INLUS Blog Posts

The Icelandic National League of the United States is pleased to introduce our members and friends to new cultural activities related to Iceland and Icelanders. A new event to the United States this year is the Harpa International Music Academy USA (HIMA USA). Founded by world-renowned violinist and Oberlin Conservatory professor Sibbi Bernhardsson, HIMA USA…

Our June 2022 INLUS Connect newsletter is now available!  Meet our newest Board members, find out about upcoming INLUS and local events, and get a recap of the most recent webinars.  Be sure to tell us about Icelandic and Nordic events going on near you – send to us via email: info@inlus.org June 8 INLUS Webinar “Hello and…

“Hello and greetings from Iceland…” With his signature greeting at the beginning of his video reports, Gylfi Gylfason starts another installment of his unique explorations on the latest turn of events with the volcanic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula, just west of Reykjavik. Gylfi is the developer of the YouTube channel, “Just Icelandic,” which he…

Upcoming INLUS Author’s Corner: Men of Terror |  About one thousand years ago, a man named Fraði died in Sweden. His kinsmen raised a granite runestone to his memory in Denmark. The inscription tells us that Fraði was the “first among all Vikings” and that he was a “terror of men.” What did Fraði do…

UPDATE: Join us on May 2nd, 2022 for a INLUS Author’s Corner with Eric. The time is 5pm PDT/6pm MDT/7pm CDT/8pm EDT/2400 GMT.  See the INLUS Events Calendar for details. Check out INLUS Business Member Eric Newman’s (Iceland With Kids) latest book 100 Tips for Visiting Iceland.| If you’re planning to visit Iceland, the amount…

Join us for another interesting INLUS Author’s Corner presentation on Monday, March 14. | David Freese’s photographic odyssey started with a Trilogy of North American Waters which is comprised of the books West Coast: Bering to Baja, 2012, East Coast: Arctic to Tropic, 2016, and Mississippi River: Headwaters and Heartland to Delta and Gulf, 2020. The…

Join us for another interesting INLUS Webinar presentation on Monday, February 28. | From National Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day in January to National Chocolate Candy Day at the end of December, there are more than 50 “chocolate days” during the year.   Sales of chocolate for Valentine’s Day and Easter are only outdone by Halloween and Christmas. …

Submitted by INLUS Business Member Hey Iceland | We all know how the global pandemic has impacted international travel. We have had to change or postpone travel plans, focus on exploring our own countries and reevaluate travel in general. In the Summer of 2021 we were pleasantly surprised by the number of travelers who visited…

Join us for another interesting Webinar presentation on Tuesday, February 8th. | Lögberg-Heimskringla – A Mirror of Icelandic Life in North America | “We like to think of Lögberg-Heimskringla as the ‘newspaper of record’ for the Icelandic community in North America,” says its editor Stefan Jonasson. “One of the oldest ethnic newspapers on the continent, it has served…

Need a break from the everyday routine?  Ready to make some new friends? The INLUS is pleased to bring back our popular Kaffi Timi online video discussion time.  Kaffi Timi provides a time to chat for an hour about anything and everything. Friday, January 21, 2022 will mark its return at 3:00 PM Eastern/ 2:00…

| By Aimee O’Connell | December 23 is a national holiday in Iceland: Thorláksmessa, the Feast of Saint Thorlák Thorhallsson, the sixth bishop of Skálholt and Iceland’s patron saint who died on this date in 1193.  With its proximity to Christmas, the holiday is usually the day when preparation finally turns to celebration, with friends…

INLUS Webinar When:  Monday, November 29, 2021 Time:    11:00 AM Eastern/10:00 AM Central/9:00 AM Mountain/8:00 AM Pacific Program link may be found on the INLUS Events Calendar. Many Western Icelanders have heard of the Snorri Programs, but perhaps are unaware there are actually four separate programs, three for North Americans and one for Icelanders.  All…

We are honored to have Bergdís Ellertsdóttir update us on her role and responsibilities as Iceland’s Ambassador to the United States. Much has changed since Ambassador Ellertsdóttir talked with us in June 2020.  The Ambassador will discuss a wide range of topics and activities she has been involved with, including the impact of the pandemic,…

