only new models 2015 WE’LL TAKE RENT A CAR cars YOU THERE! ALL THE MOST EXCITING PLACES IN ICELAND GREAT VARIETY OF NORTHERN LIGHTS EXPERIENCE! Good service A SIGHT NOT TO BE MISSED! and great emphasis on our customer’s safety Whether you need a car to run you business in Reykjavik or plan a trip around Iceland we make it easy for you FREE EXPERIENCE A GREAT DAY WITH US! Shuttle Service in Reykjavik area More tours available on We our website www.re.is try to offer the lowest AND IN OUR BROCHURES! Free WiFi prices in Reykjavík We look forward being at your service! OR Our office is located in Kópavogur Check our website for great prices Skemmuvegur 4a | Tel. +354 578 8200 www.carkey.is BSÍ Bus Terminal • 101 Reykjavík • +354 580 5400 • [email protected] • www.flybus.is • www.re.is CK-A4-Final.indd 1 15.4.2015 10:46 TOURISM, CULT URE AND BUSINESS ISSUE 28 • 2015 If you are under the impression that the scenery in Iceland guesthouses, restaurants and shops open all year round to meet is less vibrant in colour in the fall than in the summer time, your needs. Of course, there are plenty of tour guides and travel you are soon to find out otherwise. This time of the year agencies in every region, where you will find expert knowledge the countryside is characterised by colours covering the of the area and the activities available, ensuring that you will have whole of the warmer side of the colour spectrum, ranging from the most enjoyable holiday possible. yellow, greenish to red and purple tones and the mountains are Another group worth mentioning, that appreciates this placid Idressed in grizzled caps, making their appearance even more season, are the numerous craftspeople and artists who commonly distinguished. This is also the favourite season of the northern have more time to attend to their creations. In this edition we will lights lovers as this tireless phenomenon will rise from dormancy highlight the first-rate handiwork of designers and craftspeople, and delight locals and guests alike with its random, yet majestic who put their heart and soul into their trade. Whether you plan performances. If you have come to experience the quiet nature on staying in the Reykjavik area or are headed to the countryside that you’ve heard so much about, this is a prime time to do so. you will find a surprisingly wide variety of quality design, skilfully With fewer visitors travelling about the country, chances are that handmade with bundles of love. If you are still short on a when you reach your favourite spot you may actually have it all Christmas present or two, you should find an abundance of ideas to yourself. And yet you will find, regardless of where your heart right here. We hope you enjoy this feature packed edition and is set on going, that there will be full service available with hotels, that your holiday will be everything you dreamed it to be. – Edda Snorradóttir Contents Iceland’s Dynamic Design Scene ................................6 Getting Juiced in Iceland ...........................................30 North Iceland.......................................................... 56 Leather Designer.........................................................6 The Brave Get the Best .............................................31 Fjallabyggð – A Tale of Two Villages ..........................60 Colourful and Playful Pieces .......................................7 Refinement in Reykjavik ............................................32 The Old Post Office ...................................................62 Delicate Hand-Painted Silk Designs ............................7 Réttir – The Yearly Sheep Round-ups! ......................33 Siglo Harbour Hostel and Apartments .......................62 The Fine Art of Knifemaking ........................................8 Iceland From Above ..................................................36 Siglufjörður’s New Marina Village .............................63 The Joyful Wonderland ...............................................9 East Iceland ............................................................ 64 West Iceland ............................................................37 The World’s Most Exclusive Watchmaker ..................11 A Pearl in the Eastfjords ............................................65 Iceland’s Own Axe Murderer .................................... 40 Delicate and Precious ...............................................12 Borgarfjörður Eystri: Álfheimar Country Hotel .......... 68 From Rock Quarry to City Landmark .........................14 Borgarnes in Borgarfjörður .......................................42 Geiri’s Bakery (or Geirabakarí) ..................................42 South Iceland ..........................................................70 Gjóska Wool Art ........................................................16 Plunging Into History ................................................ 