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The first day of classes started. Each participant had previously received a document «  Hidden in the open space » on the intangible cultural heritage of Iceland, explaining the essential points of the training. One might ask, why Iceland? This country, with its lunar landscapes, glaciers, volcanoes, and lava deserts, has a landscape propitious to myths and legends. This island has a rich intangible heritage in relation with nature to preserve. At the sight of its vast rich and varied spaces, the Vikings and other peoples have over time, inventing unreal creatures such as elfs, giants and trolls 🧟‍♀️. It is under the sun, that this morning we had the joy of meeting to meet all our partners of stage. Rita explained to us our schedule, we exchanged on the courses of the first session, which talk about tangible what is intangible cultural heritage, the difference with tangible/intangible/natural, legacy of Iceland. For support, we visited the Museum saga which explains the history of Icelandic civilization.

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Today, because I love food, I was very happy to eat Icelandic recipes in a typical restaurant, food which gives an impression of wellness, and security. I really appreciated this moment of share in our plates, which evokes at the same time comfort, simplicity and peace. If, "I am what I eat, what I eat transforms me", as the French sociologist Claude Fischelerwrites, it is indeed that eating conveys a double obviousness. First of all, food choices are between individual desire and cultural immersion. But also, and above it, there is a visceral link between vital needs (always dependent on the geophysical and climatic environment) and what evokes a beyond, always in link with the first socialization of a human baby. In other words, eat Icelandic food is eating the way of life of Icelandicnation, at the crossroads between contingency and what is most intimate for a people.

This first meal (a social and cultural ritual introducing a form of continuity between peoples), has therefore committed me corporally to human diversity, participating in unification and cohesion of our group.

I also enjoyed immersing in History of this “land of fire and ice”, through the historical reconstruction of the Saga Museum, which allowed me to glimpse the foundation of the "parliament" of this society, organized around a desire for equity, in break with the surrounding kingdoms.

In addition, I have better understood how the preservation of pre-Christian cultures could have been possible, despite religious clashes. This testifies to a deep sense of the invisible, of what escapes, which inevitably refers to nature that is, of this land, harsh, beautiful and dangerous.

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I had a lot of fun going to the Saga Museum, retracing the history of the Icelandic people. And what was my surprise to learn that the discovery of Iceland is attributed to Pytheas, a Greek navigator from Marseille (around 320 BC) !! Land in the north of England which he named Thule.

Thanks to a tolerance allowing a mixture between the ancestral pagan traditions coming from the Viking era (IXthcentury) and Christianity (which pre-existed since since the High Middle Ages, is noted the presence on this land of the North of Irish monks called papar ), the culture of Iceland seems to me particularly connected with the “invisible”, whichis, what no science can explain, but that is necessary for the human community. Believe in the presence of invisible elves, it is also celebrate the beyond the tangible, the factual, accounting for this all human need to "believe, transmit and receive". As the name of the museum indicates, humanity builds on a story made of sagas, or what is told about it. Always a fiction (since the evocation is never the truth), but a necessary fiction.

In conclusion, there is the fragility of the intangible cultural heritage but also its necessity as a factor of sharing in a dialogue, encouraging respect for the lifestyles of others, or from abroad.

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After a long wait, today was finally the first day of the course. This morning I first met the other students and Rita explained what we are going to do this week. The course is about culture. The culture falls into three aspects: tangible, intangible and natural.
The Icelandic culture is characterized by the existence of mythical creatures. This is from the time that Iceland was colonized by Scandinavian peoples. After Ingolfur Arnarson discovered the country and made his first branch here, he settled in Rookbaai. This is the name for the current Reykjavik. Christianity also spread from Scandinavia. The most interesting aspect of their history is the mix of Christianity with Icelandic culture. This means that in addition to Christianity, a good portion of the population also adheres to pagan culture. Trolls, elves and giants are part of this.
For me personally, what I find very interesting is that the relative isolation of mainland Europe has created a culture of its own that differs greatly from Europe

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Day 1 of our course
What a morning...a great walk through sunny Reykjavik after breakfast made a perfect start to the day. Then I met all the participants of the course... great people.
We had a look at the theory of heritage...and went to the SAGA museum which made me feel heritage while walking through Iceland's past with an audio guide. Here I could see close links to some things of my country's history.