Have you ever thought of packing up and moving to Iceland?  What are the challenges, what are the delightful surprises?  Jewells Chambers, the person behind All Things Iceland on social media, will share her perspectives with us on Wednesday, October 20th, 2021.  She will be interviewed by Erin Johnson, another recent transplant to Iceland.  This…

There are some people in this world that instantly become your friend.  Brent Scharbor (Skarðaborg) was one of those people.  We recently received word that he has passed away from COVID-19 in Texas. Brent was very proud of his Icelandic lineage that wove through the Orkney Islands to England and Scotland.  Like the Vikings of…

Join us on September 1st. Please join us on September 1 for another INLUS Author’s Corner presentation with Nancy Marie Brown on her new book The Real Valkyrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women, which will be available on August 31st, published by St. Martin’s Press! In 2017, DNA tests revealed to the collective shock…

By Aimee O’Connell  | Most of us are familiar with Thorláksmessa, the Feast of Saint Thorlák, which Icelanders mark on December 23 as both a salute to the Patron Saint of Iceland and a joyful day of preparation for the Christmas holidays.  But few are aware that there is a corresponding Feast of Saint Thorlák…

Join us on Wednesday, July 7th for a discussion about making mead with Chef Brent Skarðaborg. Mead is called the Nectar of the Gods.  Neither beer nor wine, mead is in its own category of alcoholic drink.  The Chinese may have been making mead as early as 7000 BCE!  It has been a favorite drink worldwide…

Happy June 17th!  Today we celebrate Iceland’s National Day and the second birthday of the Icelandic National League of the United States! (INLUS) Take a look at our just-released INLUS newsletter here: Newsletters – Icelandic National League (inlus.org).  In this issue, you can find out why we celebrate Iceland’s National Day on June 17th and meet…

U.S. – Iceland Graduate Student Fellowship Grants – Through support from the Leifur Eiriksson Foundation Are you, or someone you know, an American citizen planning to do graduate studies or research in Iceland or an Icelandic citizen planning to do graduate studies or research in the US?  You will want to tune into this INLUS…

INLUS will host an introduction to the Icelandic horse on Thursday, May 6 at 8:00 PM Eastern/7:00 Central/6:00 Mountain/5:00 Pacific.  See the INLUS Featured Events Calendar for the webinar link and more details. When Vikings settled Iceland in the late 800s, they brought only the best of their herds. The Icelandic horse descends from these…

There is a lot going on in the INLUS! Reminders April 9 (Fri.), 3:00 PM Eastern/2:00 Central/1:00 Mountain/Noon Pacific:  Kaffi Timi.  This is an open one-hour time to chat with others from across North America.  Details may be found at Kaffi Tími 2021 – Icelandic National League (inlus.org).  These meetings occur every 2 weeks. April…

Please join us in later in March and April for two new webinars. First, on March 21st we will speak with Jonathan Wood, Polar Law student at the University of Akureyri.  He will talk about what brought him to Iceland, the Polar Law program, his work with the Arctic indigenous communities and the challenges they are…

Now scheduled for April 14 – When we think of Icelandic Heritage, many of us whose descendants came to North America generations ago think about the traditions.  But what about those things such as books, diaries, letters, and other documents that came with the immigrants that provided reading enjoyment, or were written by them that documents…

** PLEASE SHARE WITH OTHERS ** We welcome everyone to join us for our next webinar this Sunday evening (31 Jan) at 6 pm PST / 7 pm MST /8 pm CST / 9 pm EST / 2 am GMT – when we are pleased to present Lauren Fields sharing insights about fisheries management in…

Response to the INLUS Webinar yesterday was overwhelming and viewer demand exceeded the capacity of our Zoom account! We appreciate the worldwide interest and apologize to those who could not view the event at the scheduled time. We will host our next webinar later this month on January 31st. See the INLUS Events Calendar for…

Visiting Iceland in 2021?! The Covid-19 vaccines are giving us hope that we will be able to gather and travel in 2021.  Iceland is reviewing and revising their requirements and protocols for safely visiting Iceland.  Join us on Sunday, January 17th and learn the latest travel news!  Jóhannes Thór Skúlason, Managing Director of the Icelandic…

