Something for the Weekend: The Let’s Ignore the Weather Edition

I see you baby, shaking that ass

margretbelly

Dance the somewhat nippy winter weather away, Friday start your evening somewhere very hot indeed. The Icelandic Bellydance Championships are held at Ýmishúsið and begin at 8pm. a mere 1800isk to see 19 ladies (including one of our fabulous editors) flick their hips in a way which ensures you’ll be completely unaware of the weather outside.
Afterwards to calm your no doubt raised pulse pootle down to Rex as this night sees the beginning of the elite club/bar’s turn around. Newly appointed party organiser Ási Mar Fridriksson has his first evening planned. Rumour has it he was brought in to shake up the place and transform it from rich-orange-people-only into something realtively normal people with class might like. Djing 80’s disco and electro is Óli Hjörtur and Sometime’s Diva Rósa.

For more indoor music based fun on Saturday, run along to Nonni Dead’s new store Liborious for 6pm sharp as the gothmeister has built a raised stage instore for a series of concerts. First up is Mr Daníel Ágúst playing all new material with a rock band.
Keeping the strictly (come) dancing theme of the weekend going and the freebie feel of Saturday get thee to Café Kúltúra on Hverisgata where at 22:30 you can get a free salsa lesson with Carlos Sanchez for an hour. Its all about keeping your circulation going ladies and gents. Well, that and the chance you might get to rub up against someone tasty of course.
If you can even get your aching body moving on Sunday after such an active weekend, we recommend you make your way to Hressó and enjoy the Christmassy lights lit atmosphere and slurp some of their traditional Icelandic fish soup, because oh my days, it not only tastes like heaven, but it will keep you roasty toasty.

And hey – Lets be careful out there.

9 November 2006 – 14:40 | By kitty | Posted in iceland, nightlife, Adventure in Iceland, drinking, reykjavik, Bars in Iceland, 101, music, icelandic music, events, food, DJs, Icelandic bands, designers, Icelandic clothes, Jón Sæmundur, concerts, clubs | Comments (0)

On sale: lots of seats to Iceland from Berlin and Frankfurt Hahn

We’re slashing prices on flights to Iceland from our German destinations, with lots and lots of seats from €99, £69, or DKK 750, one-way, including taxes and charges.

Open for Sale:
From Monday 6 November, 10.00 CET
(that’s 9am British Time), for five days.

Travel Period:
6 November to 20 December 2006.

Routes:
To Iceland and back, from Berlin Schönefeld and Frankfurt Hahn.

Price:
€99, £69, or DKK 750, one-way, including taxes and charges.

Remember:
Selected dates and limited availability. Aber doch!

Sale starts on the Iceland Express website at 10 CET today

6 November 2006 – 1:16 | By valgeir | Posted in iceland, cheap flights to iceland | Comments (0)

Something for the Weekend: The Arty Out of Towner’s Edition

Iceland wakes up again.

Starting this Friday, the Young Art Festival, organized by Hitt Húsið, a cultural centre for “young people.” (Well, 17-25 year-olds. After that you’re old, apparently.) The first night, at Tjarnarbíó, is dedicated to students of The Icelandic Academy of Arts, and the fun starts at nine. Watch out for the street performers.
Later that night — same bat-location, same bat-channel — the men in Mr. Silla’s life — her boyfriend and Mongoose — have their debut gig at 23.00, under the name of Quadruplos.
Every Friday at 15.30 there is free guidance through The Culture House (you know, where those really old manuscripts are on display). If you’re interested in history, sagas, or just plain old stuff, this is for you.
Reykjavík! (the band, not the city) is playing in Ísafjörður (the town, not the club) both Friday and Saturday. Friday is a closed concert for the school there — sort of a prom, only a bit more rowdy, we’re guessing — but Saturday is open for all. Reykjavík! in Ísafjörður. How borgesian!
Another event for you out of towners: The artist currently known as Curver, has an art installation in Akureyri over the weekend. If you’re into champagne and jet set openings, go to GalleriBOX between five and eight on Friday. The installation is also open Saturday and Sunday between two and five. And the artist will be naked. WOOT!
Do you seriously miss the nineties? Well then. At the tiny Stúdentakjallarinn, the on-campus bar at the University of Iceland, there will be a rave on Saturday night. Clothing is optional. We’re serious as cancer when we say rhythm is a dancer.

And hey — let’s be careful out there.

2 November 2006 – 13:07 | By Margrét | Posted in iceland, nightlife, drinking, reykjavik, Bars in Iceland, 101, music, icelandic music, events, Visual Arts, northern iceland, Icelandic bands, concerts, clubs, mr silla | Comments (2)

Welcome to Iceland. Now, get on the bus

Everything you always wanted to know about your first 45 minutes in Iceland.

