Hotels, Motels, Holiday Inns…
Watch the tour bus as a caricature of its passengers. It lugs ungracefully up Eiríksgata, heaves over the speed bumps, and arrives panting against the backside of Hallgrímskirkja
Sour Grapes And Stuff: Issue 12
MOST AWESOME LETTER Dear Grapevine I have visited Reykjavik every year for the past 4 years. I love this city, but there is one thing that I despise. Every time […]
COME SEE OUR NEW HOTELS!
Five thousand metres somewhere above Colorado, I was sitting on an Icelandair plane called Askja and it struck me that there was perhaps something strange about naming a fleet of [
Twenty Thousand ISK Gets You An Illegal Strip Dance
A thickly set man sitting by the stairs leading to the VIP Club nods as I pass him on my way up from the ground floor sports club called Home. […]
Lemúrinn: Iceland’s Forgotten Zoo
Exotic animals are a rare sight in Iceland. Once upon a time, however, Icelanders could visit lions, monkeys, polar bears, orcas and other creatures at the Hafnafjörður Aquarium,
Collectivise The Bus!
Like many capital area residents, I depend on the bus for my daily travels. And like many who use the bus, I find the service sorely lacking. Fares increase, service […]
WHY HE MADE ‘A9AINST’ AVAILABLE TO RENT ON-LINE
What happened in the winter 2008–2009 certainly does not amount to a revolution, but it definitely was an insurrection. Early on in that story some people lead the way, and [&hel
Reykjavík’s War On Graffiti
For the last five years, the City of Reykjavík has been waging a war. For a country without a military, this may seem curious, but this isn’t exactly a war […]
Let’s Celebrate Diversity, Baby!
The annual Reykjavík Gay Pride festivities start a week from now, and isn’t that exciting? Yes. Yes it is. It’s safe to say Gay Pride has planted itself firmly into […]
So What Is This Reykjavík Mosque I Keep Hearing About?
On July 6, the Reykjavík City Council gave permission to build an 800 square metre mosque in Reykjavík, Iceland’s first building constructed specifically as a mosque. It will h
Especially The Nice Ones
It comes and goes, the rage against The Machine. Every so often it boils over, causing an uproar of surprise and dismay about the blatant abuse of power by society’s […]
Seven Years Ago
Hooray! We turned ten this year. For a humble street rag like Grapevine, turning ten is a pretty big deal—we barely expected to make it to ten issues (and, indeed, […]
News In Brief: Late July 2013
Iceland and fish are seen together so commonly in sentences that they might as well get married already, which is probably what raised such alarm when Iceland’s women’s footbal
Moral Stewards
Professor Hannes H. Gissurarson wrote a piece in the Grapevine on July 2, arguing the case for sustainable whaling. He starts by claiming that whale meat is “a large source [&hel
Sour Grapes & Stuff
Most awesome letter Dear Grapevine- My Father, Brother and I are breaking the cardinal rule of familial relations (distance makes the heart grow fonder) by traveling together&
The Invisible Industry
To outside observers, Icelanders’ attitudes about whaling can seem monolithic: it is a part of our cultural heritage, our right as a sovereign nation to hunt whales, and any oppo
THIS IS IMPORTANT
Here’s the story behind our cover: We somehow got to thinking: “For a feature story about street art in Reykjavík, wouldn’t it be cool to make some street art, in [&
Let’s Talk About The Elephant In The Room
Þjóðhátíð í Eyjum is an annual outdoor festival that has been celebrated in Vestmanneyjar since 1874. The three-day bash takes place on Verslunarmannahelgin (“Merchants’
Get Consent
People in today’s society have an unprecedented access to information. Anyone can instantly find information about advanced thermodynamics or Simpsons episodes. However, with suc
Lemúrinn: Icelandic Doppelgängers
Doppelgängers are a mystery. Why does Russian President Vladimir Putin totally look like the Italian merchant Arnolfini in the haunting masterpiece by Jan van Eyck, painted in 143