The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 2

Editorial | Haukur S. Magnússon

Track Of The
THIS IS IMPORTANT Issue

Sara Riel was an obvious first choice and, thanks to Sara and her fellow Reykjavík street
we're not gonna lie, we were super thrilled artists over the past years. Their efforts are
and humbled when she agreed to do it. We important, and we are thankful.
got even more excited when she proposed to
use a piece she had made for the band múm's As downtown Reykjavík keeps turning more
new single. "That's great," we thought. "múm and more towards blatant commercialism
are great and we can interview them and also and salesmanship—puffin shop by Viking bar
feature them this issue!" we thought. "DOU- by luxury hotel by tour provider, all clamour-
BLE-TROUBLE," we thought. ing for your attention, all desperate to cash
in on TOURISM FRENZY, all trying to lure you
We then set about finding a suitable wall. We in so you can be properly harvested—as our
found a few ones we thought would make a scenery and surroundings get increasingly
nice fit, and wondered for a while whether covered in advertisements and attempts to
we should get a permit or, like, ask the wall's sell you goods and/or services, as competi-
owners if they were down with our plan. Ul- tion for our attention increases and our mind-
timately we decided: "Our feature story is, space becomes more and more besieged by
among other things, about the legitimacy and unwanted intrusion (“COME HERE! BUY THIS Múm – “Tooth wheels”
legality of street art. A lot of the works we dis- THAT OR THE OTHER!”), street art becomes
cuss weren't done with the blessings of the increasingly significant and important—es- Download NOW at www.grapevine.is
City of Reykjavík or property owners. Most of pecially when it is of the unsolicited kind. Do-
the advertising we are exposed to while walk- ing stuff just for the fuck of it is important. We are all about Múm this issue. Not
ing down our city's fine streets doesn't ask Decorating, making your mark on the envi- only is their next album’s cover our
our permission before invading our eyes and ronment, making your voice heard regardless super-crazy-fucking-amazing cover art
headspace. In the spirit of street art, of oppo- of your lack of capital, despite your not own- (we are patting ourselves on the back!),
sition and of radicalism in general, we'll just ing walls, despite your not having anything to we have a fantastic interview with the
go for it and see what happens." sell—that is important. band written by their original singer
Ólöf Arnalds and THIS. A free track for
We then got started. Sara rented one of those Here’s to Sara Riel and all the others making you from said album!!! And it certainly
crazy basket lifter car things and got a bunch their mark on Reykjavík’s walls, delivering is a good one, full of skitters, thumping
of paint and a few volunteer helpers together their thoughts, ideas, arguments and mes- bass, mournful cello and Mr. Silla’s rich
Here’s the story behind our cover: We some- and set out creating the cover for Reykjavík sages in an aesthetically pleasing manner, voice all to make a dark, down-tempo
how got to thinking: "For a feature story about Grapevine issue 11, 2013. The thing was a enriching their environment and asking for dance tune. Download this jam and
street art in Reykjavík, wouldn't it be cool to full two days in the making (let no one tell nothing in return (often running the risk of groove it out while you floss your teeth
make some street art, in Reykjavík, to put on you that street artists are a bunch of lazy do- arrest or fines in the process!). While we’re in the car! Get it? Toothwheels!!! (PRO-
our cover? Like, get some smart, talented, nothings—that’s some hard work!). As soon at it, here’s to all the writers, photographers, TIP: Do not floss and drive.)
wonderful artist to paint a mural of the entire as Sara Riel painted the final stroke at a little illustrators, designers and enthusiasts who
cover—headlines and all—on a wall some- past one AM this Wednesday, she went home fill our pages with their thoughts, ideas, argu-
where and then just stick a photo of that on to take a brief nap before heading on a hike ments and messages.
our front page?" across Iceland's highlands (let no one tell
you that street artists are a bunch of lazy do- Here’s to free expression, expression that’s
(We later remembered that this is pretty nothings!). unconstrained by capital and free of the mar-
much what the lovely Philadelphian Kurt Vile ket’s demands.
did for the cover of his latest record, 'Wakin Meanwhile, we keep going over there and just
On A Pretty Daze' (it's great - go get it from gawking and admiring that work of art Sara
wherever you get your music from) with the made. It's gorgeous, and it is a reminder of all
help of street artist Steve Powers. We are in- the beauty, fun, wonder, humour and awe we
spired by Kurt and Steve—thank you guys!). have been privileged enough to experience

Contributing Writers: Art Director Founders:

Vera Illugadóttir Hörður Kristbjörnsson / hordur@dodlur.is Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson,
Paul Fontaine Hörður Kristbjörnsson,
Patrcia Þormar Design: Jón Trausti Sigurðarson,
Davíð Roach Gunnarsson Guðmundur Úlfarsson / giu@grapevine.is Oddur Óskar Kjartansson,
Marvin Lee Dupree Anton Kaldal / anton@antonkaldal.com Valur Gunnarsson
Haukur Hilmarsson Hrefna Sigurðardóttir / hrefna@dodlur.is
Hafnarstræti 15, 101 Reykjavík Óli Dóri The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 18 times a year by Fröken ltd.
www.grapevine.is Árni Finnsson Photographer: Monthly from November through April, and fortnightly from May til
grapevine@grapevine.is Lawrence Millman Alísa Kalyanova / www. alisakalyanova.com October. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in
Published by Fröken ehf. Ragnar Egilsson part without the written permission of the publishers. The Reykjavík
www.froken.is Sveinn Birkir Björnsson Sales Director: Grapevine is distributed around Reykjavík, Akureyri, Egilsstaðir,
Member of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association Kirsten O'Brien Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / adalsteinn@grapevine.is Seyðisfjörður, Borgarnes, Keflavík, Ísafjörður and at key locations
www.saf.is Kári Tulinius Helgi Þór Harðarson / helgi@grapevine.is along road #1, and all major tourist attractions and tourist information
Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 25.000 copies. Vala Þóroddsdóttir centres in the country.
Carol Devine Distribution manager: You may not like it, but at least it's not sponsored (no articles in
Editor In Chief: distribution@grapevine.is the Reykjavík Grapevine are pay-for articles. The opinions expressed
Haukur S Magnússon / haukur@grapevine.is Journalist & Listings editor: are the writers’ own, not the advertisers’).
Rebecca Louder / rebecca@grapevine.is Proofreader:
Editor: Jim Rice
Anna Andersen / anna@grapevine.is Journalist:
On the cover:
Ingibjörg Rósa Björnsdóttir / ingibjorg@grapevine.is Listings:
Editorial: listings@grapevine.is Photo by Magnús Andersen
+354 540 3600 / editor@grapevine.is Editorial Interns: www.magnusandersen.com
Shea Sweeney / shea@grapevine.is Submissions inquiries:
Advertising: Tómas Gabríel Benjamin / gabriel@grapevine.is editor@grapevine.is Mural by Sara Riel
+354 540 3605 / ads@grapevine.is Parker Yamasaki / parker@grapevine.is www.sarariel.com
+354 40 3610 Adrienne Blaine / adrienne@grapevine.is Subscription inquiries: Assisted by Gústi et. al.
Alex Ardri / alex@grapevine.is +354 540 3605 / subscribe@grapevine.is
Publisher: Kaisu Nevasalmi / kaisu@grapevine.is
Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson / hilmar@grapevine.is General inquiries: Special thanks to the RVK street art
+354 540 3601 / publisher@grapevine.is grapevine@grapevine.is community, Kurt Vile, Steve Powers, the
band múm and especially Sara Riel!

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ICELANDIC WOOL

WORN OUT
FOR CENTURIES
We of fer clot h i n g & ot her merch a nd ise t h at
rem i nd s us of good old Icela nd

– V i s it ou r s t or e s : 101 R e y k ja v í k , A k u r e y r i a nd G e y si r, H au k a d a l . w w w. g e y si r. net –
 The Reykjavík Grapevine Say your piece, voice your opinion, send 4
your letters to: letters@grapevine.is

Sour grapes & stuff

Most awesome letter
Dear Grapevine- guide to communicating with us.   much bickering, you guys? And why go
    on a trip, in close quarters, with nowhere
My Father, Brother and I are breaking the Unlike most tourists we talk below the din; to run but the ocean, if there’s gonna be
cardinal rule of familial relations (distance appreciate the nuance of pacing our food/ so much bickering and bad vibes!? What
makes the heart grow fonder) by traveling drink; and tend to be much more interested the hell!?
together to your wonderful country this very in listening to strangers or keeping quite than
August.  Our logic, which has zero cred- dealing with our immediate family or play- Actually, it does sound a pretty good
ibility, was that all but a few gnomes and a ing with our iPhones. premise for a show: an American man,
puffin might catch our snide bickering as we   his brother and dad, (who may or may not
bumbled about with our single bottle of duty- Thank You in advance for letting us travel secretly hate one another), quietly giving
free vodka and a 6-pack of something called amongst the good souls of Iceland and shar- each other cut-eye and sass-mouth as
Gull. ing a stretch of earth and time.  We will do they go on misguided vacations together.
  our best to become Tourist(s) of the Year. Shame and blame throwing ensues!
Since we’re a foolish American caricature  
of...”if it wasn’t for you, we’d be NOR- Skal! Seriously, we hope you’re bringing a
MAL!”... followed by “well, if you’d listened   camera and you film this stuff. If your
just ONCE you might not be such a failure”.  Ernest, Will and Phil McCracken - (aka - familial spats get into the news somehow,
Blahh-blahhh-blahhh ... I want a drink or The McCracken’s) then you’ll definitely be tipping the scales

BE SQUARE twelve followed by an intervention.  (Inter-

ventions are what Americans do to resurrect
themselves from stupid behavior... they really
Hey McCrackens!
towards winning the grand TOTY prize.
For now, here’s something to help keep the
peace between the three of you.

AND BE THERE should call it “born-again boring neighbor”)

 
Anyhow, I digress.  We, being the thoughtful
We were gonna call you ‘Tteam McCrack-
en’ but it really doesn’t sound like there’s
gonna be a lot of teamwork happening
Love,
The Grapevine
types, felt you might appreciate a non-verbal during your visit to our country. Why so --
Gullfoss and Geysir are surely a must-see in Iceland,
but neither is something you eat. That's why we have Dear sir / madam able but tried to extend the joke further. As I That guy Smutty is a bit of a character all
15 brilliant and creative hamburgers at am not from Iceland I do not know whether truth be told, a relic of (more innocent?
the Hamburger Factory. I am writing with regard to the Icelan- this type of incident is acceptable in your more archaic? dumber? differenter?)
dic radio station X977. I first tuned in country and I would sincerely hope that it is times, if you will. We’re definitely not
Located on the groundfloor of the highest tower
when spending New Year in Iceland and not. Racism of any kind is not for broadcast excusing his comments, but sort of noting
of Reykjavík, and on the groundfloor of the historic
thoroughly enjoyed the type of music they and I am shocked that a radio station such why the X-ið folks would pay no mind
Hotel Kea in Akureyri, the Hamburger Factory has play and hearing some new bands. In fact, as X977 permits this to take place. I am sure to his miscommunications. It’s easy to
been packed with burger-craving customers since it's through listening to them I first heard Asgeir that if this were to happen at the BBC the get blind on people and how their words
opening in april 2010. Among the regulars is Iceland's Trausti. Subsequently I have become a fan person involved would be sacked immedi- might be perceived if you already take
best known fisherman, Eric Clapton. and saw him in concert in London earlier this ately. I would be interested to hear what your them sort of half-seriously. Hopefully the
Attention: Our hamburger buns are not round. month. From time to time I listen to X977 thoughts are at Grapevine. guys at X-ið are reading this here ‘letters’
on my internet radio to keep in touch with Many thanks column and will take your complaints
They are square. Does it taste better? You tell us.
what is happening musically in your country. Neil Jones  (a teacher in London) seriously—they are definitely merited.
However, on doing this on Friday 26th July
I was intrigued to hear an English-speaking Hey Neil, Best,
The Hamburger Factory DJ. After a couple of songs he announced in The Grapevine
has two restaurants in Iceland. a fairly convoluted way that he was about to X-ið are usually pretty great, you’re right.
tell a joke. This turned out to be extremely And in their defence, they do claim to take PS. Try listening to Flassback instead.
offensive and racist insulting gypsies. He this sort of stuff pretty seriously, even They stream a lot of fun jams from the
topped it off by saying that this was the BBC implementing (an un-needed by Icelandic early noughties!
(not X977), in case of complaints. Clearly he law) code of ethics a couple years back.
knew full well that the joke was unaccept-

Dear Customer Dear Mr. Norbert We have mailed you our catalogue with a
complementary sample pack of some of
Our company needs your products, can you Thank you for your interest in purchasing our best selling items.
send us complete catalog? our products. We provide an extensive
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Höfðatorg Tower. Groundfloor.

MOST AWESOME LETTER
FREE ICELANDIC GOURMET FEAST!

There's prize for all your MOST AWESOME LETTERS. And it’s a scorcher!
No, really! It's a goddamn scorcher is what it is! Whoever sends us THE MOST
AWESOME LETTER this issue will receive A FRIGGIN GOURMET FEAST FOR
TWO at Tapas Barinn. Did you hear that? Write in and complain about
something (in an admirable way), win a gourmet feast at one of Reykjavík's
best? THIS IS THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY IS WHAT IT IS! What's in a 'lobster
feast'? Well, one has to assume that it has lobster-a-plenty. Is there more?
Probably, but still... Gourmet feast? Wow! DON’T PANIC if your letter wasn’t
picked AWESOME LETTER. There's always next month! Now, if you're in the
The Hamburger Factory Akureyri market for free goodies next month, write us some sort of letter.
Kea Hotel. Groundfloor. Give us your worst: letters@grapevine.is

HOW TO GET THERE

SOME TIPS ON HOW TO GET TO US WHILE LOOKING COOL AND LOCAL

This is what you say to the taxi driver

or when asking locals for directions:
“Íslenska Hamborgarafabrikkan, takk”
(„The Icelandic Hamburger Factory, please“)
When you arrive you tell the waiter:
“Sælar! Hvað er að frétta”
(Hello! What‘s up)
“Ég er þokkalega svangur,
get ég fengið hamborgara”
(I‘m quite hungry, can I get a hamburger)
From that point on you are in good hands.
Be there or be square!
Opening hours: Reservations:
Sun.-Wed. 11.00 – 22.00 Tel: 575 7575
Thu.-Sat. 11.00 – 24.00 fabrikkan@fabrikkan.is
www.fabrikkan.is
Þingholtsstræti 2-4 - 101 Reykjavík » Fákafen 9 - 108 Reykjavík » Austurvegi 21 - 870 Vík » icewear.is
 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 6

Iceland | News

The Invisible Industry

What does whaling do for us?
By Paul Fontaine

To outside observers, Icelanders’ attitudes about whaling can seem monolithic: it is a part of our cultural heritage, our right as a sovereign nation to hunt
whales, and any opposition is emotionally based and hypocritical. But there is internal opposition to the whaling question, and the closer one looks at the facts
about whaling in Iceland, the more difficult it becomes to understand why we do it.

gain from it; we solely provide the legal framework

within which whaling can be conducted.”
Does Iceland have the right to conduct whaling
hunting? The ministry unequivocally says that “nei-
ther of the two species harvested by Iceland qualify
for any of the IUCN threatened categories (‘criti-
cally endangered’, ‘endangered’ or ‘vulnerable’) in
the most recent regional assessment for North At-
lantic cetacean populations,” and that the numbers
of whales hunted are “generally accepted values for
sustainable catch rates”.
However, Jóhann admitted that “there is no do-
mestic market for whale meat.” He roughly estimat-
ed that less than 10% of Icelanders eat some whale
meat at some point in the year, “Exclusively minke
whale. Icelanders don’t eat large whales [like fin
whales].” He added that the government neither fi-
nancially supports the whaling industry, nor makes
an effort to promote whale meat on foreign markets.
This would put the onus on exports for the industry
to sustain itself.
Yet exporting whale meat does not turn a prof-
it. On the contrary—according to a 2010 research
report from the Institute of Economic Studies,
“The Macroeconomic Effects of Whale Hunting”
(“Þjóðfélagsleg áhrif hvalveiða”) in the year 2009,
minke whale hunters reported a profit of only about
600,000 ISK before taking into account write-offs
and expenses, and after salary costs of 21.7 mil-
lion ISK and a VAT paid of 22.3 million ISK. The
report also stated that “[whaling] also resulted in
losses when write-offs and expenses were taken
into account.” Any profit projections in the report
are based on being able to sell all the whale meat
caught at some unspecified point in the future.
As for exporting fin whale meat, recent events
have shown that this might prove difficult at best.
Last month, ships containing whale meat that were
bound for Japan were stopped in both Germany and
Holland and had no choice but to return to Iceland.
Shipping company Samskip have since decided
not to take part in shipping whale meat. The whale
meat now sits in frozen storage, awaiting a buyer
and someone to ship the meat to them.

Whale non-watching

“
If Iceland doesn’t gain from whaling, is it harmed
"How should we shoot you?" - photo by Julia Staples by it in any way? Rannveig Grétarsdóttir, who owns
and operates the whale watching company Elding,
The first misconception that must be put to rest is 10% in September 2006 to about 20% today. Fur- would say so.
the notion that Iceland has a cultural and historical thermore, the research from 2010 shows that even She dismissed the argument that despite con-
relationship with whaling that goes back centuries. those Icelanders who identify as pro-whaling did cerns that whale hunting would damage tourism,
While isolated examples of Icelanders conducting not always express unconditional support—many of tourists continue to increase in number. She says
whale hunting can be found in the early history of them would qualify their support with “if it does not that a tourist’s chances of seeing a whale in Faxaflói

We maintain that it is
the country, it was actually foreigners who hunted cost us more” to conduct whaling than to not. Bay are steadily declining. “In North Iceland,” she
whales off Iceland’s shores for the first centuries of This conditional support might be linked direct- adds, “there were minke whales all over. Now they

the right of Iceland-

the nation’s existence. Ironically, it was a nationalist ly to political rhetoric on the subject. The research hardly see any minke at all in Húsavík [North Ice-
sentiment against foreigners whaling in Icelandic contends that “whaling has increasingly been pre- land, where minke whale hunting is also conduct-

ers to hunt whales.

waters that led to the country banning the practice sented as an export industry that enhances employ- ed]. If this continues, our business will continue to
from 1913 to 1928. In 1935, however, Icelanders be- ment” by pro-whaling politicians such as former suffer.”
gan their own commercial hunting of whales, un- Minister of Fisheries Einar K. Guðfinnsson, former This conflict of interests between whale hunters
til they stopped again in 1989. Scientific whaling
started in 2003, though, and commercial hunting of
MPs for the Liberal Party Grétar Mar Jónsson and
Guðjón A. Kristjánsson, and current Independence
We don’t answer and whale watching groups led to former Minister
of Fisheries and Agriculture Steingrímur J. Sigfús-
minke and fin whales resumed again in 2006—with
strong attitudes about national independence and
Party MP Jón Gunnarsson. What these politicians
all have in common is that they are all conserva-
this question of what son creating a “whale sanctuary” around Faxaflói
Bay, where whales could not be hunted, in 2009.
sovereignty again in play, only this time supporting
the practice rather than condemning it.
tives, and all hail from areas with a vested interest
in whale hunting or, in Jón Gunnarsson’s case, have we gain from it” This area has since been reduced by current Min-
ister of Fisheries and Agriculture Sigurður Ingi
It seems there is a sort of nationalist contrarian-
ism in place here. Research conducted by the Uni-
family members directly involved in whaling (his
son, Gunnar Bergmann Jónsson, owns the whale - Deputy Director Jóhannsson.
Rannveig is also hardly black-and-white on the
versity of Iceland in 2010 shows that there might be hunting company Hrafnreyður ehf).
General of the Minis- whale hunting issue. “The most important thing,”

„
some truth to this. According to the research paper she told the Grapevine, “is getting whale hunting
“Attitudes Towards Whaling In Iceland,” most par-
ticipants were pro-whaling, considered anti-whal-
Who benefits?
try of Industries and out of Faxaflói Bay. They could, for example, hunt
them off the coast of east Iceland, where there are

Innovation Jóhann
ing campaigning to be “sentimentality on par with But what then do we actually gain from whaling, almost no whale watching groups, but there are sup-
religion” and expressed a belief that Iceland must if anything? That’s where things start to get hazy. posed to be whales in the waters.”

Guðmundsson.
stand up to foreign pressure. Jóhann Guðmundsson, the Deputy Director Be that as it may, the question remains: if there
The Ministry of Industries and Innovation—un- General of the Ministry of Industries and Innova- is no domestic market, exports are sitting in frozen
der whose jurisdiction whale hunting belongs—is tion, told the Grapevine that the ministry has no storage for the foreseeable future, and whalers are
quick to point out that, according to a Gallup poll idea how many people, exactly, are employed di- operating at a loss, is it wise to continue the prac-
conducted in February 2009, 77.4% of Icelanders rectly or indirectly in the whale industry. When tice, even if one legally can? That will have to be
said they supported whaling. However, the minis- asked what Iceland gains from whale hunting that it a question for Icelanders to answer for themselves.
try omits the fact that this is down from an all-time doesn’t gain from other industries, he told us, “We For the time being, while most Icelanders support
high of 90% in December 1994. At the same time, maintain that it is the right of Icelanders to hunt the practice, the dialogue about whaling among Ice-
opposition has been rising, going from just over whales. We don’t answer this question of what we landers themselves is far from black-and-white.
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 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 8

Iceland | FAQ JULY

So What Is This Reykjavík Mosque NEWS IN BRIEF

by Parker Yamasaki

I Keep Hearing About?

by Kári Tulinius Iceland and fish are seen together
so commonly in sentences that they
might as well get married already,
Reykjavík. He accused the cur- Vikings are, of course, also ances- which is probably what raised such
alarm when Iceland’s women’s
rent mayor and his political allies tors to many Icelanders. So if you
football team Instagrammed a pho-
of riding roughshod over all other follow the former mayor's logic, tograph of Sigurwin, the team gold-
religious communities in Iceland every time an Icelander treats an fish, being held in a life-threatening
by giving a Muslim congregation Icelander like a human being with position near an open toilet bowl.
building rights for a mosque. He the same rights and dignity as ev- The photo prompted a Swedish
undermined that point somewhat eryone else, we should all feel dis- animal rights group to report the
women’s football team for animal
by saying that instead of a mosque, gusted and angry.
abuse, forcing the team to apolo-
the city should "make plans that gise for such immature behaviour.
a temple of Icelandic paganism vI hope the Islamopho-
should rise on that spot." bic outrage petered
out quickly. Meanwhile, off the coast of Reyk-
My senses tingle javík, another animal rights group
with the premonition Actually, pretty much, yeah. was busy waving their fists at Ice-
that Icelandic pagans Though there was a bit of a foofa- land’s aquatic animal policies. A
raw when state radio RÚV broad- whale watching boat was deployed
would really rather not from Reykjavík harbour to greet a
be there. cast an interview with Ahmad Samskip vessel carrying the reject-
Seddeq, an imam with another, ed whale meat on its return from
smaller Muslim congregation in Germany. The group greeting the
Your tingling senses are right. Hil-
Reykjavík called Menningarsetur vessel brandished signs that read
mar Örn Hilmarsson, high priest “Til hvers?” and “What’s the point
múslima á Íslandi (“The Muslim
of Ásatrúarfélagið (the Icelandic of whaling?”
Culture Centre in Iceland”), which
Pagan Association), said in an in-
is generally considered somewhat
terview with radio station Bylgjan
more conservative than the Asso-
that his congregation had secured
ciation of Muslims in Iceland. In Well, we’re not going to answer that.
planning permission for a temple
the interview he said a stupid and Instead, let us direct your attention
many years ago and were quite to Þorlákshöfn, where construc-
offensive thing about gay people,
happy with their spot. tion has begun for a 23,000 square
which I see no reason to repeat,
metre mink farm. It will be Iceland’s
that was condemned by the Asso- 29th mink farm. Collectively, the in-
That must've shut up
ciation of Muslims in Iceland. dustry produces 180,000 furs annu-
that former mayor. ally. It’s almost as if Iceland is stick-
A conservative re- ing its tongue out at animal rights
Think again! In a second letter to activists.
a newspaper, Ólafur F. Magnús-
ligious person says
son doubled down and said some something stupid and
stupid and offensive things I see offensive about gay
While Iceland is busy teasing the an-
no reason to repeat. However, one people? Who could've imal rights world, the Vice Mayor of
bit of weirdness bears mentioning. seen that coming? Serbian town Krusevac was recent-
At the end of his letter, the former ly punished for her own childish tac-
mayor invokes his ancestors from No one, no one could have seen tics. Slobodanka Miladinovic was
the island of Heimaey, which was that coming. Or everyone. Conser- forced to resign due to an offensive
name-calling incident targeting
attacked in 1627 by pirates from vative Christians in Iceland have
Erla Dürr Magnúsdóttir, an Icelan-
the area of modern Morocco and been saying stupid and offensive dic volunteer giving a presentation
Illustration: Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir
Algeria. There, and elsewhere things about gay people for quite in Miladinovic’s city (she said Erla
in Iceland, they raided and took a while now. If history has taught looked like a “bell pepper-picker”).
slaves. He said it was disgusting one thing, it is that idiotic and of- Or maybe it was because she used
befits the modest size of the con- pieces, and many a concerned citi- that religious brethren of those fensive things can be expressed by a “NOT” joke in 2013.
On July 6, the Reykjavík City
Council gave permission to build gregation that received the per- zen sent in an opinion piece about who committed mass murder on people of any creed or skin colour.
an 800 square metre mosque in mission. Félag múslima á Íslandi the planned mosque. Mostly their that island were given a place of And if history has taught us an-
Reykjavík, Iceland’s first build- (“The Association of Muslims concerns can be paraphrased as honour in Reykjavík. other thing, it is that men will use Either way, the public figure humbly
ing constructed specifically as a in Iceland”) has a little over 450 "Muslims are icky, ewwwwww..." any excuse to build penis-shaped backed down, a move that the Ice-
mosque. It will have a nine metre members. Nevertheless, some In fairness to the wide variety of Say what you will buildings. There are so many al- landic whaling industry was never
taught. Despite a declaration by
tall tower, which as phallic sym- people in Iceland have reacted people who write letters to the about that guy, at ready, there is no harm in another
the Icelandic shipping company,
bols go is dwarfed by Hallgrím- to news of a proposed mosque in editor, some wrote to declare their least he knows his one. Samskip, that they will no longer
skirkja's seventy-four and a half Reykjavík like 18th Century hemp support for the mosque building. carry whale-meat to Asia after the
history. And is a rac-
metre tall church tower. farmers in a desperate hurry to Hamburg incident, whaling itself
ist. Let's not forget to
ride into town who discovered that Please don't tell me continues as usual with no prospect
their only riding horse had gotten
mention that. of slowing anytime soon.
As we all know, the ve- what people who
racity of your religious into their crops. leave comments on It is dangerous to invoke an-
beliefs is validated by newspaper websites cient murders and slave-taking
They got on their But the show must go on. Espe-
the size of your sym- say, I like to pretend as something to get angry about.
bolic penis. high horse? Many Icelanders are descended
they don't exist.
Among those sending unsolicited from slaves taken by Vikings Continues over
The point is that the mosque will That they did. In Iceland, letters to
letters to newspapers was Ólafur who raided in the British Isles in
be a fairly modest building, as the editor are given the space and
F. Magnússon, former mayor of the 9th and 10th Centuries. Those
weight of commissioned opinion

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 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 10

JULY

Moral Stewards NEWS IN BRIEF

Re: The Case for Sustainable Whaling Continued

cially with Reykjavík’s annual Gay

Pride festival celebrated through-
is absurd. Of course, Gissurarson makes with pointing out food scarcity among the out downtown Reykjavík from Au-
Árni Finnsson is chairman of the no mention of how many years it took Ice- poor. Therefore, the question needs to be gust 6–11. A limited edition Gay
NGO: Iceland Nature Conservation Association land to overcome its challenges in man- asked: Will Icelandic stewards transport Pride themed brew will be offered
in Icelandic liquor stores just for
aging the cod stock. Having expelled the whale meat to poor countries or distribute the occasion. The beer sports a
Marvin Lee Dupree is a postgraduate student. British and German trawlers out of their the meat among those in need here in Ice- rainbow-coloured label and is titled
EEZ by the mid 1970s, the only manage- land? In fact, until now the fin whale meat “Ástríkur,” which translates appro-
ment device was to increase the number or the highly efficient seafood processor priately to “rich of love.” Now that’s
Professor Hannes H. Gissurarson wrote a would amount to c.a. 1850 tons, more than of fishing vessels. Only ten years later, has ended up as canine food for pampered something to skál over.
piece in the Grapevine on July 2, arguing double the amount sold in Japan last year. the Icelandic fisheries were in a serious dogs in Japan. So basically, Japanese dogs
the case for sustainable whaling. He starts Granted, professor Gissurarson argues crisis and it took at least 25 years to figure have been enjoying fin whale meat. At
by claiming that whale meat is “a large that whaling could be a solution to global out how to best follow scientific advice on the same time, Icelandic whale watching Besides, it’s probably better to
source of cheap, healthy food,” which is hunger, while admitting that history is how much fish could be taken out of the companies are blooming and are creating stick to beer these days, with re-
readily “available and hardly utilised.” grim as there was “terrible overexploi- system—and that had a lot less to do with jobs, sustainable ones that do not invoke cent investigative reports muffling
Then the professor argues that hunting a tation of whale stocks in the early 20th the ITQ system than the industry’s will- the ire of the international community— out the once-glamorous clang of
champagne glasses. Journalists
few hundred whales in Icelandic waters is century. The International Whaling Com- ingness to accept science. and are making much more money than a
working for Vísir recently visited
a fully sustainable practice. mission, IWC, which was established in Professor Hannes H. Gissurarson then few private individuals and their kin. two downtown Reykjavík clubs,
However, the problem is the market. 1946, was proving ineffective in protect- launches into the famous pest argument And now that fin whale meat is being Crystal and VIP Club, and reported
There is no commercially viable market ing whale stocks and the majestic blue or what is called in academic circles: denied access to European ports, how will a strong possibility of illegal activ-
for a few dozen minke whales domesti- whale, the world’s largest animal, was speciesism. His argument is that whales Hvalur hf. transport it? Well, according ity regarding the women working
cally, so the industry must be considered almost driven to extinction.” Fittingly, he consume too much fish from the sea bar- to Hannes Gissurarson, the moral thing there. Steinunn Gyðu- og Guðjóns-
dóttir, who runs a shelter for former
to be “hobby whaling.” There is no export omits the fact most stocks of large ceta- ons, according to estimates. Nonetheless, might just be to fly it to poorer countries prostitutes, told reporters that the
market in Japan, which used to be the ceans are far from recovery. Instead, he Gissurarson does not delineate which at a discount rate since there is little de- clubs “bear many of the signs of hu-
main argument for resuming the hunt. sets up a straw man argument. species he is referring to. For example, mand elsewhere. Not doing so would be man trafficking.” The clubs however
As for fin whales, Icelanders have never Firstly, the “Case for Sustainable numbers in one study described the diet immoral according to his logic. have denied the accusations and are
eaten fin whale meat, all of it has been Whaling” morphs into a diatribe against of the fin whale and it was stated “that now suing the journalists for slan-
exported to Japan, but with the collapse the European Union, which is under the 3% of the food was composed of fish and der.
of consumer demand for whale meat, the sway of radical environmentalists. Mov- 97% of planktonic euphausiids” and of
export process has been very slow. The ing on, professor Gissurarson argues for the 3%, cod and herring were not part of
latest export was in June, from the 2010 the case of whaling by comparing fish the examined fin whale corpse. So which Plus, is it really worth paying 20,000
season. and mammals by explaining the Icelan- whales is he referring to? ISK (the price one of the above men-
In 2012, roughly 870 tons of fin whale dic fishing quota system which is an “an Nonetheless, the most interesting ar- tioned clubs charges for “alone
time” with one of the women) when
meat from Iceland was sold in Japan. efficient system in their fishery, making gument and illusionary concern set forth
according to a study by Laufey Tryg-
However, if Hvalur hf.—the sole company it profitable unlike most fisheries else- in the article is the framework Hannes gvadóttir, Icelandic women have
engaged in fin whaling—would fulfil this where. However, the demand for whale uses. He commences his article with con- sex with more people than women
year’s quota of 154 fin whales, the total meat is quite limited thus the comparison cerns over rising food prices and ends of the same age in other Nordic
countries. You go girls. The same
study, however, also revealed that
Iceland has proportionally the high-
est rate of chlamydia in all of Europe.
I guess being the best at everything
has its downsides. Speaking of be-
ing the best, at least Iceland is still
the land with “the most beautiful
women and the strongest men.” But
speaking of the downsides, steroid
use has increased dramatically in
the last year amongst those strong,
strong men (and women). Accord-
ing to reports by the police, more
steroids have been confiscated in
the first three months of this year
than have been confiscated over
the past three years combined.

