We follow the Icelandic tradition in giving the horses a good winter break after a season of riding tours during summer. By end of September/October we take the horse shoes off and release them into their huge winter field of approx. 30 hectares around the farm. There they will roam „free“ for about 3 months before we stable them again for riding. Icelandic Horses are highly social animals that prefer to live in a group. It also suits their strong grazing instinct very well, 

​When you run a small farm going on long holidays isn´t always an easy option since you always need to ask somebody to take care of the livestock. So we usually just take a weekend off to discover and explore new areas in Iceland, check out new accommodation and activities. Although it may only be 3 or 4 days it is just a great way to get out of the farm wellies, see something new, spoil yourself a bit or as they say in German: Have a „Tapetenwechsel“ which translates roughly into „chance of scenery“. 

​From July 27 to August 10. 2014 I celebrated my 50th birthday on a horseback tour in Iceland, riding from North to South - Across Iceland.  We were a group of six riders (including my 15 years old daughter), one driver, one chef and one dog. During some parts of the tour we were accompanied by local guides and partners and that really made the tour fantastic as well quite a good weather. We only got one day of rain, some cold days and some very warm days.  Each of us had 5-6 well trained horses at the age of 7-20 years. We mainly trained them during the winter season but 

Newsflash: “Tourist leaving Iceland heavily traumatized….”

Going to the swimming pool in Iceland is a true Icelandic National sport, we go there to exercise, to relax and to chat with friends and strangers in the hot tub. Icelanders start going to the pool from a very early age. There are baby swimming classes, swimming lessons in school are mandatory and even the smallest village or community has a pool where people meet. The British have their pub, the French their café, we have our local pools. With rising numbers in tourism and rising entrance fees in popular touristic “hot springs” like the Blue Lagoon, more and more tourists are looking with eager eyes into the option of visiting the public local pools. They are clean, lovely and cheap, most 

The beautiful Icelandic goat, also commonly known as the “settlement goat” is an ancient domestic breed believed to be of Norwegian origin. Most likely it arrived in Iceland with the first settlers from the Scandinavian countries over 1100 years ago. ​The Icelandic goat was on the verge of extinction during the late 19th century, but its population recovered recently mainly thanks to a few dedicated goat lovers such as Jóhanna Bergmann Þorvaldsdóttir, a devoted goat farmer in West Iceland.​

We are sometimes surprised by the comments of both Icelandic town people and foreign guests that they find country life a bit boring and unvaried. We could not disagree more! Granted, we do not have the choice of restaurants, movies, theaters, fitness clubs and other places where civilized people meet for recreation. But we sure have our own measures of excitement! 
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​Just the other day we had ​the pleasure of free

​When you drive the ring road these days you will meet a lot of horse trailers. Now in January the horse owners that live in the Reykjavík Capital area drive to the countryside to fetch their horses that have been outside and living “half wild” on large winter fields for a few months. The “horse villages” outside urban areas are now getting busy and especially on weekends and in the early evening hours you can see people riding out and training. 

By now you are most likely busy with preparing for the holidays. So are we! The house is decorated, outdoor Christmas lights are giving the little hamlets and farms a cozy shine during the long nights and inside we have baked, crafted and have been practicing Icelandic Christmas Carols full time!  Icelanders love to sing and in many towns and villages local choirs are giving Christmas Concerts – a wonderful way to find your way into the holiday spirit!

​It has been rather cold in Iceland! Usually the November is the time when Icelanders start to get ready for winter. We get a glimpse of the winter cold and some snow but usually we get some milder days in between as well. Sort of to give everybody a warning: Winter is approaching... get ready! But not this year. By middle of November we were hit with a Siberian type of winter spell – no forewarnings – temperatures dropped accompanied with lots of snow. Even Reykjavík was hit with an unusual early snowy and winter spell – right in time for the lightning of the Christmas decorations downtown. 

His 75th birthday
When you live abroad one of the hardest things is the big distance between your loved ones in your old home country and the loved ones in your new home country.
My dad turned 75 this year – a milestone of course and he made a great decision. Instead of „wasting“ money on a huge party with more food and drinks that would be healthy for him and his „comrades in arms“ he decided to take Mom to Iceland and circle the island with his „escape – daughter“ (me!) his son-in-law and his grandchildren. ​He used to be a history and geology teacher so Iceland was kind of a heaven for him anyway. And he came well prepared! He had read most of the Sagas, had read many guide books on geology and history and studied maps and we together had made a great plan suitable for all, the „knowledge-seeker“ (Dad), the Hiker (Mom) and the kids as well