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First day of the course
It started with a nice sunny day and meeting the new partners at Aurora Guesthouse, as well as our organizer Rita. She explained the differences between intangible and tangible culture, both crucial for communities to have their own identity and also a sense of belonging for individuals. It is really interesting when you start knowing other cultures you start appreciating more your own too.
I was quite surprised to know that a high amount of Icelandic people believe in the magical creatures such as elves, trolls... and the explanation of people living far away from each other and having to feel safe by something beyond themselves, starts to make sense.
We went to a local restaurant for lunch where food was so delicious I almost cry of happiness. The workers were very attentive and it was a good chance to talk with the other participants of the course.
In the afternoon we went to Saga museum, which is run by a family and everything was created by them. We learnt about history in this isolated island: many Irish were brought by force, then about religion, people’s lives, even ways of punishment. After the visit we traveled in time and got dressed as Vikings, the kids inside us were having a great time.

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DIMITRIS 1st day of Hidden in the Open Space

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DIMITRIS 1st day of Hidden in the Open Space

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The first meeting with all participants was warm and comfortable. People with same ideas and same worries about nature and ecological protections.

After few clear lines about tangible, intangible and nature heritages we were talking about myth and legends of Iceland.

The lunch was very nice in cosy family restaurant with a smiley owner. During the launch to speak each other and getting know better.

The Saga museum was our final destination. There, the whole history of Iceland nation was being explained to us and we understood why myth and legends are so important and a part of heritage to the country.

People always want to believe that is a supernatural help for all their obstacles.

After that we tried to get dressed like Vikings. Sorry Thorn, Odin and Loki. It was a mistake.

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Reflection 1  Day1 in Rejkjavik

Introduction to cultural heritage

Visit to the Saga museum

As we ventured into the exhibition, dark and gloomy. A guided tour into the cultural background and origins of mankind first arriving on Iceland, we immediately came across the legend of the first settlers, either guided to shore by dark ravens or pure solitary cold cravings. I could identify with the first man to name the land and then leave the island as soon as he had the chance due to its weather conditions and extreme solitude.

But we ventured further into the dark history. Its beauty and fascination lies in its simplicity. Hard to imagine the hardship of starting a new life on the cold and barren rock of a place, deserted from friends and family: but the other side is its wide open space, its pure beauty in landscape and shores. This magical land has something special, extremes must be accepted as a part of daily life. Those who did stay and settled on this land must have been enchanted by this magical place.

This land is unforgiving, but filled with unseen magic. The way life has set foot on land here has always been in allegiance with respect for natures forces, its beauty and extremes.

Seemingly this land has driven people to madness and also great powers and wise decisions.

This land is the last gateway to the other worlds beyond the grasp of our eyes, this is the land of hidden spaces and great voyages.

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Monday April 22 was our first day of the Teacher Course in Iceland. We discussed about several examples of cultural heritage. This course is about cultural heritage in Iceland. People go all over the world en meet other´s. Now we are together with a group of teachers all around Europe. The moment we met we immediately start learning from each other’s roots.
Iceland is an island in the Northern Atlantic. It arised around 200 million years ago because of vulcanic activity. The first people who discovered came around the 9th century. It was a independent area. That made it attractive for people, mostly for Scandinavian countries to flee tyrannic kings in their homelands. Icelandic people are mostly proud of the founding of their parliament, called the Alþingi. It was a collection of more þings together. The þing Speaker had to learn all laws, decided in the þings by heart. He travelled around the country to spread laws. The Icelandic Alþingi is considered the oldest parliament in the world. Along the time past, christian monks tried to convert Iceland. The Alþingi’s chairman Thorgeir Thorkelsson decided over night that Icelandic people had to believe in christianity in public, but the people were allowed to keep their Ásatrú (=old Germanic belief). In the 16th century Catholic belief was changed to Lutheran belief, although in Iceland there is still a 5% catholic population.
In Icelandic culture there is a clear mixture of belief in christianity combined with belief in mythical creatures, such as elfs and trolls. Icelanders may not always admit it but they definitely do so. This kind of folklore is well known around the world. It might be kind of strange but even in your own culture you will have aspects which seem to be strange to other’s  but does that mean you think it is strange or awkward too?