On a more positive note, Seljaval-

lalaug has been selected by Guard-
ian readers as one of the top ten
swimming pools in the world. THE
WORLD. Oh, and Sigurwin the gold-
fish has arrived safely in his brand
new, luxury aquarium. So regard-
less of what’s happening with the
continuing dispute over mackerel
quotas between the Icelandic gov-
ernment and the EU Fisheries Com-
Comic by: Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir mission, at least we know of one
fish whose life is coming along just
swimmingly.

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 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 12

Especially The Nice Ones

Reflections on police brutality and public discourse
The bad cop ain’t that bad 'All Coppers are Basterds'
Haukur Hilmarsson works part time defend him. Some cops have even written
for the social services in Reykjavík to the media and condemned his actions. Being able to articulate his thoughts An old hooligan hymn warns against cops
This breach of unity within the police without casting disgrace on his office, like Gísli in the language of unrepresent-
force is highly unusual. Be it heavy han- Gísli wrote an article in Fréttablaðið in ed minorities: “All Coppers are Basterds.”
dling of suspects, losing drugs or money defence of the officer who appears in the Although this poesy may sound a little
or the occasional death of people being video (July 11). Reeking of objectivity, he dualistic and judgmental, it's worth con-
The fuss
It comes and goes, the rage against The held in custody, the cops tend to stick up notes the high tolerance that the Icelandic sidering its full meaning: the resonating
Machine. Every so often it boils over, Shit happens and people get all worked for one another. Like any institution they police usually show, before stating that anger towards the willing participants of
causing an uproar of surprise and dis- up. Yet it should come as no surprise. It need to project a credible image. the video doesn't reveal every side of the this blood-ridden power structure.
may about the blatant abuse of power by happens like this and worse than this. All They need to seem reliable, sober and event. Then he explains how the action To be a cop is to denounce responsi-
society’s purported watchdogs. Swine, over, all the time. just, but most importantly the guys with mostly follows a standard Norwegian ar- bility for your most ethically questionable
slaves, cops. Call them what you will, but Sure, the arrest was unnecessary the batons need to seem sympathetic. They rest method, and credits the officer for his actions and act out the most authoritarian
rest assured that it won't be long until an- and undignified, but what gets me is the must appear presentable and yes, cuddly. directness. In closing, he mentions that ideas of society; to align with the perpe-
other video of Iceland’s finest strangling amazed and confused pitch of the dis- One such cop is Gísli Jökull Gíslason. street cops risk getting injured or taken trators of history and against its victims;
a teenager or pepper spraying reporters cussion. The seemingly genuine surprise to court for trying to do a good job and to monitor and control other people’s
stirs grunts and growls in the otherwise at the fact that heavy-handed officers The good cop urges us not to blow things out of propor- behaviour while taking an indisputable
peaceful dorm-halls of Icelandic journal- sometimes make the law up as they go. tion when we judge others. stance with nationalism, observation-
ism and debate. In recent years we've learned of mass Small and mild mannered, Gísli emits Good lad! Aiding his pal while pro- society, bureaucracy and hegemony.
The outcome is a wave of opinion col- deportations, surveillance, torture and the friendliness essential to this image. moting sympathy for the police at large. Trust in the police amounts to an ab-
umns where the political left shares its de- sexual offences; illegal actions executed Unlike many cops, he's difficult to put The good cop steps in to pacify a crowd surd faith in 'the social contract' and con-
lusional views on proper police work. The and (sometimes) initiated by this band of off balance and if he indeed suffers from infuriated by the bad cop, and his calm, tentment with heavy losses of individual
week after, it yawns economics, confirm- pesky authoritarians. It's not cool, but by the megalomania common to most in his humanistic approach damn near covers up autonomy. Those shaken by police brutal-
ing the painful fact that debate in Iceland now it ought to be expected. line of work, he takes good care to hide it. the fact that he isn't the least bit apologetic. ity would do well to consider the sanity
mostly serves as recreation for the com- With his upright posture, stoned eyes and They do this all the time, playing good of employing armed overseers. We must
mentators. The flip side politely arrogant smirk he reasons with cop/bad cop. As if extracting a convic- recognise the horrors of authoritarianism
The most recent example of this is wasted hoodlums or furious protestors tion, they play our full emotional scales and question the motives of those who
the reaction to a video that shows a po- I've covered the reaction of the left. The re- without giving way or changing his mood. like a keyboard. In exercising and defend- defend it. Human dignity is threatened,
liceman in downtown Reykjavík brutally actionary left. But the right has a voice too. In 2010 he ran as candidate for the Con- ing their authority they appear like the not so much by brutish oafs as their slick,
arresting a lady so shitfaced that she can If you bother the police, they should stitutional Council, despite having, in his inverse/antithesis, but every action and idealist counterparts.
hardly stand. He is currently undergoing arrest you, it claims. If the law states own words, “few radical or fully moulded every word reflects the same conservative We must never trust the cops.
investigation, while a softball version of otherwise, their reactions are still un- views.” He said he was running so he ideology. Their diplomacy and aggrava- Especially the nice ones.
the 'rotten apple' game is played in the derstandable and should be tolerated. could be “an active participant in these tion both serve the same institution, the
media. Instead of shunning institutions American cops are much harsher. Polic- dramatic times.” same set of social values. The Yin and
and waiting for 'a few rotten apples' to ing is stressful and unappreciated work. It is this cocktail of presentability, Yang of state dominion.
come rolling back, the Icelandic left as- Fuck-ups result from cutbacks. The police mindless acceptance and voluntary par-
sumes rottenness in this particular indi- needs more money. And more weapons. ticipation that lead me to classify him as
vidual and waits for the state to deny it. Convincing. Still, most of the piglet’s su- 'a dangerous man.’
periors have been suspiciously hesitant to

Collectivise The Bus!

1. Make public transportation at any given time: unemployment insur- 3. Make public transportation
Paul Fontaine has been writing for the truly public ance, maternity pay, disability and so transparent
Reykjavik Grapevine since issue two, 2003 on. We do this because it benefits us all
In other words, eliminate individual bus to have these services available to us all. I envision a website where the general
fares and subsidise the operation through Mass transportation should be no differ- public can submit their own questions,
taxes alone. I’m sure a lot of car drivers ent. suggestions and complaints. These are
would balk at the idea, but they would posted publicly, as are responses from
Like many capital area residents, I depend company, with all that comes with it—an in fact stand to benefit. Bus service in 2. Make public transportation committee members. Furthermore, the
on the bus for my daily travels. And like interest in maintaining a profit and mak- Akureyri has been free for years now. accountable committee would post their own propos-
many who use the bus, I find the service ing budget cuts from the bottom up—ex- The result they saw when they made the als, with input from the public.
sorely lacking. Fares increase, service de- cept for the usual headache of having to change was a huge spike in people using Ideally, the committee that runs the I believe the result of collectivising
creases, and the website is, at this point, face any competition from other compa- the bus, which has undoubtedly reduced planning and scheduling for the bus ser- the bus would not only be reduced road
infamous for being one of the most mad- nies in the same industry. car traffic, allowing for faster travel vice should be an elected position. Say, wear, reduced air pollution and decreased
deningly unnavigable Icelandic websites. To those who are accustomed to their times. Furthermore, fewer cars means a seven-person committee, where each travel times; it would mean a cheaper bus
However, I don’t think the situation is in- mass transportation being a public service, less wear and tear on roads, resulting in member serves four years at a time. They service that more people use, serving both
tractable. The bus service just needs to be the idea of a private mass transportation lower costs for road maintenance. must convince the people they hope to transparently and with accountability.
collectivised. service might seem absurd. And they’d be For those who ask why everyone serve why they should be elected, and There is absolutely no reason why a mu-
A lot of people aren’t aware that the right, it totally is. To rectify this situation, I should pay for a service only a fraction they should be able to be voted out if nicipal area of just over 100,000 couldn’t
capital area bus company, Strætó bs., is propose a few changes that would be to the of people use, I would ask that we remem- they don’t live up to expectations. Which do this, especially as the alternative is
actually a private company. They have benefit not just of those who use the bus, ber that a socially-minded society pays brings me to … either more car traffic, or a continuation
contracts with Reykjavík and surround- but also of car drivers, too. collectively into all kinds of services that of the broken, limping machine that is the
ing municipalities, but they are a private only a fraction of the population will use capital area bus service today.

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EL-01 / EL-02 / EL-03
Jan-Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov-Dec
9:00 9:00 9:00 9:00 9:00 9:00 9:00
2013
10:00 10:00 10:00
13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00
14:00 14:00 14:00
17:00* 17:00 17:00 17:00 17:00*
20:30** 20:30

* From 15 May to 15 September

** From 15 June to 31 July
 Þjóðhátíð í Eyjum takes place in Vestmanneyjar every
The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 first weekend in August. More info at www.dalurinn.is
14

Iceland | News

Let’s Talk About The Elephant In The Room

It’s called “rape at Þjóðhátíð”
Tómas Gabríel Benjamin

Þjóðhátíð í Eyjum is an annual outdoor festival that has been celebrated in Vestmanneyjar since 1874. The three-day bash takes place on Verslunarmannahel-
gin (“Merchants’ Weekend,” Iceland’s version of bank holiday) and features performances from some of Iceland’s most popular musicians as well as a slew of
community events—not dissimilar in structure to Denmark’s Roskilde or Glastonbury in the UK. Þjóðhátíð has been a part of the small fishing community’s
cultural identity for generations. However, in the late nineties and early noughties, a number of sexual assaults completely changed the public perception
of the festival, which was always considered a family friendly affair. It seems that rapists had been taking advantage of festivalgoers’ inebriated state, with
horrible consequences for all involved.

dared to mention, rape. One of the group’s Roskilde and Icelandic Eistnaflug in par-
objectives is to open the discussion in or- ticular for having very low crime rates and
der to address misconceptions people have different attitudes towards rape.
about rape. “Rape happens,” she says, “and
survivors should not feel ashamed of it. An Sending a clear message
older lady stopped me last year as I was dis-
tributing pamphlets in the festival’s white “Stebbi [the head of Eistnaflug] does
tents, and she said she’d been going to the a great job by having a clear and well
festival for 30 to 50 years, and people knew known policy regarding assault and
about the rapes, but it was the first time they crime,” she says, “which is something
Stills from video were talking about the problem!” we’d love to see with Þjóðhátíð.” If you do
something wrong at Eistnaflug, the per-

“
Heralding a new era son just gets kicked out and their festival
wristband gets cut. “It encourages people
One of Bleiki fíllinn’s stated goals is to to simply behave.”
actively encourage rape victims to step
forward. “We’re not trying to reduce the
number of reported rapes, but to reduce
the number of actual rapes,” Jóhanna
says. According to her, the organisers of
Þjóðhátíð have been very receptive and
positive towards the Pink elephant, eager We're not trying
to work with the group and perhaps repair
the damage their public dispute with vari- to reduce the
number of reported
ous anti-rape organisations did.

„
Part of what fuelled the long stand-

rapes, but to
ing feud, according to Jóhanna, is that
Óskar Hallgrímsson - Pic mostly unrelated
Vestmannaeyjar locals easily get defen-

reduce the number

sive about Þjóðhátíð. “The moment any-
one raises criticism about it, whether it’s
Þjóðhátíð í Eyjum Stígamót or anyone else, people just close
up, so it becomes difficult to talk about the
problems. My dream,” she says, “is that in
of actual rapes.
Herjólfsdalur, Vestmannaeyjar www.dalurinn.is Every first weekend in August
a few years we will have addressed and
dealt with these problems in a way that
we can bring together the organisers and
The festival organisers did not do them- preventative group called Bleiki fíllinn all the attendees know what measures are Stígamót to work together.”
selves—or the rape victims—any favours (“The Pink Elephant,” founded in 2012 af- in place for victims,” she said. Although Bleiki fíllinn do not work
with their reaction to the discourse, ac- ter the Vestmannaeyjar SlutWalk), which The head of Bleiki fíllinn, Jóhanna Ýr directly with Stígamót, they have ties with “It is atrocious for Þjóðhátíð to be
cusing rape support groups like Stígamót has the job of spreading the message that Jónsdóttir, says that is exactly what the other groups like the Samþykki (“con- called a ‘rape fest,’ and people from Vest-
of creating problems and reporting more rape is never OK, and that people’s choice group is there to do, and to remind people sent”) group, and the people behind the manneyjar are really hurt when they hear
rapes than actually happened. The two of attire or state of inebriation is irrelevant that there are no vague rules of sexual con- ‘Fáðu já’ sexual education campaign (more it, but people actually know, unfortunate-
sides fought a prolonged and ugly battle in every instance. Their message boils duct. “It doesn’t matter if a person was in- on that on page 16). They plan to screen ly,” she says, almost too upset to finish
through the local media, which has thank- down to: never assume consent, and never terested in you earlier,” she says. “If she’s parts of ‘Fáðu já’ during Þjóðhátíð in the the sentence, “that people get raped at the
fully calmed down for now. ignore when consent is withdrawn. asleep, she can’t give consent.” hopes that people will take the message to festival. This happens despite a lot of work
The ceasefire has not made the problems We reached out to Stígamót spokesper- She mentions an American study in heart. being put into trying to stop it from hap-
go away, however, and several rapes were son Guðrún Jónsdóttir to ask what the ide- which 70% of all male rapists were found Jóhanna wants to bring the festival pening.”
reported at the 2012 edition of Þjóðhátíð. al preparations outdoor festivals—which to have been under the influence when back to its roots, as a family friendly af- People can still fall through the cracks,
are in general notorious rapist stomping they committed the crime. “Their judg- fair where people can sing along to the and it would be wishful thinking to assume
Enter the “Pink Elephant” grounds—can make to ensure the safety ment is impaired, so we want to simply tell songs, have a merry time and feel safe. The that this year’s festival will be entirely free
and well-being of their patrons. Guðrún them that they should just stop instead of organisers of the festival are bumping up of sexual assault. Still, the visionary work
For 2013, the people responsible for the responded that it was very important for hoping for the best,” Jóhanna says. “Just security with more cameras and people of Bleiki fíllinn will hopefully allow more
festival, Vestmannaeyjar’s sports club, outdoor festivals like Þjóðhátíð to operate wait until they wake up to see if you can on the ground, as well as possibly posting people to come away from Þjóðhátíð with
ÍBV (Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja), a well-functioning security team, and have get consent.” guards at the gender-segregated toilets, but pleasant memories.
aim to actively combat the problem. Their the right support environment in place for The group’s name is meant to reference Jóhanna wants to look at what other festi-
main effort involved the drafting in of a possible rape victims. “It is essential that an “elephant in the room” that nobody has vals have done. She mentions the Danish

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 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 16

Iceland | Video

Get Consent
Fáðu já’s quest to enlighten youngsters on the boundaries
of sex and violence
by Tómas Gabríel Benjamin

People in today’s society have an unprecedented access to information. Anyone can instantly find information about advanced thermo-
dynamics or Simpsons episodes. However, with such an abundance of information, there is a very important question to bear in mind:
Where is it coming from?

For many of today’s curious youth, their first an-

swers to sexual questions come from happening
onto porn online, but therein lies a problem. Main-
stream porn studios’ objectives are not to provide
a neutral and informative point of view on sex and
intimacy, but to sell a product and create demand
for more.
But hang on, can’t people tell the difference be-
tween fantasy and reality? According to a report
published in May by the children’s commissioner
for England, children exposed to violent and sadis-
tic imagery risk distorting their attitudes towards
sex and relationships. Further, the report deems it
necessary to "develop children's resilience to por-
nography."
Unlike the UK government who are push-
ing through a mandatory porn filter, the Icelandic
ministries of education and interior commissioned
a short film called ‘Fáðu já’ (“Get A Yes”) to give
teenagers their own internal filter.
‘Fáðu já’ premiered in January and is an edu-
cational film that raises awareness about sexual
violence. The film’s underlying message is that the
only way to be completely sure you don’t rape is
to get consent instead of assuming it. It also talks
about sex misconceptions, porn, and respecting
boundaries. The film is a product of love from three
Icelandic celebrities; journalist and children’s radio
show host Brynhildur Björnsdóttir, pop star and gay
Páll Ólafsson icon Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson, and writer and activist
Þórdís Elva Þorvaldsdóttir.

Critical eyes for the

straight guys (and gals)
Überstar Páll Óskar is the film’s director and narra-
tor. He tells me where the idea for the project came
from: “I saw a Facebook status from a teenage girl
claiming that if she’d be raped by a celebrity, that
she’d probably really enjoy it,” Páll says. “My heart
sank. I started typing “honey, if you were to experi-
ence such horrible violence, I can promise you that
A) you would not love it or be thrilled about it, and
B) you would not care if the rapist was famous or
not, because it is a violent invasion into your private
self.” Before long, my answer was a full A4 page. I
didn’t press the send button, realising that I had a
script in my hands.”
Páll has looked extensively into all kinds of
educational films, and says they’ve changed little
from the ‘50s. They are mostly scare films detailing
devastating consequences of substance abuse or car
crashes.
Alísa Kalyanova
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 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 18

any so-called grey areas, something that Þórdís

Elva’s brought to the project in spades.
Þórdís wrote the critically acclaimed book ‘Á The Hamburger Scene
mannamáli’ which discusses sexual violence in
Iceland in great detail. She tells me of one incident
during her book tour at an upper secondary school in
Reykjavík. She was taking questions, and one guy in
his late teens asked whether it “wasn’t okay to finish
if you were really close to coming but the girl wants
to stop?” “I was taken aback by the question because
it was totally sincere, and nobody in the class room
reacted, or gave him a funny look,” Þórdís says. “Ev- Arguably the strongest of the meta-
eryone just stared at me blankly, and I thought ‘oh phors used in ‘Fáðu já’ involves a
god, we have so much work ahead…’ couple sitting at a restaurant eating
The film tries to eliminate the widespread mis- burgers. Discovering blue cheese in
conception that there’s something called a grey his burger, the man says he doesn’t
area with regards to gender based and sexual vi- want it any more. The woman asks if
olence. “Lack of consent wouldn’t be grey if you they can’t enjoy the moment, which
Still from "Fáðu já" transferred it onto something else,” Þórdís says. “If the man says they can, but that he’s
someone doesn’t want to crash on your couch, then lost his appetite. The woman then pro-
you are in the wrong if you make them.” ceeds to ask him to take one bite as
Continued from page 16 it is consensual, intimate, funny and warm,” Bryn- Scenes in the film involve a person being force she forces the burger down his throat.
hildur says. fed a hamburger despite protesting, and one where a Customers in the background stare in
She wanted to make sure that boys or girls who person is forced to urinate when she clearly doesn’t disbelief as the man chokes, convulses
“The scare-films always portrayed sex itself as
grow up thinking porn is educational or believe feel comfortable doing so. By recontextualizing and tries to fight her off, before finally
a disease, focusing only on STDs like hepatitis,
films like ‘Twilight’ give a realistic picture of what consent and its refusal or withdrawal, it becomes swallowing a bite. Páll Óskar’s voice
chlamydia and syphilis.”
to expect in relationships won’t collide too violent- even clearer that it is absolutely wrong to disregard then asks: “would this be OK?”
“One thing has not changed since the ‘50s, and ly when coming together for their first experiences. what the other party wants sexually. I had a quick word with Tanja Björk
that is teenagers,” Páll Óskar tells me. “Teenagers “In porn there is total disregard for any emotional After filming ‘Fáðu já,’ the team got 70 experts Ómarsdóttir, the actress involved in the
are still reaching puberty, asking a lot of questions connection,” Brynhildur says, “while girls come to review it. They included “child psychologists, scene. She says she occasionally gets
and wanting answers. Finding the answers today is into relationships with lots of emotional expecta- people from the child protection unit, all the differ- funny looks at the supermarket where
as simple as googling them, and the first thing that tions, willing to go to great lengths to get the per- ent ministries that sponsored the film, sexologists, people approach her and go “don’t I
pops up when you look for something sexual is usu- fect man who turns into their prince.” sociologists, and people with gender studies back- know you?” To which she answers, “I
ally porn.” The film does a thorough job of illustrating grounds,” Þórdís says. The experts were concerned don’t know, do ya?” She says “I think
He continues: “As a teenager of the ‘80s, I re- how unrealistic porn is—without condemning any about showing the porn segment of the film to tenth it’s wonderful when people come up
member looking for porn, it was really hard work. type of sexual behaviour. “We wanted to convey the graders, but it was obviously the elephant in the to me and say they loved the film. The
You had to walk into a video store, and with a message that the key is to communicate and get con- room that had to be discussed, Þórdís says. film has a great message, and I’m really
sweaty upper lip and palms, ask the man at the sent, no matter what you want to do. Especially if proud of having been a part of it.”
counter whether you would be allowed to look into you want to deviate from ‘normal’ sex,” Brynhildur A wide influence
the blue folder. Then you had to find some time to tells me. “In porn and in ‘Twilight,’ people jump on
watch the porn without anyone knowing, because the next person who happens to be totally thinking The film was well received, scoring a great deal of
there was only ever one TV and VCR in the house.” the same things, but in real life people need to talk praise from teachers, students, parents and the me-
Páll also comments on the English report, say- together and see if they want the same things.” dia. ‘Fáðu já’ was shown to every tenth grade stu-
ing that “teenagers need to be informed that porn’s How well prepared are teenagers for that dis- dent in Iceland, and teachers facilitated discussions the project will be reviewed and possibly updated.
depicted behaviour is not necessarily what you cussion? “The Icelandic education system is very afterwards. The only negative feedback came from It was a very large and ambitious project, dealing with
should bring into your own sex life. I’m a firm good at teaching what the labia is, ovaries, penis, teenagers, who were unhappy with the film’s incor- a lot of sensitive topics. Þórdís says she wanted to leave
believer that teenagers are not stupid.” And that and the biodynamic aspect of sex,” Brynhildur rect use of hashtags and from those who thought it viewers with a very simple message: “I want people
is where ‘Fáðu já’ comes in, offering teenagers a says. “But there’s less information about how to ask was too heterocentric. The team concedes the first to understand that you shouldn’t be shy to communi-
healthier way to look at sex and porn. someone out on a date, or how to talk to somebody point, but raised their eyebrows at the second, as cate what you need or want sexually. Shyness invites
that you want to have sex with.” The social aspect the film features at least three intimate scenes fea- misunderstanding. If you are afraid of saying what you
Avoiding an imminent disaster of the education has been missing, which is what turing same-sex couples. really want, then the likelihood of you overstepping
‘Fáðu Já’ aims to address. ‘Fáðu já’ has already won an award in Tallin, your partner’s boundaries also increases dramatically.
Fáðu já co-creator Brynhildur Björnsdóttir is a Estonia, and the preventative group ‘Bleiki fíllinn’ But it doesn’t have to be this way.”
life-long friend of Páll Óskar’s, and she brought a Getting consent (“The Pink Elephant”) will screen select scenes at After all, isn’t it the best way to make sure every-
wealth of experience from hosting a children’s ra- this year’s Þjóðhátíð festival (more on that else- one is getting what they want out of sex and life?
dio programme. “We wanted to state that sex can To hammer the message home, ‘Fáðu já’ employs a where in this issue). The film will be shown again
be fun and good, and that it’s better for everyone if lot of clever metaphors to remove ambiguity from in schools in January 2014 and 2015, after which

They Said What? by Ingibjörg Rósa Björnsdóttir

“With whom are all these Icelandic ladies sleeping?” “The fact of the matter is that we’re one big family that’s spending way too much.”
–Sóley Björk Stefánsdóttir, editorial column in web magazine Akureyri vikublað, July 24. –Unnur Brá Konráðsdóttir, MP for the Independence party, in DV, 30 July

Don’t worry, she was being sarcastic. Sóley is simply pointing out that in a news story in Frét- Unnur Brá is a member of a parliamentary committee that’s currently drafting up suggestions
tablaðið that day, Icelandic women seemed to be held mostly responsible for Iceland holding the about further state austerity actions, budget cuts and reorganisation. After all, the new coalition
European record in chlamydia. In the story, the head of the sexual health clinic at Landspítali (a government of the Progressive and Independence parties seems to have a huge gap to fill (their
man) expressed concern for young women, as they often have chlamydia without knowing it, which can later result rush to revoke the previous government’s fishing fees law probably didn’t help, as it means there are a few billion ISK
in difficulties conceiving. missing from next year’s budget).
The reporter, also a man, then elaborated on the subject by pointing out how many women born after 1973 have been In the above quote, Unnur Brá is explaining to DV that there’s a lot of work ahead for the committee, which will start
diagnosed with HPV according to a recent study. Sóley was outraged and pointed out that there was no mention of nitpicking the budget in the next weeks. Obviously, the MP has discovered that Iceland isn’t really doing so well,
“guys” in the article whereas “girls” were mentioned six times, “women” six times, “young people” and “youths” just like a mum who’s just gone over the teenagers’ phone bill and added up how often the family orders pizza. She’s
three times each and “Icelanders” once. Having put two and two together, Sóley wondered how these diseases were threatening to take action and making sure everyone acts thrifty and spends less. Only, not everybody in the coali-
being spread so much if Icelandic guys aren’t a worrying factor in the equation. Rightly so! tion’s big, happy family wants Unnur Brá to be their mum. A lot of those commenting on the story refute any family
ties with the coalition parties and reject accusations of “spending way too much,” instead noting that the family’s rich
and extravagant “uncles” and “aunts” should stop sneaking into the family’s rainy day funds.

Huang had brief battles with the art directors

over how the rocks should look—“everyone
“
„
in Iceland seems to have a very clear idea
in their head what lava and lava rock look
like”—and how the lava should be concocted.
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 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 20

Iceland | Travel

Tangling With Tupilaks

Beware East Greenland’s most menacing menace!!!
by Lawrence Millman

A kayaker friend who'd just returned from East Greenland told me a very strange story. He said that a tupilak had recently emerged
from the sea and attacked the village of Igatek, causing it to be evacuated.

qiviktok that had attacked a house just down the

Illustration: Megan Herbert road from him. A qiviktok is a mountain hermit
whose solitude gives him supernatural powers. For
example, a qiviktok can fly, and in the case of the
one that attacked the nearby house, it simply flew
in through the window. So great was the fear as-
sociated with its visit that no one lived in the house
for ten years.
"Is the qiviktok still hanging out in the house?" I
asked expectantly.
"No. It went back to the mountains. They can't
stand human company."
I was getting nowhere with my tupilak investi-
gation. At one point, I googled "Ikatek" to find out
if there might be any online information about its
abandonment. One of the first hits I got was for the
prayer times in Ikatek for Moslems. Interesting, but
not really relevant.

