ICELANDIC TIMES - Land og saga
ICELANDIC TIMES - Land og saga
ICELANDIC TIMES - Land og saga
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Víkurprjón in Vík í Mýrdal is one<br />
of the oldest wool production<br />
companies in Iceland and now<br />
celebrates its 30th year of quality<br />
production. While travelling<br />
through the south of Iceland a<br />
stop at Víkurprjón‘s factory shop<br />
is an absolute must.<br />
Víkurprjón puts special emphasis<br />
on providing authentic products<br />
made entirely in Iceland. In fact if<br />
you have any doubts you can simply<br />
look over the factory floor from<br />
the second floor of the shop. There<br />
you can see the production process<br />
and the complex machinery used<br />
to process the wool –be it knitting,<br />
cleaning, steam pressing, cutting or<br />
sewing.<br />
The production is extremely varied<br />
but the largest part involves sewing<br />
all kinds of clothing from the<br />
Icelandic sheep wool. Víkurprjón<br />
uses traditional methods with the<br />
original colours and national patterns<br />
as well as designing and producing<br />
clothes. Víkurprjón‘s collection<br />
includes almost all types of clothing<br />
needed to keep you warm, or stylish<br />
for that matter, including socks, long<br />
underwear, tank tops, sweaters,<br />
blankets, jackets, mittens, scarves<br />
and caps.<br />
The Majestic Reynisdrangar backdrop the Víkurprjón Wool Factory.<br />
An example of Víkurprjón’s innovative<br />
designs to keep you warm.<br />
Víkurprjón‘s products are so popular<br />
that the factory can only supply<br />
its own factory shop, but since it<br />
is a factory shop Víkurprjón can<br />
offer very reasonable prices to its<br />
customers.<br />
Víkurprjón has also established<br />
an exciting design project named<br />
Víkprjónsdóttir where young<br />
designers present their unique<br />
wool designs. Among those is The<br />
Beardcap, which is based on a<br />
traditional cap which covers both<br />
the neck, but with an amusing twist.<br />
The Víkprjónsdóttir collection also<br />
includes the Sealpelt which is based<br />
on old Icelandic myths about seals<br />
and many other insightful variations<br />
of blankets and ponchos.<br />
Vík í Mýrdal is the southernmost<br />
village in Iceland, located on the<br />
main ring road around the island,<br />
around 180 km from Reykjavík. It<br />
is a place of astounding landscapes<br />
and majestic ocean views, making<br />
the Víkurprjón Factory an essential<br />
stop on your tour of Iceland.<br />
For more information and online<br />
store visit www.vikurprjon.is or<br />
www.vikprjonsdottir.is<br />
Víkurprjón‘s<br />
products are so<br />
popular that the<br />
factory can only<br />
supply its own<br />
factory shop, but<br />
since it is a factory<br />
shop Víkurprjón<br />
can offer very<br />
reasonable prices to<br />
its customers.<br />
-Víkurprjón in Vík í Mýrdal<br />
Iceland‘s Oldest Wool Factory<br />
Víkurprjón’s wool sweaters come<br />
in all shapes, sizes and colours.<br />
Mýrdalshreppur –<br />
From fertile hills to black beaches<br />
On the southernmost point of<br />
Iceland, you will find in the valley<br />
of Mýrdalur, between the sands<br />
and the hills, the charming village<br />
of Vík. This is the nearest inhabited<br />
area to the recently famous<br />
volcano Katla, which has actually<br />
not erupted since 1918. The people<br />
in Mýrdalur do not find the volcano<br />
to be an issue and have learned<br />
to live in peace with its existence.<br />
You will probably not find a more<br />
diverse landscape in the whole<br />
of Iceland than that around Vík,<br />
ranging from black, sandy beaches<br />
with steep cliffs, to fertile hills<br />
with various hiking routes and the<br />
glacier Mýrdalsjökull.<br />
The natural treasures<br />
Vík is only two hours from Reykjavík,<br />
the location being quite central in the<br />
South of Iceland. It is in a comfortable<br />
driving distance from most of the<br />
interesting sights in the region, from<br />
Vatnajökull glacier in the East to<br />
Gullfoss and Geysir in the West.<br />
This suitable distance, along with the<br />
fact that there is such a huge variety<br />
of natural treasures around, has<br />
resulted in tourism growing rapidly<br />
in Mýrdalur. The best proof of this is<br />
the large number of accommodation<br />
offered in the area compared to the<br />
population, ranging from low budget<br />
options like hostels and camping sites<br />
to higher budget hotels. It might be<br />