Just can't wait to get on the road again Being a part of the international jet set is so hard.

Especially since that weekend in Berlin, after which our bosses at Iceland Express closed our expense account, and we keep finding ourselves onboard the Flybus all the time. (Farewell, sweet limo drivers!)

Still, listening to our fellow travelers on the bus for those 45 minutes from the airport to the city can be quite amusing. But in the spirit of our great hero, Rosa Parks, here are a few hints and tips to y’all who are taking the Flybus to town:

First of all, there’s a chance you will be carrying bottled water. It’s probably the worst tourist trap of them all. Why not buy some Champagne in the duty-free store instead? It will make the ride much more interesting.
You may mistake the first village you drive through, Keflavík, for Reykjavík. We do appreciate that you think we are a small and an adorable nation, but we do have a more decent capital than this. Give us a break.
On a clear day, when the Snæfellsjökull glacier can be seen in the far distance, you may be tempted to say how much you really want to go on a glacier — even drive on it. That’s all good and well, but unless you want to find yourself in a deep gully, Jules Vernes style, we hope you’re an excellent driver who knows the ins and outs of your particular glacier of choice, and that you have one of those monster trucks at your disposal, and that you have the licence to drive it. (But don’t worry. Even if you don’t have all these things going for you, there are plenty of companies just dying to ~~separate you from your money~~ help you.)
On your right, as you head into town, you will see steam rising from the lava. Fear not: we aren’t, like one ten year old boy proposed, making an army of Orcs (although that would probably solve a lot of problems regarding ‘the war on terror’). It’s not even the ‘hot water source for Reykjavik,’ like his father told him. It’s only the Blue Lagoon. And yes, we know you know what that is. And yes, we will get to it later.
Lava. Yes. The landscape is like you just landed on the moon. The rough lava stretches almost as far as you can see. Apparently NASA trained their astronauts here before they went to the moon. That means the moonwalk could have been invented in Iceland. How neat it that?
The rather large glass dome on top of that hill you pass once you’re finally in Reykjavík is not a mosque. Not yet at least. For the moment it’s just a fancy restaurant resting on top of hot water tanks. You know, the usual.

2 November 2006 – 2:04 | By Margrét | Posted in iceland, southern iceland, nature, reykjavik, keflavík | Comments (0)

Cultural learnings of Iceland to make benefit glorious nations of the world

Part 2: Kókómjólk.

After years of research, your humble editors have concluded that Kókómjólk is probably the best nonprescription hangover cure with a picture of a striped, muscular cat on it.

What’s this Kókómjólk, you ask? Well, it’s Iceland’s premier chocolatey milky drink. In fact, it’s Iceland’s only chocolately milky drink.

Which is probably why, having nothing else to compare it to, we all insist it’s so special. Matter of national pride, we suppose.

But actually, it’s just like any other chocolatey milky drink, and, as you might imagine, if drunk on top of Viking lager and the compulsory first-night-out-in-Reykjavik Brennivín shots, it’ll just make you feel kind of, well, queasy.

We’re just sayin’. Not like that happened to us, or anything.

However, we totally recommend it as a cheap and freely available cure for those damned day-after hangovers we seem to be getting all the time. (Hmm, must be the mix of fresh air and northern lights.)

Kókómjólk: Available pretty much everywhere — much more widely than Alca-Seltzer, anyway — and it doesn’t cost a lot. (And no, in case you were wondering, we’re not getting any kickbacks for the promotional effort, but if the people who make it are reading this: you know where to send all those complementary boxes.)

See more: Flickr

Earlier on Cultural Learnings of Iceland to Make Benefit Glorious Nations of the World: Skyr

31 October 2006 – 0:55 | By Annie | Posted in iceland, drinking, food, skyr, kókómjólk, products | Comments (8)

Icelandic Music 101: Ghostigital

How abstract can they get?

Ghostigital is the current project of Sugarcubes ~~ranter~~ rapper, Einar Örn, who, together with producer/programmer/genius Curver, manages to transform the inside of tazmanian devil’s head whilst having a seizure, into something audible.

Somewhat loved and respected, with remixes by other artists left, right and centre, they can be a bit confusing slash terrifying for someone not used to having a cactus brutally rammed in their ears. See this clip from a live performance at Nasa in Reykjavík.

Ghostigital: Official site | Myspace

Previously on Icelandic Music 101: GusGus, Jeff Who?, Amiina, and múm.