“Video games”

At last I decided to visit Ikatek, so I hired a boat

to take me there. The village did in fact look aban-
doned, with most of the houses collapsed or boarded

“
up. Iconic Greenlandic litter such as Carlsberg lager
cans were notably absent, as was the toilet tissue
that decorates the ground throughout the Arctic.
Made by an angakok (shaman), a tupilak is a carv- in question. I didn't locate the bag in the attic, either. Soon I was searching around for the telltale
ing that typically boasts gaping mouthparts, grasp- Nor did I observe any tupilaks assuming their signs of a tupilak attack, maybe big claw marks on
ing appendages, skulls adorned with bird beaks, initial pose of standing at the edge of the sea and the side of a house, maybe the remnant of someone's
and various other grotesque body parts. Upon being waiting to do their carver's bidding. yanked off arm. Occasionally, I'd look up to make
placed against the angakok's breast, it comes alive sure that a monstrous creature, possibly one shaped
and goes into attack mode. There's only one given
if you're the victim of a tupilak attack: your entrails
Becoming an angakok ain’t easy For if you want to send like a walrus and wearing women's breeches, wasn't
advancing toward me.
will be eaten. Or at least some of your entrails. A But I did find tupilaks, dozens of them, at a work- a tupilak after someone, A Greenlander came out of one of the houses

you'd need to be an anga-

subspecies of tupilak called a natigateq is only in- shop which had the Danish name of "Stunk." Here and asked me what I was looking for.
terested in your intestines, which it'll meticulously they were being carved by local craftsmen with "Signs of a tupilak attack," I said.
pull from your body and eat. power tools. The air in the shop smelled (stunk?)
of burnt reindeer antler, the raw material for most
kok, and to be an angakok, The man laughed. "The only place you'll find
tupilak attacks now is in video games," he said.
The search commences tupilaks nowadays. Unfinished carvings with elon- you have to be eaten by an I asked him about all the empty houses.
gated skulls, exposed ribcages, and oversized talons "Ikatek died because it was too close to Tasi-
Usually, a tupilak only targets individuals, not entire rested on tables next to cellphones and mugs of coffee. enormous underground ilak," he replied. "Everyone wanted to live in 'the
villages, so when I heard my friend's story I flew
to East Greenland to investigate it. Specifically, I
"If someone stole your wife or girlfriend, would
you send one of your tupilaks after him?" I asked
polar bear called a Timek, big city'" (note: "The big city" has a population of
fewer than two thousand people).
took a helicopter to Tasiilak, the nearest village to
Ikatek, and began looking up people I'd known from
one of the carvers.
"Nagga," he said. "I'd just beat up the guy."
digested and then shat out. "But you didn't move there."
"I'm from Tasiilak. This is my summer home."
my previous visits as an ethnographer. This was definitely the quicker solution. For Once you've been shat out, Back in Tasiilak, I went into the gift shop at the
Georg Uparsima, probably the last full-fledged if you want to send a tupilak after someone, you'd
you would somehow have Hotel Angmagssalik and bought the most gruesome

„
angakok in East Greenland, had died, so I talked with need to be an angakok, and to be an angakok, you tupilak I could find. It had a huge grinning skull
a cousin of his named Hendrik. "Many years ago, a
tupilak shaped like a walrus and wearing women's
have to be eaten by an enormous underground po-
lar bear called a Timek, digested and then shat out.
to find a way to rejoin your propped up on bandy little legs, and there was a
drill-like beak sticking out of its occiput. Perhaps I
breeches came ashore in Sermiligaq, but I've never Once you've been shat out, you would somehow skeleton. If you succeed in could bring it alive and cause the abandonment of a

that dicey maneuver, then lo!

heard of one in Ikatek," Hendrik said. have to find a way to rejoin your skeleton. If you row of McMansions not far from where I lived?
"It was bad hunting that caused the people to succeed in that dicey manoeuvre, then lo! you're an Once I got home, I put the bad luck charm
leave Ikatek," another Greenlander told me.
Ole Jensen, a Dane and former Director of the Ta-
angakok. Myself, I would rather engage in fisticuffs
with a wife stealer than undergo such an unpleasant
you're an angakok. against my right breast and waited. Nothing hap-
pened. Then I put it against my left breast, but the
siilak Museum, hadn’t heard the story about Ikatek apprenticeship. tupilak again remained a carving made from the
being attacked, either. But he did tell me that there antler of a reindeer. And I suspect it will always re-
was a plastic bag containing the apparent remains of The qiviktok vanishes main simply a carving, unless, of course, I somehow
a tupilak in the Museum's basement or possibly in manage to get myself eaten by a giant underground
its attic. I rummaged around among old beams and An Italian living in Tasiilak, Robert Peroni, hadn't polar bear.
boards in the basement, but didn't find the plastic bag heard the Ikatek story, but he did tell me about a

Licensing and
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 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 22

SIX YEARS AGO

Hooray! We turned ten this year. For a To celebrate our decade of existence, Thus, for ten issues, expect a page dedi-
humble street rag like Grapevine, turn- we thought we'd get a little introspective cated to a year of Grapevine's existence,
ing ten is a pretty big deal—we barely and reprint some choice articles from starting one issue ago, with a look back
expected to make it to ten issues (and, the past that are for some reason signifi- into magical 2003.
indeed, all of our contemporaries from cant, accompanied by commentary and This issue is a look at 2007, our fifth
the Reykjavík's street rag market have even updates. Call it a "blast from the year of existence when Sveinn Birkir
long since bid farewell... miss u, Undirt- past" or "a look into the dark cauldron Björnsson was editor. Read on from
ónar!). of time" if you want to—we call it fun. some reflections from the man!

Remembering 2007
By Sveinn Birkir Björnsson

Ah, 2007, the high watermark of pre-financial collapse parliamentary majority due to district alignments. I development. The more things change, the more they drummer Sigtryggur Baldursson, who has served as
Iceland. A time when even shit smelled like roses. They remember because I wrote about the shortcomings of stay the same. Which is great, because the second time the metronome for something like four generations of
say hindsight is 20/20. And looking back at 2007, it is our electoral system then. We wrote about tourism, we around, it is so much easier to feign cold-hearted cyni- the Icelandic music scene. I enjoyed an ongoing series
easy to see how all the signs pointed towards our im- wrote about environmental issues and we wrote about cism. I mean, who needs culture, anyway? by photographer GAS, called Scenes From Suburbia,
minent demise, financially speaking. I would like to the value of the creative industries. These matters are All along, though, The Reykjavík Grapevine documenting the Reykjavík that most visitors are likely
say that the Reykjavík Grapevine was the lone voice still at the heart of our political debate today, and lately, brought you the best available coverage of Reykjavík to miss. I also remember Fabrizio Frascaroli’s multi-
of dissent at the time, but I would probably be overstat- they seem to be falling by the wayside in an attempt to culture. We talked to artists, filmmakers, musicians, part series “The Lonesome Traveller,” where he wrote
ing our importance. The Reykjavík Grapevine did, at recreate the conditions that made 2007 possible in the and loads and loads of interesting people who made about his experience of walking across Iceland. It was
the time, publish quite a few articles that touched upon first place. Addiction is a powerful thing. (and still make) Reykjavík such an incredibly vibrant a feat, both physically and mentally, spending weeks
the morality of this thing, examining a society that was In December, journalist Steinunn Jakobsdóttir place. We did our best to let you in on the secret. Point alone walking across the Icelandic interior, and his
increasingly being corroded by the unholy alliance of wrote about the last days of the bar Sirkús, which was out the places to be and things to see and give you the writing often managed to capture that sublime experi-
politics and finance. But we didn’t do enough. No one located in an old house in an area slated for redevel- best possible experience of this little enclave of a city. ence. I also remember it was a lot of work to edit.
did. And frankly speaking, I am not sure what it would opment. It is nearly impossible to put into words what And most of the time, I think we did more than a decent I’ll admit, I did not particularly envision The Reyk-
have required at the time. The addict never listens until Sirkús was, especially to someone who wasn’t there. job of it. God knows we spent enough time in dingy javík Grapevine at this stage. Ten years old, and still
he finds himself at the bottom. Especially five years later. A cultural institution is a bars doing research. representing the grassroots of Reykjavík. But, I am
I remember we had parliamentary elections that description, but it falls short. Cut to 2013, and that same There is a lot to remember from that year. We in- glad it is still here.
year. The opposition at the time received 52% of the scenario is being recreated again over concert venue terviewed Björk, and hid the interview inside our
popular vote, but still ended up one MP short of a NASA, which is closing down to make room for re- cover design. We published a long interview with
 ‘Memento Mori’ is being exhibited at the National Gallery of Island (Listasafn Íslands) until August 25.
The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Other works can be found throughout the year in public spaces around town. Check out her style
Art 24
and past works at www.sarariel.com.

The Writing On The Wall

It’s actually quite nice
by Parker Yamasaki

It's not street art if it's in a gallery. “I definitely don't want to exhibit street art in the white cube,” Sara Riel says, “one of the fun-
damentals is finding the right spot, it's part of its nature.” Sara has been working in the streets since the early 2000s when she
moved from her cosy hometown Reykjavík to study art in Berlin.

Memento Mori

The National Gallery of Iceland www.sarariel.com 10:00-17:00 until 25th of August

Magnús Andersen

“When I went there you could not es- of its small, wide streets. Whereas They taught me to just go for it.” do this.” “No you couldn't!” she it, a familiar friend greets visitors—a
cape the scene—Berlin was bombed Barcelona is better for street art with There is a lot to learn in the realm says, annoyed, “a lot of people don't framed drawing of the same mega-
with graffiti,” she says. It was at the its narrow, tight streets. So the cities of street art, but it's not going to hap- realise how much work is put into mushroom that reigns over Hverfis-
East Berlin Art School Weissensee themselves call for their own visuals. pen through traditional pedagogy. art, even the simplest pieces. They gata.
that Sara met Nomad, her soon to be Even more so when you're working “I've been asked to give lectures on don't realise how 24-7 this job is.”
partner in crime: in creative, stimu- in your own mind—in a studio that street art, and things like that” she But Sara’s exhibit attacks the in- One-way street
lating, city-beautifying crime. “It isn't connected to the place that you says, “but it shouldn't be learned like difference of museumgoers that up-
was a mad life with Nomad,” she re- live.” that. It's something you learn by get- sets her so much. After three years Of course there are technical differ-
calls, “it worked because at that age I Berlin's affinity for tagging names ting out and doing it—copy others, of brainstorming, researching, and ences between street art and gallery
didn't want to be in the quiet peace of didn't rub off on Sara, though. “It find your style, get better, build your creating, ‘Memento Mori’ brings to- art—the time frame, the materials,
a studio. I wanted to be outside, play- was clear that Nomad and I were less street credit—it's not something to gether two of Sara's loves: nature the audience, to name a few. But re-
ing, engaging with people.” interested in tagging our names—we learn academically.” and art. “Nature themes in art are gardless of the space it ends up in,
were more into creating these sort like love songs in music,” she laughs, Sara approaches all of her work with
Playing by the rules of real-time comics” she says. Berlin White cubes aren't “a classic. That was part of the chal- equal seriousness. “To me, taking it
was soon speckled with their original lenge that I enjoyed.” The pieces seriously doesn't mean it has to be
just for squares
Reaching beyond the traditional cast of characters, usually accompa- themselves steer far clear of clichés. profound and intellectually serious,”
structures didn't mean abandoning nied by a one-line sentence relating Sara's love of the outdoors is not Memento Mori combats the tradi- she clarifies, “serious just means
structure altogether. “When I got to the particular situation. “Whatev- mutually exclusive with exhibiting tional aesthetics of Natural History giving it your best. Pushing your
into graffiti I thought I was diving er came to mind,” Sara says, “that's indoors. “It's not a story that goes Museums (and points out the “em- mind and pushing your limits, criti-
into this completely open realm. To what was put down. It was like that ‘from the streets into the national barrassing” absence of one in Reyk- cizing yourself and then taking it past
my surprise there are actually quite for a while, always with a pen, al- museum,’ like most people might javík). She notes that with the advent that criticism. By taking it further
a lot of rules—who to cross, or not to ways on the run. A sort of manic see it as,” Sara says, “A lot of people of portable internet sources—iPads you usually find a way outside of the
cross, and how to do it; what spots state.” She says with a laughing know me from the streets because and iPhones and etc.—information, frame.” And frames are something
are good; how to layer the piece, fondness, “you have to be a little bit that is where my art is most acces- which traditionally takes precedence that Mrs. Riel will never let herself be
when to double line it, and what- manic if you want to do this because sible, but I love to promote visual art in natural history displays, is made confined by.
ever,” she goes on. And just as the the outside is endless, if you want to in any form. Especially in Iceland, available outside of the exhibit. “I'm “I wouldn't take street art into the
streets are a product of the societies have an impact you either have to be where going to the museum isn't as not saying we don't need the infor- gallery, but I will take fine art into the
they host, the art on them must vary everywhere, or super large.” popular as it should and could be.” mation there, but we have more free- streets,” she says. “I really believe
respectively. “The rules of the game Sara's current exhibition at the dom to play around with the way we what goes around comes around.”
in Reykjavík aren't the same as they Practice what you preach National Gallery of Iceland, ‘Memen- present it now, we can make it more The statement harks back to Berlin,
are everywhere else. This applies to to Mori,’ is a tribute to the “just go for stimulating in every sense.” always for creation, never for de-
every city, they all have their own lit- In the grand scheme of things, the it” attitude that she picked up after Her exhibit serves as a prototype struction. It was about making the
tle rules for you to figure out,” Sara mania was worth it. Sara's style is years of exhibiting in the streets. “I of her vision, gracefully playing with environment more human-like, she
says. distinct; her works are detailed and got this opportunity and I just had to the visual presentation of scien- mentions. “It's important to respect
She notes the impact of Brazil- well executed. Of course, it isn't just do it. No one was paying me to do it, I tific information. A projector loops your city,” she says with emphasis,
ian folklore on Sao Paulo artists Os about precision; it's about the prac- completely ruined myself financially ground-up shots of dancing florals “always give it your best. You never
Gemeos. She talks about the dry- tice and the process. “A lot of what and was working 15–16 hour days, in the corner. A shelving unit holds know where your artwork is going to
humoured political style of iconic we did [in Berlin] was total trash, and in the end I completed the grand vials of various plant specimens la- take you. If it’s done with integrity,
British artist Banksy. It's clear that just a bunch of crap put down. But it mission.” belled in Latin, a comical display of then most of the time it gets you a
their works are steeped in the cul- taught me to be more light-hearted Despite all of her hard work, and our attempt to impose order upon ticket somewhere.” Let’s just hope
ture that these artists work within. about mistakes. There's a feminine its stunning products, she notes that the least orderly thing of all, na- it’s the right kind of ticket.
To the extent that the city dictates tendency that I had to overcome— there are still those who are sceptical ture. Beautifully layered collages of
the style, it is as much cultural as it that ‘everything has to be beautiful, of the government sponsored artist scientifically illustrated moths and
is spatial. “Berlin is much more of a everything has to be perfect’—be- salary. She discusses the sentiment butterflies are pressed up in huge
writing capital,” she says, “because ing around the boys taught me a lot. of museumgoers, who think “I could frames. At the doorway to the exhib-
 STUNNING PHOTOS FROM ICELAND
Brand new handy-sized books to keep the memories alive

Various books on Icelandic culture and nature from some of our finest writers and photographers
Available in book stores all around the country
Uppheimar Publishing | Tel.: +354 511 2450 | uppheimar@uppheimar.is | www.uppheimar.is
 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Art 26

Reykjavík’s War
On Graffiti
By Kirsten O’Brien

For the last five years, the City of Reykjavík has been wag-
ing a war. For a country without a military, this may seem
curious, but this isn’t exactly a war involving soldiers. It’s
not a war on drugs nor is it a war on homelessness, pov-
erty or any other common social ill.

It’s a war on graffiti.

And some say, perhaps rightfully so. In 2008, Sara compares the series to an art instal-
the City of Reykjavík reported that 42,000 lation in a museum, and she makes a clear
square metres of public space were plastered distinction between her work and the quickly
with characters and figures, scrawled with scrawled squiggles so many often associate
writing and letters and branded with tags, nick- with graffiti. “It’s more like really big paintings
names and logos. Due largely to a harsh crack- that happen to be on the streets, which form
down by the city, the amount of graffiti seen the museum space. It’s not spontaneous or
on the streets as of December 2012 has been an instant action, like I used to work; it’s more
reduced by nearly half, to 22,000 square me- thought out, almost like an art show."
tres. And while it’s true that some of the work
may have been done by frustrated teenagers Cracking down
with nothing better to do, beloved public spac-
es such as Hjartagarðurinn ("The Heart Park") Prior to 2006, Sara says the City had a lax at-
were also born out of this explosion of colour, titude about street art and graffiti. Although
creativity and subversive independence. graffiti was illegal, she says police were le-
As some pieces of graffiti have become fix- nient and didn’t often fine taggers or paint over
tures of the city and even legitimate tourist at- works. As more and more people entered the
tractions, the question now has become not so scene and the internet allowed people to rapidly Simon Steel
much how to wipe out graffiti altogether, but share and see designs from around the world,
how it can exist in a way that keeps the city, the tagging and graffiti exploded, and the City ad-
public and the artists happy. It’s an issue at the opted a zero-tolerance policy toward any and “It was chaos,” he says. “In 2008, the central ing with graffiti artists and taggers to establish
intersection of questions about public space, all street art, modelled after a similar stance Reykjavík was like a garbage town.” a mutually agreeable policy, painting in tunnels
legality and a complicated art form. adopted by some cities in Sweden and Finland. Since 2008, however, Guðmundur says the is strictly prohibited. To allow that would be a
“They went quite insane with this zero toler- city has been slowly forging a link to the artists “big step,” he says, explaining that painting in
Meet the artists ance stuff. They spent an immense amount of themselves. He explains that a change in city regulated places may open the floodgates to
money on it,” says Chulo, a fellow artist who council members brought about a change in at- painting in unregulated places, which results in
Given the kaleidoscope of styles, characters, walked in only moments earlier and enters the titudes about graffiti, and that has shifted graf- more clean up costs. “If you allow it to spread,
colours and signatures that can be seen in the conversation without skipping a beat. Sara in- fiti into a grey zone of being not quite all the you will get a lot of smaller taggers and this will
city centre, it may come as a surprise that only troduces Chulo (which is Spanish for ‘pimp’) way legal, but not quite all the way outlawed have a snowball effect, meaning more money
a handful of individuals are responsible for the as the “King” of Hjart- either. Guðmundur to clean up the bad tags.”
bulk of it. agarðurinn because he says that the city’s
One of them is Sara Riel, who sits across is responsible for much “If young people are en- graffiti policy, as of Get’em while they’re young
from me at her cosy home on Njálsgata. As of the characters in the December 2012, is
a Bon Iver record plays quietly in the back- community space. He is couraged to treat graf- that graffiti artists With so much commotion and conversation
ground, she tells me over coffee that she tried deeply involved in the fiti as an art form, they and taggers must ob- surrounding legality, public space and what ex-
to do things the legal way at first. However, af- scene, and later tells me tain permission from actly can be considered “art,” one thing some-
ter the City rejected her applications for fund- that he has been docu- might be less inclined to property owners to times gets lost: the pieces themselves.
ing, she bypassed the bureaucracy and went menting graffiti in Reyk- paint, and property Amidst a haze of smoke and the gentle,
directly to property owners for permission to javík for a book he plans
vandalise city property owners must obtain steady noise of Bon Iver, both Sara and Chulo
use their property for her art. to publish. with thoughtless tags.” permission from the agree that when it comes to creating a piece,
“All my work is completely financed and Like Sara, he begins City Council of Reyk- each decision is deliberate. They take into ac-
produced and made by me, with a lot of help to hand roll himself a javík. Tagging in all count a number of different factors, ranging
from my friends. I usually had permission— cigarette. He was born in Iceland, but lived in circumstances is prohibited, and in many cases from the placement of the piece and its audi-
but not really support—from property owners, Spain for several years as a child. He has been the City specifically removes graffiti from pub- ence to whether the piece will be viewed from
most of whom have been rather nice about the painting since 1996. His colourful and some- lic schools, street tunnels, bridges, benches, up close or from far away, and what or how
whole thing. They’ll usually tell me, ‘we allow times creepy characters loom large on the lampposts and traffic signs. Chances are if it’s many colours should be used.
you to do your shit, but we won’t support you walls of Hjartagarðurinn, and although those on city property, it’s not going to last long. “It’s important to me that my pieces have
financially.’” remain standing, many of his creations were In some cases, neighbouring towns have a bold quality that will capture your eye. But
Sara is an Icelandic, Berlin-educated artist white-washed away when the city began its instated policies that give artists legal places within it, you’ll notice a deeper story or con-
living and working in Reykjavík. Between puffs massive graffiti cleanse. to paint. While the City of Reykjavík repaints nection with the city,” Sara says. “All those
of a hand rolled cigarette, she details her expe- “It was such a naïve thing. This zero toler- the pedestrian underpass beneath Miklabraut things, for me as the artist, are a huge part of
riences learning the ways of street art in Berlin ance thing hasn’t worked anywhere,” he con- up to twice a week, fifteen minutes south of why I do a piece and where I’m doing it.”
before she moved back to Reykjavík, which she tinues. “How are we going to be the first coun- Reykjavík, city officials in Hafnarfjörður allow She mentions a piece she made in collabo-
now considers her home as well as her canvas. try in the world to eradicate graffiti?” artists and graffiti enthusiasts to apply to paint ration with artist Davíð Örn Halldórsson called
“I got into graffiti and street scene when I was In 2008 alone, the city spent 159 million ISK in five underpasses and tunnels throughout “Cultivate Your Garden,” located on Seljavegur
in Berlin, and I’ve done my share of illegal tag- cleaning up graffiti on road signs, fences, city the city. Designated spots like these can actu- 42. It’s a piece that features a collection of
ging,” she says. “That’s kind of my origin, how it buildings, tunnels, bridges and playgrounds. ally help contain graffiti, Chulo says, because it bright, alien-like flowers stretching horizontal-
all began.” Of that amount, 50 million ISK went specifically gives young artists a space to practice. If young ly across the side of grey wall. She notes that
Even though she was in a city 2,300 kilome- into the city’s “Hrein borg,” (“Clean City”) cam- people are encouraged to treat graffiti as an art although it is hidden, it’s right next to a kinder-
tres away, she orchestrated a gathering of eight paign to catalogue and document exactly how form, they might be less inclined to vandalise garten, which is the piece’s main audience.
Berlin-based international artists to come and much graffiti was scrawled across the city. city property with thoughtless tags. Chulo, who has been silently nodding in
paint in Reykjavík in 2005. The only remaining Although the city has relaxed since then, an- “The problem with graffiti is that the City agreement, speaks up. “Gotta get’em while
of their murals is located on the back of Mál og other $55 million ISK went to clean-up efforts made it a problem. When I was growing up we they’re young,” he says.
Menning on Laugavegur, a collection of towering in 2012. What’s more, according to reports by had these places to paint. And everyone would
cartoon-ish monkey characters. the national broadcasting service RÚV, the city meet up there and everyone was into quality,
As her murals have not been painted over, continues to spend 3 million ISK per month trying to get better and develop,” Chulo says.
even though they are technically illegal, Sara has cleaning up graffiti. “As they shut down all these places, we lost
made a somewhat contentious peace with city the connection between the older and younger
officials. “In a way I have gotten support from Changing attitudes generations, and now instead of competing
them because they don’t take my work down and with style, people compete with space, and the
they don’t really bother me,” she says, a cigarette While the artists may say their work livens up younger generations don’t develop as rapidly.
dangling between her fingers. the city, there is a difference between “liven- They’ve grown up this way, and they’ve never
Her current project is a series called The King- ing up” and total saturation. Guðmundur Vig- had a place to practice, so this is all they know
doms, which features huge murals representing nir Óskarsson, a project manager for the City of how to do.”
the various natural kingdoms. They are visible Reykjavík, said there was backlash from both Guðmundur says Reykjavík may not be
all over the city, from the magical mushroom on residents and city officials alike when graffiti ready for that. He says that although the City’s
Hverfisgata to the phoenix on Nýlendugata. and tags began to seemingly overtake the city. policy is still in flux and city officials are work-
 Urban Canvasses:
Örn Tönsberg

Where some see blank urban walls, Örn Töns-

berg sees canvases. “I want to see a lively city,”
he says. “That’s why I love doing these murals
and meeting people and getting their stories.”
The work of the Reykjavík native and Muses
member appears all over the city, from the
nooks and crannies of city buildings to the
walls of shops and boutiques and even the
park Hjartagarðurinn.
Örn is trying to make graffiti more acces-
sible as well. In May 2012, Örn and several fel-
low graffiti artists were awarded 6,300 euros
from Youth in Action, an organisation that
helps Europeans between the ages of 13– 30
to fund programmes directed at young people.
He says the grant will allow him and other art-
ists to create several large murals in the city,
and eventually they will compile a print publi-
cation showcasing graffiti and other artwork.
Although Örn himself doesn’t have a for-
mal background in art, he has been doing
graffiti for the last decade. Upon returning to
Reykjavík in 2011 after spending four years in
Denmark, he started to receive more commis-
sioned projects from downtown shops.
While the city formally had a “zero-toler-
ance” policy toward graffiti of any kind, he says
the success and popularity of spaces like the
Hjartagarðurinn ("The Heart Park") are changing
attitudes and perceptions about street art. He
hopes to see more places in the city specifically
designated for graffiti. “What you see at Hjart-
agarðurinn is really nice art, and it doesn’t poi-
son the environment,” he says. “Something has
Caught By The Fuzz? Street Art Glossary
been accomplished there, and I think the city will
By Kaisu Nevasalmi By Kirsten O’Brien
see that.”
At some point in the future he wants to take
When young artists are busy decorating a pub- "Urban art" can be a wide variety of art in any
things a step further by opening a youth cen-
lic wall in 101 Reykjavík, it isn’t the city council public space, street art, graffiti and writing.
tre to host graffiti and music workshops, which
they worry about. Nope, it’s the cops. We called While the difference between graffiti and
would give young people more creative outlets.
them up to get their take on that whole street street art is becoming harder to recognise,
“People tend to think graffiti is destruc-
art thing. graffiti focuses more on letters and mostly
tive, and everyone who turns to graffiti is like a
“There is no bad blood between the police uses spray paint. Street art is more figurative,
troubled kid or something,” he says. “To some
and street artists. Not at least that I know of,” and uses more diverse mediums (so, things
extent that’s right because those who seek to
says Snorri Árnason from the Department of like Theresa Himmer's sequin art is a good ex-
do graffiti are thrill seekers, but typically I’ve
Information and Planning for Reykjavík Police. ample of street art in Reykjavík)
seen graffiti help people, especially kids who
Snorri explains that the police usually don’t 
Chulo says graffiti revolves mostly around
come from bad situations. It becomes the
chase down the people who make street art, al- lettering and creating an individual style.
most positive thing about their life—they are
though he does refer to it as “vandalism.” “The There are three kinds:
at least doing art.”
police have not taken real pro-active action
with these types of crime. Usually, the cases 
Tagging: purely letters or a symbol/icon.
are reported by people who feel like their prop- This is usually the artist’s name. When people
erty has been vandalised,” he continues. complain about graffiti, they are usually talk-
According to Snorri, graffiti artist arrests ing about tags and figurative tagging.
aren’t commonplace. He says that there are
about four or five cases per month that concern 
Throw-ups: Typically, simple lettering with
graffiti in Reykjavík, while hesitating to cite one colour as an outline and one colour as a
exact numbers. He says he imagines that the fill.
people who charge in these cases are usually
disgruntled home owners, and notes that the 
Piece: Derived from "masterpiece," this is
police don’t differentiate between tagging and a full colour piece that uses three or more co-
graffiti art, as there is no classification system. lours.
Describing the police procedures, Snorri
says that if the police see that someone is van- Good examples of the various terms/individ-
dalising property, like painting graffiti, they ual artists' work:
would arrest the individual caught in the act.
“If we have a suspect from the one who is rais- The "Tag by Quick" is a good example of an
ing charges, or a person who has been caught, elaborate tag.
then they will have to compensate for the dam-
ages. Usually this means cleaning the graffiti, "Sequins and Mural" is a good example of The-
or paying the owner.” resa Himmer's street art.
All in all it seems like the police in Reykjavík
are not very concerned about graffiti in gen- "Cultivate your garden" is a mural done by
eral. Snorri ends the conversation by claiming Sara Riel right outside a kindergarten.
that there only will be a case if someone raises
charges, and that is how the police work. It is as The "Zombie Clowns" is a good example of
simple as that. Chulo's work in Heart Park.

Simon Steel
 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Music 28

It Keeps Getting Better And Better

múm in conversation with Ólöf Arnalds
by Ólöf Arnalds

If Hemmi Gunn (legendary talk show host and footballer who passed away recently—bless his soul) had conducted this inter-
view, he would have started it off by saying: “For Grapevine’s readers, the band múm needs no introduction!” And he would
have been right. However, those of you who for some reason need the information, you know where to look. If you have a dif-
ficult relationship with computers and the internet, go to the Smekkleysa store on Laugavegur 35 and ask for Ási.

Now. Through releasing a slew of albums and

touring the world extensively, many times
over, múm have gone through quite many
line-up changes. Indeed, múm’s founders and
core-members, Gunnar Örn Tynes (Gunni)
and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason, have been
joined by many people on and off stage for
their creative endeavours under the múm-
moniker. The number of musicians that are
or have at some point been involved in the
project has reached at least twenty—some of
them have gone on to enjoy fruitful careers as
solo artists, band leaders, experimental com-
posers and the like after taking their first steps
into creative music with múm.

Both Gunni and Örvar are constantly involved

in a variety of projects. Örvar has written
lyrics for bands like Hjaltalín, Benni Hemm
Hemm and Ásgeir Trausti, and Gunni has pro-
duced at least seventeen albums for a wide
range of Icelandic bands. It doesn’t take a
rocket scientist to figure out that their impact
on Icelandic music scene is almost immeasur-
able. Nowadays, when the accepted way of
obtaining knowledge and experience in the
arts beyond the amateur level has moved from
guilds to university degrees, one has to won-
der what kind of experience lights the spark
for a young artist to start creating original
material, and whether the persistent creative
activity around múm could almost be consid-
ered an education in itself for those who have
joined in or witnessed it?

At the Grapevine’s request, I, Ólöf Arnalds,

an old friend, collaborator and former touring
member of múm, went to the band’s rehearsal
space to meet her old road buddies Gunni and
Örvar, to engage in a bit of small talk (what
Icelanders like to call “talking about the day
and the way”) and the imminent release of the
band’s fifth comeback album, ‘Smilewound.’

Submarine teeth meet

To start somewhere, let’s start with some
trivia: How long have múm been around?

ÖÞS: We don’t know.

You don’t know?

ÖÞS: At least we’re not a hundred percent

sure, 1997 I guess... Our first band, And-
héri, had a record that came out that summer
[starts noodling his guitar]. It was probably in
the fall of that same year that all it all begun.

GÖT: We released an EP with the band Spúnk,

and it was called ‘Stefnumót kafbátanna’
(“Submarines Meet”). Funnily enough, many
years later I realised that in a typically dyslex-
ic move on my behalf, half of the copies had
another title written on them: ‘Stefnumót kaf-
bátatanna’ (“Submarine Teeth Meet”). Some-
how I like the second title better.
Axel Sigurðarson
Continues over

Layer by layer, múm puts forth their newest dimly colourful "toothwheel." The product is cals began to really cohere as a creative family.
single, “Toothwheels.” A thumping bass jumps mildly disturbing and entirely appealing, just Back home in Iceland, they continue to run
in front of crackling electronics just moments like the song. the streets together, but have matured from the
before Gyða's ethereal vocals swiftly enter the “It helped that I am really familiar with Ör- playground prowlers to creative profession-
scene. The result is a shadowy melody that var's distinct aesthetics,” Sara says referring to als. When I caught up with Sara she is coating
lingers in your head after the last note expires. the design process, “and I knew when he was an otherwise mediocre wall on Grandi with
Hauntingly pleasing, like a friendly ghost. making the album that he was influenced by the múm artwork (and Grapevine cover!). She
Approaching Sara Riel to design a cover for horror-genre movies.” In any case, it was a fruit- comes down from the lift and we climb into the
the single was a good move on múm’s part. The ful collaboration. And a due one, as well. Sara front seat of her four-runner to escape the ocean
band started with a concept—something with met Gunnar, one of the band's two founding wind. She turns the key and múm's forthcoming
múm gets Riel teeth, and a wheel, maybe?—which Sara skilful- members, running around the neighbourhood album, whose cover she also designed, Smile-
ly crafted into reality in one take. The design has when they were just twelve years old. And Örvar, wound, emanates through crackling speakers.
By Parker Yamasaki its obvious connections to ‘Toothwheels’—its the other founding member, has been a friend for
Photo by Magnús Andersen title—as well as some subtler correlations. The over a decade. In 2001, the group moved to Berlin
original piece involves a coat of dripping paint, together where Sara was studying art. It was in
which she burned and then layered beneath the Berlin, Sara recognises, that these Reykjavík lo-
 Scheduled Busses
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 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Music 30

Continues from page28

No I get it. You were upset, and doing the
So this was when there was the only the math was more something you felt like do-
two of you, and then the twins entered? ing to see things in perspective, right?

