Issues and Images of Iceland
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Issues and Images ICELAND Contents 4 FIVE QUESTIONS 18 INSPIRED BY ICELAND Icelanders talk about their favorite places. Impressions of visitors. 6 A LETTER FROM ICELAND 20 THE CUTE, THE CRUEL AND THE TOURISTS A new and exciting chapter in the nation’s thousand- Everyone likes the puffins, but the cruel skua year-old literary history has begun, as Iceland is honorary is indeed a rare bird. guest at the 2011 Frankfurt Book Fair, the most important one of its kind in the world. 22 IT Isn’t EASY BEING Green… EXCEPT MAYBE IN ICELAND 8 INSPIRED BY ICELAND Since they became widely available, Icelanders prefer Impressions of visitors. their vegetables fresh and local. Flúdir, Reykholt and Lau- 10 SONIC RETRO garás are the cradle of the country’s greenhouse farming. Icelandic start-up company Redwing designs hand-wired 24 THE SUPER GOOD SUPER FOOD vintage amplifiers. The dairy product that is not quite like anything else. 11 MUSIC ALL AROUND US 25 FOOD IS FUN Music festivals are becoming more popular every year in Many people are pleasantly surprised when they come to all corners of Iceland. Iceland and find culinary delights. 12 ICELAnd’s NATIONAL HERO TURNS 200 26 WE SCREAM FOR ICECREAM Icelanders don’t have many heroes. Jón Sigurdsson, the An old fashioned family firm has made great ice cream leader in the country’s fight for independence, is an un- for more than 40 years. disputed hero in Icelandic history. 27 BRAIN-POWER-PLAY 14 HARPA OF 1,600 STRINGS Icelandic start-up company MindGames creates innova- Finally Reykjavík has its own music hall; an architectural tive computer games that are controlled by the user’s masterpiece and a world class concert hall. brainwaves. 16 A TOP MUSICIAN OPENS THE NEW HARPA Vladimir Ashkenazy was a child prodigy piano player. 28 MAINSTREAMING ALTERNATIVE ENERGY Now he is one of the leading conductors in the world. We’re not there yet, but methanol, methane, rapeseed oil, hydrogen and green electricity might soon replace fossil 17 ARCTIC ALLURE fuels in Iceland for good. A Stonehenge-like construction is appearing close to Raufarhöfn by the Arctic Circle. Issues and Images Vol. 7 1-2011 Editor: Benedikt Jóhannesson [email protected] Staff writers: Ásta Andrésdóttir [email protected], Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir [email protected] and Páll Stefánsson [email protected] Contributing writers: Alana Odegard, Kremena Nikolova-Fontaine and Júlíana Björnsdóttir. Design: Erlingur Páll Ingvarsson. Photographers: Geir Ólafsson, Páll Kjartansson and Páll Stefánsson. Editorial Consultant: Inga Hlín Pálsdóttir, [email protected] On the cover: Reykjavík Center. Photo by Páll Kjartansson. Back cover: Herdubreid Mountain. Photo by Páll Stefánsson. Printing: Oddi. Published for Promote Iceland by Heimur Publishing Ltd. www.icelandreview.com Copyright Heimur Publishing. No articles in the magazine may be reproduced elsewhere in whole or in part without the prior permission of the publisher. [email protected] 2 I&I Issues and Images ICELAND 29 TWIST OF FAITH Skálholt, Iceland’s Capital of Christendom, also gives a 39 FLY THE FRIENDLY SKIES AND MORE nod towards paganism. Icelandair Group is by far Iceland’s biggest tourist company. 30 THE FLAVORS OF THE NORTH Explore the many unorthodox museums, adorable 40 A DaRK WINTER PaRADISE countryside churches, wild adventures and local foods of Even though most people come to Iceland in summer, North Iceland’s Eyjafjördur region. more and more are experiencing the unique winter months’ adventures. 32 ICELAND DOES (NOT) EXIST Internationally renowned for their attentive and often 42 ICELANDIC MOVIES: HAPPY, SaD AND SERIOUS critical artwork dealing with global socio-political and Icelandic film makers have turned to various subjects in economical issues, Spanish-Icelandic duo Libia Castro their films. All of them are strongly Icelandic. and Ólafur Ólafsson are Iceland’s representatives at this year’s Venice Biennale. 44 ICELANDIC BOOKS: A REFLECTION OF REALITY AND ABSURDITY Our critics look at three different Icelandic books 33 EASTERN PROMISES Eastern Iceland is a delight to visit. by three different Icelandic authors. 34 A POSTCARD FROM REYKJAVÍK 46 BRIGHT FUTURE FOR ICELANDIC SOCCER Pictures from the capital city in summer. Although the Icelandic men’s national football team is ranked number 124 in the world the outlook seems to be good. 36 KNITTING IS COOL The crisis in Iceland has changed attitudes towards old values. Iceland is now caught by knitting fever. 47 FLOURISHING DESIGN Last March, the Iceland Design Center presented 37 GOTTA RUN the third annual DesignMarch in Reykjavík. Here are When the crisis hit in 2008, people traded their dress some of the festival’s highlights. shoes for sneakers. 