29 October 2006 – 14:57 | By kitty | Posted in icelandic music, Icelandic bands, Ghostigital | Comments (2)

12 Tónar: The nicest men in Icelandic show business

At the best little record store in Reykjavík, indie doesn’t necessarily mean small t-shirts. Just great coffee, impeccable manners, and the occasional autographed Lionel Ritchie album.

There no business like show business

If you’re looking for some fine Icelandic music, a selection of Icelandic presidential portraits, some damn fine coffee, or simply capitalism with a human face, go to directly to the 12 Tónar record store on Skólavörðustígur in Reykjavík.

Owned by Jóhannes Ágústsson and some guy who looks like Schostakovich (pictured here, having just caught a shoplifter), 12 Tónar is probably the best indie record store in Reykjavík — proving that indie isn’t just shorthand for really small t-shirts.

(Another record store-slash-label of note would be Smekkleysa, run by a former member of the Sugarcubes, who makes up for not being as nice by having been more famous.)

At 12 Tónar you can find all those lovely Icelandic artists and bands you love so much, and others you haven’t heard of yet, but will learn to love eventually. And we don’t just mean you can find their records there — some of them actually work in the store.

In addition to the music, the espresso, the free internet, the highly presentable staff, and an actual cabinet of curiosities, they have free in-store shows every other Friday afternoon, featuring local talent that’s not even employed there and some actual free booze (sometimes).

But they don’t just sell the stuff, they produce it too (the music that is, not the booze). On their 12 Tónar label are people like Apparat Organ Quartet, Eivør Pálsdóttir, The Funerals, Jakobínarína, Singapore Sling, Trabant, and Stórsveit Nix Noltes.

And to top it all, they just opened a branch in Copenhagen too.

Who said nice guys finish last?

27 October 2006 – 16:01 | By valgeir | Posted in iceland, 101, icelandic music, people, Icelandic bands, shopping, concerts, 12 tónar | Comments (1)

Something for the Weekend: Post-Airwaves Depression Edition

A roundup of things to do in Reykjavík this weekend, prepared by your very, very tired editors.

The city is fairly quiet this weekend, and in recovery after that festival thing. Maybe this would be a good chance to chillax with it and soak a bit in one of those lovely warm swimming pools. We know we will.
Ending this weekend, Sequences, a visual arts festival that feels like it’s been going on for weeks. Especially intriguing in our opionon is the Dwarf Gallery with daily performances. Check the schedule for what’s on where, with whom, and why.
“Free of charge” is something you don’t hear often in Iceland, so grab the chance and go for some serious historical culture at the the Free Entrance Weekend at the, um, Culture House, where they’re showing, amongst other things, the Skarðsbók. Written around 1360 AD, it’s a manuscript recounting the wacky adventures of eleven apostles — people that you, dear reader, might do well to emulate this weekend.
Or not: 101 club Barinn has Icelandic house DJ Tommi White hitting the decks on Friday night, to assist you in shaking your moneymaker.

And hey — let’s be careful out there.

26 October 2006 – 18:15 | By kitty | Posted in iceland, reykjavik, Bars in Iceland, 101, Festivals, DJs, clubs, swimming pools | Comments (1)

We’ll always have Paris. And Oslo, Bergen, Billund, Basel and Eindhoven

Introducing six more places from which to get to Reykjavík, fast and cheap.

From 14 CET (1pm British Time) today, Tuesday 24 October, Iceland Express is opening for sale flights to Iceland from fourteen places in Europe next summer.

That’s right — you’ll be able to fly to Iceland from London Stansted in the UK, Copenhagen and Billund in Denmark, Stockholm and Gothenburg in Sweden, Oslo and Bergen in Norway, Paris Orly in France, Alicante in Spain, Berlin, Frankfurt Hahn, and Friedrichshafen in Germany, Basel in Switzerland, and Eindhoven in the Netherlands!

We feel so grown up!

Anyway. You can book a flight to Iceland next summer from these places after 14 CET today. The exact flight period can vary from place to place, but the summer schedule is in effect from 15 May to 15 September 2007.

Ready, set, go!

Update at 14 CET: Summer 2007 is now open for sale. Go, go, go!

Update at 22 CET: We’re sorry, but the Billund route is not open for sale yet. We’re working on it though!

Update on 22 November: Well, the Billund route is finally open for sale, but unfortunately we’ve had to cancel Bergen. Undskyld!

24 October 2006 – 0:58 | By valgeir | Posted in iceland, cheap flights to iceland | Comments (70)

With our new Icebreaker fares, you can have it both ways

From London to Iceland—and back—for £144 with our new and improved Icebreaker.