GÖT: Yes, in 1998, we met Gyða and Kristín GÖT: Yep. When I was up to a few million, the
when we were making the music for ‘Nát- frustration wore off...
túruóperan’ (“The Nature Opera,” experimen-
tal high school play written by Andri Snær Ma- I’m wondering, because I’m one of these
gnason and the group). former disciples of The múm School Of Mu-
sic And Touring, isn’t it time to make things
Your output, both through múm and as part more formal? Where do I turn to if I want a
of other projects, is quite extensive. I know proper certificate of being a graduate from
there is plenty more to come, but isn’t it this school?
time to start thinking about life achieve- Hörður&Emiliana&
ment when it comes to the two of you?
How many múm records are there anyway?
ÖÞS: I’m afraid that’s not the way things work...
David&Vincent
Isn’t there somewhere I can go to get
The Straum guys have your answers
GÖT: With this one, they are six. this formally taken care of? Where is the
school’s administrative office located? The Skinny On By Óli Dóri and Davíð
Six records, that’s quite something, isn’t it? Smilewound Roach Gunnarsson
ÖÞS: I guess it’s where you’ll find us at a
ÖÞS: Well, six records in what fifteen, sixteen given time... By Haukur S. Magnússon Hörður Már Bjarnason, who goes by the
years? That’s nothing. That’s only a record ev- stage name M-Band, just released a sec-
ery third year. Maybe that’s why almost every Smilewound is múm’s sixth LP ond single from his forthcoming LP ‘Haust’
Symbiotically adjusting
time we release a record it’s perceived as a (“Fall”) that will hit the shelves... this fall.
comeback by the media. That we have some- The song “All Is Love” is a beautiful piece
how mysteriously gone into hiding and then Let’s talk about your latest comeback of experimental electronica, with hints of
returned with a new record. album, ‘Smilewound’. Are you entering It was recorded over the past year ambient. Highly recommended!
something new creatively this time? and a half or so
GÖT: I think it’s normal, especially when peo- Rejoice! “Jungle Drum” songstress Emili-
ple are having children and all it totally makes ÖÞS: I think we’ve taken a new direction with ana Torrini has just announced a fourth al-
sense. every record of ours, so if this one would bum, ‘Tookah,’ due September 6. The first
sound anything like the last one, we would be It features two songs written in song off the new album, “Speed Of Dark,”
ÖÞS: Most bands release records every other doing something differently for the first time. 2004-5, and a track initially re- is out now. The tune is a modern flavoured
year, but I agree. I’ve always found the time we Then again, it’s hard to evaluate your work corded for ‘Sing Along To Songs electronic-pop music that has us banging
take between records very normal. when you’ve just finished it. You Don’t Know’ (“Sweet Impres- our heads and looking forward to more.
sions”), which also made an ap-
I know. It’s that “you have to have a record What about you Gunni, do you feel the pearance on Hjaltalín’s ‘Termi- We are heavenly psyched about the upcom-
every other year” pressure. I personally same way? ing David Byrne and St. Vincent concert,
nal’).
have never been able to keep up with that... happening on August 18 at Háskólabíó the-
GÖT: I’ve been swamped in the material for atre. Throughout David Byrne’s career—
Calculate the pain away such a long time now. I think I need a few as a leader of the Talking Heads, through
months to clear my ears to get a proper pic- It was recorded all over the place. ambient world music collaborations with
You have also been touring like crazy ever ture of it. Brian Eno, and a slew of solo albums that
In múm’s Reykjavík rehearsal
since you started? I wonder how many con- touch upon on more exotic musical genres
spaces and apartments, in Esto-
certs múm has played over the band’s life- ÖÞS: For me it takes years... than you can think of—he has always been
nia, Finland and at the Galtarviti
time—it must be at least up to a thousand ahead of his contemporary curve. In re-
or more by now... Well, the two of you must have found a way
lighthouse. cent years he has expanded his talents to
of symbiotically adjusting to each other’s multimedia art, movie soundtracks, instal-
GÖT: I once tried to calculate how many peo- pace. lations, writings on city planning and de-
ple múm would have played for altogether. signing bicycle parking racks. He played
It will be released worldwide on
When I’d reached some ridiculous number I GÖT: At least we’ve had a long time to tune. two concerts in Iceland in Háskólabíó in
gave up. Funny, this was on one of many occa-
September 6, except in the US 1994, and was a guest at the Reykjavík Art
sions when the Icelandic tax authorities were And would you say you have succeeded in (September 17). Festival in 2010, where he showed outdoor
driving me up the wall by attempting to collect that? installations throughout 101 Reykjavík.
taxes that were in no context with my income.
I wanted to get my facts straight. GÖT: Yes, I would say so. St. Vincent has established herself as a for-
It is pretty great. midable songwriter and an excellent gui-
ÖÞS: That’s exactly the kind of argument they ÖÞS: It always keeps getting better and better. tar player. Her third solo album, ‘Strange
would listen to! Hmm... not so sure of that... Mercy,’ was one of the best records of
2011. A meeting of the two very sharp an-
minds resulted in the album ‘Love This Gi-
ant’ last year, and was unlike anything ei-
with some of Iceland’s most renowned mu- violinist. Since then she has embarked on a ther one has done on their own. A leftfield
sicians including Björk, múm, Mugison and successful solo career with her debut album, pop record, relying mostly on a huge brass
Sigur Rós. ‘Við og við’ (“Us and Us”) setting the bar high section and progressive electronic beats,
Ólöf is classically trained in violin and vi- in 2007. the two singers trade lines effortlessly.
ola and taught herself guitar and charango (a In 2010, she released the critically ac- St. Vincent also delivers some of her most
small Andean guitar). As a student of Iceland claimed ‘Innundir skinni,’ (“Within Skin”), inspired guitar work to date. Their tour in
Academy of the Arts, she studied violin, clas- which was nominated for the inaugural Nor- support of the album has received wild
sical singing, composition and new media. dic Music Prize. Ólöf continues making mu- praise from the music press, accompanied
Our Intrepid Reporter Ólöf Her style has been compared to such folk sic even through motherhood, releasing the by a huge brass band, with a set list cov-
artists as Vashti Bunyan, Joanna Newsom crowd-funded, ‘Sudden Elevation,’ in Febru- ering most of “Love This Giant,” but also
By Adrienne Blaine and Sufjan Stevens. Björk once described her ary of this year. So far it seems as if this Ice- drawing on both artists’ solo careers—and
sound as “somewhere between a child and an landic songstress can do no wrong in the eyes even a few Talking Heads classics. The per-
Ólöf Arnalds is a singer and songwriter with old woman.” and ears of fans and music critics everywhere. formance at Háskólabíó is a must see for any
wide instrumental talents. During the span For the better part of the last decade, Ólöf music geek with a mild touch of self-respect.
of her illustrious career she has collaborated toured with múm as a guitarist, vocalist and

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 1. júní kl. 12 / June 1 at 12 noon
2. júní kl. 17 / June 2 at 5pm
Hörður Áskelsson, Hallgrímskirkja
Hörður Áskelsson, Hallgrímskirkja
Taste the best
of Iceland ...
8. júní kl 12 / June 8 at 12 noon Guðný Einarsdóttir, Fella og Hólakirkja
9. júní kl. 17 / June 9 at 5 pm Guðný Einarsdóttir, Fella og Hólakirkja
15. júní kl. 12 / June 15 at 12 noon Kristian Krogsøe, Denmark
16. júní kl. 17 / June 16 at 5 pm Kristian Krogsøe, Denmark
22. júní kl. 12 / June 22 at 12 noon Stefan Kagl, Germany
23. júní kl. 17 / June 23 at 5 pm Stefan Kagl, Germany
29. júní kl. 12 / June 29 at 12 noon Matthias Giesen, Austria
30. júní kl. 17 / June 30 at 5 pm Matthias Giesen, Austria
6. júlí kl. 12 / July 6 at 12 noon Inger-Lise Ulsrud, Norway
7. júlí kl. 17 / July 7 at 5 pm Inger-Lise Ulsrud, Norway
13. júlí kl. 12 / July 13 at 12 noon Christian Schmitt, Germany
14. júlí kl. 17 / July 14 at 5 pm Christian Schmitt, Germany
20. júlí kl. 12 / July 20 at 12 noon Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin, France ... with a spanish undertone
21. julí kl. 17 / July 21 at 5 pm Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin, France
27. júlí kl. 12 / July 27 at 12 noon Peter Van de Velde, Belgium
28. júlí kl. 17 / July 28 at 5 pm Peter Van de Velde, Belgium
29. júlí kl. 20 / July 29 at 8 pm
3. ágúst kl. 12 / August 3 at 12 noon
4. ágúst kl. 17 / August 4 at 5 pm
Bristol Bach Choir, Nigel Nash, organ UK
Hans Fagius, Sweden
Hans Fagius, Sweden
Icelandic Gourmet Fiest
7. ágúst kl. 12 / August 7 at 12 noon Schola cantorum
10. ágúst kl. 12 / August 10 at 12 noon Björn Steinar Sólbergsson,Hallgrímskirkja Starts with a shot of the infamous
11. ágúst kl. 17 / August 11 at 5 pm Björn Steinar Sólbergsson,Hallgrímskirkja Icelandic spirit Brennívín
Than 6 delicious Icelandic tapas:
Alþjóðlegt orgelsumar Smoked puffin with blueberry
“brennivín” sauce
í Hallgrímskirkju 2013
Icelandic sea-trout with peppers-salsa
The International Organ Summer Lobster tails baked in garlic
in Hallgrímskirkja 2013 Pan-fried line caught blue ling
1. júní – 11. ágúst / June 1 – August 11 with lobster-sauce
Grilled Icelandic lamb Samfaina
Hádegistónleikar á fimmtudögum kl. 12
Lunchtime concerts on Thursdays at 12 noon
Minke Whale with cranberry & malt-sauce
Hádegistónleikar á miðvikudögum kl. 12
Lunchtime concerts on Wednesdays at 12 noon Í samvinnu við Félag íslenskra organleikara To finish our famous Desert:
Schola cantorum 6. júní / June 6th Örn Magnússon, Breiðholtskirkja
Marta G. Halldórsdóttir, sópran White chocolate "Skyr" mousse
13. júní / June 13th Hilmar Örn Agnarsson, Grafarvogskirkja
Björg Þórhallsdóttir, sópran
with passion fruit coulis
20. júní / June 20th Lenka Mátéová, Kópavogskirkja
Guðný Einarsdóttir, Fella- og Hólakirkja
27. júní / June 27th
4. júlí / July 4th
11. júlí / July 11th
Kári Þormar, Dómkirkjan í Reykjavík
Eyþór Franzson Wechner, Leipzig, Þýskalandi
Lára Bryndís Eggertsdóttir, Árósar, Danmörk
5.990 ikr.
18.júlí / July 18th Friðrik Stefánsson, Seltjarnarneskirkja
Eygló Rúnarsdóttir, mezzósópran
25. júlí / July 25th Kári Allansson, Háteigskirkja
Margrét Hannesdóttir, sópran
1. ágúst / August 1st Magnús Ragnarsson, Áskirkja
Telma Hrönn Sigurdórsdóttir, sópran
8. ágúst / August 8th Björn Steinar Sólbergsson, Hallgrímskirkja The only kitchen
Eyrún Unnarsdóttir ( Akureyri) mezzósópran
in Reykjavík open

Hallgrímskirkja, Skólavörðuholti, 101 Reykjavík

to 23:30 on weekdays RESTAURANT- BAR
Sími / tel.: +354 510 1000, fax: +354 510 1010
list@hallgrimskirkja.is - www.listvinafelag.is
and 01:00 on weekends Vesturgata 3B | 101 Reykjavík | Tel: 551 2344 | www.tapas.is
 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Art 32

Spontaneous Combustion
Pólar festival and the town of Stöðvarfjörður
make something where others saw nothing
By Parker Yamasaki

"Flott fjörd!" announced our driver as we pull into Stöðvarfjörður. It was the first exchange of words we had the whole
trip. He spoke no English, the only thread of communication tying us together was our own crinkled paper sign that
read "Stöðvarfjörður," and a matching label on a pack of newspapers sitting in his front seat.

To get there from the airport in Egilsstaðir one

relies on a series of ad hoc busses and the
generosity of strangers. Our route in particular
was made possible by two boys on break from
their rental car company, a small red bus shut-
tling long-haired sleepy men to a metal festival
a couple fjörds away, and the local newspaper
delivery man.
You don't need to know where you're
going in Stöðvarfjörður to find the festival.
Just follow the only road into town, and stop.
On the right side of the main drag there is a
community centre covered in fresh stripes of
teal and blue, a graffiti project taken up by the
local kids for the festival. Just across the road
a dim beige sign beckons passers-by with the
promise of hot food, groceries, and souvenirs.
And just beyond that rests the diamond-in-the-
rough old fish factory. The highest wall reads
"HERE" in neon orange letters, confirming your
arrival.
When we arrive in the early evening of July
12, it is as if the festival has awoken sleepy
Stöðvarfjörður from an eight-year long nap.
She shakes the scruff out of her hair and jumps
up, spry with potential. Before arriving I wor-
ried that importing the art and music scene
from Reykjavík to a town of 190 would be in-
vasive, and unwelcome. I could not have been
more wrong. It was clear from the moment we
pull back the creaky, sliding doors of the van
that collaboration was central to this festival.

Nourishment for the collaborative

spirit (aka horse meat sandwiches)
Magnús Andersen
Two wooden tables and a grill were posted be-
side the community centre. On one sat a mixed
arrangement of pots, each filled with a differ- were plentiful, and a DJ had started blasting tors with fluttering price tags and a full-length the official un-official carpenter/handyman/
ent soup. In tiny glass jars we sampled a salty some sounds in front of the mirror. Just jukebox constructer of the factory.
vegetable soup, fish soup, carrot soup, and old fish factory. around the
something having to do with sweet potatoes.
On the other table a tinfoil tray offered steam- De/Construction
No one seemed to know corner, empty
doorways reveal
A little too quiet
Just outside, beneath a massive mural of two
ing horsemeat sandwiches, fresh off the grill My first genuine introduc- if this was the fluorescent neon orange fish, there is a once-pink couch,
and wrapped in triangular pita pockets. Topped tion to the fish factory came rooms full of faded to nearly white by the sun. It's here that
with cocktail sauce. from a graphic designer and performance or not. recycled and I first meet Rosa and Zdenek, the couple who
Feeling full and warm from the inside out I graffiti artist named Narfi. reclaimed ambitiously purchased the factory back in 2011.
started to work my way back to the campsite Narfi was passing through supplies—drip- Rosa pops up to introduce herself, bubbling
for some comfy layers. Meanwhile, down at the Stöðvarfjörður with a group of friends under ping and crusty paint buckets, brushes and with pride and alcohol. They laugh and mingle
harbour, a performance art piece had begun the collective name RWS. Aside from dous- spray cans, tools and wooden cut outs. There with the festivalgoers, youthful spirits with
and a flood of faces urged me to turn the other ing the plain walls with vibrant designs and is no distinction between the deliberate and mature aspirations.
way. I obeyed and headed to the water just in thoroughly enjoying themselves, the group was the scrap in the fish factory. Everything has a Before they bought the fish factory, Rosa
time to catch two women in a rowboat covered in charge of leading the local kids in visually purpose. and Zdenek lived quietly up the road in
in a mesh sheet float around the harbour for renovating the community centre. Narfi was Upstairs, a lounge area has been carved into Stöðvarfjörður. "We were running our own
about ten minutes. No one seemed to know if eager to show off the factory's interior—thriv- the room by the strategic placement of some company called MupiMup. We recycled things,
this was the performance or not. The women ing on creation as much as destruction. A 2,860 couches and an ashtray. A kitchen welcomes industrial waste and scraps and turned them
docked and everybody turned toward each square-metre work in progress. visitors with a handcrafted jukebox and a cof- into art," Zdenek explains. "We had very sweet
other, conversation continued casually. What The entry room gives the impression of a fee maker. A man they call Smári walks up to lives," Rosa laughs, a spark appears within
we had just witnessed was still unclear, but young museum, complete with houseplants the jukebox contraption and throws on some them as they reminisce about the calm before
no one minded as the weather was nice, beers and a false snake. A "gift shop" welcomes visi- tunes. Smári made the jukebox himself. He is the factory. MupiMup lives on as both a com-

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Magnús Andersen

pany and concept. "I guess we're Zdenek agrees. Eventually the couple
sort of doing the same thing with the won the support the officials, and
fish factory project," Zdenek says, more importantly, the support of the
"we're recycling the building." community.
"But things got very lonely a lot of The town of Stöðvarfjörður has
the time," Rosa explains. "Saturday been immensely supportive of the
nights we were like, 'should we go Fish Factory project and all of its
visit mom and dad, or do origami?'" extensions, like Pólar. "It's such a
she jokes. "You should have seen our brilliant example of community"
New Year's Eve," Zdenek elabo- Rosa says proudly. "Like last night at
rates. "We were standing outside at the concert in the community centre,
midnight with our glasses of cham- I looked around and there are little
pagne. There wasn't even a cat in the kids, people my parents age, and my
street. Nothing." former teachers all in there dancing
The story is all too common for along with the people here for the
the small villages in the area. When festival."
the government instated the individ-
ually transferable quota system on All hands on deck
the fishing industry, Stöðvarfjörður On Sunday afternoon, nearly
less-than-willingly handed their quo- everybody in the town gathered on
ta over to a company called Snæfell, the front porch of the old church for
with the understanding that the right brunch. A day prior Inga, a resident
to harvest the local fishing grounds of Stöðvarfjörður for forty years, led
would no longer be in their hands, a workshop gathering native herbs
but would remain in their town. But and moss. The group used these
eventually, as the story goes, the gathered goods to make a creamy
small company was bought out by soup and a variety of freshly baked
This is Solla Eiriksdottir, the winner
Samherji and the fishing quota was breads. Inga's all-natural delicacies of Best Gourmet Raw Chef and Best
relocated. The day the fish factory were complemented by pancakes
closed, 34 people lost their jobs, and grilled on the spot and served up, Simple Raw Chef in the 2011 and
Rosa was one of them. In less than a one by one. 2012 “Best of Raw” Awards. Come and try out one
year from that so too went the post- Food and feasts sewed a common
office, then the bank. "They pretty thread between the festival and of her great dishes at her restaurant Gló.
much killed the town," Rosa recalls. the town. Salvaged goods brought
in from Reykjavík by Pólar were
Enter the void complemented, even outshined,
The fire was smouldered, but never by the contributions of the locals.
fully extinguished. In 2005, the fac- Friday’s potluck was followed up on
Reykjavík · Engjateigur 19 and Laugavegur 20b · Hafnarfjörður · Strandgata 34 · www.glo.is
tory closed. In 2010, the municipality Saturday by a mid-day rhubarb feast
decided that the building was to be in one local’s backyard. That evening
demolished. It had been inactive and a group of local fisherman cut and
uninhabited for six years, the roof grilled 140 kilos of fresh fish that
was peeling off, the walls were crum- they had caught that morning, with
bling, and it was just plain unsightly. the helping hands of about twelve
In stepped Rosa and Zdenek. After festival attendees. The fish feast
a year of planning, presentations, was accompanied by stuffed grilled
and loads of paperwork, the couple peppers from Reykjavík and heaps
bought the abandoned factory for of fresh salad prepared by Inga’s
100,000 ISK. herb group. Creamy moss soup
The road to obtaining the factory and sugar-filled pancakes sweetly
was just as rickety as the road into capped the weekend.
Stöðvarfjörður. "To them we were As the sun comes out and the
just two guys with loads of ideas." crowd scatters to the town below,
Rosa says, "it took us nearly a year Inga unfolds a patio chair and sits
to convince the municipality that down next to me. She is very happy
we weren't just crazy hippies." They with the festival. "Reykjavík comes in
came up with project proposals, with the music and the art and every-
budgets, models and projections. thing, and we come in with what we
They were granted and denied. "With know; I collect herbs, the fisherman
these big projects they want plans, come in with the fish..." she trails off
they want to see how you're going and closes her eyes in the beam-
to make money, and when you are ing sun. "So good—the weather,
going to make it. That is, if you'll the people, the food, so good," she
make it immediately or not," Zdenek repeats in perfect content, and then
says with slight annoyance. "It's dismisses herself to clean the dishes
hard to come up with these projec- and join her sister inside the old
tions when you're not doing it for the church.
money," Rosa says. "It is so square"
 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Flights to Egilsstaðir provided by Air Iceland, book
flight at www.airiceland or call +354-5703000
Music 34

An Unbelievable
Weekend Of Mayhem
The Eistnaflug experience
by Tómas Gabríel Benjamin

Eistnaflug, “flight of the testes,” is sacred ground for the rockers and metalheads of Iceland. Featuring sets from 70 bands over
three days, 700 kilometres out of Reykjavík, it is a great place to relax or rock out to your favourite kind of music. Whether you’ve
branded every inch of your flesh with infernal symbols to the dark gods of metal, or just like the sound of Skálmöld on the radio,
you should go to Eistnaflug. Having just concluded my first visit, I can attest this wholeheartedly.

NESKAUPSTAÐUR
ON EISTNAFLUG
Speaking to Jón Björn Hákonarson, chair of the town council, he says
the town has really embraced the festival. “Stefán, the organiser of the
festival, makes sure people don’t get up to any trouble. Eistnaflug is a
great promotion for Neskaupstaður, and creates a lot of value for the
food and hospitality sectors. The town has a long musical history, one
that Eistnaflug compliments well. The town takes a couple of days to
recover afterwards, but the camping sites and venues are all cleaned
up quickly. There is significantly less of a mess here than we hear from
other festivals, and violence and sexual assault incidents are unheard
of. It just goes to show that they don’t necessarily go hand in hand with
music festivals.”

Guðný Lára Thorarensen

The chance to have Iceland’s great- the rest of Iceland. Ína describes since 2005. What started as a one-
est heavy bands obliterate your how the shrubbery, grass and lava day metal festival now engulfs
eardrums with pure metal murder all react differently to the summer Thursday, Friday and Saturday and
should be reason enough to go, as sunlight in the East of Iceland, cre- features various off-venue action
should the excuse of camping out ating unique breath-taking sights and activities. Tradition is being
with your best mates for a weekend, with deep contrasts and a rich co- built right before our eyes!
but there is more to the festival than lour palette.
that. The fact of the matter is that it This in turn also describes Eist- In the company
is the best possible location for any naflug very well. Out in the Eastf- Guðný Lára Thorarensen
of friends
music festival in Iceland. jords, the bands are both presented
Another cool aspect of Eistnaflug is
Neskaupstaður is the eastern- with the dreamlike natural scenery, And if there is a VIP area, the at, with no improvements neces-
the friendly vibe it offers. Make no
most settlement of the country, and and have nothing but the very best bands aren’t hanging there. It’s sary. They only get paid in beer
mistake, this is not on par with the
is flanked by majestic and colourful and most devoted fans. Even medi- as easy as pie approaching them and petrol money, but they all love
sometimes-violent drunkfests that
mountains. On the Thursday after- ocre bands become legends of rock outside the venue and striking up coming here.
take place in Iceland during sum-
noon of my arrival, the mountain- and roll on stage, as the enthusias- a friendly conversation. Humbly I The only concern that the bands
mer (most notably on Merchants’
side facing the town across the tic crowd eats up everything they see them accept shots and shake hint at is the fear of the festival be-
Weekend), but a place to enjoy mu-
narrow gulf has erupted into a full have to offer. Never before have I hands with ecstatic fans, sharing a coming much bigger than it already
sic, good company and plenty of
bloom of deep greens, browns and seen so many heathens pump their fag and talking about what bands is. Becoming mainstream may offer
booze. On the few occasions when
reds, momentarily paralysing all fists to songs about bearing heavy they look forward to seeing. more commercial rewards, but at the
a fight looks to be about to break
onlookers with its magnificence. crosses. Likewise, nowhere else Speaking to a handful of musi- moment the size suits the fans, ven-
out, I see concerned people leap
My host for the weekend, Ína can you see good and proper bands cians, I ask what they think of the ue sizes and bands just perfectly.
into action and defuse the situa-
Gísladóttir, tells me people usually receive so much deserved praise. festival, and what could be im-
tion. “Not at Eistnaflug,” one such
immediately notice how colour- Eistnaflug has been held an- proved. Each band assures me that READ REVIEWS OF THE MUSIC AT
hero says as he steps between two
ful the Eastfjords are compared to nually on the second week of July this is the very best festival to play GRAPEVINE.IS
people on Saturday evening.

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Brogan Davison &

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 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Flights to Egilsstaðir provided by Air Iceland, book
flight at www.airiceland or call +354-5703000
Art 36

Listen To Your Art

Getting to know LungA by the details
by Vala Þóroddsdóttir and Parker Yamasaki

Over the bustle of the LungA lunch buffet one morning, Marteinn Sindri Jónsson sat with stick-like posture, listening to the
sounds of the cafeteria "without bias," as he put it, just like a microphone would. Earlier that day, his radio workshop “Waves
of Ether” had done a similar exercise in an abandoned factory, sitting in silence for ten minutes in order to ‘tune’ our ears: to
prepare them for optimal hearing. Coming out into the rainy, fog-spotted morning, we listened with renewed clarity to the back-
ground sounds we were used to tuning out: drops of rain tapping the ground, a faraway waterfall, the shuffling of rubble, the
crinkling of fabric.
In many ways, the details of Lun- isolated Seyðisfjörður. It's an easy tion littered the side of the road though, Seyðisfjörður is separated 5. Wool.
gA—a young artists’ festival held hitchhike over the hill, because there through Seyðisfjörður, where work- from the outside world by a winding
in Seyðisfjörður every July for over is only one road that leads to LungA. shops took place. One didn’t neces- mountain pass that snakes between Okay, it's more of a feeling. But it
ten years now—are best captured Basically, if a car is driving on this sarily have to be involved in a partic- half-frozen lakes, rushing waterfalls, is worth mentioning because it is a
in just such a way. The festival is a road, that car is going to Seyðis- ular workshop to be exposed to the and vibrant slopes of green. At the feeling so distinct to music festivals
compilation of weeklong workshops fjörður. process of creation over the week of bottom of the switchback mountain in Iceland. Back in my native Califor-
spotted with lectures, concerts and LungA. Next to the red schoolhouse, road lies Seyðisfjörður, every bit as nia, the "feeling" of an outdoor mu-
performances of various kinds. But 2. A steady stream of coffee, and the a participant in the “Expansion of fantastic and whimsical as the in- sic festival is something more along
LungA is also composed of small gurgle of the container's last drops. the Oscillators” workshop drills side of Wonka’s factory. Waterfalls the lines of sweaty, sleeveless arm-
elements not boldly listed in the holes into her homemade wood- cut through the mountainside and skin sticking to you, forcing you to
festival’s programme. The festival is The well-being of its participants wind instrument. Up the road a spill out underneath the town into move as the crowd moves. Here in
defined by details that go unnoticed was paramount for this festival. Ev- “Personal Spaces” participant saws the fjörd. Iceland, the only discomfort comes
until they're gone—until the party’s erybody was provided with shelter two-by-fours to build a self-standing from knowing that the sweater you
over and our ears have adjusted to and sleeping pads, three meals a sun structure. Down at the harbour,
the silence. day, and of course, plenty of cof- a pirate group reclaims wooden pal-
fee. In the main hall a group of vol- lets and fire bins, giving them new
1. A cardboard box full of frozen unteers collaborated with cafeteria purpose as a fully functioning bar
fish, sliding across the back of a staff to keep the nutrients, and the patio come Saturday.
gutted van. caffeine, flowing.
4. The constant roar of water.
The fish belonged to a local Bistro in 3. Sharp creaks of wind hitting
Seyðisfjörður, the van belonged to a corrugated metal, dull thumps of One way in, and one way out. It's
bartender at the Bistro, our free-of- hammers hitting wood. like Willy Wonka's chocolate fac-
charge taxi driver over the mountain tory. Instead of ominous smoke-
from the main hub Egilsstaðir to the Sounds destruction and construc- stacks and dry concrete walls,

Paula Prats Paula Prats

Into the wind

Visitors are welcome to the interactive exhibition on renewable energy at Open daily, June-August, 10 am to 5 pm:
Búrfell hydropower station, a 90 minute drive from Reykjavik. North of the
Búrfell Hydro Power Station Krafla Geothermal Station
station you will find Landsvirkjun’s first wind turbines, part of our research
Interactive exhibition on renewable energy Visitor Centre
into the possibilities of wind farming in Iceland. Guided tours of the wind
turbines every Saturday in July 1 - 5 pm. Fljótsdalur Hydro Power Station More info and route instructions at
Landsvirkjun is the National Power Company of Iceland. Végardur Visitor Centre www.landsvirkjun.com/visitus

3 m/s - electricity generation begins 15 m/s

37 Art

The House at Eyrarbakki

THE HOUSE AT EYRARBAKKI
Árnessýsla folk museum is located in Húsið,
the House, historical home of the Danish
merchants built in 1765. Húsið is one of the
oldest houses in Iceland and a beautiful
monument of Eyrarbakki´s time as the
biggest trading place on the south coast.
Today one can enjoy exhibitions about the
story and culture of the region, famous piano,
shawl made out of human hair and the kings
pot, are among items. Húsið prides itself with
warm and homelike atmosphere.

