The winter in Iceland

1. The winter in Iceland By: Lucía Félix, Ikram Amraoui and Cristina Jiménez

2. Geography and Cities Most of territory consist of plateaus in some mountain peaks, waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes, geysers and rugged coastline with bays and fjords. The most important volcano in Iceland is Hekla. There are lots of big rivers. The most important river is Pjórsá and the most famous lake is Mývant. The capital of Iceland is Reykjavik. Other important cites are Akureyri, Akranes and Álftanes.

3. Everyday Life I wake up at dawn. As it is very cold, I light a fire in the fireplace and I wear my fur coat. Then, I go to the sofa and get a blanket to warm myself and I drink a steaming cup of hot chocolate. I go to the small market of my neighbourhood. I buy some fish, vegetables and meat. It has snowed a lot and I removed the snow from my front door. In the afternoon, I go home and I do various activities. Then, I eat dinner and go to sleep.

4. Clothing I wear thermal tights, mountain pants, a wool jumper, an undershirt, warm socks, boots, a coat and a hat. Food Most of the dishes you eat at this time are composed of fish. They are for example: Hákarl (shark) or Gravlax (salmon on a bread)

5. What non- clothing items would you purchase to get ready for this winter? A thermo flask to keep coffee hot, chocolate to have enough energy and an electric blanket to keep warm. What emergency/safety items do you have on hand to be ready for this winter? We should have some tablets for the cough and headache, a thermomether and cream for hidrating the skin.

6. Where do I live? I live in Reykjavik, Iceland, outside the city. My home is a small red hut furnished with wooden furniture, carpet flooring and a large fireplace.

7. What's the weather like? The weatherin Iceland is a Nordic Weather, with very cold and dark winters. The temperatures are below zero degrees, usually seven or eight degrees below zero. What sports do you do? Winter sports in Iceland are practised on ice or snow. Ski, snowboard, crosscountry ski, biathlon, skate, bobsleigh, curling or ice hockey are some of these sports.

8. What do you do in your free time? What popular winter activities do you enjoy doing? Some of the famous activities in winter are the glacier walking and the snowmobile tours with the aurora borealis background. We can also practise rafting and canoing in the rivers

9. What do you hear/see/smell/taste/feel? We see beautiful landscapes, all covered with snow and in some parts, we can find the magical aurora borealis, typical of Iceland. We feel the cold wind, the ice and the snow. Also, we feel the peace and serenity by living outside the city. We hear the sound of birds, the wind, the rain, crickets singing at night and some cars passing through the city. We smell the humid of puddles and the snow, the chestnuts that our neighbours are cooking and the wood that is burning in the fireplace. We taste some chesnuts, hot chocolate and a roast lamp that we cooked.

10. What animals live in your area? The most popular animals of Iceland are the arctic fox, sheep, reindeer and mink. They are adapted to this cold weather. Warm-blooded animals consume food to produce heat and keep their body warm.

11. What can you see when you look through your window? I see everything covered with snow, frost in the window, water freezing and some mountains background. There is a very beautiful landscape.

12. - THORRABÓT: It’s celebated in February. It’s a winter celebration of the Viking tradition. People sing folk songs and eat traditional food. FESTIVAL OF THE WINTER LIGHTS It’s celebrated at the end of February. It tries to light not oly the dark winter nights, but also the souls of the Icelanders. Celebrations,Festivals and Traditions