43 Dine in the Langoustine Capital ................................71 Masters on Display ...................................................16 Shaped by the Bay ................................................... 44 The Mysterious Hotel Laki ........................................74 Grandi .......................................................................18 Soak Up Snæfellsnes Peninsula ............................... 46 Stracta Hotel Hella ....................................................76 Catch the Northern Lights All Year Around ................20 Sjávarpakkhúsið Restaurant & Bar ...........................47 Suður-Vík Restaurant ................................................77 Only at Kaffivagninn .................................................21 Refreshing Vík ...........................................................77 Nordic Chic at Its Best ...............................................22 Westfjords .............................................................. 48 The Secret Lagoon in Flúðir ......................................78 Celebrating Iceland’s Whales ....................................24 Húsið Is Happening ...................................................49 The Enchanted Island ................................................80 The Northern Lights season Is Upon Us ....................26 Eye on Design ...........................................................52 Harmonious Hjarðarból Guesthouse ..........................81 iRent Car Rental Company ........................................29 The Call of the Wild .................................................. 54 A Delightful Experience in Stokkseyri .......................82 Credits Icelandic language How to make use of QR codes PUBLISHER LAYOUT & DESIGN WRITERS Icelandic is one of the European root J&Co. ehf Andrew Scott Fortune languages, like Latin. There is no ‘c’ or ‘z’ in PROOFREADER Dagmar Trodler Jónas Ó. Ólafsson modern Icelandic, except in foreign words. E. Marie Valgarðsson However, it still contains some letters not ICELANDIC TIMES SALES & MARKETING Elaine Marie Valgardsson Edda Snorradóttir [email protected] found in most other languages. This basic Helga Dís Björgúlfsdóttir Helga Berglind Jónsdóttir, list provides a general idea of their sounds, MANAGING EDITOR & [email protected] Hrafnhildur Þórhallsdóttir GENERAL MANAGER using familiar words rather than phonetics. Kolbrún Ólafsdóttir Jenna Gotlieb Einar Th. Thorsteinsson [email protected] Júlíana Björnsdóttir [email protected] Kristinn Hallbergsson Katrín Baldursdóttir Character Pronunciation PROJECT MANAGER [email protected] Use your QR code reader application on your smartphone or Nanna Hlín Halldórsdóttir Edda Snorradóttir FRONT COVER PHOTO á Like ‘ow’ in ‘cow’ iPad to scan the QR codes. QR code reader applications can be [email protected] Björn Rúriksson Vignir Andri Guðmundsson æ Like the personal pronoun ‘I’ downloaded free for all makes of smartphones ð Like ‘th’ in ‘that’ þ Like ‘th’ in ‘thing’ Icelandic Times The opinions expressed in Icelandic Times do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, publishers or their agents. Though the Síðumúla 1 • 108 Reykjavík contents of this issue have been meticulously prepared, no warranty is made about the accuracy and completeness thereof. +354 578 5800 [email protected] Copyright © October 2015 Icelandic Times media ehf. All rights reserved Oddi Ecolabelled Printing Co. www.icelandictimes.com 4 www.icelandictimes.com TOURISM, CULT URE AND BUSINESS ISSUE 28 • 2015 TOURISM, CULT URE AND BUSINESS ISSUE 28 • 2015 ColourfulSES Design Mixes Adventure and Playful and Fun in Each Pieces Collection igríður Elfa Sigurðardóttir bases SES Design in a charming workshop/store Sin Borgartún, where visitors can see, and purchase, her beautiful creations. Sigríður has Iceland’s Dynamic been a lifelong maker and artist and studied as celand s ynamIc a painter. SES Design features fashion pieces I ’ d for adults and children as well as accessories celandic design is having a moment. From fashion to of the Arts (Listaháskóli Íslands) in Reykjavik, while others for the home, and jewellery and hats. Designhome products to handcrafts, the number Scene of individuals have honed their craft through self-study. Those with advanced Design has been a passion for Sigríður for producingIIcelandic innovativedesignes is having designI gna projects moment. in FromIceland fashion is staggering, tocene home degreesof the andArts those (Listaháskóli that have Íslands)learned onin theirReykjavik, own share while the others same many years. SES Design was born in 2006,