Opening hours: May 15th - September 15th daily 11.00-18.00 or by an agreement

Tel: +354 483 1504 & +354 483 1082 | husid@husid.com | www.husid.com
Alisa Kalyanova

are starting to frizz was probably knit by the wearer's colours as festivalgoers set off tinted smoke bombs, the
mother. Sorry ma. scene was both apocalyptic and entirely charming at the
same time.
6. The crunch of cans being kicked From July 14–21, 2013 the East Coast village of Seyð-
across the gritty cement. isfjörður opened its doors, doubled in population, and
hosted the convergence of these details. The result was
On Saturday night LungA was abruptly shaken awake by a festival unlike any other breed of festival in Iceland.
it’s own advertisement as a “youth festival,” and kicked As long-time LungA participant Goddur put it: “there is
up both the “youth” and the “festival” for a seven-act a certain spirit here that is difficult to explain for those
concert. Two stages faced one another at the edge of the who haven’t experienced it...It’s like trying to describe a
fjörd, separated by a boat-bar that was spontaneously sexual climax to people who have never had a sexual cli-
constructed over the course of the week using only found max. Seyðisfjörður is a creative sexual climax—you just
materials (including the boat). The harbour's walls were have to experience it to understand it.”
smothered in graffiti, a string of patio lights swung from
the boat-bar's mast, and flags of shredded fabric flut-
tered overhead. Coupled with a thick fog that changed

Kicking It New School

by Parker Yamasaki

Anyone who has attended LungA will confirm: the spirit of the festival lives on long after the last confetti
flutters into the fjörd. In 2010 that sentiment was strongly felt, and an idea was pitched to foster that spirit
throughout the year. Three years later, Jonatan Spejlborg Jensen and Björt Sigfinnsdóttir stood with pride
in their eyes in front of a lecture-hall of festival attendees to announce the materialisation of that idea, the
LungA School. It's what Jonatan describes as the "ambitious offspring of the festival," a symbiosis of playful
LungA spirit and a little bit of pedagogy.
LungA school is the first of its type in Iceland. In December 2012, the school received funding from the
Ministry of Education and Culture, and according to Jonatan they are still engaging in a healthy dialogue.
With its inauguration, Jonatan hopes that they can help open up the system to more small, private and cre-
ative educational opportunities in Iceland.
The ideals of the school are adopted straight from the festival. “The experience is the first part of the whole
learning cycle,” Jonatan explains. The curriculum focuses “less around theory as the foundation and more
about theory to support the experience.” Do first, reflect second. Like the mild-mannered cousin to the “it's
better to ask forgiveness than permission” approach.
The ‘experience’ that LungA school promotes is realised through workshops that run every other week
during the four-month semester at LungA school. “In creating arts, the final piece becomes static,” he con-
tinues, “but the process itself is super interesting to dive into. It's not your ability to form a piece of art when
you get here that is important, it's your will and curiosity to explore a given medium.” He references a couple
of the workshops going on inside the festival, as we speak. “Look at the dance workshop, for instance. There
are really professional dancers in there alongside some who have never danced at all. Both of them are pick-
ing up a lot of experience, a lot of valuable experience.”
The LungA School is now officially accepting applications, and the doors open for the first time on March
10, 2014 for a 4-week long “beta-session.” Applicants must be 18 years or older. Fall semester runs August
25–December 9. You can find the programme, curriculum, and more information about LungA school online
at their website: www.lunga.is/school.

Optimal conditions for electricity generation 28 m/s 34 m/s - turbine shutdown

 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Music 38

A Quick Journey Of Music

And Hannes Hafstein
by Ingibjörg Rósa Björnsdóttir

The stately building at Grundarstígur 10 in Þingholt, one of Reykjavík’s most charming neighbourhoods, was basically a palace
at the time it was built in 1915. From its south facing windows one can see an older house by the next street, a two storey timber
house, which was called “the block” at that time, as it soared high over the turfed roofs and little huts which were most Iceland-
ers’ homes one hundred years ago. Yes, we were a little behind when it came to architecture as Iceland has been relatively poor
for most of its existence (save for a spell in the ‘00s).
Hannes was a pioneer in his time, and dainty cakes to enjoy with cof-
and was in a position to set an fee or tea, which comes in elegant, Hannesarholt
example of how a decent home old-fashioned china. Upstairs is
should look like. All in all, four Hannes’s study and a few pieces Grundarstígur 10,
floors including basement and loft, of vintage furniture that give an 101 Reykjavík
the house has incredibly thick out- idea of what the home of his family
er walls and almost everything is looked like. In the loft are old toys Hannesarholt is open
made of concrete, the staircases as and a little den for children to read. Monday to Friday,
well as the balconies. The inside is The organisation has high hopes 11:30–17:30
bright and spacious thanks to large and plans of teaching children and Sundays, 14–17.
windows with pretty paintwork and about the past through play, where
decorative plaster mouldings in the they can amongst other things play Monday concerts
cost 2.500 ISK/3,500
ceiling are testimonials of meticu- with paper dolls from certain eras
ISK(coffee/tea, cake and
lous craftsmanship. and read about what their lives concert) /9,500 (concert
would have been like in the time of + three course meal at
Filling the gap in Reykja- Hannes Hafstein. Hótel Holt)
But it’s not only the youth
vík’s history
that can learn about the past at ous musicians take turns leading
Hannesarholt. Young history stu- the audience through Icelandic mu-
Although the house was lived in
dent Marinella Arnórsdóttir offers sic history in a 45 minute journey,
until 2007, it sorely needed mainte-
guided tours in English on week- which is offered in English as well.
nance when a group of idealists de-
days, at 9:45 or by arrangement via Each musician has his or her own
cided to buy the house for the sake
phone. Starting at Hannesarholt, way of presenting what they con-
of its history. During its renovation,
she tells stories about the house sider the gems of Icelandic popu-
they made sure that several details
and its sur- lar music
were preserved and where changes
roundings but it is pia-
were necessary, they made sure to
while walk-
have them align with the original
designs.
ing around "We want to offer nist Kristján
Hrannar who
The Hannesarholt non-profit
the oldest people to the past’s gives me
part of Reyk-
organisation was established and
javík, reveal- embrace with us, a taste of
the house opened to the public last what music
February. The organisation’s goal
ing what the slow down, look he cherishes
is to honour Hannes’s memory and
scenery was
like a century
back and try to re- most the
commemorate his contribution
to Icelandic society. Ragnheiður
ago. And in member where very Monday
afternoon
Jónsdóttir, one of the owners, says
the spirit of we’ve come from.” that I visit.
Hannes Hafs- “In - b e t we en
they want to introduce Hannes Haf-
tein, Marinel- songs, I tell
stein to both Icelanders and for-
la doesn’t let the weather stop her the story of how popular music de-
eigners, as well as enlighten them
but offers tour guests sturdy um- veloped in Iceland and what identi-
about Icelandic cultural history as
brellas, designed to endure Icelan- fies it. I also go quickly through the
there’s a gap in our architectural
dic weather, with Hannes’s famous traditional song melodies which
and economical history. “There’s
line “I love you, storm” imprinted all have similar structure because
a slight gap in Reykjavík’s history
on their rims. they’re basically composed for
that people are vague about. We
know everything about the turf Icelandic poetry. The chords are Axel Sigurðarson
house culture but then, as if sud- The Origin of Icelandic rather basic even though the mel-
denly, Reykjavík had several state- Popular Music odies are astonishing,” Kristján lowed, the ‘80s and ‘90s in music, rate slows down inside its seren-
ly buildings and proper streets. We says. “Icelanders got into jazz mu- ending with an example of the lat- ity. “We want to offer people to
want to educate people and honour The tour can include a lunch in the sic in the 1940s and that’s when the est Icelandic music which he states the past’s embrace with us, slow
pioneers such as Hannes who con- Hannesarholt café or a short film traditional song melodies started is “of such high quality but still so down, look back and try to remem-
tributed so much to changing this about Hannes, in English, shown changing. In effect, the first Ice- unique in an Icelandic way, like the ber where we’ve come from.” And
town.” inside the underground music hall, landic jazz tunes are heavily influ- lopapeysa!” that’s exactly the palpable spirit of
Anyone curious can explore this which is a new extension to the enced by the traditional popular On Hannesarholt’s website it this house; it tells you a story if you
beautiful house and learn about its basement of this historical house. songs.” says that upon entering this his- stand still for a while, quiet enough
history as well as Hannes Hafstein. And that’s where magic happens He then goes onto the rock 'n' torical building, it’s as if the house to listen.
Inside is a café that sells light lunch on Mondays at 17:00, when vari- roll era and everything that fol- embraces you and that one’s heart
39 Music

Who’s That Guy?

“Out of this world!!!”

CBondGirl - Calgary, Canada. Trip Advisor

There are two statues outside the House of Government in Læk-

jargata. The one on the right depicts Hannes Hafstein, “Ráðher-
ra,” as it notes.
“Ráðherra” actually means “Minister” and Hannes is not the
only minister in Iceland’s history, just the first one. That is, in
1904 he was the first Icelander to be appointed to the Danish cabi-
net as Minister for Iceland. The statue, by sculptor Einar Jónsson,
was revealed on December 4, 1931, when Hannes—who passed
away nine years prior—would have turned 70. A mass of people
gathered around for the unveiling of the statue, as Hannes was
well liked and admired by majority of his countrymen.
But what did he do to deserve this status?
Well, apart from smoothing communications between Den-
mark and Iceland by becoming a great friend to the Danish king
and suggesting Iceland have its own minister, Hannes wrote
beautiful poetry where he paid tribute to Iceland and, respective-
ly, the Icelandic weather with poems such as “Ég elska þig stor-
mur” (“I Love You, Storm”). Hannes was also a fan of the poetry
of Jónas Hallgrímsson, who died long before his time in 1835. So,
in 1883, Hannes published a collection of Jónas’s works, aiding
in making Jónas Iceland’s national poet years after his death. In
fact, Jónas’s birthday, November 16th, has been declared the na-
tional day of the Icelandic language.
“It certainly was the best of the many places we dined in Reykjavik!”
Hannes was also a family man but lost his beloved wife at the FrequentFlyer513 - New York City, New York - Trip Advisor
age of 52, with eight children to take care of. After witnessing the
horrendous fire of 1915, when two men died and twelve houses in
the centre of Reykjavík were destroyed in a blaze, Hannes wanted
to contribute to the reconstruction of the downtown and have a B O R G R E S TA U R A N T - P Ó S H Ú S S T R Æ T I 9 - 1 1 - 1 0 1 R E Y K J AV Í K
fireproof house built. The house at Grundarstígur 10 is therefore
one of the first fifteen concrete houses to be built in Reykjavík, TEL: +354-578-2020 - I NF O @ B O R GRESTAUR A N T.IS - W W W.B ORGRESTAUR A N T.IS
and really was somewhat of a palace in its time.

lbum Reviews
A

Bárujárn ing workouts on the guitar, many of

the melodies and lyrics bear resem-
Bárujárn blance to old Icelandic folk songs.
Sometimes the theremin assumes
2013
the role that a male choir usually
http://barujarn.bandcamp.com/ does in Icelandic folk music, and in
“Sírena” (“Siren”) it takes the centre

Finally… stage, weaving a lingering lullaby

THE FRESHEST FISH ....AND IDEAS!

to a hypnotic effect. Latin-sounding
horns spice up “Cha Cha Cha” and
lone cover “Brennið þið vitar” (“Burn,
Bárujárn got a lot of hype a few You Lighthouses”) is an old epic Ice-
years back when they hit the scene landic choir staple that suits the band After years of study,
with their inventive breed of dark perfectly. In “Skuggasörf “ (“Shadow strings of awards and
surf rock that featured the oldest Surf”) and Þula (“Mantra”) the guitar having led kitchens of
electronic instrument out there, the and theremin go head to head on a some of Reykjavík’s most
theremin, which is rarely used nowa- collision course in a collective freak- esteemed restaurants,
days (outside of the occasional sci-fi out, effectively mesmerizing the lis- Gústav still sees him
soundtrack). However, they never tener. self as just a kid from
managed to put out a proper album— It’s a bit strange listening to a band up north, with a life-
and then went on extended hiatus coming out with an album after such time passion for fish.
about three years ago. But finally, a long time of inactivity, especially
they’re back, and they thankfully when it features so many songs they
brought an LP along. used to play a lot three years ago.
Bárujárn’s self-titled debut is a Also, the mixing could be better on
unique listening experience for sure. some of the songs, especially the
It starts with the sound of the ocean, vocals, which sometimes sound too
before the twanging guitars chime muddy. Still, Bárujárn are one of a
in, underscored by low-key theremin kind, and I’m really glad they finally
hiss. It’s like The Shadows with a put those songs to tape.
darker shade of sunglasses playing in - Davíð Roach Gunnarsson
the nighttime on a black-sanded Ice-
landic beach. SKÓLAVÖRÐUSTÍGUR 14 - 101 REYKJAVÍK - 571 1100
Aside from some excellent surf-
 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Art 40

only Scream
€8
Extremity and overkill reign supreme
at the Reykjavík Dance Festival
by Rebecca Louder

to the
airport

LOW COST
BUSLINE

BOOK NOW AT KEXPRESS.IS

Magnús Andersen

TIMETABLE
After several years of trying different steps and shapes, the festival that
from Reykjavik City to Keflavik Airport unites Iceland’s freelance dance professionals has found a new model that
or Keflavik Airport to Reykjavik City. could serve to move it even further. Starting last year, the festival adopted
the model of choosing artistic directors to curate each event, who would in
from harpa REYKJAVIK KEFLAVIK AT AIRPORT
Reykjavík city CAMPSITE Town/hotels Terminal building turn take one the following year’s directors as apprentices.
04:30 04:40 05:25 05:40
13:30 13:40 14:25 14:40
20:30 20:40 21:25 21:40 It was thus in 2012 that the job began community a bit. It’s happening all

from AIRPORT KEFLAVIK REYKJAVIK at harpa

for Erna Ómarsdóttir and Valdimar
Jóhannsson, life and creative part-
“Here, people over town—in Harpa, Dansverk-
stæðið, Hafnarhúsið, Bónus. It’s get-
are afraid of this
KEXPRESS BUS TERMINAL Town/hotels CAMPSITE Reykjavík city
ners and current artistic directors for ting spread out.
07:00 07:15 08:00 08:10
this year’s Reykjavík Dance Festival. E: Dansverkstæðið itself will also
12:00
17:00
12:15
17:15
13:00
18:00
13:10
18:10 Both have been fervently active in thing! But that have a big role. Our home. It will be
the performing arts in town for years the main centre, the bar, every day’s
now. Erna as an independent chore- is changing. It’s programme ends there. Sometimes
ographer and dancer, and Valdi as a
core member of the bands Reykjavík!
no longer only it starts there too. There will also be a
lot of workshops there, like Beyoncé-
and Nine-Elevens. They have also for people who dancing, and a hula-hops. Those will be
created numerous works together, both for the public and the dance com-
DIAGRAM most notably ‘The Tickling Death are interested in munity. Then there will be stuff more
TRAVELLING WITH KEXPRESS Machine,’ 'Teach Us To Outgrow
Our Madness,' and 'Lazyblood'. With
academic dance aimed at professionals.

DEPART Erna on the verge of breaking water movements. It’s Needs More Crack
KEXPRESS of her and Valdi’s second child, they
BUS TERMINAL
just a piece
500 m walk

met with us to discuss their other What are your thoughts on

new baby: the festival.
of art.” the Reykjavík dance community?
IT K

JA a
O IK

arrive E: It needs some vitamins.

E
LS

C IK
PS VI

K rp

Y
/H AV
TE

M A

V
IT
A YKJ

The Theme Is Overkill!

R ha

Keflavik
W FL

terminal V: Yeah, or just some crack.

E

EY
TO KE

R
N

E: [Laughs] Since the dance depart-

What was your overall vision for this Valdi: The theme, I would say, ment at LHÍ opened and with more
festival and does it differ much from would be ‘overkill’. Because we wanted Icelanders going abroad to study and
last year? to do something larger than before, work, it’s gotten more exciting than
Erna: The whole festival is quite ex- and it became larger than the large we it used to be. Over the last ten years
perimental. I think that last year it was were expecting. Some of these pieces things have gotten more exciting. In
good that they tried something totally are doing choreography for stuff, not many other countries, dance is well re-
different, and it was necessary, but it people, for example. They don’t have garded and respected by the public as
might have connected to the public bodies in them. much as theatre. Here, people are afraid
better. This year will be totally differ- of this thing! But that is changing. The
ent. Peoples’ concept of dance and In what sense? audience demographic is growing and
choreography will expand if they come V: For instance, dancing curtains. it’s no longer only for people who are
to see a few different pieces. In Ice- Choreography for fireworks. A dance interested in academic dance move-
land, we only get one or two flavours show taking place in Bónus. It’s nice ments. It’s just a piece of art.
kexpress.is ı info@kexpress.is ı tEL. 823-0099 of dance, but there is so much variety. to take the festival out of the dance
41 Art

Five Not-So-Easy Pieces

We asked Erna and Valdi the ever-so-frustrating question of selecting a
handful of shows in the festival that are unmissable. They did not easily
oblige our demand. “I think people should try to see everything,” Erna says.
“If they just buy a pass and take time off, it is possible for someone to see
everything. This is what people do abroad when they go to festivals. They
try to see everything.” Unfortunately, most bosses in Iceland are less forgiv-
ing of the old ‘I need a week off for a dance festival!’ excuse. Finally, they in-

A Gourmet Experience
dulged us with five shows that the working Joe and Jane can get to, without
exceeding their vacation days.
- Steaks and Style at Argentina Steakhouse

Scape of Grace
Human bodies meet musical amplifiers in this
Barónsstíg 11 - 101 Reykjavík
performance at Hafnarhúsið. Attempting to
Tel: 551 9555
meet and meld with the dynamics and energies
that the two entities produce, the choreography argentina.is
is about both dissection and symbiosis.

Soft Target Installed

This premiere by Margrét Sara Guðjónsdóttir is
picking up where she left off in 2010 with her
piece ‘Soft Target.’ The continuation examines
the identity game we play and how it affects
our personal sense of trust and generally hav-
ing our shit together. Sunn O))) collaborator Pe-
ter Rehberg provides musical accompaniment.

Evaporated Landscape
Everything is ephemeral in the world Mette In-
gvartsen has created. In this choreography, as
quickly as something becomes recognisable it
becomes fleeting, with natural and futuristic
objects masquerading as one another. Rather
than focus on existence, this piece is all about
the relationship of dissolution.
MADE IN ICELAND www.jswatch.com
With his legendary concentration and 45 years of experience our Master
Contact Gonzo Watchmaker ensures that we take our waterproofing rather seriously.
Hailing from Osaka, Japan, this performance Gilbert O. Gudjonsson, our Master Watchmaker and renowned craftsman,
group keeps it close by clashing their bodies inspects every single timepiece before it leaves our workshop.
together in various encounters. Ranging from
violent confrontation to tender brushes, they
constantly toe the line between tension and re-
lease, seeing just how far bodies can go against
each other.

Nothing’s For Something

This piece by performance duo Fieldworks
takes place in the Kassinn theatre, but stay on
guard. They have built a reputation of leading
their audiences astray in seemingly normal sit-
uations, only to entirely flip the script of what is
expected in a particular environment.

Will there be an international there are things that happen to you or

presence at the festival? other people, you feel so happy that
E: Our company, Shalala, is part you want to scream, but you would be
of a European network called APAP, frowned upon by doing it in public.
so we used that connection to bring
in more people this year. It’s the first So will the box just be part
time that the festival has such a big of your performance or does
international programme. There are it carry on elsewhere?
artists from Norway, Denmark, Brus- V: There will be four or five boxes
sels, Berlin, Japan, Iceland. Hopefully all around town, actually. There will
that will give it a fresh new flavour. be one in Mál og Menning, which I
think is very nice. Sometimes I want
to scream in a bookstore, if I’m like,
They Sell Sanctuary “I can’t believe this writer did that
again! Oh my god!!!” There will also
You two are also premiering a piece be one in Hafnarhúsið. We don’t know
during the festival. Tell us about that. all the places yet. The plan is to con-
E: It is called ‘To The Bone’ and quer the world with them. First, we
it is about the Black Yoga Scream- get it into all institutions in Iceland
ing Chamber [“the box”] that we are and then bring it abroad.
building. This is really a box that can The first box will be opened a
save your life. If you have any prob- week before the festival. Mayor Jón
lems, you just go in there and you can Gnarr will inaugurate it. Then they
really come out a better person. It’s will be open for the public. In each
like a sanctuary. The idea is that it’s box there will be a recording de-
a place to scream without disturbing vice, which will record every single
any other people or be thought of as a scream. Once the box leaves one lo-
crazy person. cation, all the screams will be mixed
V: The performance piece is sort into one screaming mantra. I’ve done
of an “introduction session” about it two times before and to hear 140
the box—how it should be used. It’s screams mixed down to two minutes,
kind of an autobiographical piece that has an effect on you.
too, about ourselves and how the box
was born. It’s very difficult to explain E: It’s beautiful.
it. I think the box should be as com-
mon as public toilets. In every day life
 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 42

LANGUAGE - HISTORY - CULTURE - FOOD AND FUN

Let’s Celebrate Diversity, Baby!
Gay Pride is back!
By Tómas Gabríel Benjamin

The annual Reykjavík Gay Pride festivities start a week from now, and
isn’t that exciting? Yes. Yes it is. It’s safe to say Gay Pride has planted
itself firmly into Icelanders’ cultural identity, the main march event usu-
ally attracting up to 90 thousand people. It is the second largest outdoor
event in Iceland, after Culture Night (which draws a crowd of 100,000).

Reykjavík Walk
From Harpa the Concert Hall
starting 6th of August
Walking Tours in Reykjavík, mixing the old
and new history of the city using old photos
Evening Walk starting 6th of August
Mondays and Fridays at 13:00 from Harpa —
Andrea Björk Andrésdóttir historian
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 19:00
from Harpa — Ólöf Vignisdóttir historian
Facebook: The Tin Can Factory
Twitter: The Tin Can Factory

Nanna Dís

The first Reykjavík Gay Pride was held on the 30th an- her daily routine, which is dominated by her fear of being
niversary of the Stonewall Riots (in June of 1999), and it arrested for being lesbian. “In that country they talk about
more resembled a traditional demonstration march than ‘corrective raping’ meant to ‘fix lesbians’ as if it were stan-
the parade it has evolved into. Thankfully, gay rights have dard procedure,” Eva says.

Meet the Natives come a long way since 1999, and the event has concur-
rently transformed into total celebration mode, with sev-
“We have events that are focusing on the situation in
other countries. It’s not just about solidarity with your im-
eral events happening throughout the weekend, the main mediate community, but international solidarity. This year
Icelandic for Travellers daily at Borgartún 1
one—a lively parade going past the Reykjavík pond—tak- the emphasis for Reykjavík Pride is on human rights, cul-
from 1 to 4 PM ing place on Saturday. ture and diversity.”
Eva María Þórarinsdóttir Lange, chair of the Reykja-
Short courses with a proficient language teacher vík Pride committee, says that one of the reasons why so Moscow and Manning
many people have joined the cause is because the fight
Have fun, make pancakes and literally taste the
for gay rights in Iceland has always been a peaceful one.
language, talk, coffee & cakes At no point has the LGBTQI (“lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer Asked about whether the paraders had planned any floats
and intersex”) community been physical or engaged in in support of Russian activists—or in support of gay whis-
Read more at www.tincanfactory.eu
violent discourse, it has simply been about spreading the tle-blower Bradley Manning—Eva told us nobody had
message of love and equality. come forward with an idea to broach these subjects. Reyk-
“Even in a country like Iceland, javík Pride floats and events have

Icelandic for Icelandic kids where gay and lesbian rights are
good,” Eva says, “there’s always
often been highly political, with a
notable entry last year by Reykja-
Gay Scene In
living abroad a difference between the law and
society.” This is perhaps high- Reykjavík
vík mayor Jón Gnarr, who donned
Pussy Riot garb in protest of the
12th August - 23rd August lighted in the case of gay adoption. Russian punk band’s arrest.
While gay adoption has been legal Reykjavík is a city teeming with “Jón Gnarr has been fan-
for many years, it wasn’t until last activities and, as Eva says, it’s tastic with LGBTQI issues, and has
year that two gay Icelandic men one of the easiest places to come done things that no one else has
Icelandic for foreigners were able to adopt a child. Hav-
ing said that, Eva proclaims that
out and be all gay all over the
place. Unfortunately, there are
done before,” she says. Recently
he condemned the new Russian
All classes start on the 12th of August Iceland is one of the easiest coun- not many gay-specific venues or laws, and suggested severing
activities out there aside from
Morning classes Evening classes tries to come out of the closet and Reykjavík’s partnership with Mos-
what goes on at Reykjavík Pride.
be gay. That doesn’t mean gay cow.
12 Aug. – 5 Sept. 12 Aug. – 19 Sept. activists should lower their guard,
Several gay bars and clubs have
Eva says if a good concept is reg-
come and gone through the years.
16 Sept. – 10 Oct. 23 Sept. – 31 Oct. though, as the tide can turn quite Our queer informant called “deep istered early enough, the commit-
21 Oct. – 14 Nov. 11 Nov. – 19 Dec. rapidly. throat” says: “You can go to Kíkí tee approves them, so long as they
25 Nov. – 19 Dec. Gay Bar—or go to Öskjuhlíð with are done the right way. “That’s al-
your date—but otherwise there’s ways the challenge for the parade
Not all smiles and joy not much gay-specific to do in committee—what can you say no

O K NOW0 Reykjavík. Just go to a normal

mainstream bar and have fun.
to, and what can you say yes to?

BO 770
551
Eva tells us the situation can
Thankfully, there is no need to be
We don’t tell people what floats

TEL.
change very rapidly. Indeed, the to make, but we are responsible
worried about showing personal
situation is bad in countries all displays of affection of any kind for the message the parade gives
over the world; there are places in Iceland. But the gay scene is out.”
that have no protective laws or quite small in Iceland so new— One float that Eva says she is par-
rights to speak of, and even places and single—faces are always ticularly proud of comes from the
where legislation is aimed directly more than welcome.” local trans community. A minority
at oppressing LGBTQI persons. And there you have it kids, you’ll group within a minority group, she
Eva mentions an interview pub- just have to do the boring things is proud and happy that the pride
the rest of us schmucks do.
lished in Gay Pride’s official bro- parade provides them a platform
chure, where Kasha Jacqueline to be seen and heard.
Nabagesera from Uganda tells of
Borgartún 1 • 105 Reykjavík • Tel. 551 7700 • 821 7163
info@thetincanfactory.eu • www.thetincanfactory.eu
Reykjavík Gay Pride is celebrated from August 6 to 11, with the parade happening on August 10.
Check out their full schedule online at www.reykjavikpride.com
 unique experience

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Starts with a shot of icelandic
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Minke whale tataki

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Icelandic langoustine cigar

Icelandic Cuisine Chorizo, dates, chili jam

Sake – salmon nigiri

Salmon maki - 4 pcs

Salmon, avocado, asparagus,
wasabi masago, jalapeno mayo

Pressed lamb shoulder

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And to finish

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 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Travel 44

Walk This Gay

Pink Iceland shows us just how rosy 101 can be
By Parker Yamasaki

Nanna Dís

A tremendous amount of care must be taken for an organisation to represent an

entire community to international visitors. And a notoriously outspoken com-
munity, at that. But the members of Pink Iceland, a travel organisation serving
the LGBT community in Iceland, execute their role with precision. The organisa-
tion provides a comfortable space for anyone and everyone who braves the six
flights of stairs that lead to their colourful Laugavegur headquarters.

Gay couples, straight couples, curi- We continue the tour through the city
ous wanderers, and a couple of nosy The Pink City Walk is just theatre, Iðnó, which smells like cake
reporters gather in Pink Iceland’s liv- one various services offered and has an aged decadence to its in-
ing room while a tour guide serves by Iceland’s LGBT travel ex- terior that makes me nostalgic for a
us coffee. We are about to embark perts, Pink Iceland. Stop by glamorous era that I was never a part
SandhoLt BakeRy on the Pink City Walk—a guided in- of. A plane flies unsurprisingly low
their office at Laugavegur 3

the FineSt
troduction to the great 101. for pamphlets and to check overhead, completing the scene.
out their LGBT library, or
The tour “Hi Neil!”
SandwicheS visit their website: www.
pinkiceland.is for informa-

in downtown The tour guide begins with a spiel on tion on everything the group Just beyond Iðnó’s patio is the pond
“how we got here so fast.” The guide has to offer. and the group leans up against the

oF Reykjavík spits out a couple of quick statistics

to emphasise the complete 180 that
railing so the guide can do some
more efficient pointing. “That’s
Reykjavík has taken over less than half a century. In Fríkirkjan,” he tells us, motioning at the idyllic little
1975, he notes, Reykjavík was so bigoted that any sex- church across the pond, “the free church. I changed my
ual orientation which dared challenge “hetero” was es- affiliation to them because they were the only church
sentially forced to flee. Last year the Gay Pride parade that allowed for gay marriage.” This detail caught my
attracted over 100,000 people. “That’s nearly a third of attention more than the rest. At this point the tour
the population of Iceland,” he nods approvingly. From guide wasn’t just pointing at things and naming them
this introduction, and the nature of the organisation, I for what they were, he was placing them in connec-
step onto this tour thinking I am about to get a dose of tion to himself. By drawing this personal attachment,
the “history of gay Reykjavík.” I’m thinking gay bars, the little white church, as quaint as it looks, would be
sites of political triumph in gay rights, sites of political nothing more to me than a quaint little white church
scandal in gay rights, and more gay bars. with a fact figuratively tacked to its roof. “These are
the ducks,” he says, pointing to some ducks. “This
Our first stop is against the railing at the government sculpture here,” he says turning back toward the land,
Laugavegi 36 - 101 Reykjavik office building on Lækjargata. Some facts and figures “is a symbol of the anonymous servant.” The sculpture
Monday - FRiday 7.30 - 18.15. SatuRday 7.30 -17.30. Sunday 8.30-17.00 spill out of his mouth. I’m sure they are very important carries a briefcase and walks casually with a giant con-
in the history of Iceland and the shaping of the current cealing rock over its head. “That’s my friend Neil,” he
political state, but all I can think about is how carefree says, waving at a man on the bridge, “hi Neil…”
the kids on the bikes look weaving around the clusters
of tourists on Austurstræti. The tour lasted exactly two hours, and I saw more
Reykjavík landmarks than I ever knew existed. We tra-
The juicy scandal versed 101 from City Hall to Harpa, down the oldest
street, through the oldest neighbourhood, over to the
National Theatre, and even stopped for a well-timed
We continued on the Austurvöllur and circled up in
coffee break somewhere between. As a whole, the tour
front of the Parliament building. More on politics, a bit
was well put together and much more interesting than
on education, and a smidge of religion. Everything he
I anticipated after the first two stops.
was saying was interesting. For example, did you know
The National Museum of Iceland that everyone in Iceland is signed into a religious de-
I later realised my disappointment in the lack of ‘queer’
nomination at birth, and the amount of money each
celebrates its 150th anniversary 2013. church receives is based on how many people are
was a bit naive. It may have been fun to learn just how
gay Reykjavík really is, but it wouldn’t align with the
signed up with that religion? That’s an interesting tan-
Along with the permanent exhibition that features gle of church and state. But I was still waiting for that
poise of Pink Iceland. They are there to celebrate LGBT
Iceland’s history from settlement to present day the culture, not to separate it from the rest of the commu-
juicy scandal that went down in the basement of Par-
nity. To over exaggerate it would be a misrepresenta-
museum will offer a variety of exhibitions during the liament, or the riot of self-righteousness by the church
tion, but to let it go unacknowledged, well that would
year, e.g. on Icelandic silver and photography. over gay marriage.
be no representation at all. With their Pink City Walk,
Pink Iceland demonstrates that while there is a thriving
Before we depart Austurvöllur the tour guide spins
gay community in Reykjavík, what’s more important is
around and points out Hótel Borg. During the Ameri-
that there is a community in Reykjavík, a strong one
Opening hours:
can and British occupation, he tells us, the soldiers
at that, and the LGBT community is just one essential
Summer (1. May-15. September): Daily 10-17 frequented Hótel Borg. It was their spot, where they’d
piece of it.
Winter (16. September-30. April): Tuesday-Sunday 11-17 go to party and to get down with ladies, fellows, what-
ever. No questions asked. Check! Queer happening
Suðurgata 41, 101 Reykjavík.
number one. Scandalous soldiers at the Hótel Borg.
tel: 530 2200 Thjodminjasafn@thjodminjasafn.is
 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Travel 46

1 Jökulsárlón Distance from Reykjavík: 376km

Iceland Is Gloomy
The Adventures of Carol and Veronica– Part 1
By Carol Devine

Carol Devine

our very best price is always onl

highly seductive offers to all our destinations
iceland, greenland or the faroe islands
 47 Travel Issue 8 — 2013 The Reykjavík Grapevine

Youth ence difficulties,” he says.

