First Annual Þórir Week Approaches Climax with Grapevine Podcast
The Grapevine’s First Annual Þórir Week reaches dizzying heights today, Friday, March 3, as Þórir takes to downtown Reykjavík to bring his music to the people. Starting at 5
The Best Putrid Shark in the World!
Okay, how do you win best putrid shark in the world? To start with, let’s check off some myths. As the Grapevine learned last summer, Icelanders have, for ages, captured [&hellip
Bolludagur, Sprengidagur and Öskudagur
A brief guide to...Sadly overlooked by most visitors to Iceland, Bolludagur, Sprengidagur and Öskudagur are set up back to back, conveniently enough, on the last two days of Febru
GRAPEVINE’S PURCHASES THATJUSTIFY EXISTENCE
Book Sales Currently going on at both Mál og menning and Penninn, where both stores are offering “3 for 2” sales on many Icelandic titles, especially children’s books. One o
A Little Trip to Heaven
When is an Icelandic film not an Icelandic film? That is the most important question raised by A Little Trip To Heaven the latest movie by Baltasar Kormákur, the acclaimed [&helli
If Tattoos Were Instruments
When Jón Atli of Hairdoctor told me the opening line he was planning, I was expecting a rumble. Jón Atli is a small, well-groomed… well, pretty boy with a good […]
You’ll Be Dead in Three Years:
The last 18 months have been productive for singer and songwriter Þórir Georg Jónsson (also known by his interesting stage name My Summer as a Salvation Soldier). In 2004, Þór
The Mythical Bluesman in Clarksdale, Mississippi
In an attempt to put our time and money where our good intentions were, the Reykjavík Grapevine travelled to the poorest state in the US, Mississippi, in the wake of […]
Akranes
Television personality and Akranes native Sigrún Ósk Kristjánsdóttir once described her home town as “a postage stamp.” While this town of about 6,000 people is certainly o
Not a Kilt in Sight
With an American espresso franchise on every corner, Princes Street – Edinburgh’s main shopping district – is a fine testament to the corporate stranglehold modern cities end
Vox
Quiche was the big culinary trend of the 1980s, and it was hard not to find sun-dried tomatoes or an Asian-fusion creation on a menu in the 1990s. Now, it […]
Quiznos
Legend has it that the first submarine sandwich was the creation of Dominic Conti, an Italian immigrant to the US, who brought his favourite sandwich recipe with him all the [&hell
No Old Ladies in Dubuque, Please
The feature of this issue is a lengthy interview with Vigdís Grímsdóttir, a cherished Icelandic writer rarely presented to foreigners. In my opinion, she is a throwback to the g
Congratulations Iceland!
I am a big fan of Silvía Nótt. I think she is without a doubt the best we could put on display for the Eurovision Song Contest. It therefore pains […]
No Apologies to the Centre
Árni Þór Sigurðsson began his career as a journalist for RÚV, working as their Moscow correspondent during the fall of communism. Upon returning home in 1989, he embarked on a
Þorramatur
The pagan holiday of Þorri, which begins on a Friday between the 19th and the 25th of January and ends on a Saturday between the 18th and 24th of February, […]
So More Than Karaoke
In Friðrik Þór Friðriksson’s movie Cold Fever – the story of a young Japanese man who travels to Iceland – there is a scene where the protagonist and an old [&hel
Mayoral Candidates for Reykjavík
Independence Party Vilhjálmur Þ. Vilhjálmsson Current position: Independence Party leader for City Council, board member of Reykjavík City Harbour, board member of the National
Ó Borg Mín Borg
Páll Einarsson (Mayor from 1908-1914.) Reykjavík’s first mayor. Originally the sheriff of Hafnarfjörður, Einarsson ran against city official for the Danish government Knud Zi
It’s One Big Party in Icelandic Journalism:
“We all talked about it, and we all decided that we had to break out from our political prison. It took time, but we succeeded in doing it.” – Kári […]
“Female Writers Were Weird”
Though few foreigners know about her, Vigdís Grímsdóttir is one of the most prominent and prolific contemporary writers of Iceland. For the last two decades, she has captivated