We interrupt our programme for this short commercial break:

On sale from today, our new Icebreaker fares from London Stansted to Reykjavík.

What is it, you ask? Well, the Icebreaker is a fixed-price return flight thing where you get a return flight from London to Reykjavík for £144, including taxes and charges. No TV or nasty airline food, just the flight.

With our daily flights from London Stansted to Reykjavík, we think this might be a good option for Brits who want to come and ~~get smashed~~ do some serious birdwatching.

So break the ice, have it both ways, and book a cheap return flight to Reykjavík.

23 October 2006 – 14:29 | By valgeir | Posted in iceland, cheap flights to iceland | Comments (2)

Iceland Airwaves:
Sunday’s Top 5

Official Hangover Day.

Thankfully, the official schedule has almost nothing in store for us today, but if you’re still alive, there are some off-venue gigs.

In the highly unlikely event that you’re feel fresh, you could start at The Naked Ape, a colourful design store at the corner where Skólavörðustígur meets Laugavegur. There you can see a certain Johnny Sexual strut his stuff.
If all those colours are too much for your eyes, walk up to noir-bar Dillon for sweet young things Lay Low at 20.00. Good for fragile brains.
Stay longer for the soothing acoustic sounds of Pétur Ben (pictured here dozing off). Better than asprin.
At half past nine, Buff, the only Icelandic band not on MySpace, start singing their novelty songs at Gaukurinn. Maybe you’ll get some of the jokes. Maybe not.
At the end, just go back to Dillon, okay? There, National Radio DJ slash grandmother of Icelandic rock Andrea Jónsdóttir spins records into the night.

Iceland Airwaves: Sunday Schedule

22 October 2006 – 16:26 | By Margrét | Posted in iceland, drinking, reykjavik, Bars in Iceland, 101, icelandic music, events, Festivals, DJs, Icelandic bands, concerts, iceland airwaves | Comments (0)

Iceland Airwaves:
Saturday’s Top 5

At Gaukurinn, the all-star band Sometime starts at 22.15. You know, provided the drummer holds his drink.
At midnight in Iðnó, the old theatre by the lake, Stórsveit Nix Noltes (Nick Nolte’s Big Band) will make you sweat like a gypsy.
Two options at 01.00. Either go back to Gaukurinn to see the Hairdoctor, a band of two hairdressers. It’s okay — they’re doctors too.
Or, you go to Nasa for Hermigervill, a DJ that does it all. Yes, he scratches, plugs in a guitar and performs a solo, plays the drums with one hand and an electric piano with the other. And while doing that he somewho manages to take his shirt off. Now that’s talent.
Also at Nasa, at 01.45, please enjoy the courtesy and looks of Dr. Mister & Mr. Handsome (pictured above, doing something we don’t want to know). Their tunes are simple, but catchy: half a minute into a song and you know the lyrics: Dance like a maniac. In the danceroom. Like the girlies.
And hey — don’t forget the noon-to-midnight off-venue thing at Hljómalind. Moo!

Iceland Airwaves: Saturday Schedule

21 October 2006 – 14:15 | By Margrét | Posted in iceland, drummers, nightlife, drinking, reykjavik, Bars in Iceland, 101, icelandic music, DJs, Icelandic bands, concerts, clubs, iceland airwaves | Comments (0)

Iceland Airwaves:
Friday’s Top 5

Back to the stone age

Here we go again.

So, by now you know where the Reykjavik Art Museum is, eh? Well, we’ll start there. At 20.45 Benni Hemm Hemm starts playing with his big band of 18 people. Get your money’s worth.
Two options for 22.15 and 23.00. First choice: stay at the Art Museum. First up (assuming that Kraftwerk’s lawyers don’t get them first), electro-veterans Apparat Organ Quartet They are a quartet! With five people! And organs! Exciting! Then Jakobínarína, who — despite being so young that they still break up with girls on Messenger — have already toured the US and warmed up for The White Stripes. Try and pronounce their name.
The other option: walk across the street to Gaukurinn for Mammút and Jeff Who? (hmm, sounds familiar). Mammút (pictured here, looking all pretty) won the battle of the bands a couple of years ago and Jeff Who?’s first album is taking Iceland by storm. Ah, the young and the restless.
After that too much is happening. We cannae push her any faster Captain — she’s gonna blow!

Iceland Airwaves: Friday Schedule.