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Monday

The visit to The Saga Museum in Reykjavik made clear a number of factors that are important when looking at cultural heritage in a present optic.

1. Historical events have an impact on present culture. We are a product of our history. And even decisions made by one or few persons at one point in time can help shape a community many years onwards. E.g. the official conversion to Christianity on Iceland and how þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði singlehandedly made the decision for Iceland to officially be Christian, but at the same time allow the Heathen belief system to exist unofficially.

2. A close connection between nature and humans promote respect and understanding of all the natural elements vital to mankind. This is especially interesting in the optic of climate change seen all over the world at present time.

3. The importance of developing human~skills in schools, instead of only focusing on skills that can be measured and analyzed with numbers. An investment should be made into developing the students´ creativity and 21st century skills. Together with Bildung and the ability to use one´s imagination, solutions to the challenges the world and mankind will face in the near future may be found by the young generations of today.

In general it was great to start the course with a definition of the sub-terms of Cultural Heritage: Tangible, intangible and natural. The inportance of intangible cultural heritage where knowledge is passed down through generations is especially fragile, since it is vastly dependent on people making an effort to keep the knowledge alive. The intangible cultural heritage is especially important because it is closely connected to a community’s identity, which inevitably will change over time.

At the end of the day the one thing that stood out the most to me, was the comparison between Iceland and my homecountry (Denmark). It seems that on Iceland there is a greater respect and the population has achieved in keeping a closer connection to nature and the environment than what is the case in Denmark. I cannot help but think that this somehow plays a factor in the willingness to actively try to make a possitive change in one´s daily life for the good of the environment and ultimately oneself.

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Today was the first day of the course ‘’ Hidden in open space ‘’. After we met each other in the guestroom of the Aurora Guesthouse, Rita gave us an introduction about cultural heritage in general and some specific stories about the believers in Iceland.

After lunch we visited the Saga (as shown on the picture) museum. I learned about the beginning of living on Iceland. 17 different events, told in a saga’s, explained the development of the residents on Iceland.

Especially the conversation with Rita afterwards gave me good thoughts about the relationship between cultural heritage and the nature of Iceland (and Holland as well). It’s important to give a value to things, for example in nature, to understand the thoughts of people. It’s not important to prove the things some people believe, but it’s all about to understand their way of thinking and feeling. When things have a certain amount of value for a person it doesn’t matter the way he treat it.

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Jean-Paul from the Great Kingdom of the Netherlands

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Jean-Paul from the Great Kingdom of the Netherlands

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“To know nothing of what happened before you, is to forever remain a child.”
Today was the introduction of the course. After meeting all of the course participants we talked about heritage and the value of it for understanding historic beliefs and getting to know the cultural values of the people of a nation.

After that we went out for a really good lunch at a fish restaurant in the old harbor of Reykjavik. I really got the chance to mingle in with the other participants from all the other countries and get to know each other better.

Then the highlight of the day: The Sagamuseum. We learned about the origins of Iceland and its people. It was very nice to learn that the people of Iceland still have very strong beliefs in the Sagas because for them it is almost a religion. They like to believe the supernatural helps them in a way of dealing with Iceland and her harsh climate and weather. In that way they respect the nature because they need the nature to be kind for them as well, in a way.

After the visit, dressing up like Vikings and some overthinking , lead by our inspiring course leader Rita, we said goodbye for the day.

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Heritage is our legacy of the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on the future generations.
Today we have learned about cultural heritage in its various forms: tangible culture, intangible culture and natural heritage. Iceland is the perfect location to discover this. The stories about elves, trolls, gnomes, dwarfs and giants have inspired me. Why do people believe in these special creatures? The stories Rita told about the large physical distance between families and the rough life and inexplicable events have given me a different perspective on the credibility of these creatures.

During lunch I tried different Icelandic cultural dishes such as typical fried fish skin, mustard sauce and fish salads. This was a special experience, different from what I'm used to at home. It was interesting to discuss the differences and similarities.

We spent the afternoon in the Saga museum. With the help of the audio guide I went into the time of the discovery of Iceland and the cultural changes since then. It must have been a difficult time to live in. The best part was after the museum visit where you had the opportunity to dress like a Viking. I suddenly felt very rough and strong!