Swiping Sausages...since 1932

Just for comparison's sake...

Distance from Perth to Akureyri is: 9402.5 Miles ( 15131.9 Kilometers / 8165.1 Nautical Miles ) Approximate flight duration time from Perth to Akureyri is 19 hrs, 31 mins

But my long-lost brother, sister and I shall be mere city blocks from each other at Christmas. Such a nice thought!
It's almost time for the Six White Boomers...oh wait, it is time!

Iceland has the "13 Jolasveinar", which translates to 13 Christmas Boys, or Yule Lads. My favourite is 'Sausage Swiper'. He's mischievous! Come to think of it, many of them are rather devious.

List of Yule Lads

The Yule lads are said to "come to town" during the last 13 nights before Christmas, each staying for two weeks before departing. Below are the 'official' thirteen Yule Lads in the order they arrive (and depart).

Names in English are based on Hallberg Hallmundsson's translation of the poem.

Icelandic Name	English translation	Description	Arrival	Departure
Stekkjastaur	Sheep-Cote Clod	Harasses sheep, but is impaired by his stiff peg-legs.	December 12	December 25
Giljagaur	Gully Gawk	Hides in gullies, waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the cowshed and steal milk.	December 13	December 26
Stúfur	Stubby	Abnormally short. Steals pans to eat the crust left on them.	December 14	December 27
Þvörusleikir	Spoon-Licker	Steals Þvörur (a type of a wooden spoon with a long handle - I. þvara) to lick. Is extremely thin due tomalnutrition.	December 15	December 28
Pottasleikir	Pot-Licker	Steals leftovers from pots.	December 16	December 29
Askasleikir	Bowl-Licker	Hides under beds waiting for someone to put down their 'askur' (a type of bowl with a lid used instead of dishes), which he then steals.	December 17	December 30
Hurðaskellir	Door-Slammer	Likes to slam doors, especially during the night.	December 18	December 31
Skyrgámur	Skyr-Gobbler	A Yule Lad with an affinity for skyr.	December 19	January 1
Bjúgnakrækir	Sausage-Swiper	Would hide in the rafters and snatch sausages that were being smoked.	December 20	January 2
Gluggagægir	Window-Peeper	A voyeur who would look through windows in search of things to steal.	December 21	January 3
Gáttaþefur	Door-Sniffer	Has an abnormally large nose and an acute sense of smell which he uses to locate laufabrauð.	December 22	January 4
Ketkrókur	Meat-Hook	Uses a hook to steal meat.	December 23	January 5
Kertasníkir	Candle-Stealer	Follows children in order to steal their candles (which in those days was made of tallow and thus edible).	December 24	January 6

Beautiful home-made lopi.

This is Aron. He is the time-keeper for the club. His mom, Ollie, is basically a one-woman dynamo, who keeps the club running. In her spare time, she managed to make him this trendy pink-lopi. Apparently, it only took two weeks of knitting. I'm thinking of donating my referee fees for the duration of my time here, in exchange for a blue one!

World's Shortest Career in Radio:

Today I came into the dressing room and tried to put Plus 98.7 on to listen to while getting changed into hockey gear. I couldn't get it, but that was not a huge surprise; our stereo is pretty rickety. Then, Runar came in and told me Plus 98.7 had quit broadcasting! Now, when you listen, there's just a repeated message asking any listeners whether they wish to buy some used radio equipment! Insane! I was actually the last human voice on it, last night.

When the station manager left, he took the Nintendo Wii with him, so maybe he knew. But at the same time, he'd just installed a green screen to do tv adverts, which would have been a laborious process. So I don't know if he knew the plug was about to be pulled. Regardless, my two shows will have been my only shows. I am glad I ended last night with the words "Goda nott, Akureyri". Indeed.

Demolition Man.

This is the demolition crew at a pair of apartments we are gutting.

Lars, from Denmark.

Lars enjoys working for ten minutes, followed by a 30-minute coffee break. I don't mind, as it allows me to sweep up the pieces of broken tile and start fresh. Plus, we're down to one chisel and one pair of safety glasses, so we pretty much have to share.

Altogether, we make one solid construction worker.

and me. I'm a slow & steady wins the race type of guy.

Museum of boxes.

A box inside a box, inside a box.

Knitting outside.

Siglufjordur.

Is my new favourite 'secret' place in Iceland.

It's on the Northern-most tip. Siglufjordur residents would say 'let's go south to Akureyri'. Not many people would utter such a sentence.

Anyhow, Siglufjordur reminds me of Jasper, but on the edge of the ocean. The salt wafts over everything, but, to borrow a phrase from Paris, time feels soft there.

This is at the edge of Iceland.

We went to a newly-constructed pool in a village called Hofsos. It's a pretty great pool, overlooking the ocean.

We also went to the weird old man's Christmas lodge, where it's Christmas 365 days of the year.

Further photographic images.

This horsey is looking into your soul. Do you feel it? I do.












This is a beautiful map. Now, I own it. It's my favourite souvenir.

This is a whale I ate.

He was tasty, especially in peppercorn sauce.

This is a nice horsey.

Lauren eating breakfast. Oddly enough, everything is green here.

An Icelandic gas station.

You pay with a credit card.