Youth emerges as a theme on this trip: youth is We are amidst something powerful and por-
beauty, inspiration, eruptive and fearless. The tent. Why are beautiful things often tragic?
young grow exponentially, as does Iceland, the I ask Veronica how she feels about the ice
youngest country in the world. Iceland expands melting.
some 2.5 cm a year. “Is it good or bad?” she asks.
Iceland feels vibrant, its geology a lethal and “Bad,” I reply.
life giving mix of fire and ice. This country was “I feel sad,” she says.
born out of the ocean 14 million years ago. Ice-
land straddles the mid-Atlantic ridge divided Growth
by the North American and Eurasian tectonic
plates. It’s a kid country compared to mainland Helgi Jón doesn’t overly focus on worrying
Europe. facts.
Veronica writes in her journal: “Iceland is “The winter is quite warm this year. With
gloomy.” Could the gloom she feels be the over- climate change comes birds and insects. Trees
cast morning? Because Iceland looks like the and vegetation grow better and faster than be-
Carol Devine
moon? Our guide’s anecdotes of disaster: erup- fore,” says Helgi Jón.
tions, floods, death, and even financial collapse? He anticipates future disasters but like
I don’t ask. me, believes citizens and politicians can make
I hope Veronica also absorbs the stories of change and new clean technology can help. In-
I’m exploring Iceland with my daughter. Veronica is in her ninth resilience, ingenuity and renewal. ternational cooperation will be crucial.
winter, as age is measured in Egil’s Saga. While investigating As we approach the lagoon. Helgi Jón says, The positive thing about youth (or youthful
“I’ve seen Jökulsárlón change in my monthly thinking) is their hopefulness and playfulness.
climate change I treasure having a junior adventurer along for visits over the last two years. The glaciers are It’s Tuesday at sunset, we’re back on the bus.
company and perspective. getting smaller and thinner. The lagoon gets The Australians request Helgi Jón stop at the
bigger,” he says. He calls the glacier retreat Vínbúð (liquor store) so they can grab a bottle.
“horrifying.” He laughs, “There is a state monopoly on alco-
I’m exploring Iceland with my daughter. Veron- After several hours of driving to the southeast hol sales. It’s closed.”
ica is in her ninth winter, as age is measured in we’ll see the floating icebergs. I’m excited but si- Forever Changes Helgi Jón spontaneously shares Iceland’s
Egil’s Saga. While investigating climate change multaneously troubled to know Iceland is melt- history of alcohol, including universal stories of
I treasure having a junior adventurer along for ing. The largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajökull, is We’ve reached Jökulsárlón. Veronica is fiercely its misuse. Beer arrived here officially in 1989,
company and perspective. melting more rapidly than expected, like other independent and runs out the bus door. I chase we learn. Iceland is a young country.
We’re in Reykjavik before sunrise. Veronica Arctic and Antarctic ice. The sea rise and other her. The blue ice cream lagoon shines.
is crashed on a café couch. We are waiting for impacts will be local and global. University of Far from us is the jagged glacier field of Extreme Iceland
geologist Björn Hróarsson, or someone from Iceland glaciologist Helgi Björnsson predicts crackly blue ice. In front are icebergs: small, tall,
Extreme Iceland, to take us to Jökulsárlón, Iceland’s main ice caps may vanish in 150–200 wide, sharp, icy and stripy. One looks like an al- It is dark in Reykjavik. No chance of northern
which literally translates to “glacier lagoon.” years. ligator. Snow crystals, like tiny mirrors, reflect lights. C’est la vie. I don’t have beer, but enjoy
The small tour bus is full except for a couple Our guide for this trip is one Helgi Jón light and create colours. Deep sky, powder, in- a quick Katla vodka (named after Katla volcano)
of single seats at the back. A kind Australian, Davíðsson, “Helgi,” he says, “means holy.” A digo and Prussian blue: many of the 62 shades with “the teens” at the Kex Hostel. The Kex is
Zack, moves so Veronica and I can sit together. former businessman, he’s energetic, a fountain of blue. The icebergs are also snow white and a cool, cosy former biscuit factory. Veronica
He’s traveling with a lovely and hilarious group of knowledge and generous storyteller. contain raven black—ancient volcanic ash runs dreams away, exhausted from this Extreme Ice-
of 30-year olds Veronica calls “the teenagers.” through them. land tour.
Veronica and I slide down the hilly snow-cov- What’s extreme about the voyage depends
ered moraine beside the lagoon. Zack tries it but on one’s willingness to soak in nature’s offerings
flies down an odd-shaped snow patch and hits and truths. You can climb over the moraines and
rocks, ripping his snow pants. All the while he’s shout out how precious it is, or sit and watch the
on his phone with his mom in Australia. icebergs. ‘Glacial’ pace has new meaning.
Jökulsárlón is about 80 years old. The Icelanders I met respect nature. They
Breiðamerkurjökull, an outlet glacier of Vatna- have to. Who doesn’t?
jökull, began to retreat in the 1930s, birthing the I ask Veronica, “Do you still find it gloomy
lagoon. Jökulsárlón has expanded a reported here?”
four times since the ‘70s, its icebergs melting or “No,” she says. “I love it.”
floating out to the sea. Veronica is writing in her journal. I peek,
Everything changes over time and Veronica wondering if I’ll read her wisdom about the envi-
knows about ice ages from the animated Holly- ronment. She’s written, “Doors are hard to open
wood ‘Ice Age’ films with their relatively happy and close in Iceland.”
endings. I share with her that change is con- But she tells her dad on the phone, “I want to
stant; climate shifts naturally but also unnatu- use the car less and turn off the lights to try to
rally. stop the ice from melting so when I come back
I ask our guide if he thinks humans contribute in 2043 the lagoon might be here.”
to global warming. “I think everybody agrees On the old metallic elevator wall in the Kex
that we have something to do with it. The curve lobby, Veronica is spelling something with the
Carol Devine of the last 30 years tells us that. I’m afraid our scattered magnetic alphabet letters. “ISLAND
children and grandchildren will probably experi- IS HAPPINESS.”

airicel and.is
GRÍMSEY

ÞÓRSHÖFN
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
VOPNAFJÖRÐUR

AKUREYRI

ILULISSAT

line.
EGILSSTAÐIR

ITTOQQORTOORMIIT

NUUK

KULUSUK
REYKJAVÍK
NARSARSUAQ

THORSHOFN
 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Travel 48

Bus trip to Þórsmörk provided by Reykjavík Excursions www.re.is.

1 Þórsmörk Distance from Reykjavík: 156km More info about the Yoga walks in Þórsmörk at www.volcanohuts.
com.

A Breath Of Fresh Air

In Þórsmörk
‘Yogahikes’ and ‘nature massages’
for backpackers and day-trippers
by Adrienne Blaine

Tourists have been striking yoga poses in front of Icelandic scenery since time immemorial—or at least since time Instagram-
memorial. Clearly, exquisite natural settings and yoga practice are a match made in New Age hiker heaven.

to Sönghellir, a “singing cave” with soak it up like there’s no tomorrow.

perfect acoustics. Next we con- However, Magnús assured us that
quered Valahnúkur and sprawled rain can sometimes enhance out-
out in the grass on top of the moun- door yoga sessions. During partic-
tain. Happily exhausted from the ularly inclement weather, he takes
steep incline, we bathed in the sun the yoga inside the massage tent
like starfish clinging to a rock dur- and holds off on the hikes. Luckily
ing low tide. Once upright, we took saunas and massages remain all-
in truly incredible views of the gla- weather activities in Iceland.
ciers Tindfjallajökull and Eyjafjalla- Magnús’s massages incorpo-
jökull of 2010’s ashy fame. rate the same attention to breath-
We passed Snorraríki, the cave
of a legendary meat thief named
Snorri, cleverly out of reach of
any pursuing po-po. I attempted Luckily saunas
to climb into the cave using the
foot and hand holds that Magnús and massages
pointed out, but was not confident
enough in my wall scaling abilities remain all-
to swing into the cave. I plan to
commit a petty crime as motivation
weather activi-
for my next attempt.
We ended our hike with a pleas-
ties in Iceland
ant stroll near what is known locally
as “the valley of the elves:” a pic-
Alísa Kalyanova
turesque vale complete with birch ing that he fostered throughout the
trees, yellow and purple wildflow- yogahike. “Massage is a medita-
This summer, entrepreneurial monster truck of a four-wheel-drive ‘yoga’ is not a euphemism for ‘easy’ ers and a tranquil stream—yet no tion for me,” he explained, using
yoga instructors and massage bus. Wandering the campsite, we in ‘yogahike.’ While our group rose observable elves. Just beyond this breathing to focus the mind. And
therapists, Emil Tsakalis and Mag- crossed a quaint footbridge over to the challenge, we had neither valley lies a field of tall grass where while the thought of a man breath-
nús Andri Pálsson, tapped into a tiny rivulet of water that paled mentally nor physically prepared Magnús conducts his yoga sessions. ing deeply over your thinly veiled
the backpacking demographic in in comparison to the rivers our ourselves for the rigours of steep Due to a sudden injury within naked body may sound unsavoury
Þórsmörk with ‘yogahikes’ and ‘na- bus had just braved. Once safely inclines and rock scrambling. But the group, we could not complete to some, it serves as a good re-
ture massages’ for the first time in on the other side, we met Magnús as Magnús said, “Meet your body the yoga portion of our hike, how- minder to keep breathing yourself.
cooperation with Volcano Huts. who had the firmest handshake of as it is today,” and that we did. ever recuperating in the field felt I think we can all agree breathing
any yogi I have ever met (in his for- Magnús was extremely patient and just a meditative and saved me the improves all animate activities. Yet
mer life Magnús was a weight lifter, used our frequent rest stops as a
Are there back rubs in embarrassment of not being able this essential life function is easy
before a trip to India changed his chance to share some breathing to touch my toes. It is important to to ignore in the course of our day-
heaven? worldview). He showed us the ce- and meditation exercises. Breath- note that the hike is not dangerous to-day lives. Yoga is about more
As the last stop along the dar barrel-like sauna situated near ing in and out through the nose can and most people will not run the than just striking camera-ready
Laugavegur trail, Þórsmörk already a small pool and invited us into the be difficult when you’re exercising risk of injury if they have the proper poses—it is primarily concerned
has a reputation for its heavenly sur- large massage tent from whence for the first time in weeks and all hiking boots, but Magnús was par- with mindfulness and intention. If
roundings and the resulting atmo- he came. you want to do is pant like a dog, ticularly apt in the emergency situ- you want to know true relaxation,
sphere. And now that massages are but once I got the hang of it, I re- ation, and we felt safe in his care. take a deep breath of fresh air in
available for all those sore pack-car-
rying shoulders, it’s hard to imagine a
“Yogahike” does NOT alised the hiking experience was Þórsmörk, hold it for as moment
far more Zen sans gasps.
heaven that doesn’t involve back rubs. mean easy hike Relaxation: rain or shine and then let it all out. Very good.
Thank goodness Þórsmörk’s wearied We decided to embark on our yo- Sitting in the sun, we earned sun-
trekkers won’t have to any longer. gahike first and finish with a relax- Off the beaten track burns like red badges of courage.
ing steam, soak, massage trifecta. Throughout the course of our hike, When the sun shines briefly on Ice-
As day-trippers we arrived in
We soon learned the hard way that Magnús led us off the beaten track land during a rainy summer, you
Þórsmörk’s nature reserve by a
 Departures monday – saturday at 10 am, 12 am, 2 pm and 4 pm
from the Tourist Information Centre, Aðalstræti 2.

FREE RIDE
TO REYKJAVÍK’S
LARGEST
SHOPPING CENTRE
Kringlan´s shuttle bus schedule from the
Tourist Information Centre, Aðalstræti 2.

To Kringlan From Kringlan

Monday – Saturday
10.00 am
12.00 am 11.30 am
2.00 pm 1.30 pm
4.00 pm 3.30 pm

Sunday
1.00 pm
3.00 pm 2.30 pm

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for a refund of up to 15% of the price.

Monday to Wednesday 10–18.30,

Thursday 10–21, Friday 10–19, Saturday 10–18, Sunday 13–18 www.kringlan.is
The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013 Trip to Grímsey provided Travel 50
by Air Iceland (www.airiceland.is).

Island Of
Chess Players
Iceland's
By Lawrence Millman
Forgotten Zoo
and the tragedy of the toothless wallabies Willard is not your typical Icelandic name, but
until a few decades ago it was a not an uncom-
Words by Vera Illugadóttir. Photo by Gunnar Sverrisson mon name on the island of Grímsey. Not Sig-
urður, Haukur, Hilmar, or Þorgeir, but Willard.

Lene Zachariassen

The reason is as follows: the vík, New York, Moscow, etc, but
American writer, linguist, and doesn't indicate that it's at the Arc-
chess fanatic Willard Fiske (1831– tic Circle. My opponent was a fel-
1904) heard that everyone on Grím- low from Grímsey named Palli.
sey played chess with the same Now I consider myself a pretty
passion as he played it, so he do- decent chess player. After all, I once
nated an expensive chess set to beat Bobby Fischer. Surprised?
every family on the island. What's Well, I played a dozen games with
more, he bequeathed $12,000 in his Sæmi Pálsson (aka, Sæmi Rokk),
will to establish a library on Grím- Bobby's bodyguard during the
sey, whereupon the grateful island- 1973 Fischer-Spassky tournament
ers began naming their children in Reykjavík, and I beat him once.
after him. Sæmi had beaten Bobby himself
During a recent trip to Grímsey, once when the latter was half-
I visited the island's library which, asleep. Ergo, I beat Bobby Fischer...
thanks to the Fiske bequest, has a Given my so-called chess ex-
fine collection of old chess books. pertise, I figured that I had a rea-
Exotic animals are a rare sight in Iceland. Once concrete floor and bins of rotten bread, salad and "Mr. Fiske was very good to our sonably good chance to trounce
upon a time, however, Icelanders could visit lions, fruits. A radiator has been placed inside for some little island," the librarian told me. Palli. We shook hands and began
monkeys, polar bears, orcas and other creatures at warmth. There the animals must cower, unable to go She pronounced Fiske as if it were playing. The first game was a
the Hafnafjörður Aquarium, which opened in 1969 outside due to the cold." "Fisk-uh" so as not to confuse it closely fought draw, occasionally
and—despite the name—did not limit its menagerie And on the hut's inhabitants: "The wallabies are with fisk, the Icelandic word for interrupted by divebombing Arctic
to marine animals. Unfortunately, conditions for the rather small but the astonishing thing is, that the four fish. Fiskur have been very good to terns. And then my opponent beat
aquarium's animals were generally poor. This deso- animals are toothless and it looks like their teeth have Grímsey, too. me soundly three games in a row.
late scene was captured by a photographer for the been removed." In my guesthouse, Basar, I Palli, by the way, happened to be an
newspaper Tíminn in 1988. When another newspaper, Morgunblaðið, inves- mentioned my interest in playing 11 year old boy...
The aquarium had closed the year before, due to tigated the matter, the explanation given was that a game or two (or three) of chess Was I mortified by these loss-
bankruptcy, and the zookeepers were made to eutha- the zookeepers hoped to re-open the Aquarium and with a local. No sooner said than es? Not at all. For they proved that
nise all of its inhabitants. For some reason, however, exhibit the wallabies. Although it had been obvious done. I found myself sitting with a chess is alive and well on this tiny
the aquarium's four wallabies were not put down, for months that this dream would not come true, but chess set next to the island's chief speck of Iceland bisected by the
and more than a year later, remained in their pen in that there had been "delays" in putting the wallabies attraction, an Arctic Circle sign that Arctic Circle.
the otherwise closed zoo. A surprised journalist for down. Finally, no doubt due to the media coverage, indicates the distances to Reykja-
Tíminn described the wallabies' condition in 1988: the last wallabies in Iceland were put down a week
"Their hut is small and dirty, around 2x5 meters later. Accommodation in Grímsey provided by guesthouse Básar,
in size. There is nothing inside the hut but the naked More info at www.gistiheimilidbasar.is.

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Page 12

“To be a cop is to denounce responsibility for

your most ethically questionable actions and act
out the most authoritarian ideas of society; to
align with the perpetrators of history and against
its victims; to monitor and control other people’s
behaviour while taking an indisputable stance
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Page 20

“There’s only one given if you’re the victim of a

tupilak attack: your entrails will be eaten. Or at
least some of your entrails.”

Considered yourself warned about this Green-

landic monster.

Page 26
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 ADVERTISING

Music, Art, Films and Events Listings

+ Eating, Drinking and Shopping + Map
Issue 11 - 2013 www.grapevine.is

Your essential guide to life, travel and entertainment in IcelanD

Girl,
You
Better
WERK!
The 16th Annual Drag Competition
Harpa | August 7 21:00 | 3,400 ISK
Watch out, bitches! The queens and kings of Reykjavík are back to compete and it's gonna HURT! "Our
theme this year is 'Beauty is Pain (and I'm in a lot of pain),' because both kings and queens have something
to strap down," drag ball organiser Georg Erlingsson Merritt (favourite RuPaul's Drag Race contestant:
Detox) says. "So they’re kind of smiling through the pain of it all." It might hurt but it's all about realness
because the worst thing a king or queen can do on their walk isn't to trip, fart or bust their girdle ... it's to
remember what's really inside their panties. Those judges will not hesitate to read the contestants until
they cry! Plus, the ball will be hosted by the fabulous Diva Jackie Dupree who will throw shade at anyone
trying to disrespect. So before you sashay away, touch all of this skin, honey! RL
Brjánn Baldursson
 MUSIC
CONCERTS & NIGHTLIFE
August 2 - 15
How to use the listings: Venues
are listed alphabetically by day.
2
August
For complete listings and detailed
information on venues visit
www.grapevine.is Send us your
listings: listings@grapevine.is
Friday August 2
B5 
22:00 DJ Árni
Boston 
22:00 Herra Gott
Café Rosenberg 
21:00 Magnús Einarson
& Band
Dillon 
19:00 Rock Music Festival
22:00 DJ Andrea
Dolly 
22:00 DJ Orang Volante
So Many Man Nipples On The Block
English Pub Retro Stefson's Blokk Partí with Sigur Rós
21:00 Addi / Böddi
Faktorý 
22:00 Innipúkinn Festival Harlem | 23:00 | Free!
/ DJ Benni B-Ruff
Gamli Gaukurinn
22:00 Hurbis / Jötunmóð Only in Iceland could the musical geniuses behind the funk soul
Harlem  of Retro Stefson and the ethereal scores of Sigur Rós come to-
22:00 Retro Stefson Blokk Partí!
Hressó  gether for one night in Harlem! Retro Stefson are putting on their
21:00 Jaðar Music Feast sixth annual 'Blokk Partí', which will feature these performers
Kaffibarinn 
22:00 Már & Níelsen - not as the bands we know and love, but as the awesome DJs
Kofinn our weekends have been longing for! Pedro Pilatus, Hermigervill
22:00 DJ Lovely Lovely
Prikið  & Uni Manuel from RS will get the groove started, then the three
22:00 Prikið Funk Band boys from Sigur Rós will spin as Tripple Nipple in the wee hours
Saturday August 3 of the morn. The wall between Volta and Harlem has once again
been knocked down (even though they swore it wouldn't hap-
B5 
22:00 DJ Árni pen), so there's going to be even more room to dance. You better
Boston  believe it's going to be in high demand. If you have plans to leave
22:00 DJ Baldur
Café Rosenberg  this holiday weekend, consider leaving Saturday because there
21:00 Magnús Einarson ain't no party like an Icelandic block party! Heeeey-hoooo! AB
& Band Photo by GAS
Dillon 
19:45 Rock Music Festival at Dillon
22:00 DJ Andrea
English Pub
21:00  Böddi / Biggi
and Maggi
Faktorý 
22:00 Innipúkinn Festival
/ BORG / DJ Plan B
Hallgrímskirkja 
12:00 International Organ Summer
– Peter Van de Velde
Harlem 
22:00 Housekell
Hressó 
22:00 Samsuðan
Kaffibarinn 
22:00 DJ Pabbi
Kofinn
22:00 DJ Cyppie
Prikið 
22:00 Árni Kocoon

Sunday August 4 Many Finns In One Go

Boston  Navichorus Choir
22:00 DJ Katla
Dillon
19:45 Rock Music Festival Langholtskirkja & Skálholt | August 9-10 | 18:00 | Free!
Explore Learn Discover Dolly 
22:00 DJ Houselkell Take a refreshing breather from the Reykjavík hipster scene and
English Pub 
22:00 Dagur and Hjálmur pop into a church for some Nordic classical music. The Finnish
Maritime
Hallgrímskirkja  chamber choir Navichorus, hails from the city of Espoo (basi-
museum 17:00 International Organ Summer
– Peter Van de Velde (BE) cally Helsinki’s answer to Kópavogur). The choir will perform two
Harlem  separate concerts: one in Reykjavík in beautiful Langholtskirkja,
22:00 Guillamino
Hressó  and one in Skálholt at the famous historic church. Their pro-
? 22:00 Dalton gramme will include pieces from Sibelius, Kuula, Mäntyjärvi and
Kaffibarinn 
Hotel 22:00 Hunk Of A Man Palmgren–all famous Finnish composers. If nothing else, you can
or you Marina KEX Hostel  always show your passion by counting to three in Finnish: yksi,
15:00 (m)Innipúkinn
The old
harbour Prikið  kaksi, kolme! KN
22:00 Gay Latino Man
Harpan
Music hall Monday August 5
Reykjavík
Kaffibarinn 
Art museum 22:00 DJ Pilsner
Prikið 
Kolaportið
22:00 Drink And Draw Mondaze!
fleemarket
Tuesday August 6
Gamli Gaukurinn
22:00 Open State
Iceland´s first educational and recreational Kaffibarinn 
Northern Lights Center. Learn about the facts 22:00 Ívar Pétur
and enjoy the beauty of the Northern Lights Wednesday August 7
Boston 
22:00 Ari Bragi & Co.
Visit us and experience our multimedia exhibition Café Rosenberg 
21:00 Þorgerður & Band
Open every day from 10:00 - 22:00 Dolly 
22:00 BlazeSessh Vol. 10 / Nonni-
Mal vs. Karius
Hallgrímskirkja 
Grandagarður 2 - 101 Reykjavík 12:00 International Organ Summer
– Schola Cantorum
It's only a ten-minute walk from the city center Harpa 
18:00 The Beauty And The Best
Kaffibarinn 
www.aurorareykjavik.is 22:00 Óli Dóri
Salurinn 
12:00 Icelandic Chamber Music
 Festival
20:00 Bartholdy String Quartet

Thursday August 8
Café Rosenberg 
21:00 Svavar Knútur
Dolly 
22:00 RVK Soundsystem
Faktorý 
22:00 DJ Stef
Hallgrímskirkja 
12:00 International Organ Summer
– Björn Steinar Sólbergsson
& Eyrún Unnarsdóttir
Harlem 
22:00 Grúvsystur
Hressó 
21:00 Live Flass 104,5 Concert
Kaffibarinn 
21:00 Hellert
Nordic House 
17:00 Pikknikk Concert – Orfia
Stúdentakjallarinn 
21:00 Einar Lövdahl
Album Release Party

Friday August 9
Bar 11 
23:00 Bárujárn
Boston 
22:00 Simon FKNHNDSM
Café Rosenberg 
21:00 Goodbye Concert
for Hjálmar’s Sigurður
Guðmundsson
Dillon 
22:00 DJ AnDre
Dolly 
22:00 DJ Bakkelsi
Faktorý 
21:00 Retro Stefson / DJ Atli Kanill
Gamla Bío 
18:30 Reykjavík Queer Choir
& London’s Pink Singers
Gamli Gaukurinn Organised Improvisation
22:00 Kaleo
Harlem  Reykjavík Jazz Festival
22:00 Danni Deluxe
/ DJ Margeir
Harpa  All over Reykjavík | August 15 - 22 | 14,900 ISK
20:00 Skark – Strings
and Machines Don't be alarmed by the blast of brass horns, or the saxophone
Kaffibarinn 
23:00 DJ KGB sounds seeping through the sewer. For one week in mid-August,
Stúdentakjallarinn  renowned jazz artists from all over the world take over 101! The
21:00 Johnny And The Rest
festivities begin at KEX Hostel on August 15 with a parade led
Saturday August 10 by some of Iceland's finest Jazz artists. Throughout the week the
Austurvöllur  international line-up displays their individual talents at venues
14:00 Gay Pride Parade that include Harpa, the Nordic House, Iðnó, KEX and others. Col-
Boston 
22:00 DJ Kári lectively, the artists and venues form a week-long celebration of Laugavegi 20a, 101 RVK, 552 2300, lebowskibar.is
Café Rosenberg  jazz history, culture, and performance. Let the spirit of jazz catch
21:00 Goodbye Concert for Hjál-
mar’s Sigurður Guðmundsson you and wear you like a glove! For full information, go to
Dillon  www.reykjavikjazz.is. PY
22:00 DJ AnDre Photo by Jón Krisján Kristinsson
Dolly 
22:00 Kitty Von Sometime
vs. Manny
Faktorý 
23:00 FM Belfast / DJ Logi Pedro /
DJ KGB / DJ Housekell
GÆS 
15:00 Högni Egilsson
Hallgrímskirkja 
12:00 International Organ Summer
Harlem 
22:00 Harlem Pride!
/ Thelma & Louise
Hressó 
22:00 Timburmenn
Kaffibarinn 
23:00 Alfons X
Langholtskirkja 
18:00 Navichorus (FI)

Sunday August 11
Faktorý 
22:00 Final Faktorý night with
GusGus
Hallgrímskirkja 
17:00 International Organ Summer
– Final Concert
Kaffibarinn 
22:00 Sævar Markús

Monday August 12
Kaffibarinn 
22:00 DJ Dauði

Tuesday August 13
Café Rosenberg 
21:00 Mas
Kaffibarinn 
22:00 Ívar Pétur
KEX Hostel 
20:30 KEXJazz

Wednesday August 14
Boston 
22:00 Lucky Records Night
Café Rosenberg  Weekend In(nipúkinn)
21:00 Silja Rós
Dolly  Innipúkinn Music Festival
22:00 DJ OCP
Gamli Gaukurinn
22:00 Mosi Frændi Various Locations | August 2-3 | 21:00 | 3,000-4,900 ISK
Kaffibarinn 
22:00 DJ Pilsner During the first weekend of August, most of Reykjavík will flee to
the countryside for the merchant's holiday weekend. However, if
you plan to haunt the remaining ghost town, Reykjavík's 12th an-
nual Innipúkinn Music Festival could liven up your evenings with
acts like Grísalappaliísa and Prins Póló. The festival will spread
throughout downtown Reykjavík using the soon-to-close Faktorý
as home base. With smaller, less intimidating crowds, there's no
need to stay inside like the "innipúkinn" or house monster that
weekend. It's safe to come out of your cosy lairs agoraphobes! AB
 MUSIC
CONCERTS & NIGHTLIFE

Thursday August 15
Bar 11 
15
23:00 Sólar August
Boston 
22:00 DJ De La Rosa
Café Rosenberg 
22:00 Sam Sam / Mummi
Dolly 
22:00 DJ Plan B
Fríkirkjan 
19.30 Reykjavík Jazz Festival
Concert
Harpa 
20:00 Finnish-Icelandic Music Night
Hressó 
21:00 DJ Katla
KEX Hostel 
18:00 Jazz Festival Parade
20:00 Markús & the Diversion
Sessions / Snorri Helgason
/ Nini Wilson / DJ Benson Is
Fantastic Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow
Kaffibarinn 
21:00 Alfons X
Markús & The Diversion Sessions
Lucky Records 
17:00 Markús & The Diversion
Sessions Farewell Concert
Lucky Records & KEX Hostel | 17:00 & 20:00 | 1,000 ISK
Nordic House  On August 15, Markús & The Diversion Sessions will say farewell to
17:00 Pikknikk Concert
– Singimar their bass player, Georg Kári Hilmarsson who is going to California
for a Masters in music compositon. First the band will play a small
set at Lucky Records where they will release a short album made
specially for the occasion. Only 50 limited-edition copies will be
available for purchase! Later in the evening they will be joined by
Snorri Helgason and DJ Benson Is Fantastic in KEX's Gym & Tonic
room for a bittersweet musical send-off. Don't miss this chance to
say you knew Georg before he became a tan, vegan Californian!
Surely his beloved bandmates will be California Dreamin' come this
winter. AB
Photo by Gunnar Már Pétursson

