Any Icelanders??????

Subject: Any Icelanders??????
From: skarpi Iceland
Date: 11 Mar 99 - 06:54 PM

H‘ I have been on the mudcat for two year and I dont know anyone from Iceland. I know I am not the only one In Iceland that love tradional folk music. sl n go foil, skarpi Iceland.

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: catspaw49
Date: 11 Mar 99 - 11:58 PM

Sorry skarpi, but you may be alone at Mudcat. Go out and recruit a few with traditional interests. Like you, we'd love to have them. Til then, I bet that myself and some others would become part-time Icelanders as we'd like to hear more about the folk music of Iceland...songs, history,etc. You're gonna' have to help us out with the language.

Hey Mudcateers......interested?

catspaw

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: Australian Dubliner
Date: 12 Mar 99 - 05:30 AM

Hey Catspaw, Dont think you need worry about the language as they (Icelanders)obviously speak Irish, as in Slan go foil. Anyway have just found this website, its great. Slan is Beannacht.

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: catspaw49
Date: 12 Mar 99 - 06:02 AM

Yeah, but was that from folk interest or part of Icelandic language...that's why I thought this might be entertaining since I don't know doodly-squat about Iceland outside of volcanic activity.

catspaw

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: Sean MacRuaraidh
Date: 12 Mar 99 - 06:40 AM

Iceland is somewhere I would like to visit - it has a small population, interesting landscape features and was responsible for the creation of Bjork.

Is it true that music was banned until fairly recently on Iceland by the Danish(or was it the Norwegians)- must have made the winters very dull !

What are the best months to visit ?

Sean MacRuaraidh

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: Liam's Brother
Date: 12 Mar 99 - 01:28 PM

Hi!

I've been to Iceland between 50 and 60 times. Here are a few factoids in case you're interested.

If you would travel all over the World and visit a number of far-flung places, you could get an idea of what Iceland is like. First, find Ireland on the map, turn it on its side and it looks a bit like Iceland. The land mass is about the same size as Kentucky. Like Australia, the interior is virtually uninhabited. Virtually everyone lives near the coast or in a number of valleys not too far from the coast. The largest ice cap in Europe (and the 2nd largest in the World after Greenland), the Vatnajokull, is located in the Southeastern part of the country; about 12% of the land mass is under ice. Geyser is the only Icelandic word in the English language and the "Mother of all Geysers" is located in Southwestern Iceland. There are also volcanoes, pseudocraters, lavafields and not many trees (due to a variety of reasons).

The population is 260,000 with most people living in Reykjavik and its "bedroom communities" and there are varying estimates about the mixture of their ethnic makeup. 20% Celtic - 80% Norse is frequently mentioned and is as good a figure as any; the predominant blood type is the same as Ireland rather than mainland Scandinavia, so that should give you an idea. Culturally, the people are 100% Scandinavian. They speak "Old Viking" and the closest language is that spoken in the Faeroe Islands although the accent is quite different.

Traditional Icelandic song was often accompanied on the langspiel (a forerunner of the Appalachian dulcimer). There were many long ballads (including forerunners of the Child Ballads). The instrumental music is often played on the accordion today, at least to my experience.

Iceland is very interesting geologically, being the place where North America and Europe meet, being volcanic and also glacial. The modern food is excellent and the traditional food is sort of like Peace Corps cuisine. It is expensive. The tax on virtually everything is 24.5%! Late March, April, May, September, October and early November are the best times to go in terms of balancing cost with weather and availability of light.

Iceland is usually windy. Reykjavik is slightly warmer than New York in Winter and considerably cooler in Summer. Being oceanic in climate, there's just not as much of a temperature range as you are likely to find in many other places in the Temperate Zone. There is nothing on Earth like a sunny, still day in Iceland.

The fishing can be very good. Because of the generally cool temperatures, only members of the salmon-trout family are found there. I have had days of catching many, many brown trout only 8 - 13 inches in length and days of catching fewer, larger fish.

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: Banjer
Date: 13 Mar 99 - 08:08 AM

I just learned more about Iceland in the last 3 minutes than I ever knew about it in 50 years of learning things...Thanks for the tour...It was very interesting!

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: skarpi Iceland
Date: 13 Mar 99 - 09:04 AM

Hallo everyone,well Dan you know a lot about Iceland. Everything you said is true, but you cault also say about the landscape, most people witch visit us they say it is like we have landed on the moon.If you want come to Iceland, July is very good you got a day light 24 hours, you may have promblem with sleep, but yo can live with that.In Iceland you can get all kind of weather in 1 hour, so you better have all the type clothes in your baggage. We were under Danish command not Norway, And like Dan said we have celtic blood in our body.Well Dan said everything you need to know, the rest you see when you come to visit Iceland. One more thing, threre are only five people In Iceland who talk Irish.sl n go foil , dia guit.In Icelandic, bless .skarpi.

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: skarpi Iceland
Date: 13 Mar 99 - 09:09 AM

Ups!!!!!!!!!! sorry it should be dia duit not dia guit. skarpi.

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: Philippa
Date: 13 Mar 99 - 09:43 AM

But many of us actually say Dia dhuit, which sounds like guit. Icelandic is even harder to learn (I once made a feeble attempt). Who are the other Irish speakers in Iceland and do you meet together? Five's not bad considering the total population!

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: Ian Kirk (inactive)
Date: 13 Mar 99 - 09:45 AM

I'm glad you mentioned that. I was just about to put you right there skarpi - NOT!.

:-)

Ian

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: skarpi Iceland
Date: 13 Mar 99 - 12:54 PM

Hallo again, Philippa I do not know the other four that speak Irish but I am learnig Irish from a man from Galway witch live in Reykjavik. I have never been to Ireland, it is strange I seek for Irish songs and story and every time I hear something from Ireland In the tv or radio I listen.I have a dream .... sometime I will go to Ireland. About my writing in Irish Iam trying to write it right but not like we say the word,maybe that is wrong ? well I have to go, playing time. bless skarpi Iceland.

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: Philippa
Date: 27 Apr 99 - 07:40 AM

Can you give me any details of Icelandic versions of the Two Sisters ? Please include any information at the other thread, which you'll reach by clicking the blue title.

Subject: RE: Any Icelanders??????
From: Philippa
Date: 27 Apr 99 - 11:45 AM

Two sisters now the title should be blue. By the way, from within Mudcat, it isn't necessary to give the full URL code for another thread. After a couple of mistakes deleting the wrong bits,however, I've decided it's simpler to copy the full address. What happened above, apparently, is that I left out an angle bracket