First Day of Summer. Yes, that’s right, first day of summer, a major holiday in Iceland. I haven’t the slightest clue as to the details. Yesterday everyone was wishing each other a happy summer which, in mid April, sounds a bit weird. I asked an Icelander about this which I had know for many years. She didn’t know either. Maybe it has something to do with the light which is getting pretty close to 24 hours now, with long twilight after 10.30pm.

Yesterday Reykjavik had a major albeit unfortunate milestone in its history. About 2pm a fire broke out in a bar, the old downtown section, which quickly spread until it consumed approximately ¼ of the old section. Many of those buildings had been designated as historical and are irreplaceable. I heard that a barmaid caused it and ran across the street for a fire extinguisher during which time the fire spread rapidly. I was at work, and everyone was attuned to their radios and Internet with live video streaming. Police halted all incoming traffic but were afraid curiosity seekers would flood downtown anyway. Extremely sad, given that Reykjavik has so few buildings of historical value. Many are wooden with external facades of all things, corrugated metal. Over the years before modern insulation methods came to be, this was state-of-the-art stuff.

One other point I throw in here: I’ve noted often Iceland’s geothermal power which, as many have said, has spoiled the nation because it’s so inexpensive. It wasn’t until WW II that this natural potential had been tapped. Before that, here and there, and of all things, imported coal.

I saw a helicopter overhead early this morning, a þyrla. That's what I like about Icelandic, original words as opposed to wishy-washy copies.

Promises to be an exceptionally fine day, this first day of summer! I’ve been invited to a barbecue later on but will preface this by a drive out to Krysuvik to soak in the austere natural beauty there. Often when I used the adjective “exceptional” as applied to the weather that always means no wind.