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Today we went to the capital of Iceland. You would think that Reykjavik is the capital of Iceland. But we are in the capital of the hidden people. We had a tour here and saw the influence of the stories about elves, trolls and the hidden trolls on the people and the environment. For example, a one-way traffic was made because no one dares to take the risk of removing an elven stone. If you come to the house of, for example, an elf, then you may end up in trouble later. There are many stories that show that the elves really live. Probably in a different demension, but it was very interesting to hear from someone the stories that really believed in the existence of these beings. I found the relationship between theory (stories) and practice to be great!

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The ethics of respect for nature

Today we had a trip to Hafnarfjördur, the elves capital of Iceland. This very nice town, close to the sea, has the biggest population  of elves and trolls throughout Iceland.

We walked the city, coming across a variety of places in town where the magical creatures were seen. Sigurbjörg Karlsdottir lead us around, telling us all the stories behind the things and places we saw. The passion with which she told the stories was inspiring and strengthening my believe that a lot of people in Iceland use these stories and folklore to pay respect and live in harmony with the nature.

I believe this is the most important thing I've learned  throughout the week: it doesn't matter if all the stories and folklore are really true or not. It is a way of dealing with the most important thing Icelandic people have to deal with for thousands of years: nature.

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Today we visited the city of Hafnarfjörður, located 10 km south of Reykjavik. If it is the third municipality of Iceland by its population, and its main economic activities fishing and aluminum foundry, it is essentially the hidden worlds of Icelandic folklore _we received the “Map of the hidden worlds” of Erla Stefánsdottir, this Icelandic piano teacher known because she explained how human constructions could affect the relationship with huldufólk (shewas also a seer and guide for "elf-towers")_, we wanted to find in this area, area considered as a place for elves : the city is indeed built on a field of lava ('the Town in the Lava'), and thus considered as a place for elves:

Erla Stefánsdottir writes: "Hafnarfjörður has one of the richest elf and spirir populaitions among all the towns in Iceland. The lava is particularly alive with them, with more than 20 types of dwarfs, four types of gnomes and all manner of elfin beings. "

We also went to Hafnarfjörður for the possible elves’houses (near humans houses), before entering Hellisgerði magic park known because is inhabited by Huldufólk.

The idea is to feel nature, in other words, to contemplate every nook, every detail, every vibration behind which hide hidden spirits, present in oneself, and that one feels outside oneself. Erla Stefánsdottir writes on this subject: "The earth has an energy sphere around which is at the outflow of the earth and an artery for life-force. [...] If we are prepared to harmonize ourselves, a break from the fast pace of modern life, would be united with the earth and at the same time with all living and natural beings.” These spirits are, in a certain way, likely to be perceived by a "third eye", as our charming and truculent guide told us, which makes us leads to respect the Earth and its inhabitants, whoever they are.

Erla Stefánsdottir adds: "Such places could inspire people to treat the land with consideration, feel love towards nature and respect to mother earth".

To joke, we tell you that we learned that Icelandic men did not do more housework than elsewhere on Earth, it’s a pity for elves ... who appreciate clean homes! ^^

But it was, indeed a real pleasure of feeling nature and its fairyland… Green was perhaps greener than usual, but there is no doubt that world was more sensitive this morning.

It is important to let childhood re-emerge so that hidden people can quietly live in front of our eyes which invent the original, the surprise in the story, without trying to understand everything

…to confront what seems so strange, the heart of silent which gaze and wonder about humanity, its beauty but also its desolation.

So, believe in the existence of elves, would it not be so silent the silence of science to hear the noise of pauses, sighs, words of our guide? It was for us to feel the sensitive as the flaws of men, and to accommodate the strangeness in the heart of familiar. Which is the otherness itself.

In addition, we must be careful not to upset elves… because they can be particularly teasing, if you disturb their living space or grateful, if you help them, in your dreams.

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The elves as magical creatures were our companions today. On this wonderful day we entered hidden world to Hafnarfjördur. During the past few days once reminded of the importance of respecting nature, preserving its heritage and communicating it to the students.

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That morning we realized for one more time that most Icelanders firmly believe in the existence of elves and I found on internet that recent polls have shown that more than 55% of the nation subscribes to such a belief in one way or another. These statistics might, however, be influenced by the fact that denying the existence of elves is believed to bring about a lifetime of extremely bad luck.

