Richard Serra’s Afangar

Is this Lewis, Shetland, or Orkney? Nope: It’s the island of Videy, near Reykjavik. And these are not millennia-old monoliths but sculptures erected in 1990 by Richard Serra.

Called Afangar (“Standing Stones”), this is a site-specific installation of nine pairs of basalt columns ranging from nine to 13 feet tall.

Serra was asked to create a public work for Reykjavik but found inspiration in the wild and rugged terrain outside the city. Extracted from a nearby quarry, the stones are carefully positioned in an area of this small (.7 square mile) island, spread out to elicit wandering and viewing from different perspectives in a landscape that includes water, a working harbor, plentiful bird life, tiny beaches, a great expanse of sky, and windswept grass.

Uninhabited since 1943, this island had a population that peaked in 1930 with 138 residents.  With archaeological evidence of settlement dating to circa 900 A.D., Videy has witnessed many changes. Over the years it has housed a monastery, wool mill, printing press, dairy farm, and fish factory. In addition to Afangar, now visitors find one of Iceland’s oldest stone houses (now a café-museum), its second-oldest stone church, and an installation by Yoko Ono called Imagine Peace Tower, a circular monument from which a beam of light sometimes projects into the sky.

Travelers on September’s “Fire & Ice: Iceland Natura” program will visit the tiny, pristine island of Videy. Led by The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Pari Stave, an Icelandic art expert, visitors will discover Serra’s largest landscape project, meet local artists, and marvel at the aurora borealis.

Photo courtesy of 3scoreandmore

9 Reasons You Should Travel on Academic Arrangements Abroad’s Vikings Cruise this Spring

From May 23 to June 4, Academic Arrangements Abroad’s “In the Wake of the Vikings” cruise will explore the legacy of these great seafarers, on an upscale cultural voyage from Copenhagen to Reykjavik aboard the all-suite motor yacht, Sea Explorer. Here are nine reasons you should sign up for this unique trip.

Twelve hundred years ago, the Vikings crossed the North Sea to the British Isles, forever changing the culture of Scotland, England and beyond.

From May 23 to June 4, Academic Arrangements Abroad’s “In the Wake of the Vikings” cruise will explore the legacy of these great seafarers on an upscale cultural voyage from Copenhagen to Reykjavik aboard the all-suite motor yacht, Sea Explorer, formerly Corinthian II.

Here are nine reasons you should sign up for this unique trip:

1)    The museum that beer built.

In Copenhagen, you’ll visit the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek art museum, founded by Carl Jacobsen, brewing magnate of Carlsberg beer fame. It houses a rich collection of Mediterranean antiquities, French Impressionism and 19th-century Danish paintings.

2)    Reykjavik’s Blue Lagoon.

Immerse yourself in seawater heated by lava at this world-renowned geothermal spa.

3)    Elves!

Over half of Iceland’s population believes in elves—so fiercely they’ve even blocked a road-building project near Reykjavik out of fear that it would disturb the “hidden people” living among the volcanic rocks. And at the Blue Lagoon, local guides will, upon request, happily discuss “the role played by elves and why it’s so important to keep them happy.”

4)    Meet the Flintstones.

In the Shetland and Orkney islands, you’ll explore fascinating prehistoric settlements, including a 5,000-year-old circular tomb and a standing stone circle from the same period as Stonehenge.

5)    The world’s most unspoiled islands.

The Faroe Islands, a Norwegian archipelago lying halfway between Norway and Iceland, are the most unspoiled islands in the world according to National Geographic Traveler. While ashore, be sure to keep an eye out for puffins, native ponies, and other unusual wildlife.

6)    Amazing study leaders.

The professors and curators on this trip (many from Ivy League institutions) are experts on witchcraft, medieval art, Viking literature, and barbarians, among other topics.

7)    No single supplement.

Solo travelers, rejoice! The single supplement (normally $365) has been waived for this program.

8)    Edvard Grieg.

He’s Norway’s most famous composer—his “In the Hall of the Mountain King” melody is familiar from countless movie soundtracks and TV commercials. On this trip, you’ll hear an exclusive concert of his music on a visit to Troldhaugen, his countryside villa near Bergen.

9)    The Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo.

Kon-Tiki, the balsa raft built by explorer Thor Heyerdahl in 1947, proved that South America’s indigenous peoples could have helped settle the South Pacific. Thor and his five-man crew spent three months sailing 4,000 miles from Peru to Polynesia on this tiny, fragile craft.

About Us:

Academic Arrangements Abroad, a leader in cultural travel since 1977, designs and operates travel programs for sponsoring institutions that include the nation’s top museums and alumni associations. Sponsors for the Viking trip include the Metropolitan Museum of Art and America’s most exclusive universities. To find out more about the cruise, call us at 212-514-8921 or visit our website.