20 October 2006 – 16:02 | By Margrét | Posted in iceland, nightlife, drinking, Bars in Iceland, 101, music, events, Festivals, DJs, Icelandic bands, jeff who?, concerts, clubs, iceland airwaves | Comments (0)

Iceland Airwaves:
Thursday’s Top 5

Tonight starts at 19.00 with Ske at the Reykjavík Art Museum. They go through front(wo)men faster than other bands go through groupies. Everyone is excited to see their line-up this year.
For you cutie pie lovers, Skakkamanage and Þórir are playing at Gaukurinn, back to back. Skakkamanage starts at 20.45 and Þórir at 21.30. Decide for yourself who is sweeter and cuter.
At Nasa, a band named after the Most Amazing Capital in the Known Universe starts at 22.15.
At the very appropriately named club The National Theatre Basement, troubadour Helgi Valur starts playing at 22.45. Listen to his charming pronounciation.
And we end where we took off, back at the Reykjavík Art Museum for the rugged, but oh, so sweet Mugison at 23.00. Go Ísafjörður!

Iceland Airwaves: Schedule for Thursday

19 October 2006 – 18:50 | By Margrét | Posted in iceland, nightlife, reykjavik, Bars in Iceland, 101, icelandic music, Festivals, Reykjavík Art Museum, Icelandic bands, concerts, Skakkamanage, clubs, iceland airwaves | Comments (2)

Something for the Weekend: the (Almost) Non-Airwaves Edition

Yeah, yeah. Iceland Airwaves, blah, blah, blah. We get it. Just check their website, ok?
On Saturday, check out the noon-to-midnight off-venue Airwaves concert at Hljómalind on Laugavegur. Pardon us while we abuse our position and encourage you to check out super-cutie Mr. Silla (pictured above, pretending to be tough) and her new best friend, Mongoose, playing at 16.00. Best of all: you don’t need a wristband or a single krona to attend. Get thee to it.
If you’re sick of music, go to Gallerí Gel on Hverfisgata, where Hulda Helgadóttir just opened We choose to be Androids, an exhibit where she apparently “takes one step further and creates an imaginary world of two individuals combined in one.” Oh, my. Anyway, it’s all a part of Sequences, an art festival that is not Airwaves.
Also not Airwaves, the new Icelandic DNA-Thriller Mýrin premières on Saturday. You probably won’t understand a word they’re saying. Click here to check.

And hey — let’s be careful out there.

19 October 2006 – 18:02 | By kitty | Posted in iceland, nightlife, reykjavik, 101, icelandic music, events, Visual Arts, Festivals, Icelandic bands, concerts, iceland airwaves, mr silla | Comments (0)

Iceland Airwaves: Wednesday’s Top 5

Cynic Guru play poppy, alternative rock at Gaukurinn at 20.15 (that’s a quarter past eight for civilians and Brits). You may be interested to hear that frontman Roland Hartwell plays the violin with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. He also plays guitar with the band. And sings. Like the old lady said to the other old lady when they heard Leonard Bernstein was bisexual: Is there nothing that man can’t do?
Two options at 21.00. First option: Stay at Gaukurinn for The Telepathetics, a fairly new Icelandic band with, like, a totally foreign and cool sounding name. Their first album, Ambulance, is best heard in concert, especially for the audience participation in Last Song.
The other nine o’clock option: Going for a three minute walk up to Grand rokk, to see Retro Stefsson, eight talented teenagers who play soul/latin/surf music. We wonder if the whole band fits on the tiny stage at Grandrokk, but the attempt alone should be worth seeing.
Meanwhile, back at Gaukurinn one of the headliners, We Are Scientists start playing around 22.30. They play indie rock, but listen to their myspace songs if you’re in doubt.
Following them is Dikta, one of Iceland’s most popular rock bands, hot on the heels of their well reviewed “difficult second album.” Please join us in encouraging the drummer to take his shirt off, by shouting: “Úr að ofan!” (phonetic spelling: OOr ath ovan!) It is so worth it.

Iceland Airwaves: Schedule for Wednesday

18 October 2006 – 18:01 | By Margrét | Posted in iceland, drummers, nightlife, drinking, reykjavik, Bars in Iceland, 101, icelandic music, events, Festivals, Icelandic bands, concerts, clubs, iceland airwaves | Comments (0)

Hipsters of the world unite at Iceland Airwaves

The international hipster community prepares for a difficult weekend by donning wristbands, as the most important music festival in the solar system begins in Reykjavík tonight.

That hat is so 2005 Unless you’ve had more important things to think about, you’ll know that the annual Iceland Airwaves music festival starts in Reykjavík today, and continues through to Sunday.

Beginning in 1999, what started as a little side–project for our ~~nemeses~~ competitors at Icelandair has grown into, uh, a big side–project for Icelandair, bringing thousands of hipsters from all over the world to our shores for a few days of quiet introspective music appreciation. Or, as it happens, not so quiet.

