Security Guard Throws Man Out Of Hlemmur
Waiting for my bus about a week ago, I witnessed a Hlemmur security guard hitting and kicking a (possibly homeless) man before throwing him outside the building and pushing him [&h
The Elves Could Not Be Reached For Comment
Member of Parliament Árni Johnsen recently arranged for the transportation of a 50 tonne boulder from the Hellisheiði mountain pass to his backyard in Vestmannaeyjar—a more ide
On How I Learned To Shout For Help
I planned to write about what it was like moving all of my stuff into my apartment in Kópavogur after having moved to Iceland, what it was like dealing with […]
News In Brief: May Edition
As the presidential race is weeks away from the home stretch, the two most viable candidates—incumbent Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and challenger Þóra Arnórsdóttir—have been w
Sour Grapes and Stuff
MOST AWESOME LETTER: Dear Cod Wars, Are you familiar with the Icelandic phrase “farðu ekki að grenja”? Unfortunately it played on repeat in my head from around the middle of
Warning To Travelers
I had a drink with an elderly couple from Washington, D.C. the other day. They were stopping over for a few days before continuing elsewhere and our mutual friend in […]
Get Your Drink On!
All too often visitors like yourself can be seen wandering the streets of Reykjavík in your hiking boots at around nine or ten o’clock on a Friday or Saturday night. […]
Murder And Suicide Through The Ages
Iceland saw its first official murder of 2012 this February. A 22 year old man showed up to a police station claiming to have done something awful. Given his history […]
Don’t Ask Nanna
Hi Nanna, I got a bad cold and my nose is running almost non-stop. Knowing that Icelanders consider it rude to use tissues in public (why the hell? No Icelander […]
Iceland’s Courts Jail Teen Refugees
At the same time as Iceland’s media revelled in its news last week about Iceland being one of “the best country in the world for children,” it became known that […]
Exploring Hlíðar – From Its Bums To Its Beach
The area in Reykjavík called Hlíðar (“Hills”) is made up of six smaller neighbourhoods: Norðurmýri, Hlemmur, Holt, Suðurhlíðar, Öskjuhlíð and Nauthólsvík. While te
Shocking Solutions To Unclear Problems
In October 2007, a Polish man named Robert Dziekañski landed at the Vancouver airport tired and confused after a long flight. After spending many hours waiting for his mother to [
A Time Of Confusion
In part I of this series, ‘Iceland and the rest of the world,’ I traced the history of Iceland from its time as a poor Danish colony to becoming independent, […]
Why I Think The Icelandic Bus System Rocks
Icelandic busses aren’t that bad. There, I said it. Hear me out. I may just be a lowly American intern here at The Grapevine, but I’ve had my fair share […]
Icelanders Invade Your Personal Space
While waiting for a friend at the Keflavík airport I experienced a classic demonstration of Icelandic behaviour. The arrivals space at the lovely ‘Kef’ is now fairly t
Being Transgender In Iceland
Iceland is known for its liberal attitude towards gay people—it was in fact the first European country to recognise same-sex unions in 1996 and adoption by gay people in 2006, [&
So What’s This Bauhaus Thing I Keep Hearing About?
Well, you’d think that it were a modernist masterpiece by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe or Walter Gropius judging by the hordes of people who went to see it on […]
News In Brief: May Edition
Just when we thought we had heard the last of the Worm of Lagarfljót, a former FBI agent showed up searching for the mythical creature. We’re not sure if he […]
Sour Grapes and Stuff
MOST AWESOME LETTER: HI, I AM A NEWFOUNDLAND FISHERMAN AND TODAY MY GRANDDAUGHTER AND I FOUND A LETTER IN A BOTTLE THAT WAS THROWN OVERBOARD OFF ICELAND ON NOVEMB
Back To The Future
“Good things happen slowly,” Björn Bjarnason, Iceland’s former Minister of Justice, wrote on his blog in March of last year when his successor in office, Minister of the