2
August

Bang, Bang
Faktorý's Final Weekend
Faktorý | August 9-11 | 22:00 | Prices Vary
As you may have well heard, the beloved venue Faktorý is scheduled to shut its doors for good on
August 11. While it may be a grim day in the history of Reykjavík, it's not history yet. So rather than
curl up and cry about it, they plan on going out with a bang. And who may count as a bang? How
about Retro Stefson!? They're young, full of life, and they even rap! Or maybe FM Belfast? They al-
ways have confetti at their shows. No, no, I know - GusGus! They've been local favourites since their
formation back in '95. Fuck it, it's Faktorý! Let's have them ALL. Retro Stefson kicks off the celebra-
tion Friday night, followed by FM Belfast on Saturday, and GusGus to round it all out on Sunday. As
the late Dr. Seuss once said, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." And smile, we
will. We'll probably even laugh, and we'll drink and we'll dance and we'll cheers and we'll straight up
party. Long live, Faktorý! PY
Photo by Ingvar Högni Ragnarsson

SCan me

The original
Segway
tours in Reykjavik

+354 7778808
www.sway.is
 ART
OPENINGS AND ONGOING
August 2 - 15
How to use the listings: Venues
are listed alphabetically by day.
For complete listings and detailed
information on venues visit www.
grapevine.is Send us your listings:
listings@grapevine.is

Opening
Ásmundur Sveinsson Sculpture
Museum
August 11, 15:00
Tales from the Vault
Guided tour through the exhibition
with Ingunn Ásdísardóttir.
Bíó Paradís

Are you the

August 2, 20:00
Soul of America: Charles Bradley
This special screening features the Freedom ‘13
Tourist of the Year?
documentary of soul singer, Charles
Bradley. Bío Paradís pairs up with Reykjavík Pride
Lucky Records to create special
exhibition of Charles and his music
in the lobby of the theatre.
Reykjavík | August 6-11 | Mostly free
The Reykjavík Grapevine and Inspired by Iceland
August 8
Blaxploitation Movie Quiz
At first only a small rally to commemorate the Stonewall Riots, are looking for The TouRIsT of The YeaR. Tell
Reykjavík Pride has played a large part in bringing LGBT accep- us why you should be the Tourist of the Year for a
English-language movie quiz about
chance to win a free trip to Iceland.
your favourite Blaxpoitation films. tance into the Icelandic mainstream. The weeklong celebration
With prizes! tries to capture every aspect of culture and issues that make up
August 10, 22:00
the colourful rainbow – the fun and festive, the radical and politi-
Child's Play
cal, the wholesome family vibe, and of course some sexy sweaty
Visit www.touristoftheyear.is to submit your entry!
This special screening features a
horror movie with a doll possessed times! So you can take your mama out all night or you can just let
with the spirit of a serial killer. yourself get absolutely soaking wet! Hallelujah! RL
Downtown Reykjavík Photo by Alísa Kalyanova
August 6-11
Reykjavík Pride
Organised by the LGBT community
of Reykjavík, the festival is a family
friendly affair all about celebrating
diversity. Expect to see a lot of big
names from the community, as well
as famous supporters such as the
Reykjavík City mayor Jón Gnarr.
There will be several events during
the week, but the Reykjavík Pride
walk with its floats goes past the
pond on the Saturday. There are
multiple off venues, but Kíkí Gay

The Wonders
Bar will host the main party on the
Saturday.
Dwarf Gallery
August 3, 19:00-21:00
Hard Work Lard Work Art Work
8

of Volcanoes
This two-day exhibition features
the work of Øyvind Aspen, an artist August
from Oslo, Norway. He mainly works
with video, text, sculpture and
performance. See You Around, Super Honkie!
Runs until August 4, 15:00-18:00
Kunstschlager
Blaxploitation Movie Quiz
August 3, 20:00
An Object Lesson Bío Paradís | 20:00 | Free Volcano House Cinema – Dramatic and Informative
Exhibit opening of fascinating Striking documentaries on eruptions in Iceland in amazing
Austrian artist, Mercedes The term “Blaxploitation film” comes from a larger category of Emmy nominated footages. Shows every hour on the hour
Muhleisen, that includes among
other elements, “a boneless entity cinema called exploitation films. Those are basically considered to in English, except in German at 18.00 and French at 21.00.
longing for objecthood and a be so shitty that they have to choose some element of the movie
constipated philosopher leading to exploit for advertising to a particular audience. In the case
herself into a mental odyssey.”
of these 1970s films, the black American audience. The genre
Volcano House Café – Healthy and Volcanic
Runs until August 17
is sometimes considered controversial for its portrayal of black The Volcano House Café probably presents the only volcanic menu
Ongoing culture, but the movies–interlaced with memorable dialogue, in Iceland.
action-packed thrills and a heavy dose of socio-political commen- Breakfast Lunch Buffet Light meals Happy Hour Volcanic Coffee.
Artíma Gallerí tary–maintain a large cult following of adoring fans. If you’re one
Sensory Dreams and Symbol
Errors
of those fans, or if you got your black-belt in barstools, head on Geological Exhibition, free entrance
This exhibition by Svartval (the artist down and compete. You might win something, motherfucker! SS Tourist information and Booking Service
name of Þórður Grímsson) explores Volcano House Boutique
dreams, memory, symbols, religion
and time. Medieval Manuscripts, Eddas, of the Sagas, Edda Poems and more.
DYNAMO REYKJAVÍK

Runs until August 4 and Sagas On permanent view Open from 8.00 – 24,00
It includes principal medieval Lightplay
Bíó Paradís Films are shown every hour on the hour in English except in
Cool Cuts - Icelandic Cinema manuscripts, such as Codices Regii Dramatic watercolours by Derek Karl
of the Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, law of Iceland’s ethereal light. German at 18.00 and French at 21.00.
with English Subtitles
Between June 14th and August 31st codices and Christian works, not Runs until August 31
Bíó Paradís will screen six Icelandic forgetting the Icelandic Sagas. The Einar Jónsson Museum
films with english subtitles. The films On permanent view The museum contains close to 300
include White Night Wedding, Sigur Child of Hope - Youth and Jón art works including a beautiful tree-
Rós’s Heima, Children of Nature, Sigurðsson clad garden adorned with 26 bronze
Either Way, BackYard and Noi the Exploring the life of Icelandic casts of the artist's works is located
Albino. To find out more about these national hero Jón Sigurðsson, made behind the museum.
movies check out Bíó Paradís’s especially accessible to children, On permanent view
website. families and school groups. GÆS
Runs until August 31 On permanent view Pearls of Life
Millennium - Phase One Artist Jóhanna Sigríður Ingadóttir Volcano House I Tryggvagata 11 I Tel. 555 1900 I www.volcanohouse.is I info@volcanohouse.is
Summer in Bíó Paradís
All summer long Bíó Paradís will A selection of pieces from the puts on exhibit Lífsins Perlur (Pearls
be screening two classic films collection of the National Gallery Of Life).
each week. From August 2-8, The displaying a variety of works by Runs until August 12
Addams Family (1991) and Singing Icelandic artists in the last two Gallerí Ófeigur
in the Rain (1952) will play. And from centuries. UPPÍMÓTI
August 9-15, Trainspotting (1996) On permanent view An exhibit by Gugga, two years in
and Taxi Driver (1976) will play. For The Library Room the works, she uses oil and canvas to
their full schedule, check the Bíó The old reading room of the National explore the magnitude of Icelandic
Paradís website. Library displays books of Icelandic waterfalls. Her work is bold and she
Runs until August 15 cultural history dating from the 16th captures the clarity of the unique
The Culture House century to the present day. Works Nordic light.
include the oldest published versions On permanent view
 i8 Gallery
Tryggvagata 16
101 Reykjavík
www.i8.is
ART
ONGOING
ART
ONGOING

6 June - 17 August 2013 – continued –

Gallery Sign

ÓLAFUR
Skirt
36-year-old Alison Willoughby
displays a new large-scale
piece. The photographic work
is a playful inverted take on the
cultural iconography of the British

ELÍASSON
Kebab Shop and will appear as an
illuminated signage on the exterior
of the gallery itself.
Runs until December 20
Hafnarborg
Eiríkur Smith - Existence
The fourth exhibition in an ongoing Optimism? Maybe Tomorrow.
series spanning the wide artistic
career of Eiríkur Smith. The Object Lesson - Mercedes Muleisen
exhibition focuses on works from
1968 to 1982. Kunstschalger | August 3 - 17 | Free!
Hverf isgata 4 Runs until August 25
101 Reykjavík Hallgrímskirkja
Iceland Most people like to believe that everything in Iceland is beautiful,
Beating Time
+354 537 4007 A set of translucent photographs by
perfect and cheerful all the time, everyday. Using sculpture, vid-
f +354 537 4008 Jo Yarrington adhered to the four eo, installation and performance, Oslo artist Mercedes Muhleisen
info@hverf isgalleri.is
www.hverf isgalleri.is
clock faces of Hallgrímskirkja's Bell is here to remind us that there are struggles in everyday life, even
Tower. The photographs were taken in Iceland. But anxiety and gloom aren't inherently destructive.
on Iceland's Outer Ring Road and
reference Eadward Muybridge's
Mercedes uses these rattling emotions to dictate her work and
sequenced action photos of a engage with viewers. "Mercedes likes to brainwash herself into
conductor's hands, also titled thinking that anything and all things are possible," writes the
'Beating Time.' hosting gallery. It sounds optimistic, but there are two sides to
Runs until September
Hverfisgallerí every coin. Through this anything-is-possible attitude, Mercedes
Jeanine Cohen explores the darker side of the coin, the side covered in slime
A unique exhibit by Jeanine Cohen because it fell in the gutter on the way to your dead-end job this
featuring fluorescent and acrylic morning. PY
paint on wood.
Runs through August 3
i8 Gallery Come and knit at Laugavegur 25, Runs until October 13
Belief 3rd floor, every Thursday, 14:00 - The National Gallery
Ólafur Elíasson’s exhibit, 'Belief,' is 18:00. Sara Riel - Memento Mori
an exploration of natural phenomena
Jeanine Cohen | 27 June - 3 august 2013 and perception. His work often
On permanent view This museological comparative study
Latin Dance Studio, Faxafen 12 examines the relationship between
combines design, architecture and Guided Practica museums and their depictions of life
science to create thought-provoking Argentine tango, Sundays from and death.
work and spaces. 17:30-19:30. Register by phone 821 Runs until August 25
Runs until August 17 6929 or email tangoadventure@ Treasures
The Icelandic Phallological
The University of Iceland Student Bar Museum
gmail.com, 500 ISK for students, 800
ISK for others. Six- week courses are
During the whole summer three
distinct exhibitions will be dedicated
The museum contains a collection

The Student Cellar

also available. to the collection of the NGI, which
of more than two hundred and On permanent view possesses nearly 10.500 works,
fifteen penises and penile parts Living Art Museum foreign and Icelandic, dating from
belonging to almost all the land and The 6th Volume the 16th century to the 21st. Under
sea mammals that can be found in
STUDENTAKJALLARINN.IS Iceland.
On permanent view
An exhibit created and compiled by
Katrín Inga Jónsdóttir Hjördísardóttir
the common heading - TREASURES
- 19th and early 20th Icelandic
Hirt. The 6th Volume presents works painting and drawing
KEX Hostel and writings chosen by Katrín in an Runs until August 25
Tasty food, brunch, excellent bar, Dance Mediation
Every Monday, focus on your
attempt to define contemporary art
via the Icelandic practices that have
The National Museum
The Making of a Nation -
coffee, cakes & entertainment breathing and free -flowing
movements with KEX's Dance
influenced her.
Runs until August 25
Heritage and History in Iceland
This exhibition is intended to provide
Meditation at 18:00 in their Gym & Museum of Design and Applied insight into the history of the
Tonic back room. 2 hours for 2,000 Art Icelandic nation from the Settlement
ISK. Chance Encounters - Toward to the present day.
On permanent view Modernity In Iceland Design On permanent view
Kling & Bang The exhibit focuses on the Sigfús Eymundsson Photography
London Utd. introduction of modernism in A pioneer of Icelandic photography,
A group of British artists including Icelandic domestic interiors from the an exhibit that taps into the cultural
Dominic from Luton, Gavin Turk, 1930s to the 1980s. It features well- heritage of Iceland.
Laura White, Peter Lamb, Mark known designs that have emerged Runs until January 2014
Titchner explore English nationalism. from the modernist movement of the Icelandic Silverwork
Runs until August 4 20th century and made their way to Various silver items that have
Knitting Iceland Iceland. been made in Iceland over the

HANNESARHOLT
CULTURE, HISTORY,
FOOD & MUSIC
Hannesarholt is the perfect place for a nourishing
A4 bréfsefni. PMS
facebook.com/Studentakjallarinn
412. moment in a unique athmosphere, at the gate between the
UNIVERSITY OF ICELAND past and the present.
Sæmundargötu 4, Hannesarholt
Reykjavík, IS - tel: 570 0890 Grundarstíg 10
101 Reykjavík
Open weekdays 11:30 am - 5:30 pm, Sundays 2 - 5 pm www.hannesarholt.is
Open every day from 11 - 23
except Thursday and Friday www.hannesarholt.is Tel: +(354) 511 1904
from 11 - 01
IN YOUR
POCKET
WHAT'S
INSIDE Reykjavík Map Happy Hour Guide Places We Like Best Of Reykjavík Practical Info
Reykjavík & Surrounding Area August 2 - 15 Keep it in your pocket

Two Weeks
The Grapevine picks the events, places and what to experience the next two weeks

Mondays CHECK YOUR BREATH The pace of SOUVENIR SHOP

8 & 15
A U G U S T
Baby It's Cold Outside

Greenhouse Picnic
modern life can make us lose our breath.
Find your centre at KEX with Dance SHOP OF T HE Y E A R 2012
Meditation at 18:00 in Gym & Tonic.

August 4 & 11 SPICE UP YOUR LIFE Ever felt like

learning Argentine tango so you could
pretend to be Morticia and Gomez? Latin
Dance Studio can make your dreams
come true! Head over to Faxafen 12 on
Sundays and feel the heat. Caramia!

August 2-4 ROCK OUTSIDE If you feel like rocking

out instead of staying in, then head over to
Dillon for their very own outside festival.
Pikknikk Concert Series Put a burger on the barbecue and listen
The Nordic House 17:00 to Leaves, Botnleðja, Vintage Caravan,
Dimma and Brain Police playing in the
There's nothing like a picnic on a nice sum- beer garden from 17:00 to 22:00.
mer day, however those have been few and
far between in Reykjavík this year. Thanks to
climate change, we now have to fight for our August 2-4 MUCKING IT UP Head up to the
right to picnic. Luckily, The Nordic House's Westfjords for a ruckus round of Swamp
greenhouse offers a happy medium between Soccer. Embrace the mud, get shitfaced
eating outside and preserving your core body and compete in the Grand 8th Annual
temperature. Feel the warm glow of thermo- European Swamp Soccer Championship
dynamics. And as if the prospect of a non- in Ísafjörður! You probably won't win, but
soggy bottom weren't enough, it features free you'll have a ball and a few boo-boos.
musical entertainment every week. On the
8th, singer/songwriter duo, Orfia, serenades August 2 HOP ON THE SOUL TRAIN Bío Paradís
and on the 15th the jazz duet, Singimar
seduces. They even sell readymade picnic pairs up with Lucky Records to present
baskets complete with food and drinks at re- the documentary, Soul of America:
ception, which means you no longer have an Charles Bradley and an exhibition of the
excuse not to have a picnic this summer! AB soul singer's music at 20:00.

2-5
A U G U S T
Biggest Camping Weekend Of The Year

Merchant's Holiday

Verslunarmannahelgi
Throughout Iceland

Verslunarmannahelgi (“Merchants' Weekend”) initially came about because the first Mon-
day in August was designated a statutory holiday for merchants and anyone working in The viking:info Ísafjördur
trade in Iceland. Nowadays, this Monday is simply a bank holiday and the weekend leading
up to it is the summer’s biggest camping and festival weekend. There are several festivals Laugavegur 1 · Reykjavík
Akureyri
Hafnarstræti 1 - 3 · Reykjavík
to choose from although the biggest one, Þjóðhátíð in Vestmannaeyjar, is usually sold out a Hafnarstræti 104 · Akureyri
few weeks prior. Most of these festivals are family orientated, with entertainment for all ages Adalstræti 27 · Ísafjördur Reykjavík
during the day and various concerts or dances in the evenings. There’s the Swamp Soccer
e:info@the viking
tournament in Ísafjörður; the Ein Með Öllu family festival in Akureyri; the nostalgic Herring www.theviking.is
Adventure in Siglufjörður; the Christians’ family summer camp, Sæludagar in Vatnaskógur;
TAX FREE

family and music festival Neistaflug in Neskaupsstaður; the sobriety festival at the Lauga-
land camping site in Rangárvallasýsla and, if you’re staying in town, Innipúkinn offers musi-
cal entertainments at KEX, Faktorý and Fellagarðar. IRB
 MAP
1 2 3 4 5

The Official Tourist 16 Seal

Information Center Btwn Hverfisga
Aðalstræti 2 101 Reykjavík A mural in Hjar
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Useful numbers Hafnarstræti 20, tel: 540 1313 Public transport 10:00–16:00, Sun. closed. The shopping cen-
NAUTHÓ

Emergency number: 112 The Icelandic Travel Market, Bankastræti tres Kringlan and Smáralind as well as most
2, tel: 522 4979 The only public transport available in Reykjavík supermarkets and tourist shops have longer
Medical help: 1770 is the bus. Most buses run every 20–30
LSVE

Trip, Laugavegur 54, tel: 433 8747 opening hours.

Dental emergency: 575 0505 minutes (the wait may be longer on weekends) Swimming pools: Weekdays 06:30–22:00
GUR

Information: 118 Pharmacies and the price per fare is 350 ISK for adults and and weekends 09:00–17:00, although each
Taxi: Hreyfill-Bæjarleiðir: 588 5522 Lyf og heilsa, Egilsgata 3, tel: 563 1020 children. Multiple day passes are available for pool varies plus or minus a few hours.
BSR: 561 0000
ÞO
Lyfja,
RR Laugavegur 16, tel: 552 4045 and purchase at select locations. Complete route Banks in the centre are open Mon.-Fri.
AG
LágmúlaAT 5, tel: 533-2300
A map available at: www.bus.is. Tel: 540 2700. 09:00-16:00.
Tax Free Refund Reykjavík
Coach terminal Buses run from 07:00–24:00 on weekdays and
Post Offices
Iceland Refund, Aðalstræti 2, tel: 564 6400 Domestic
10:00–24:00 on weekends. Main terminals are:
BSÍ, Vatnsmýrarvegur 10,
Tourist information Airport Taxi
Hlemmur and Lækjartorg Post offices are located around the city. The
tel: 562 1011, www.bsi.is Opening Hours downtown post office is at Pósthússtræti 3–5,
Arctic Adventures, Laugavegur 11,
Domestic airlines open Mon.–Fri. 09:00–18:00. Stamps are also
tel: 562 7000 Bars and clubs: According to regulations, sold at bookstores, gas stations, tourist shops
City Centre, Aðalstræti 2, tel: 590 1550 Air Iceland, Reykjavíkurflugvöllur, bars can stay open until 01:00 on weekdays and some grocery stores.
Iceland Excursions – Grayline Iceland, tel: 570 3030, www.flugfelag.is and 04:30 on weekends.
Eagle Air, Hótel Loftleiðir, tel: 562-4200 Shops: Mon.–Fri. 10:00–18:00, Sat.
C

EIN
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LIVE MUSIC EVERY NIGHT BA Hótel Loftleiðir

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All the events and all the action

ES
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Save Water, Drink Beer
ILD
IN
GA

on 5 Big HD Screens.
NE
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Icelandic beer on draft. AUSTURSTRÆTI 12 • 101 REYKJAVÍK • ENSKIBARINN@ENSKIBARINN.IS

D
ME
 6 7 8 9
Venue Finder
New In Town Music & Entertainment
ata and Laugavegur Amsterdam Glaumbar
Hafnarstræti 5 | D3 Tryggvagata 20 | D3
rtagarðurinn ("The Austur Harlem
y Selur. Austurstræti 7 | E3 Tryggvagata 22 | D3
B5 Hressó
and Mural Bankastræti 5 | E4 Austurstræti 20 | E4
Bar 11 Kaffi Zimsen
7 Hverfisgötu 18 | E5 Hafnarstræti 18 | D4
Bjarni Fel Kaffibarinn
Theresa Himmer and Austurstræti 20 | E4 Bergstraðastræti 1 | E5
Sara Riel. Artwork Sigurjón
Bíó Paradís Kaldi Bar / Café
he Kúkú Campers Hverfisgata 54 | F6 Laugavegur 20b | E5
Art
Boston Kofi Tómasar Frænda
Museum
Laugavegur 28b | F6 Laugavegur 2 | E5
18 P3 Bunk Loft Hostel
Laugavegur 28 | E5 Bankastræti 7 | E5
Miðstræti 12
Celtic Cross Mánabar
It might seem like a prestigious exclusive Hverfisgata 26 | E5 Hverfisgata 20 | E5
workshop from the outside, but this new Den Danske Kro Ölsmiðjan S
design collective is more like a cosy private Ingólfsstræti 3 | E4 Lækjargata 10 | E4 KL
shopping experience. Nestled into the side- Dillon Ölstofan
streets of Reykjavík's Þingholt district (the Laugavegur 30 | F6 Vegamótastígur | E5
oldest part of 101!), the curious place sells Dolly Prikið
the wares of local labels Superated, REY, Hafnarstræti 4 | D3 Bankastræti | E4
Thelma Design, Skaparinn and ANDREA H A FNA R STR ÆTI 5 &
Dubliner Reykjavík Beats S KÓL AVÖR ÐU S T ÍG U R 10
MAACK PARFUMS, to name a few. They were Hafnarstræti 1-3 | D3 Hverfisgata 46| E5 KIR
I founded by former members of the Kiosk KJ
US
English Pub Rósenberg A
design shop and Rebekka REY, so there's a Austurstræti 12 | E3 Klapparstígur 25 | E5
H ND
UR
really pro vibe to the place. Plus, you might
Faktorý Thorvaldsen
meet some cute cats on the walk through the Smiðjustígur 6 | E5 Austurstræti 8 | D3
neighbourhood!
Gamli Gaukurinn Vegamót

LA
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ÚL Tryggvagata 22 | D3 Vegamótastígur 4 | E6

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Museums & Galleries

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Laugavegur 67 | F7 www.natmus.is

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Mon - Fri 12 - 18 / Sat

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Ásgrimur Jónsson Tue–Sun 12–17 UR

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Þverholt 19 Þverholt 19
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building near the seaside. Artist(s) Sun 13–17

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 Best Of Reykjavík
Every year around the beginning of July, we make a BEST OF REYKJAVÍK ISSUE celebrating some
of what makes Reykjavík-life worthwhile, posting some good entries into a hopefully neverending
discussion. The primary purpose of BEST OF REYKJAVÍK is celebration! It’s about big-upping stuff,
giving mad props to it and patting it on the shoulder. The following are some nice tips we pulled
from BEST OF REYKJAVÍK 2013 which you can read in full at www.grapevine.is

BEST PIZZA: Best PLACE TO GO TO A Best HABERDASHERY

GAMLA SmiÐJAN MOVIE: JÖR
BÍO PARADÍS

Although our panel (and a lot of our Bíó Paradís is hands down the best It takes a certain level of slick to pull
readers, judging by mail-ins) have place to go to a movie. This art house off naming a clothing line after your-
been dedicated Gamla Smiðjan eaters theatre always seems to have some- self. JÖR by Guðmundur Jörundsson
for years, the little pizzeria on Lækjar- thing exciting going on with regular has that and more. Whether you're
gata took a bit of a dip last year, falling festivals all year round. During the looking for clean, classic styles or
off their throne of pizza swords. That summer they have a series called some flashier pinstripes and pastels,
must have given them a real wake up ‘Cool Cuts,’ featuring six Icelandic they will deck you out. The company’s
call, because those guys quickly came films show with English subtitles. Laugavegur location has head-to-toe
back like gangbusters, conjuring up This summer they are showing ‘White supplies for the Reykjavík gentleman:
some of the best pizzas they’ve ever Night Wedding,’ Sigur Rós’ ‘Heima,’ hats, coats, ties, watches, everything
made! Good to have you back on top, ‘Children of Nature,’ ‘Either Way,’ down to the soles of the shoes. JÖR
GS! ‘Backyard,’ and ‘Noi the Albino.’ The has the fresh cuts that can take you
theatre also has a huge room with from a Friday night out straight to
tables where you can drink coffee your best bud's wedding day.
or beer and play games or catch the
occasional concert.

Located at Lækjargata 8 Located at Hverfisgata 54 Located at Laugavegur 89

A GUIDE
Iða Zimsen
Every Day from 19:00 to 22:00.
All bottled beers 550 ISK.

THAT FUCKS Kaffi Kompaníið

Thursday to Sunday from 16:00 to 18:00.

YOU UP
2 for 1 beer 850 ISK, wine 700 ISK.
Kaffi Zimsen
Every day from 17:00 to 21:00. Beer 550 ISK.
Kaldibar
A list of every Every day from 17:00 to 20:00.
2 for 1 on beer and wine.
Happy Hour in Kiki Queer Bar
101 Reykjavík Thursdays from 20:00 to 22:00.
Beer 450 ISK, wine 600 ISK.
Kolabrautin
101 Hótel Every day from 17:00 to 19:00.
Every day from 17:00 to 19:00. Beer 475 ISK, Beer 450 ISK, Wine 700 ISK, Cocktails from
wine 645 ISK, cocktails from 1000 ISK. 1000 ISK, Champagne glass 1500 ISK.
Austur Lebowski Bar
Thursday to Saturday from 20:00 to 00:00 Every day from 16:00 to 19:00.
Beer 550 ISK and wine 550 ISK. 2 for 1 beer 900 ISK and wine for 1100 ISK.
B5 Loft Hostel Bar
Every day from 17:00 to 22:00. Every day from 16:00 to 20:00.
Beer 550 ISK, cider 700 ISK, wine 550 ISK. Beer 500 ISK, cider 500 ISK, wine 700 ISK.
Bjarni Fel Micro Bar
Monday to Friday from 21:00 to 23:00. Every day from 17:00 to 19:00.
2 for 1 on all tap drinks, Beer for 445 ISK. Draught Beer 500 ISK.
Boston
Every day from 16:00 to 20:00, Download the FREE Miðgarður Bistro bar
Every day from 17:00 to 19:00. All drinks half
Beer 500 ISK, Wine 500 ISK.
Bunk Bar
Grapevine Appy price, Beer 500 ISK, Wine 600 ISK.
Nora Magasin
Every day from 16:00 to 20:00. Hour app! Every day from 17:00 to 19:00. Viking Beer for
Wine 700 ISK, Beer 2 for 1 900 ISK. 500 ISK, House Wine for 600 ISK.
Celtic Cross
Every happy hour in Prikið
Every day from 17:00 to 20:00.
2 for 1 on Gull and Polar for 900 ISK.
town in your pocket. Monday to Friday from 16:00 to 20:00. 2 for 1
Viking 750 ISK, Viking Classic 850 ISK.
Den Danske Kro Available in the App Roadhouse
Every day from 16:00 to 19:00. All Draght Beer
950 ISK and wine for 900 ISK. store and on the Friday and Saturday 22:00 - 23:00.
2 for 1 Beer 895 ISK, Wine 895 ISK.
Dillon
Every day from 16:00 to 20:00.
Android Market. SKY Bar & Lounge
Every day from 17:00 to 19:00, Beer 500 ISK,
2 for 1 Beer 850 ISK. Wine 800 ISK.
Dolly Hilton Hotel Bar Slippbarinn
Tuesday to Saturday from 17:00 to 20:00. Every day from 17:00 to 19:00. Every day from 16:00 to 18:00. Beer 500 ISK,
Beer 500 ISK and wine 500 ISK. All drinks half price. Wine 500 ISK, selected coctails 950 ISK.
Dubliner Hótel 1919 Stofan
Every day from 16:00 to 20:00. Every day from 16:00 to 19:00. 2 for 1 beer Every day from 17:00 to 20:00.
2 for 1 beer Tuborg 1000 ISK. 1000 ISK, white wine 1590 ISK, Red wine Beer 650 ISK and Wine 800 ISK.
1290 ISK, Cocktail of the Day 2190 ISK.
Faktorý Tapashúsið
Monday to Friday from 17:00 to 00:00. Hótel Holt Gallery Bar Every day from 16:00 to 18:00.
Gull and Tuborg beer 500 ISK. Every day from 16:00 to 19:00. Beer 550 ISK, All beer and wine half price.
Wine 695 ISK, Cocktail of the Week 950 ISK.
Glaumbar Uppsalir - Bar & Café
Every day from 21:00 to closing. Beer 390 ISK. Hótel Natura Every day from 17:00 to 19:00.
Every day from 16:00 to 18:00. 2 for 1 on all drinks except cognac.
Harlem
HAll drinks half price.
Every day from 17:00 to 22:00. Þingholtsbar
Beer 550 ISK, wine 700 ISK. Hótel Plaza Bar Every day from 17:00 to 19:00. Beer 500 ISK.
Every day from 17:00 to 19:00. Beer 500 ISK.
 ART
ONGOING
– continued –

last 150 years. A Part-Time Silver

Smith, a separate exhibition, will
run simultaneously and display a
silversmith’s workshop from the turn
of the century.
Runs until December 31
Reykjavík Art Museum
- Ásmundarsafn
Tales From the Vault - Sculpture
Inspired by Literature
A collection of Ásmundur
Sveinsson’s sculptures tied together Kópavogur
by a common literary thread. The Magic Carpet Ride Art Museum-
exhibit presents key works inspired
by Icelandic folklore, myth, and Wall Carpets - Þórdís Erla Zoega Gerðarsafn
poetry. Hamraborg 4, Kópavogur
Tel. +354 570 0440
Runs until December 13 Mokka Kaffi | Until September 5 | Free! Open 11–17
Reykjavík Art Museum
- Hafnarhús Three years ago Kanye West tweeted, “I specifically ordered Closed on Mondays
Erró - Graphic Art, 1949-2009 www.gerdarsafn.is
persian rugs with cherub imagery!!! What do I have to do to get
For the first time the general public
are able to view Erró´s graphic art
a simple persian rug with cherub imagery uuuugh.” Too bad he Works by sculptor
spanning half a century. didn't know Icelandic artist, Þordís Erla Zoega, who has become Gerður Helgadóttir
Runs until August 13 an expert on carpet design for her series of drawings known as Hönnunarsafn Íslands
Interval 'Wall Carpets.' Þordís even created an outdoor installation of a Museum of Design
An olfactory exhibit by Huginn Þór and Applied Art
Arason and Andrea Maack, the
tapestry in Seyðisfjörður for this year's LungA festival. Check
Garðatorg 1, Garðabær
two have collaborated to create a out her current exhibition in Mokka Kaffi and see if you spot any Tel. +354 512 1525
perfume intended to embody the cherubs. AB Open 12–17
smell of the museum of the future. Closed on Mondays
Runs until September 1 www.honnunarsafn.is
All State Find all art listings
A sound installation in the elevator
of Hafnarhús. Theresa Himmer’s “All online Hafnarborg Chance Encounters
Towards Modernity in
State” uses old elevator tracks to The Hafnarfjordur
create a six-hour long mechanical listings.grapevine.is Centre of Culture
Icelandic Design
soundtrack of the elevator
experience. and Fine Art
Runs until September 1 Strandgata 34, Hafnarfjörður
The Sound of a Bugle in a Nordic literature, both fiction and anguish of the Cold War tensions. Tel. +354 585 5790
Shoebox nonfiction. The library lends out Runs until September 1 Open 12–17
A retrospective of performance novels, academic publications, audio Slátur Húsið Thursdays 12–21
work by Magnús Pálsson, an avant- books and more. Icelandic Movie Days Closed on Tuesdays To
www.hafnarborg.is th e Bl
garde artist inspired by a love of and On permanent view Every Monday, Slátur Húsið ue La
participation in Icelandic theatre. The Reykjavík Museum (Slaughterhouse) shows Icelandic goon
The exhibit develops over a week of Photography movies at 20:00 for free all summer. Existence Eiríkur Smith
of live performances, including a Horse With No Name - Spessi For the latest check their facebook Icelandic realist paintings
premiered work by Pálsson himself. Spessi took portrait photographs of page.
Runs until September 30 numerous bikers during his travels Runs all summer
Reykjavík Art Museum and exploration of the biker culture Spark Design Space
- Kjarvalsstadir in the United States from 2011 to Anatomy of Letters
Icelandic Art 1900-1950: From 2012. Sigriður Rún explores ancient WE LOVE WHAT WE DO AND DO WHAT WE LOVE
Landscape to Abstract Art Runs until September 15 Icelandic letters by imagining
www.theicelandichorse.is – Tel: 434 7979
An overview of Iceland art Wild Cats - Sunna Ben them as organisms with their own
across five decades. The exhibit Fragments of the ever-growing particular anatomies. She has just
is comprised of four elements: photography collection that Sunna received the Art Directors Award of
Romantic and Radical 1900-1930, Ben has accumulated from carrying Europe in the student category, one
Landscape 1930-1950, The Human her camera with her day and night of the most distinguished graphic

