I was greeted by this sign the first time I arrived in Iceland, and I knew I was going to love it there. Now that I’m 40, I’m not sure I believe it is true, but I still love Iceland.
ByGD
Two of the Coolest People in Iceland
One of the cool things about Reykjavik is that it is both a sophisticated European capitol and a small town. It is possible to walk down the street and run into members of two of your favorite bands, as basically happened here during Airwaves 2012 when Gyða, the guitar player for Angist, and Gummi, the founding drummer of Sólstafir, posed for this picture.
ByGD
Moss Wall
In a country with no true forest, where volcanic activity has only recently allowed plants to begin to colonize many parts of the country, moss takes on special importance. Perhaps that explains this wall of Reykjavik’s City Hall building, where, on the day I visited, the dripping fibers of the moss had frozen overnight for the first time that fall.
ByGD
Words of Art
On my last day of my first trip to Iceland, I wandered the Reykjavik Art Museum. I had already noticed an Icelandic tendency to treat words as both ideas and art (a recording studio with text wallpaper, decoupaged newspapers ornamenting hostel bathroom stalls). But this temporary exhibit, in which a foreign artist (I’m sorry I’ve lost his name – someone please fill me in) had scribbled messages in black marker all over the gallery walls. I was sad to be leaving Iceland, and the quirky designs cheered me up. The messages themselves felt like answers to an unspoken question.
ByGD
Asgeir Trausti in a Pub
My most popular post ever was about watching too many Asgeir Trausti sets at Iceland Airwaves in 2012. One of those shows was in a German pub so packed I couldn’t get close enough to take a good picture. In fact, I could only see the stage by standing on a bench. Even then, for part of the show a man standing directly in front of me blocked my view. Welcome to the Nordic countries, shorty!
Over the weekend I saw Asgeir four more times, and I saw two other shows in the same venue. One of them was a father/son duo playing chillwave; there was lots of room to spread out. The other was the band Reykjavik! That show was even more crowded than Asgeir, but I made it to the front anyway, had a blast, and left with torn clothes soaked through with other peoples’ sweat.
When I search that street on Google maps, I can’t find that German pub anymore. It looks like it has been replaced by a joint called The Dubliner.