38 CAN YOU TaKE THE HEAT? The old natural steam bath by Laugarvatn has undergone a makeover as part of Laugarvatn Fontana. Ministry for Foreign Affairs Promote Iceland Raudarárstígur 25, IS-150 Reykjavík. Tel +354 545 9900 Fax +354 562 4878 Borgartún 35, IS-105 Reykjavík. Tel +354 511 4000 Fax +354 511 4040 [email protected] www.mfa.is [email protected] www.promoteiceland.is I&I 3 Five Questions Icelanders talk about their favorite places. Best place for casual dining in Reykjavík Vegamót is my favorite restaurant. The perfect day-trip out of the capital Going fly-fishing with my dad in Stóru Laxá or Sog River. The best pool to visit Vesturbaejarlaugin is my favorite pool; it’s kind of small and quiet—just the way I like it. Your secret place in Reykjavík Öskjuhlíd is my secret place. When I need time for myself to clear my mind, I take a walk at Öskjuhlíd Hill, an outdoor area in central Reykjavík. Margrét Kara Sturludóttir Basketball Player at KR Your favorite shop Spútnik, a beautiful vintage shop in Reykjavík. Stefánsson Páll by Photo What is your favorite swimming pool in the capital? The Árbaejarlaug pool. Where is the best place to enjoy nature in Reykjavík? At the waterfalls down in Gljúfurdalur valley on Mt. Esja. It is sometimes forgotten that Reykjavík reaches over a whole mountain. There you will find beautiful rock formations, crags and there is hardly ever anyone there. Then you can trek up to Kambshorn summit and enjoy the view and even the storm. Where would you take a foreign guest to dine? Restaurant Dill at the Nordic House. It has a good atmosphere and food that lightens you up. What is your secret place in Reykjavík? I just wish that I could hide more often at the Kaffismidjan cafe on Kárastígur street. The most beautiful building in the city in your opinion? City Hall, Rádhúsid and the Ásmundarsafn museum in Laugardalur valley. It is typical Icelandic architecture, improvised and impractical but charming in Kristján B. Jónasson its eccentricity. Writer and publisher Photo by Páll Stefánsson Páll by Photo 4 I&I Icelanders talk about their favorite places. Photos and words by Páll Stefánsson. I&I Where is the best place in Reykjavík to grab a good bite, in peace and quiet? I have to say Hornid. It is always quiet and their cooking is always perfect. What’s the most walkable street in Reykjavík? I’m all for Laugavegur. But Skólavördustígur is on the march too. Where would you go for a daytrip from Reykjavík? Hvolsvöllur is a great place to use as a base, there’s no question about it. From there it’s a short distance to the volcanoes, the historic sites of Njáls Saga, Thórsmörk, Fljótshlíd and even to the Westman Islands. Which shop or boutique would you visit to forget time and place? Herrahúsid on Laugavegur 47. You walk in there and go back in time. Their service is good and old fashioned and it does not matter if you are 15 or 50. They will tailor you. Which pool has the best hot tubs? That’s a difficult one. I opt for the pool in Hvolsvöllur. It’s Hreimur Örn Heimisson the only pool I know of that always offers a fresh brew Eurovision singer of coffee beside the hot pots. Photo by Páll Stefánsson Páll by Photo Where is the best weather in Iceland? In my mind the weather is always good, wherever I am, and it does not matter how hard the wind blows. Where is the best place to see the fireworks display on New Year’s Eve? From a plane over Kópavogur town or from the Úlfarsfell mountain. Where would you take a foreign friend, in Iceland for the first time? I would drive south to Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon. Everything is beautiful on the way. What is the most beautiful place in Iceland? There are so many. It’s like differentiating between your children. But the Öraefasveit district is always enchanting. Ragnar Axelsson What does it mean to be an Icelander, in short? It’s cool, I think. There are many things much worse than that. Photographer Photo by RAX by Photo I&I 5 A new and exciting chapter in the nation’s thousand-year-old literary history has begun, as Iceland is honorary guest at the 2011 Frankfurt Book Fair, the most important one of its kind in the world. A LETTER FROM ICELAND he slogan for Iceland’s honorary participation at the Frank- furt Book Fair is Sagenhaftes Island / Fabulous Iceland, Tcleverly combining the extraordinary literary tradition of this small, isolated island nation, reaching all the way back to its first settlement a thousand years ago, and its spectacular beauty. Nature is indeed prominently featured in the promo- tional material, with giant books creatively incorporated in the landscape. “We wanted to make ourselves stand out. We do realize that juxtaposing nature and literature can be a cliché,” says Halldór Gudmundsson, director of the immense project.