Among the over 180 acts performing this year are local heroes Mugison, Mínus, Jakobínarína, Jeff Who?, Benni Hemm Hemm, Apparat Organ Quartet (pictured below, in full regalia), Ghostigital, Leaves, Stillusteypa, Mammút, Daníel Ágúst, Jagúar, Stórsveit Nix Noltes, Seabear, Sign, My Summer as a Salvation Soldier and Pétur Ben. (Also playing: lots of foreign bands that we honestly don’t care about. Just kidding!) Click here for the programme.

In a heroic gesture of investigative journalism we contacted one of our reliable sources, who claims she’s been to the Airwaves festivals from the start: Apparat Organ Quartet: Four men and a lot of synths “It’s fantastic because you get the variety of a major festival but the real magic is that it’s all wrapped up in tiny package. It feels intimate. You’ll recognise and be recognised by other partygoers, artists and locals alike and getting lost is a rare occurrence, dependent on how much Brennivín you consume of course.” Of course.

If you’re used to going to festivals in the summer, fear not. This is a reasonably civilized affair, with no muddy fields or freezing outdoor concerts. Instead, your festival wristband (a highly visible accessory this time of year) allows you entry to the eight official venues of varying sizes. Add to that a mix of off-venue happenings in shops, cafés, the blue lagoon and just about anywhere imaginable.

Our (very glamorous and well connected) source continues: “The organizers seem to have a nifty way of catching acts just before they explode [metaphorically, of course]. In fact, new bands from all over the shop have been offering to pimp out their grandmothers if it means they can get a gig. But aside from the great music, the whole city behaves like its Christmas, New Years, and your best friend’s wedding all rolled into one.”

For more information, just go to the Iceland Airwaves website. (Just do us a favour and pretend not to notice all the Icelandair logos).

Iceland Airwaves: Official Site | Get your wristband here | Upcoming | Flickr |

18 October 2006 – 15:38 | By valgeir | Posted in iceland, nightlife, reykjavik, 101, icelandic music, events, Festivals, DJs, Icelandic bands, concerts, iceland airwaves | Comments (3)

Helga Kvam was here

Meet Helga Kvam, a one–woman, one–camera tourist board.

If you’re looking for pictures of Iceland on Flickr, chances are that sooner than later you’ll run into Helga Kvam, a music teacher living in Svalbarðsströnd, north of Akureyri.

Why? Because she takes lots and lots of stunningly beautiful photos of Iceland.

And we’re not the only ones noticing. From her tiny village up north, Helga is starting to do brisk business, selling her photos for use in ads, magazines, and books, to far away places like New York and Australia. It’s hard to believe that she only took up photography about a year and a half ago.

Personally, we think Helga makes Iceland look almost unnaturally good. And we told her so, when we called her up yesterday. (Yay! Original reporting! We feel almost professional!)

We: Helga, we love your work. What’s your secret?

Helga Kvam: Well, I stay away from the old-fashoned post card feel. I’ll shoot in the middle of the night, or maybe in weird lighting conditions, and I try to avoid the most obvious perspective. Also, you could say I try to put a little bit of the moment into the picture.

Do you have any favourite places to shoot?

Not really. It changes depending on the season. Reykjanes [in the southwest of Iceland] is fun to shoot because it’s difficult; the simplicity of the landscape makes it very hard to compose a photo.

You live in the north — any touristy recommendations?

First of all, don’t be afraid to talk to the locals and get some advice. Second, stay of the beaten track. Don’t just take a bus and sleep in hotels — stay in a tent! And be prepared for all kinds of weather. In the area around Akureyri I would recommend Skíðadalur — it’s close to Akureyri, not crowded, and once you’re there it’s just a short walk up to the Highlands. Also, you should definitely go to Hrísey and Grímsey.

Do you know how many people have looked at your photos online?

About 350,000 according to the counter. Sometimes, people who have seen my photos on Flickr contact me when they’re in the area. I think I’m also responsible for at least a few people flying to Iceland. I think Iceland Express should give me a commission! [Laughs.]

Helga, stop laughing. That’s not funny.

Helga Kvam: Flickr | Photofront | Personal Site

18 October 2006 – 2:16 | By valgeir | Posted in iceland, nature, people, northern iceland, Helga Kvam, photography | Comments (8)

From 14 CET on Tuesday: More cheap flights to Iceland

Attention shoppers: Iceland Express is releasing 20,000 seats to and from Iceland, for £69 (or €99) including taxes and charges.

On sale from: Tuesday, 17 October, 14 CET (that’s 1 pm British Time), for three days.