Habitually described as big, stupid and greedy—but sometimes kind and wise—the trolls of day and night occupy an immense portion of Icelandic folklore. Like elves, trolls become enraged when one does them harm, but one can expect to be richly rewarded when helping a troll in need.

Hidden people are known to be extremely protective of their homes and will cause great harm to those who disturb them. In fact, countless episodes that reflect the fiercely territorial elfin nature have been thoroughly documented and building projects in Iceland are frequently altered to avoid causing damage to enchanted rocks and cliffs in which hidden people have made their home.

The most recent incident occurred in 2015 when a new road was to be laid through an enchanted spot in the lava. After many failed attempts, where heavy machinery had continually broken down for no apparent reason and numerous workers had suffered freak accidents, the construction company was forced to move the road so that it would bypass the elfin community completely.

Since the dawn of history, Icelanders have told fantastic tales of their strange encounters with the many peculiar supernatural beings with which they share the land. Icelandic folklore is riddled with countless tales of fantastic spirits that reflect the unique natural landscapes in which they reside. Probably, during the long dark winter nights of old, storytelling was the chief form of Icelandic entertainment, with each region fostering its very own bulk of tales and legends that were passed down from generation to generation throughout the centuries. The stories of antiquity are allegorical accounts that teach their audience to respect both the spirits of the land, and the natural environment.

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When we look at ourselves from the evolutionary point of view, we see not that only we are recent arrivals on earth, but that our emergence as a new species on the planet was originally an event of no particular importance to the entire scheme of things. This quote from today's self-study made me think a lot. We always put people first, but before man came into existence in the world, there was so much more. Can we see everything around us, or maybe there aredifferent dimensions? The stories that our guide told today made us think about this: other creations that live around us, but in a different dimension. There are countless stories that support this. Stories that you only tell to confidants: because you don't want to be portrayed like a madman.

Today's stories have made me realize that as adults, teachers, we need to be more open to the students' imagination to ensure that they don't speak less creatively. Creativity is a 21st century skill that we have to teach our students, it doesn't help if we always tell our students that something is not possible.

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Today around 0930 we took the bus from the city to Hafnarfjörður. We were met by an Icelandic lady who took us into the magical world of the Hidden People. Hafnarfjörður is known for believing in these Hidden People. A tour through the village taught us that under every stone and in every house there is influence of elves. What is remarkable to me is that all the people I talk to believe in this Icelandic culture as being true, although I wonder if this is genuine or purely as a marketing strategy. My own tour through the city of Reykjavik and the visit to the Roman Catholic cathedral I also found very fascinating. As a Catholic person, I felt a little at home here. So culture is personal and has everything to do with the feeling that you have something. Whether it is true from an Icelandic perspective or not, the Icelanders can also wonder about a culture such as that of the Catholic Church.

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Ulli...
in fairy country...

"This is the truth, believe it or not-that is up to you." The nice Icelandic fairy guide finished her tour with these words. All the stories she told our group in Hafnafjordur today made me think of the first woman from Iceland I met about 9 years ago within an Erasmus project with students. She had told me of all the Icelandic legendary creatures ...
Today I am here again to learn more. It is quite interesting that fairy stories in Ireland and Iceland are similar in some way.
My favourite story was the one about those in the house that borrow things from you. ..a great excuse for 😁😉...getting older and forgetting things...I don't know. But I really believe that those stories are great for teaching. And so I tried to remember some of the old stories from my grandma. Walking through the streets of R. in the afternoon looking at families enjoying the first day of summer that was quite easy because there were old nice ladies among them.
Storytelling and enjoying nature is a nice thing...even if we live in times of the internet.

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Today we visited Hafnarfjörður. Hafnarfjörður is the capitol town of the elves and hidden people. At the east of this town, you can find a big hill with a Icelandic flag. The king’s and queen’s elves live here in big palaces. We walked around the town and visited a park with a lot of stories. Our guide told us stories about the elves. They didn’t move rocks again because the elves or dwarfs live in it. We saw a very narrow road. It is still a one way road, because nobody is taking the risk to break the rock. She also told us about the trolls. When the trolls are to late back in their homes (After sunrise) they will get stuck in the Rocks. On the picture we see a troll. Facing to the right.

