Day tours in Iceland, Akureyri and Reykjavik

Today we were visited by group of five women from Air Iceland. They were from the group and sales department and wanted to learn more about the service FAB travel provide within the HAF program. This was the first group of two but the second will visit us tomorrow.

  With the arrival of the New Year, we are commencing a new package direction for clients seeking to cleanse away the rich excesses of Christmas and start thinking about the coming spring and summer. From January 8th, we will be initiating a series of trials involving local businesses and will be seeking to promote health and wellbeing packages across all age-groups. The primary emphasis is on health, of course, but they will also be enjoyable and fun. The trials will sort out the most popular activities, and also refine various commercial aspects of the packages so that changes, if required, can be made prior to product marketing.    

We wish you all a Merry Christmas, and hope that the New Year brings exciting opportunities and events...maybe even a trip to Iceland !! Many thanks to all our business associates and customers in 2010, and we hope to see you all again in 2011 !

The final Yule Lad arrives today. He is Candle-Beggar, and is regularly to be seen trailing children around in order to try and steal their candles. It is worth noting, however, that modern-day wax candles would not satisfy Candle-Beggar's craving...he much prefers the old-fashioned smokey, sputtering candles made of tallow...because you can eat them !

This fella is Meat-Hook, and he tries to procure various cuts, joints and steaks etc. without being discovered...hence the meat-hook, of course. The hook is usually on the end of a long pole so that it can either be poked through a window or wheedled down a chimney (as illustrated on the left) in order to whisk away the goods !

This character is Door-Sniffer who, as you can see, is gifted with an abnormally large nose with which to sniff around doors (usually kitchen doors !) looking for tasty treats ! His favourite is "laufabraud" (leaf-bread), which is a thin and crispy wafer bread, usually deep fried in oil or fat. It is traditional to decorate the laufabraud with stencilled patterns before the frying takes place. There's usually a competition to make the best one ! Door-Sniffer has no interest in making them, he only likes to eat them !

Now, here's somebody who's on the lookout for any sort of food or vittals left lying around. This is Window-Peeper, and you can occasionally see his hat and the rims of his heavy glasses poking up above the sill of your kitchen window, as he gazes longingly inwards at the various pots and pans, all hubbling and bubbling with tasty foodstuffs in the making.

The Sausage-Swiper is today's villain...he hides in the rafters of the kitchen, and steals the sausages being smoked over the fire whenever he gets the chance ! Of course, it must be a little difficult having to endure the smoke for all that length of time, but Sausage-Swiper is a Yule Lad on a mission, and he will not be easily deterred from securing his quarry ! This super-heavyweight sausage on the left, is about to be consumed with a lip-smacking relish borne of long winter nights and an endless wait for Christmas. 

Last summer, an Italian family came to Iceland for the second year in a row. The year earlier, they had come to Reykjavik by cruise-ship, and enjoyed a FABTravel tour round the many sights of The Golden Circle. Indeed, so impressed were they with the FAB service, that they decided to return to Iceland the following year, and visit some of the splendid northern sights, too. Of course, they knew that FAB would be able to help them in that regard, so they made a point of contacting us before their arrival in Iceland, so that we could first organise an itinerary for them, then create a rewarding and unforgettable personally guided tour throughout both the north and south of the country. This is an example of the type of service that we like to offer at FAB. We never forget that we deal personally with people and, although it might be our business, it's their holiday and their memories. The Italian family haven't forgotten either their Icelandic holidays or FABTravel...and we recently received Christmas Greetings (complete with an Italian Santa ) from them ! Arrivederci !

Well...it was only a matter of time before the Yule Lads turned their attention to their stomachs, once more !! Enter Skyr-Gobbler stage left, his mission in life being to misappropriate skyr whenever he can. Now, for the uninitiated, skyr is a dairy product from Iceland and physically similar to strained yogurt, although technically it is actually a very soft cheese...but not cheesey...if you know what I mean. Anyway, it is very healthy and ultra-low fat, and is now available in a selection of yogurt-style flavours. Skyr-Gobbler says that he is partial to the Vanilla one, although Strawberry is his favourite.