Flight Period:
18 October to 30 November 2006

All Iceland Express Routes:
To Iceland and back, from London Stansted, Copenhagen, Berlin Schönefeld, Frankfurt Hahn and Alicante.

Price, including taxes and charges:
£69, €99, or DKK 750.

Bringing the kids?
Children under the age of 13, accompanied by adults, travel for a fixed price of £55, €79, or DKK 595, one-way, including taxes and charges. That means you have no excuse not to take them with you. Sorry about that.

Please Note:
Selected dates, limited availability. You know the drill.

Update at 14 CET: The offer is open for sale now. So, look into my eyes, look into my eyes, look into my eyes, and book a cheap flight to Iceland.

Update at 18 CET on Friday 20 October: Okay folks — fun is over, at least for now. But to get advance notice next time there’s an offer like this you could always sign up for the Iceland Express newsletter.

16 October 2006 – 21:19 | By valgeir | Posted in iceland, cheap flights to iceland | Comments (5)

Icelandic Music 101: GusGus

The grand old men and women of Icelandic dance music apparently still have last night in their bodies.

Established in 1995 as some kind of multidisciplinary art conglomerate, GusGus have gone through more personnel changes than Fleetwood Mac and Van Halen put together, only to end up better than ever.

While you wait for their next album, Forever, coming in January 2007, here’s David, from Attention, released in 2002.

You might also want to keep an eye out for the series of concerts and DJ sessions their new label is sponsoring at Sirkus this autumn, featuring hot shit like Jimi Tenor, Múm, and Jack Schidt, as well as GusGusers Biggi Veira and President Bongo.

GusGus: MySpace | Pineapple Records | Last.fm | Wikipedia

Previously on Icelandic Music 101: Jeff Who?, Amiina, and múm.

16 October 2006 – 14:11 | By Margrét | Posted in nightlife, reykjavik, 101, music, icelandic music, events, DJs, Icelandic bands, concerts, sirkus, GusGus | Comments (6)

Sirkus: Hold the soleil

Crowded, chaotic, unpredictable and fun, Sirkus is a Reykjavík bar that’s more than the sum of its dilapidated parts.

Abandon hope all ye who enter here Sirkus is a rather improbable place. For starters, the fact that it’s still there at all is surprising in itself. This charmingly squalid, colourful and ramshackle little Reykjavík bar looks like it might have collapsed by your next visit. And, in fact, it well might.

Owned by a couple of charming and well-connected fiftysomething blondes, Sirkus has become the favourite hangout of the cool, the bohemian, the fabulous and the artistic. Or at least, you know, people with cool, bohemian, fabulous and artistic haircuts.

Which makes sense, seeing as the place is sort of like the bastard child of La Bohème and Studio 54—by which we mean that it’s probably the only bar/club in Reykjavik where riding in naked on a white horse, with tuberculosis, wouldn’t necessarily raise many eyebrows. On the contrary, people might just think it’s a clever way to get past that infernally long line.

Given the fluid ontological status of the dance floor—sometimes it’s there, sometimes not—Sirkus has become the improbable playground of some of Iceland’s more notable (if not best named) DJs, like DJ Thor, DJ Lazer, Einar, Biggi Veira, President Bongo, and, last but not least, Herb Legowitz, winner of the Sirkus Annual Tom Selleck Moustache Competition.

Courtesy of these fine gentlemen and others of their ilk, the music can go from melancholy emo-rock to Kraftwerk via the vintage italo disco of Giorgio Moroder, and end up in a thumping mass of techno, all in the space of a few hours.

Oh, and yes, Sirkus was also the location for Spike Jonze’s video for a certain Icelandic diva, who’s been known to spin a few records there herself when she’s in town.

By the way, we weren’t joking about the likelihood of the whole place collapsing. The building is slated for demolition by the city authorities. Maybe that’s what inspires the intense loyalty of its regulars: the fear that it will all end too soon.

Sirkus is on Klapparstígur 30, just around the corner from Laugavegur. Open till 1 in the morning from Sundays to Thursdays and till 5 on Fridays and Saturdays (lingering is considered bad form). Rated PG for noise, smoke, and chaos, but don’t worry—unless you arrive early or know the secret handshake, you’ll probably be spending most of your time in the line anyway.

Something for the Weekend: Highbrow Edition

A round up of things to do in Reykjavík this weekend, prepared by your good-looking and oh-so culturally minded editors.