wise to book in advance if you wish<br />
to visit Vík during the summertime,<br />
especially if you seek something more<br />
comfortable than camping.<br />
It would probably fill more than a<br />
book to describe the natural treasures<br />
around Vík, so great is the number. It<br />
is enough to mention some of the most<br />
memorable scenes. First we have to<br />
name Reynisfjara, the vast black beach<br />
with the strong surf and columnar<br />
cliffs. The walk along the beach is<br />
quite an experience, but be very aware<br />
not to approach the surf too closely,<br />
it is stronger than you might expect.<br />
Dyrhólaey is the southernmost spit of<br />
Iceland and really picturesque with its<br />
gigantic black arch of lava standing in<br />
the sea. One can go on a sail around<br />
Dyrhólaey to observe the arch better.<br />
Þakgil and the area around it is really<br />
worth the visit, being located on the<br />
higlands above Vík. There is a camping<br />
place and various marked walking<br />
routes to see the mossgreen, hilly<br />
landscape. Finally one cannot avoid<br />
mentioning the glacier Mýrdalsjökull,<br />
but the volcano Katla is situated in the<br />
glacier. It is really popular for hiking<br />
tours as well as for snowmobiling.<br />
Living in peace with Katla for<br />
centuries<br />
The recent media coverage of the<br />
volcanic activity in Iceland has been a<br />
bit dramatic resulting in the common<br />
misjudgement that it is not safe to be in<br />
certain areas of Iceland these days. This<br />
could not be further from the truth.<br />
“People have been living near to Katla<br />
for centuries without any casualties<br />
or injuries to speak of,” says Sveinn<br />
Pálsson the director of the local council<br />
of Mýrdalur. “The contingency plan for<br />
the region is really forceful as we have<br />
been practicing it now for fourty years.<br />
If Katla would erupt it is not likely that it<br />
would flood over Vík, but if that would<br />
be the case we have safe spots in the<br />
village, to which everybody would go.<br />
So in the time of eruption the rescue<br />
teams would go from house to house to<br />
get everybody to a safe spot. We would<br />
have 2-3 hours until the flood which is<br />
much more than enough.”<br />
Many people have speculated about<br />
when Katla will erupt as the history<br />
seems to suggest that it happens<br />
most often after an eruption in<br />
Eyjafjallajökull. What has been<br />
forgotten in this discussion is that<br />
it seldom happens shortly after the<br />
Eyjafjallajökull eruption. It might even<br />
erupt after ten years or even later. Right<br />
now, the earthquake frequency under<br />
the glacier is none to speak of, but<br />
frequent eartquakes can usually suggest<br />
that an eruption might be ahead.<br />
“The volcano is carefully monitored, so<br />
Vík is only two hours from Reykjavík.<br />
From Fertile Hills to Black Beaches.<br />
we are prepared for everything here.<br />
I have often said jokingly that Florida<br />
in the USA is a popular place to visit,<br />
still, you have hurricanes there every<br />
year. Volcano eruptions might be a bit<br />
unfamiliar to most people in the world,<br />
but if it is monitored well like here in<br />
Iceland, there should not be anything<br />
dangerous about them, not more than<br />
just passing over a busy street, although<br />
the ash has certainly turned out to be a<br />
source of irritation for the flight traffic,”<br />
says Sveinn.<br />
Enough for a whole vacation<br />
There is a reason why nearly all<br />
accommodation is booked in advance<br />
in Vík during the summertime. Not<br />
only is this a convenient place to<br />
stop for a couple of nights if you wish<br />
to drive the circular road around<br />
Iceland; you could also spend all of<br />
your vacation there. You have almost<br />
everything there, riding tours, sailing,<br />
snow mobiling, hiking and various<br />
other activites. You have a nice little<br />
village, with all the services you need<br />
in a walking distance. You have natural<br />
treasures, which will probably fill the<br />
memory card on your camera. Last but<br />
not least, you have a famous volcano<br />
close by, which is of great geol<strong>og</strong>ical<br />
interest and a community, which has<br />
learned, from one generation to the<br />
next, that life surely goes on although<br />
nature can be both dramatic and<br />
influential.<br />
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