Student Politics in Iceland
You can never have too much education, and Iceland has seven universities for only 320.000 people. Apparently, you can have too many schools; at least some people think that the [&
What Is ‘The Hjalli Model’?
“Love, compassion and tolerance, these things we celebrate.” These are the words of hardcore enthusiastic and former I Adapt vocalist Birkir F. Viðarsson. These
THE FILM SCHOOL’S IN TROUBLE
Kvikmyndaskóli Íslands (The Icelandic Film School) is in trouble. It has through the years been run with a financial contribution from the Icelandic state along with the ra
PARTY 101
Now that the bells have begun ringing your asses back to those classes. Don’t be sad. You gotta stay positive, and you’ve got to keep in mind that even though […]
Reykjavík, After Class Lets Out
Icelandic nights get longer, the sun bids its goodbyes and the rain washes away the summer. The tourist season dies down and international students arrive. The home coming ba
The Iceland Academy of the Arts
Iceland Academy of the Arts (Listaháskóli Íslands) was founded in 1999 and it’s the only university in Iceland dedicated to the arts. We called up Rector Hjálmar H. Ragnarsso
Getting To Know You
Hi, Iceland! Is it okay if I call you “Iceland?” I hope so. I don’t know a lot about you yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing what you’re all [&hell
Merry Taxmas
The lights went up this week in Reykjavík. This holiday season is nigh… and the darkness is here. For the next three months green energy will illuminate tired trees, sea-bit
Learning From The Past, Moving Into The Future
For a country of Iceland’s size, the education system is particularly vibrant, especially on a university level. The Grapevine contacted acting Minister of Education Svandís
The Case Against ‘The One Big University Theory Of Academic Excellence’
One of the more common arguments heard in debates on higher education in Iceland, especially when it comes to university funding, is that there are way too many universities in [&h
Airwaves 2011: Get Hype!
The brightest spot of the typically gloomy and rainy weeks of the Icelandic autumn is undoubtedly the Airwaves music festival. Attracting thousands from around the world each year,
The Politisation Of Achievement
Icelanders like nothing better than confirmations of their belief that they are somehow the greatest, the strongest, the most beautiful or the smartest people in the world. This lo
WE NEED MORE YUMMY LAMB!
Icelandic lamb meat, often touted as the best in the world, has in many ways come to represent the country itself. The demand for this meat, on a global scale, […]
HOPE > TRUTH?
Us at Grapevine HQ keep a close eye on the internet, with a special focus on Iceland-related articles. We feel it is our duty to sort of keep track of […]
ZOMBIE POLITICS
The political debate in Iceland has gotten horribly stale and repetitive. In some places Iceland is held up as being a model of how to survive an economic crises and […]
ALASKAN “WOLF” INVADES ICELAND
Invasive species or non-native plants present a problem all over the world. For instance, the ragweed in Europe can cause serious allergy problems and the zebra mussel in the North
A Deconstruction Of “Iceland’s On-going Revolution”
Last night, ‘Shock Doctrine’ author Naomi Klein tweeted: “#Iceland is proving that it is possible to resist the Shock Doctrine, and refuse to pay for the bankers’ crisi
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE ORDER OF THE FALCON
You could say that the Order of the Falcon is to Iceland what the Purple Heart is to The United States. Well you could say that—kind of—in the sense that […]
The New Idea Of Europe: United In Diversity
The idea of a United Europe is not new, but if you brush up on your history knowledge you will soon remember that there have been many different ideas about […]
THREE NOTEWORTHY REYKJAVÍK STATUES
I appreciate a good statue more than most people. This may be because of my background as a stonemason. I have more than a rudimentary understanding of what it takes […]
Surfing Couches Around The World
A new type of tourism has been steadily growing over the last decade. It’s Couchsurfing, which is based on an online community whose main objective is to provide accommodation to