He’s back! Former General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Pizza Hut fan, Mikhail Gorbachev is back in Iceland this weekend. No Ronald Reagan this time, just a lot of people willing to pay between £125 and £235 (€185 to €348) to go to Háskólabíó at 17.00 today and listen to Gorby talk about “leadership.”
The Iceland Dance Company premières ‘Við erum komin’ (’We Have Arrived’) at the Reykjavík City Theatre. We recommend the première tonight — lots of free bubbly during intermission — but you can also catch them on Friday and Sunday. Be a dancing queen.
Embarassingly, there’s seems to be nothing worthwhile happening on Friday. Correct us if we’re wrong. Plan B: Go straight to Kaffibarinn, do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Update: The Rocktobeerfest (we kid you not) is on at Gaukurinn, featuring the Telepathetics, Ske, Leaves, Dikta og Wulfgang. They say it starts at 22. Yeah, right. We stand corrected.
For your post-Friday hangover (assuming you manage to get one), nothing beats Iceland’s answer to Wagner, Jón Leifs. He’ll be on full blast Saturday, when the Iceland Symphony Orchestra plays his epic Edda I, complete with choir and lots and lots of people banging on things.
Of course, if Nordic myth is not your thing, there’s always the lovely Skakkamanage, who are celebrating the release of their lovely new album, Lab of Love, with a concert at Fríkirkjan on Saturday. We’re betting that all the cool kids will be there.

And hey — let’s be careful out there.

12 October 2006 – 13:32 | By valgeir | Posted in iceland, nightlife, Bars in Iceland, 101, icelandic music, events, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Icelandic bands, concerts, Iceland Dance Company, Jón Leifs, Skakkamanage, Reykjavík City Theatre | Comments (0)

The problem with the northern lights

Okay, listen. We’re really, really sorry, but we have to tell you something. The northern lights are not really on all the time.

Light Nights According to the dictionary, aurora borealis, a.k.a. the northern lights, is a “luminous display of various forms and colours seen in the night sky, without the aid of alcohol.” (Okay, we made that last bit up.) It’s nice to look at, and said to occur with greatest frequency along a line extending almost directly over Iceland.

However, there is a slight problem.

First of all, to see the northern lights, you need a clear sky. When the wind is from the north, they probably won’t be visible because of the clouds. That also means that when they are visible, it will probably be freezing outside.

And dark, too. If the green squiggly things are bright enough, you can see them through the city lights (when they’re not turned off), but if you want the real show, you’re going to have to drive away from the city for about a half an hour.

Our source at the Reykjavik Tourist Information Centre tells us that people can get quite mad when the northern lights don’t perform. “Last summer, a couple started yelling at me that they had come to Iceland on their honeymoon to ’see the bloody things.’ As if I could turn them on or something — the northern lights, I mean.”

Northern lights: Somewhere over your head, mostly on clear, cold nights from October to March.

Here’s Nonni!

Death gets seriously warmed up as artist slash designer Jón Sæmundur — a.k.a. Nonni — opens Liborius.

He who fears black will not enjoy Nonnabúð It was a black day, literally, for fashionable neo-goths when the Dead Store closed its doors in Reykjavík a few months ago. More Addams’ Family than the Grateful Dead, Nonnabúð (as it was called in Icelandic) was filled to the brim with skulls, bones, general blackness, not to mention prints with funky pictures of the president of Iceland.

Ever since it closed, Dead fans have been roaming the streets like zombies, and frankly, we were starting to worry about the imminent shortage of skull-themed clothing and accessories on the market.

But Dead is back from the dead. Artist, designer, entrepreneur and death incarnate, Jón Sæmundur “Nonni” Auðarson has just opened his new lair, Liborius.

Deadly atmosphere Close to the old harbour, the location may not quite as central as before, but it probably won’t be long before his new best celebrity friends find him again. You know, people like Kirk Hammett, Brian Molko, Anthony Kiedis, Eli Roth, QT, PJ Harvey, and probably some others we don’t know or care about.

And even though you’re not into all that dark stuff, you have plenty of reasons to go. The list of designers in stock reads like a who’s who of Hip Young Things: Undercover, Number N(i)ne, 3as four, Jeremy Scott, Bless, Surface2air, Melodie Wolf, Pleasure Principle, Pierre Henri Mattout, Pudle, Velour, Schisser / Kostos, Yoshiko Creations, A’N'D, Licentious, Geoffrey B. Small, Jean Pierre Braganza, Jain and Marc, Wig, the SOS Art Collective, Talking About The Abstraction, April 77, Aftur, and oh my God, Ann fucking Demeulemeester!

Why, it’s almost like the Dead Store died and went to heaven.

Liborius: Official Site | MySpace

10 October 2006 – 17:20 | By Margrét | Posted in iceland, reykjavik, 101, people, shopping,