Gleðilegt nýtt ár! As we prepare to turn the page to a new year, the INLUS wishes you a Happy New Year.  We are looking forward to a year of continuing growth and offerings of interesting and valuable information. We will begin the year with two of our popular webinars. On January 17th we will speak…

The Snorri Foundation in Reykjavik has released details for 2021 Snorri Programs.  Pála Hallgrímsdóttir, the new Project Manager for these programs, distributed the attached flyer announcing plans for 2021. (subject to changing Pandemic regulations, of course) Keep in mind that the INLUS provides scholarships to USA-based Snorri participants!  More information can be found on our…

Please join us on Sunday, November 15th at 9PM Eastern (8PM Central; 7PM Mountain; 6PM Pacific) for another INLUS Author’s Corner, a periodic webinar with authors of Iceland related books. The event will feature authors Amy Hendrickson and Eric Newman and a discussion of their books, Lara of the North and Lundi the Lost Puffin.…

Please join us on Thursday, November 5th at 8PM Eastern (7PM Central; 6PM Mountain; 5PM Pacific) for another INLUS Author’a Corner, a periodic webinar with authors of Iceland related books. The event will feature authors Sverrir Sigurdsson and his wife Veronica Li and a discussion of their 2020 memoir, Viking Voyager: An Icelandic Memoir. The…

Webinar: October 22, 2020, 4:00 PM EDT/3:00 PM CDT/2:00 PM MDT/1:00 PM PDT Daniel Willard Fiske was a young man when he ventured to Iceland in 1850.  He was so enamored by the country, the people, and their books, that he began his own collection, focusing on Iceland, anything relating to the Viking Forays, and…

The pandemic has forced the cancellation of many summer and fall festivals.  The Leif Eriksson International Festival (LEIF) took this time as an opportunity to reimagine the festival.  Rather than an in-person series of music and religious services in Minneapolis, the LEIF Committee asked, “what if”.  The result is a shorter festival, but much richer…

Join us on 24 September for another INLUS Webinar. (Time: 5:00 PM Eastern, 4:00 PM Central, 3:00 PM Mountain, 2:00 PM Pacific, 9:00 PM GMT) Do your photos of food look as good as those in the magazines?  I know mine don’t!  Join INLUS member Rhonda Adkins, professional food photographer and chef, as she shares her secrets for great…

By Dianne O’Konski | Have you heard of the Slow TV phenomenon?  I recently read an article about it and decided to explore a bit further.  It started in 2009 (wow, am I behind the times) in Norway, but it really started to take off a few years ago and has gained more popularity with…

Please join us on Tuesday, September 1st at 4PM Eastern (3PM Central; 2PM Mountain; 1PM Pacific) for another INLUS Author’s Corner, a periodic webinar with authors of Iceland related books. Our September event will feature author Solveig Eggerz and a discussion of her 2019 novel, Sigga of Reykjavík. Sigga of Reykjavík presents a compelling story…

  Hekla Publishing will be releasing a new retirement & aging book – On with the Butter! Spread More Living onto Everyday Life by Heidi Herman on August 14th. This new book is filled with encouragement and ideas to add more vitality and activity into your everyday life and has a strong Icelandic connection. She…

By Eric Newman | A New Children’s Book about Iceland After a visit to Iceland a few years ago, I found myself telling everyone this story. “Did you know that children on the Westman Islands rescue thousands of baby puffins every year?” It’s probably my favorite Iceland story. So I wrote a children’s book about…

By David Johnson | Striving to ensure that liberty and justice for all is deeply woven throughout our society’s entire fabric is a struggle that continues today.   In the U.S., many examples of courage and resilience are found in those who were enslaved.   And still there are stories of pain and suffering down to…

Over the past few months, the INLUS has opened its online meeting room twice a week to chat.  Offered as a respite to stay-at-home guidelines, our Kaffi Timi discussions have covered a wide range of topics, from the virus and the weather to cooking and dreams of travel.  People from all parts of the U.S.…

