many legends and fables spun. The light was considered good, and it was important not to disrupt the equilibrium of nature. It was believed, for example, that pointing at the stars would result in a ship sinking or someone close to you to die.
Apart from enjoying the northern lights, people predicted the weather by deciphering their movement and activity. Some believed that if the lights were almost still in the sky, they foretold calm weather and clear skies. However, if they danced a lot, a storm was coming.
Others did believe that it was dangerous to watch them too much and that people would go insane by doing so. Some believed that if pregnant women looked at them, their unborn child would become cross-eyed.
Not everyone agreed on their folklore with some believing if the lights had red in them it foretold bad news, especially a volcanic eruption or war. However, others believed that red northern lights meant great news were coming or that it was going to snow.
We had a wonderful start to the day as we received this package in the mail. Rachel and Jody from Another Escape visited us earlier this year and this is what came out of their trip! A beautiful piece about Iceland and our little salt adventure here. We are so happy and honored that people find us interesting enough to come and visit.
You never know how long summer lasts here in Iceland, so we are enjoying as much of the sun as possible!
And in our (not so humble) opinion summer just got a lot better! Now, not only do you get to enjoy Norður Salt for first and second course... you can also get it for dessert!
We really love the new Lúxus Caramel Icecream from Kjöris - with Norður Salt!