#1
Scale 1930-1950 and New radicalism for the past seven years. design awards in the world.
and the beginning of the abstract Runs until September 10 Runs until September 30 on TripAdvisor
1940–1950. Saga Museum Wind and Weather
Runs Until September 13 A Viking Museum that intimately Window Gallery for two years
Reykjavík City Library recreates key moments in Iceland's Claudia Hausfeld - A Self Portrait COMMENTS FROM OUR GUESTS:
Myndarlegt history, giving a compelling view This exhibit focuses on the character “Best of the best of Iceland!”
Helga Lára Haraldsdóttir's new into how Icelanders have lived for and life of houses. The aim of the
“Never ridden? Experienced? Perfect for both!”
exhibition Myndarlegt, 'Handsome' more than a millenium. From the window gallery is to connect art in
time of the earliest settlers, history the urban setting of Reykjavík with “Beautiful environment, great horses, perfect guide”
showcases texts and photos that
have been photoshopped. The is brought to life in a unique and the people on the street. “We would come to Iceland for this alone”
show is meant to inspire people of exciting way with life-like figurines. Runs until August 30 “Lives up to it’s reputation!”
all ages to think about concept art, On permanent view Volcano House INCLUDED
PHOTOS from the
especially with regards to every day Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum The exhibition gives a brief overview tour. Pick up - drop
phenomena and our language. De Profundis of Iceland’s geological history and off in Reykjavík
Runs until August 20 A collection of sculptures by volcanic systems, and there are
Reykjavík City Museum Sigurjón Ólafsson and the paintings superb photographs of volcanic
Reykjavík 871 +/- 2: The
Settlement Exhibition
of his contemporaries. This group
of artists are known today as
eruptions and other magnificent
aspects of Icelandic nature. A large RIDING
Archaeological findings from ruins
of one of the first houses in Iceland
and other excavations in the city
“trailblazers of modernism” in
Iceland. As the title points out,
beneath the smooth surface of
collection of semi-precious rocks
and minerals from around the
country are also on display.
TOURS
centre, open daily 10:00-17:00, 1.100 the works lies the turbulence and On permanent view IN REYKJAVÍK
ISK per adult, 650 ISK per person in
groups (10+) and free for children 18
and under. Now offering A Guided Walking Tour
On permanent view
Reykjavík Maritime Museum
catering service! Dark
From Poverty to Abundance
Photos documenting Icelandic deeds
fishermen at the turn of the 20th in Reykjavík
century.
On permanent view Literary walk
The History of Sailing • Every Thursday in June, July and August
at 5pm
Iceland's maritime history and the
growth of the Reykjavík Harbour. • Starts at Reykjavík City Library
in Tryggvagata 15
On permanent view
• No booking is needed - Free of charge
The Coast Guard Vessel Óðinn
• This 90 minute walk is at an easy pace
This vessel sailed through all three Laugavegur 2 101 Reykjavík tel: 552 4444 and suits everyone
Cod Wars and also served as a • The focus is on crime fiction, ghost
rescue ship to over 200 ships. stories and other dark phenomena

On permanent view www.borgarbokasafn.is

www.cityofliterature.is
75th Anniversary of the
Seaman’s Day Council
An exhibit celebrating the 75th
anniversary of Seaman’s Day by
telling the story of the Day from
its first envisionment to current
celebrations.
Runs until November 30
Reykjavik City Library
The Reykjavík City Library www.borgarbokasafn.is
Tel. 411 6100
The collection centers around new bedroomcommunity.net
 OU T SIDE Reykjavík

outside

REYKJAVÍK
North Iceland
Akureyri
All Around Town
Ein Með Öllu Festival
August 1 - 4
Like the title suggests, Ein Með Öllu
(One With Everything), a family festival
with a little bit of everything. It even
has its own song!
Akureyri Backpackers
Vinyl Night
August 3, 21:00 Tan The Lamb And Party On!
Exclusively vinyl, all evening long. All Gæran Music Festival, Loðskinn
the genres you can (and can’t) think
of! August 15 - 17, 6,000 ISK
Akureyri Centre for Visual Arts If the main stage of a music festival is located inside of a sheepskin
Akureyri Art Museum: Aðalheiður S.
Eysteinsdóttir - Fundamentals tannery, there must be something interesting to expect. Right? Yes! This
June 22 - August 11 festival starts with a soloist night full of curious individuals performing
The culmination of an ongoing project and will continue through the weekend with a great mix of new bands
began in 2008, 'Fundamentals' and well known names. Stafrænn Hákon, Valdimar, Úlfur Úlfur, the Royal
examines the importance of the
Slaves and Steinsmiðjan, just to name a few. If you have any energy after
Icelandic sheep and agriculture. The
show willoccur simultaneously in the Merchant’s weekend (fat chance), then give yourself that extra party
seven different galleries. push to make the most of your summer. KN
Deiglan: Á Mörkum Heimanna
August 11 - September 14 and Icelandic culture through stories, Byggðasafnið Hvoll á Dalvík
'On The Border Of Two Worlds' by songs and samples of local delicacies. The North In The North
artist Frímann Kjerúlf. Before the show starts, Kaffi Ilmur has June 2 - March 1 2014
Ketilhúsið: Stolnar fjaðrir dinner on offer. Be sure to book seats An exhibit of information and artifacts
Opening on August 11 before showing up. from Greenland.
'Stolen Feathers' by artist Þórdís Alda Listagilið
Sigurðardóttir. Píkublóm Hjalteryri
Flóran August 3 - August 11 Verksmiðjan á Hjalteyri
Næturbrölt Artist Brynja Harðardóttir opens her The Fixed & The Volatile
August 10, 14:00 exhibition 'Píkublóm' (Vagina Flower), August 3 - 24
'Night Stride' is put on by visual artist a worship of femininity, life and This audio-visual exhibition featuring
Sigrún Guðmundsdóttir. growth. the experimental films of Scottish
Græni Hatturin Akureyri Botanical Garden (Lys- artists Richard Ashrowan and Pat Law
Dúndurfréttir tigarður) and the artful sounds of Canadian Nick
August 2, 22:00 LYSTSEMDIR Kuepfer, Icelandic Arna Valsdóttir,
The self-proclaimed world’s best Pink June 28 - September 3 Scottish Kristy Law and Factory
Floyd cover band, with a sprinkling of An eclecticwomen's photography club, Experimental Music Manifest. Opens
Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin and Deep ÁLFkonur will take and exhibit photos August 3 at 15:00 with a live projection
Purple. of everything that concerns them. performance at 17:00.
Mannakorn
August 3, 23:00 Vatnajökull National Sauðárkrókur
Renowned legends of the Icelandic Park Loðskinn
pop scene, Mannakorn, salute Ásbyrgi Gæran Music Festival
Akureyri. Mannakorn have been Dettifoss Trail Run August 15 - 17
playing since 1975, meaning most of August 10 Gæran music festival covers
the festival attendees will be younger A cross-country running competition everything from rap to folk. This year's
than the band, but at least they should through the beautiful lava fields of performers include Tilbury, Úlfur Úlfur,
know what they’re doing. the North. With courses from 13 to Valdimar, XXX Rottweiler, Hundar,
Hjálmar 32.7km, it is sure to test everyone's Kontinuum, Hymnalaya and Jónas
August 4, 23:30 endurance. For more details and Sigurðsson.
Pioneers of Icelandic reggae and registration, consult their webpage
experts at getting people to shake www.english.jokulsarhlaup.is. Siglufjörður
their bums and chill. This award- Herring Era Museum
winning bunch from Keflavík has Dalvík Herring Adventure
released several records, introducing All around Dalvík August 1 - 5
what they call the “New Wave of Big Fish Day Festival The annual, fishy Sildarævintýrið
Icelandic Reggae.” August 9 - 11 (Herring Adventure Festival), is a
Kaffi Ilmur The annual Fiskudagurinn Mikli (Big family friendly festival that focuses
Visiting the Saddler Fish Day) is a celebration of sea on the impacts of fishing industry.
Every Tuesday until August 20, 21:30 creatures. Games, activities and the Locals dress up, and the local Herring
Svava and Bjarni introduce the famous fish soup lure festival goers Museum puts on special shows.
audience to the history of Akureyri from all over the country. Bands Valdimar, Mannakorn and more

Icelandic
Homemade
Traditional
Meat & Fish Soups
Seasonal Appetizers
Coffee, Tea & Drinks
Hot Chocolate &
Icelandic Pancakes
Bread, Cakes & More!
Summer hours:
Mon - Sat: 9 - 21
Sundays: 10 - 16

Gamla / Old Island

Laugavegi 72
101, Reykjavik
Facebook.com/GamlaOldIsland
 OU T SIDE Reykjavík by the sea
perform.

East Iceland
and a delicious lobster
Egilsstaðir at Fjörubordid in Stokkseyri
All Around Town
Ormsteiti Festival
August 9 - 18
A harvest festival with all the fun
events one can expect from a large
rural town in the East. Carnival,
song contests, pet beauty pageants
and other funky activities that you
won't find inside city perimeters. We
hear Lazy Town will also make an
appearance!
Sláturhúsið
Icelandic Movie Days
June 4 - August 28
All summer long Sláturhúsið holds
A History In Songs, Stories and Food
free showings of must-see Icelandic Visiting the Saddler, Kaffi Ilmur At the seashore the giant lobster makes

Spör ehf.
movies, every night from Monday - Every Tuesday at 21:30 until August 20, 2,500 ISK, 4,500 ISK with
Thursday beginning at 20:00.
dinner
appointments with mermaids and landlubbers.
Neskaupsstaður Have you ever had your dinner accompanied with fish oil shots while
He waves his large claws, attracting those desiring
Egilsbúð
Neistaflug
getting your money’s worth of entertainment? Akureyri locals Svava and to be in the company of starfish and lumpfish.
August 1 - 4 Bjarni host a show about the town’s history in the old saddler’s house
A fun filled weekend for all ages with right in the heart of downtown. The house is the oldest ones around, so
concerts, a parade, barbecue, and there is more than a story or two to be told and songs to be heard. You
fireworks. can reserve in advance to have a traditional Icelandic dinner beforehand,
Blúskjallarinn
or just enjoy the old-time delicacies during the show. KN
Musical Afternoon
August 7, 16:00
Bjarni Freyr, Þorlákur Ægir Ágústsson August 18, 16:00 Reykjavík
and co. perform music by Icelandic Aftanblik Trio. Singer Gerður Ísafjörður
composers Sigfús Halldórsson, Bolladóttir, cellist Victoria Tarevskaia Mýrarboltinn Stokkseyri
brothers Jón Múli and Jónas Árnason and pianist Katalin Lorincz. August 3-5 Eyrarbakki - The Seashore restaurant
and more. August 25, 16:00 The European championship in swamp
Concert based on the work of soccer will take place in beautiful
Seyðisfjörður Jane Austen. Soprano Þórunn Elín surroundings in Isafjörður, the capital > Only 45 minutes drive from Reykjavík
Skaftafell Center for Visual Art Pétursdóttir, mezzosoprano Lilja of the Westfjords. For registration
Bananas Dögg Gunnarsdóttir, and pianist Daði and participation check out their Eyrarbraut 3, 825 Stokkseyri, Iceland · Tel. +354 483 1550
June 17 - August 26 Sverrisson homepage www.myrarbolti.com/ Fax. +354 483 1545 · info@fjorubordid.is · www.fjorubordid.is
In this evolving exhibit, Danish english
artists group A Kassen explores the Selfoss Summer opening hours: Mon - Sun 12:00 to 22:00
connection between Icelandic nature, All around Selfoss Stykkishólmur
bananas and aluminium. Selfoss Summer Festival Vatnasafnið / Library of Water
August 8 - 11 Water, Selected
South Iceland A family festival! Expect bonfires, On permanent display
concerts, games and old car ‘Water, Selected’ is an ongoing
Eyrarbakki enthusiast’s show. exhibition with twenty four columns
All Around Town filled with glacier water from all over
Aldamóta Festival Skálholt the country.
August 10 - 11 Skálholt church To Place
It's like jumping into a time machine Navichorus (FI) On permanent display
back to 1900. Dressed up in garb from August 9, 18:00 'To Place' is an audio exhibit offering
days of yore, the locals invite people Navichorus chamber choir from Espoo, insight into the Icelandic psyche,
to celebrate how things were over Finland, performing works from Finnish where you can listen to recordings of
hundred years ago. composers. people talking about the weather.

Hafnarfjörður Westman Islands Suðureyri

Hafnarborg Pompei Of The North All around Suðureyri
Existence On permanent view Act Alone Solo Performance Festival
August 8 - 11
June 29 - August 25 Excavation project at the site of the
This theatre festival concentrates
This exhibition of Eiríkur Smith’s oil 1973 volcanic eruption on the island of
on the most difficult form of acting:
paintings, watercolours and drawings Heimaey.
acting alone. The annual festival is
from 1968-1982, deals with questions Þjóðhátíð í Eyjum
now celebrating it’s tenth year up
of existence. The first weekend of August
and running and thanks to that it
The annual Verslunarmannahelgi
is now FREE to go and see all the
Hveragerði (Merchant’s Weekend)! The biggest
shows. Performers include Bjartmar
LÁ Art and best known festival, Þjóðhátíð í
Guðlaugsson, Bjarni Hauk, Helga
The Landscape Of Time Eyjum, attracts around 14,000 people
June 9 - September 15 Arnalds and even Mugison. Note:
to the small fishing island each year.
The exhibition showcases two Most performances are in Icelandic.
For band schedules and prices check
Icelandic artists from different eras, out their homepage www.dalurinn.is
exploring how they saw the world
differently. West Iceland
Keflavík Borgarnes B
A
Reykjanes Art Museum The Icelandic Settlement Centre
Við Geigvænan Mar The Settlement Exhibition
June 1 - August 18 On permanent view
A collection of art of the harsh nature
found around the Reykjanes peninsula.
A thirty minute-long multi-media
exhibit that provides insight into the N
A
Pabbi Minn Er Róinn settlement of Iceland, from the first
All summer man to step foot on the island, to

N
A part of the museum’s boat collection, the establishment of the world’s first
featuring more than 20 boats and parliament, Þingvellir. Admission is

A
accessories. 2,400 ISK.
Brúðir Konu Meyja The Egils Saga Exhibition
All summer On permanent view
A collection of dolls wearing the
traditional national costume, as well as
other dolls.
Located in the stone-walled basement
of the centre, this exhibit leads visitors
through the colourful saga of Egil, one
S
Mosfellsbær
of Iceland’s first settlers
Galtarviti A Kassen (DK)
Gljúfrasteinn Ragnar Kjartansson
Gljúfrasteinn Summer Concerts Open all summer 17.06 - 26.08 2013
August 4, 16:00 Galtarviti in collaboration with Slíjm sf.
MAIN EXHIBITION SPACE
Singer Kristjana Arngrímsdóttir and invites people to view an exhibit born
SKAFTFELL - CENTER FOR VISUAL ART
guitarist Kristján Eldjárn Hjartarson. from Ragnar Kjartansson’s residency
August 11, 16:00 at Galtarviti. Getting to the lighthouse
Open daily, admission free
Singer Sigríður Ósk Kristjánsdóttir and can be tricky, but check out their
www.skaftfell.is
pianist Hrönn Þráinsdóttir. website, www.galtarviti.org.
 F D
For your mind, body and soul

We
d o n ´ t sell whale mea
t

Gold, Silver… KOPAR!

Restaurants that have this logo promise not to sell KOPAR the party was steadily getting louder I had been looking forward to try-
whale meat. We kindly ask you to choose in a warm, welcoming way. ing out the Iceland rock crab salad,
Our table wasn’t nearly ready, but as KOPAR is the first restaurant to
a whale friendly restaurant and to recommend Háskólatorg,
a friendly waitress walked us up the serve this locally sourced crustacean.
Geirsgata 3, 101 Reykjavík
others to do the same. Opening hours 11:30–1:30
winding stairs and seated us by the But as much as I love avocado, it
bar. She then forgot us for a while simply overwhelmed the starring
What We Think before taking our orders for drinks ingredient and reduced it to barely a
Whaling is cruel and unnecessary A terrific setting with truly and then promptly forgot us a while trace.
tempting menu, though some longer before finally bringing them Next came the catfish atlanticus,
Information about whale friendly restaurants can be found at dishes need a little honing (in her defence, it was a very busy crusted with pistachios and soaked
www.icewhale.is night). I ordered the lime pie mojito, in lobster-infused champagne sauce.
Flavour:
which arrived in a beautiful copper The dish was so lovingly crafted that
Icelandic land-and-sea fusion
cup with a candy cane-striped straw. I could taste the painstaking care
Ambiance: The creamy lime liquid would have that had been put into it, though
A buzzing party in studio loft been divine except for the “pie”— I couldn’t say the same about our
Service: which I assume referred to the soggy frightfully overcooked salmon.
INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE
Forgetful but friendly biscuit that had been dispersed in Our next dish was a crispy leg
Price for 2 (with drinks): my drink. Next time, I’ll ask for my of turkey, large enough to sus-
8,000–12,000 ISK pie on the side. tain a caveman until the arrival of
Our table was ready at precisely civilization. Each course was served
ten. Everything on the menu sound- promptly without feeling rushed,
ed amazing, from the deep-fried but the staff often forgot to take care
cod cheeks to the spicy crab cakes, of auxiliary details: our table had a
from seafood risotto to the smoky spill on it when we arrived and our

e!
BBQ ribs. My head was reeling from waitress didn’t always remember to

a b i cyc l too many scrumptious options, so I clear our plates before the next dish

Rent
Walk-ins, sad to say, belong to a was very grateful when our waitress was served, which was a little unap-
bygone era of Reykjavík. Nowa- recommended the KOPAR Adven- petising.
days if you call to inquire about ture nine-course chef’s menu (7,400 The star of the evening, however,
Get on the saddle and dinner you’re given the standard ISK). The wine list consisted of a was the glorious beef cheek bourgui-
discover Reykjavík! have-an-afternoon-snack-at-six or few bottles each from a number of gnon, so tender that it fell apart as I
starve-until-ten ultimatum. Of two different countries, both Old World was cutting it and worth five stars on
evils, we chose the latter this time. and New, most of which were rea- its own. My only quip was that the
From 1.500 ISK / 2 hours previous portions had been so large
KOPAR restaurant was jam-packed sonably priced at 5,900–8,500 ISK.
( incl. a helmet & city map) Their selection of house wines was that we hardly had any room left
by the time we showed up—half an
hour early and ravenous. In Iceland, not quite as stellar, but our wait- in our stomachs—something that
novelty catches fire quicker than ress recommended Peter Lehmann almost never happens to me.
l! Wildcard Shiraz to go with our main While “emphasis on local and
S u o m i pr k kindling, and this newest addition
course, which turned out to be an sustainable ingredients” isn’t exactly
design 7
to the Old Harbour neighbourhood
L au gaveg u r 2 was flaming. I felt as if I had been acceptable match. the most original idea for a res-
jav ík taurant, it certainly is a classic one
101 Reyk invited to a housewarming party at Our first course, the deep-fried
9 6688 cod cheeks, was a golden promise of that’s here to stay.
(+35 4) 51 someone’s awesome new apartment.
i.is
w w w.s uom The place was raw and simple, bar- what was yet to come. Dipped in a Let’s hope KOPAR is, too.
ing its brick walls, iron railings and savoury lemon-oil sauce, they were
wooden rafters to create a sort of a wonderfully crisp and juicy start to
Patricia Þormar
urban-industrial atmosphere, and our meal; worth a visit in them-
NANNA DÍS
selves.

Ban Thai the finest Thai restaurant in Iceland

1 of 10 the best restaurant in Iceland www.banthai.is

best goddamn restaurant 2011 www.yummy.is
the best thai food Tel: 692-0564
year 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Laugavegur 130, ofan við Hlemm
this two-story house provides magnificent three private rooms on the 2nd floor.
BanThai is one of the most popular restaurants in the Reykjavik
authentic Thai cuisine served in a elegant surroundings
enjoy the best Thai Beer (Singha beer) and Thai wine
MonSoon has been the winner Award from Austria,
Germany, Singapore and Thailand
Also Recommend..... y u m m i y u m m i Tel: 588-2121 H v e r f i s g a t a 123, 105 Rvk.
 The Reykjavík Grapevine

The Great Grillsby

cook friend of mine. There was a cherry tomato juice. The least suc-
Grillið heavy whiff of old money and being cessful dish of the evening. Nothing
seated next to the doppelganger of wrong with throwing a plebeian fish
At Hótel Saga Roger Sterling didn’t help. So we felt in with the high society ingredients,
Hagatorg 1 just a tiny bit out of place. but mackerel is notoriously hard to
107 Reykjavík But you’d never recognise us for get right. I loved the surprisingly
Tel: (+354) 525 9960 the working class bozos we are from delicate fermented garlic but throw-
www.grillid.is watching the waiter cater to our ing blackened garlic on top of that
grillid@grillid.is every whim. Our waiter, Guðmun- was overkill. This was paired with
Tue–Sat: 6.00 pm–10.00 pm dur, might just be the finest waiter Skjálfti beer.
Sun–Mon: Closed I’ve witnessed at work in Iceland. The first main course was a fried
What We Think: He’s been working there since the plaice with smoky cheese, broccoli
Fine dining done right. late ‘70s—in a field notorious for ragú and toasted sunflower seeds. I
its high employee turnover. He was love plaice, but I missed the charred
Flavour: Nouvelle French, modern attentive but never overbearing, fish skin. A delicious combination
Spanish, seasonal local ingredients alert but never anxious and had a but the plating could have been live-
Ambiance: A little on the formal chameleon-like ability to adapt to the lier. This was paired with an Abadal
side atmosphere of each table. He really Picapoll—quite fruity but drier and
Service: Spoiled me rotten has mastered this ambiguous craft. denser than the last one. Not out of
The menu is refreshingly sparse: place with the plaice (sorry).
Four course menu for two (with
four starters, two main courses, two The second main course was grilled
wine):
desserts. tenderloin with Icelandic oyster
33.200 ISK
We ordered the four course fixed mushrooms, pearl onion and spring
menu with wine pairings. At some onions. I was very surprised to
point the kitchen must have pegged hear they had sourced the oyster
me for a reviewer, as they soon mushrooms from a local grower in
started to sneak other courses into Hafnarfjörður. The two-month dry-
Grillið is where casual meets grand the mix with wild abandon. aged tenderloin was complex and
hotel fine dining. It has incorporated The first appetizer consisted of a mellow. Heavy on the onion flavour,
certain elements of the new casual slice of cured salmon with mustard but the meat could handle it.
dining style, but omitted others. dressing, lomo embuchado with This was paired with a 2006 Cune
Grillið has embraced the kabuki fantabulous chutney, a drizzle of rioja. An excellent wine, but the
spectacle of the exhibition kitchen, bell pepper sauce and baked chips of least successful pairing out of the
they combine flavours and culinary queijo prato cheese. bunch—probably due to the onions.
traditions in novel ways, they source The second was a lamb tartar with Dessert was something between
locally as much as possible, shirts capers, chives and horseradish. All a fudge brownie and chocolate
and ties are optional and of course of it thoroughly excellent and well ganache, spread into a pancake/
some of the plates are made out of harmonised. polenta/placenta with freeze-dried
bits of wood and lava rocks. To go with the appetizers, I garden peas and white chocolate. I
The service and décor stray from picked an Old Fashioned (they said applaud the courage, but the peas
the path. White tablecloth shrouds they didn’t get much call for it, didn’t quite hold up. The pea-mint
the tables, the cutlery is arranged which means they have only just sorbet was too light on the mint and
into complex sigils to invoke the started attracting the foodie hipster a blanket of sweetness threatened to
ancient gods of upscale dining, table types like myself). suffocate the dish.
service is traditional. Dinner ends The first starter was composed of The after-dinner Laphroaig tof-
with the ceremonial wheeling of the marinated prawns with an avocado fees that followed was absolutely
digestif cart. purée, cod mousse and a Brazil- brilliant and I am drooling thinking
A long hallway, proudly display- ian pepper sorbet. The sorbet was back on them.
ing the hotel’s history, leads onto a a particularly inspired touch and There were minor problems
round polka dot floor, beneath a halo although Brazilian pepper is always here and there, but overall I am
of zodiac signs. It’s art deco by-way- a great choice for seafood, I’d have impressed with Grillið’s ability to
of-the-‘80s. Think ‘Hudsucker Proxy’ liked it just as much as a separate pair the new with the old and their
with a Masonic flourish and a fan- dessert. This was paired with a very panache for exploring new flavours.
tastic 360-degree view of downtown fruity New Zealand white.
Reykjavík. ragnar egilsson
Second was the pickled mackerel
axel sigurðarson
I swooped in, joined by a line with fermented garlic and green

#109 Dill is a Nordic restaurant with its

focus on Iceland, the pure nature and
all the good things coming from it.

It does not matter if it’s the

ingredients or the old traditions, we
try to hold firmly on to both.

There are not many things that make

us happier than giving life to old
traditions and forgotten ingredients
with modern technique and our creative
mind as a weapon.

Lífið er saltfiskur
Sturlugata 5 · 101 Reykjavík
ÓÐINSTORG 101 REYKJAVÍK ÍSLAND SNAPSBISTRO.IS
Tel. +354 552 15 22 · www.dillrestaurant.is Snapsbistro@snapsbistro.is +354 5116677
 Transfer complete

Now on Laugavegur 17

Laugavegur 17
WELCOME
TO OUR TRULY SPECIAL WORLD
EXPERIENCE BLUE LAGOON
UNTIL MIDNIGHT

THE MIDNIGHT SUN LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IT!

Blue Lagoon is open until midnight from 1. July - 15. August.
During this period, you can enjoy the Icelandic midnight sun in a surreal setting and
at the same time rejuvenate mind, body and soul

Blue Lagoon is the perfect place to enjoy the bright summer nights in Iceland. You
can experience the Blue Lagoon at midnight with all of our entry packages.

There is nothing like the Blue Lagoon at midnight. Welcome to our truly special world.

MIDNIGHT SECRET
LAVA Restaurant
Hidden in the rocks with a spectacular view of Blue Lagoon is LAVA Restaurant.
You can enjoy an unforgettable dinner before you soak away until midnight.

Why not make your stay in Iceland unique and memorable, enjoy the midnight sun.
DELIGHT
SPOIL YOURSELF

IN-WATER MASSAGE
Have you ever tried our famous in-water massages? If not,
you are in for a treat. Blue Lagoon skin care products are
used to strengthen, nourish and balance the skin. Make your
visit even more memorable. If you don’t want to miss out on
this unique treatment, we recommend you book in advance
at treatments@bluelagoon.is or call +354 420 8800.

EXCLUSIVE LOUNGE
Want to treat yourself with a once in a lifetime luxury?
Exclusive Lounge offers comfort and luxury for a
memorable visit. A private changing room for two
along with an exclusively shared lounge and access to
an indoor lagoon. For those looking for luxury, book
your visit at bluelagoon.com or call +354 420 8800.

BEAUTY TREATMENTS
Looking for a true pampering? All treatments are based
on Blue Lagoon skin care that contain active ingredients
from Blue Lagoon. Facials, pedicure, manicure and wax
treatments are available. You can pamper yourself to
the fullest. Book your Blue Lagoon beauty treatment at
treatments@bluelagoon.is or call +354 420 8800.

LAVA RESTAURANT
For a taste of Iceland, you can enjoy a lunch or an
evening menu with a scenic view of the Blue Lagoon.
Enjoy your dining experience at LAVA Restaurant.
Make a reservation at sales@bluelagoon.com or call
+354 420 8800.

You can shop Blue Lagoon skin care and selected Icelandic design in our relaxed spa setting.
 ENJOY
BE OPEN TO INFINITE POSSIBILITIES
WHEN VISITING BLUE LAGOON

1 Viewing platform 5 Relaxing Area 9 Waterfall

2 Lava Restaurant 6 Indoor lagoon 10 Silica mud

3 Blue Café 7 Exclusive lounge 11 Steam bath and sauna

4 Lagoon bar 8 Steam cave 12 Spa treatments and massage

5
1 4

7
2
3
6

8
11

10
12

KEF Airport: 22 km
Reykjavík: 47 km

Blue Lagoon is open daily and is only a 20 minutes drive from Keflavik
International Airport and 40 minutes drive from Reykjavik city center.

Blue Lagoon | 240 Grindavik | Iceland | Tel +354 420 8800

bluelagoon@bluelagoon.com | www.bluelagoon.com