Robert Frost once said, “Freedom lies in being bold.”   After years of effort and struggle, the Icelandic people boldly achieved full independence from Denmark 76 years ago on June 17, 1944.   What a celebration that was and what strides the free country of Iceland has made since then. June 17, 2020 also marks the 1st…

Many of us have had our 2020 travel plans impacted by the worldwide Covid-19 Pandemic, with plans for Iceland travel either cancelled and deferred. One of the most frequent questions we hear is, “when will we be able to visit Iceland?” INLUS wants to help! Building upon our webinar this week with Jóhannes Þór Skúlason,…

Do you want to visit Iceland? Are you confused by Covid-19 travel restrictions? Are you concerned about the future of Icelandair or air travel to Iceland? INLUS wants to help! We are excited to welcome Jóhannes Þór Skúlason, Managing Director of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association (SAF), for an online discussion of the latest travel…

An important mission area of INLUS is to help connect our members with Icelandic culture. One way we do that is to help increase awareness of Icelandic film and TV productions. The 39th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival is going online this year, beginning May 15. About 40 countries are represented this year, with…

Kaffi Timi Extended Schedule Over the past few weeks, numerous INLUS members and friends have joined in on our Tuesday and Friday Kaffi Timi online (Zoom) chats. For many, COVID-19 restrictions will continue into May and possible beyond, so we have decided to extend our weekly chat schedule into June. Come join us, take a…

Do you speak Icelandic? Is it important to you that Icelandic be kept alive in North America? How is it connected to your feeling of “Icelandic-ness”? Principle investigator Prof. Kirsten Wolf and her associate Laura Moquin from the University of Wisconsin-Madison are leading a research study about language attitudes and identity in Icelandic heritage communities…

An important mission area of INLUS is to help connect our members with Icelandic culture. One way we do that is to help increase awareness of Icelandic film and TV productions. A couple of Icelandic films have recently become available for viewing in the U.S. The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) was scheduled for May…

By Dianne O’Konski | Are you going stir crazy yet? I am not a big Facebook fan, but it has gotten more interesting lately. The posts and reposts give us a sliver of people’s state of mind. A relative posted this today from gramma funnies: “The truth is that it’s not so boring at home.…

As I’ve heard many times in the last week, these are challenging times. New information is coming out daily and it is so easy to get swept up in it. We need to be smart and prudent about our activities. As such, the Icelandic National League of North America (INLNA) has made a decision to…

By Eric Newman | Our new travel guide book: Iceland With Kids It’s March of 2009. I’m on crutches with a broken hip, and my wife is pregnant with our 4th child. Oh, and all of us (me, my wife, and 3 kids) are on vacation in Iceland. Our taxi driver helped the kids build…

by Dianne O’Konski | Thorri (Þorri), the fourth month of winter on the Icelandic calendar begins on Jan. 24th – the first Friday after January 19th! Scholars believe that the name of the month “Thorri” is either taken from the Norwegian king Thorri Snærsson or from Thor, the God of Thunder (my bet is on…

  Deadline for reservations is Feb. 1, 2020 Please share with your club members, friends and family! Space on these trips is limited to a maximum of 20 passengers. The INLUS is pleased to announce that Nordic Trails is offering two tours to the Land of Fire and Ice this summer that are sure to…

Today is the last day to apply for the 2020 Snorri cultural exchange program in Iceland. Snorri Plus applications will be accepted until January 31st. Don’t miss out on this opportunity. Please forward to interested friends and family. More information can be obtained at our friends at the Snorri Foundation in Iceland. Visit www.Snorri.is

By Heidi Herman-Kerr | In the far mountains of Iceland, way up in the north, there is a place that no one dares go. There are no roads, just paths worn from the feet of sheep and a few other creatures. There are steep cliffs and rocky parts, all filled with caves and hidden places.…

By Heidi Herman-Kerr | Anyone familiar with Icelandic holiday mythology has probably heard of Jolasveinar-the Icelandic Yule Lads. One folklorist and crafter brings us new stories unique to each of these mischievous fellows. This story is shared from an original post on Tales of Yngiwulf. Thorulfr finds the first Yule Lad in the barn with…

