Study Iceland's "Hidden People" at Elf School
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Some Icelanders take their belief in elves very seriously.
For example, road crews in Iceland occasionally hire folklore experts to determine if certain boulders are home to elves. If little people are thought to live in the rocks, crews divert the road around the rock.
This belief in elves doesn't stop with road workers and superstitious locals. The majority of Icelanders believe in the existence of elves. When a member of the Icelandic Parliament escaped a car accident unscathed, he had a 30-ton boulder from the crash site moved to his home—because he believed that elves inside the boulder used their magic to save him.
Iceland is the only country in the world with a school dedicated to learning about these hidden people. Located in the thoroughly modern city of Reykjavik, Álfaskólinn—aka Elf School—has a full curriculum of study about the 13 types of elves in the country. Classes delve briefly into fairies, trolls, dwarves and gnomes, but the main focus is on elves—the most popular of Iceland's supernatural fauna.
The school also offers five-hour classes for curious travelers, which include a tour of hidden folk habitats and end with coffee and pancakes with the school's headmaster. Students receive a diploma at the end of the class certifying their newfound expertise in the realm of elves.
Unusual schools:
Photo bybyemilybean
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