At the end somebody asked our guid: “ Do you believe?”. The women told us that she believe. But that is not the most important thing. Believe or not believe. In Iceland are the stories a part of the cultural herritage and the education of the kids. In this way the children learn to deal with each other in a decent way. In addition, it is good to understand that you must respect each other and nature. And maybe at some day........ the nature will not please you....... Maybe you can aks the elves and the hidden people why!

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Reflection Day 4

Stories are told for many reasons, and most have been around for centuries. Stories that have led mankind to explain the world around them, to give meaning or justify their own place in the world and the environment in which they live and families have lived. Stories that give us our roots, our heritage and culture.

Most stories make up the first lessons in life as we grow up. One could consider these stories childish or even folklore and therefore untrue. I’ve been on a little journey around Iceland and discovered that perhaps we should try to remain open minded and creative in all fantastic possibillities to preserve ones view of the world around us. We should not discard these stories just for being chilish, there is more than meets the eye.

After all, we all used to believe in these wonderous stories when we grew up! We saw the world through different eyes when we were young, we might be getting old to fast!

It’s not a question of truth or belief, it’s a question of sympathy for the magic we can’t just see or deny!

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Thursday

Today we visited the city of Hafnarfjörður. Our guide introduced us to the hidden worlds of Iceland. This was done while walking around the city to destinations that house or are segnificant to the hidden people. Our guide told us about the genesis of elves: God visited Adam and Eve. Eve hid some of her children from God because they were dirty and she was ashamed. God decided to make these children hidden.

We also learned that you can recognise a hidden person by looking at their nose. The bridge from the tip os the bose and down is very thin on hidden people.

Another interesting fact is that the different types of hidden people (elves, dwarfs etc) don’t see each other - they each live in their own dimension so to speak.

One of the stops during the tour was a lavapark, which is around 7500 years old. Many hidden people of all sorts live in this park. There id another type of hidden people as well; The Home-Alf. It lives in people’s homes, instead of in a rock. They like clean homes and sometimes they borrow things from people and return those things by putting them in a new place.

Four nights a year you can see the hidden people and get help from them if you need it: June 24’th (St. John’s Mass), Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and January 6’th - the last day of Christmas)

The stories of the hidden people are shared by word of mouth and are used to teach people to respect each other and nature. These stories are not considered sagas, but are still a type of folklore.

During thr tour we also passed by a house where a woman named Sigga used to live. She was a women’s rights advocate and amongst others she had the idea to establish a day-care centre for the children of working mothers. This idea became a reality in the year 1933. She was an active member of the labor movement, was one of the prime movers of establishing a women’s union in 1937 and worked for equal pay for women. She was elected the first member emeritus of the Women Workers’ Union.

Another interesting fact that I learned today is that on the days with too much pollution in the air, public transport (busses) are free of charge for all Icelandic citizens. This is a great initiative to urge people to use public transportation as well as remind people of the fact that their actions throughout the day have an effect on the environment.

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Today is the first day of summer in Iceland!! And we were lucky to be greeted by the sun! So after waiting for the bus a while longer than expected, we finally arrived to Hafnarfjördur, one of the richest elf and spirit populations among all towns in Iceland, where our storyteller Sibba was waiting for us. She looked quite magical herself, some kid asked her once if she was one of them. We were given a map and started the path of the hidden worlds. Big rocks close to houses in the neighborhood where elves and dwarfs live. Stories of how people could communicate and help these creatures and they would get some gifts or help back from them. One was particularly interesting to me: the woman who couldn’t be awaken by her husband because she was busy in her dreams helping giving birth to an elf creature. It makes sense to me to having occurred in a dream since I believe it can work as a dimension door to the unconsciousness and imaginative world inside us where the judging mind can’t take part to say whether it’s true or not.
There are also home elves, the ones that live in people’s houses. They help you find things that you have lost, and other times, in the contrary, they will borrow you stuff they need. As any flatmate would do.
So most people in this country believe in these creatures and the ones who don’t acknowledge just ask them to break some elves homes... most likely they won’t, just in case.