Join us Monday, November 25th as we welcome two INLUS Founding Members, each has authored of books about Iceland’s Yule Lads. With the Christmas holidays just around the corner, Gay Strandemo and Heidi Herman will share with us insights and holiday traditions of mischief and gift-giving surrounding the Icelandic Yule Lads. The webinar will be…

INLUS is proud to support The Snorri Programs. Please help us get the word out about the 2020 Snorri Program offerings! The first deadline is November 29, 2019 for the Snorri Alumni Internship. Become a 2020 Snorri – have the Adventure of a Lifetime! Strengthening the bonds between people of Icelandic descent in North America…

The INLUS is hosting an informational webinar you don’t want to miss! Join us Tuesday, November 19th at 1PM Eastern (Noon Central, 11AM Mountain and 10AM Pacific) for the INLUS inaugural webinar! Free and Open to All To kick off the series, we will be joined by the founders of the Iceland Writers Retreat, Iceland’s…

By Amy Henrickson | When I think about my first visit to Iceland, I remember riding a stocky Icelandic horse along a meandering fjord framed by mountains in Akureyri. I also recall spending a sunny but chilly morning in Isafjordur at an outdoor café eating delicious cake and drinking coffee while watching a lively, happy…

-Dalarna Farms, Beresford, South Dakota “What sort of sheep are those?” “Are those goats?” “Why aren’t your sheep very sheep-y?” Dalarna Farms in Beresford, South Dakota is home to a variety of common and a few uncommon animals. They have Icelandic Sheep on their farm and allowed us to share their story. We have them…

A magical tour based in Iceland’s wild west where you spend an entire week frustrating the locals, hiding from the crowds of hideous tourists, hiking through impossibly beautiful places, eating candy, and learning amazing stuff from outstanding Icelandic individuals! June 13 – 22, 2020 TOUR Krummi Travel presents “Krummi Travel’s WILD WEST!” an 8 night /9 day adventure…

Almost five centuries before Christopher Columbus discovered America, Leifur Eiríksson and his group of travelers explored North America. Those with Scandinavian/Viking heritage celebrate Leifur Eiríksson Day/Leif Erikson Day each year. In Icelandic, his name is spelled Leifur Eiríksson. He is called, “The son of Iceland, grandson of Norway, and the discoverer of North America.” His…

By Heidi Herman-Kerr | When you hear the word “Icelanders,” what comes to mind? The Vikings, longboats, long beards, and glaciers, right? The names, besides being tough to pronounce, typically end with -son or -dottir. Icelandic surnames are different from most other naming systems in the modern Western world by being patronymic or occasionally matronymic:…

By Heidi Herman-Kerr | The Icelandic horse has always been an important part in the Icelandic life and culture. They were brought by the Vikings and were well-suited for the rough and rocky terrain. Since they were used travel, transportation as well as other tasks, Icelanders used to call them Þarfasti Þjónninn, the “most useful…

By Heidi Herman-Kerr | Iceland’s history is filled with folklore stories of trolls and hidden people, but also legends of magic, ghosts, and mysterious happenings. Once such story comes from North Iceland, although its exact origin and author are unknown. In this story, a ghost speaks to a girl named Guðrún, but calls her Garún.…

By Heidi Herman-Kerr | Where are you from? It’s a common enough question. It’s asked a thousand times a day, usually as an icebreaker between strangers. In the United States, the typical answer is a state or metropolitan region. “I’m from Minnesota” or “I live in Los Angeles.” In casual conversation, seldom are you asked,…

By Heidi Herman-Kerr | Midsummer marks the summer solstice, traditionally celebrated in Nordic with large festivals. These countries – Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and the associated territories of Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the Åland Islands – endure winters marked by as much as twenty hours of darkness, it’s easy to see why they…

By Heidi Herman-Kerr | June 17th is National Day in Iceland. It is celebrated with parades, bands, and music, marking an important day to the Icelandic people world-wide, commemorating the day Iceland in 1944 when the Republic of Iceland was founded, bringing back complete Icelandic independence for the first time since 1262. Today, we continue…