Monday, November 06, 2006
24 hours in Reykjavik
(found this great thing in a news paper called ReykjavikMag)
1. hung-over? You should really try out the spa at Hotel Nordica. The soothing waters and myriad of treatments will set you right for the rest of the day. They also have an excellent fitness centre. Noth that there´s much chance you´ll be excited by that particular prospect.
2. eat some breakfast. Prikið do a spot-on fry-up for less than the price of the average house. What´s more, they offer the choice of a British fry-up or an American one - so no more arguing over scrambled or fried eggs and wether to have tomato ketchup or maple syrup. Who in their right mind puts syrup on bacon though, I mean, really?
3. take the lift up to the top of Hallgrímskirkja
(that big cathedral you can see from everywhere). The view is amazing and you can also play the bells game: the looser is the first person to drop to the floor or run for their life when the bells strike. It´s harder than it sounds - especially on a hangover.
4. the late Einar Jónsson is one of Icelandi´s most celebrated sculptors. You can find out why by visiting the sculpture garden and gallery at his old house.
5. feeding the ducks on the city
pond sounds a bit childish - but there are so many ducks, swans and geese that it´s more like feeding the lions. The activity is best suited to those who have no first - hand experience of feeding lions.
6. "go for a walk" would be such a copout of a suggestion, were it not for the opportunity to cross - promote. And the paper talks about there walk of the month.
7. go to Bónus supermarket on the main shopping street, Laugarvegur and revel in the garish colourscheme and the gact that they have a separet room for meat. Maybe buy yourself a can of Egil´s Malt and pounder how a drink that is essentially sweetend Marmite can taste so darn good.
8. laugardalur is Reykjavík´s version og Central Park. But the best thing is that there´s an ice
rink there. All your friends back home will think you´ve gone native when you tell them how you got your skates on with the locals. Just don´t tell them that the rink is actually surprisingly underused by Icelanders.
9. take some time to do somthing cultural. Some suggestions might include the city art gallery, the national museum the natural history musem or the pub.
10. why not paint some ceramics to take home with you? Ceramics for All really want to help get your artistic juices flowing. If you can´t be bothered to take your creations home, why not try to sell them to drunken festival - goers? They´ll buy anything apparently.
11. taking an air tour seems extravagant at first glance - but starting at just 5000 kronur, it could be an unforgettable exprience. Then again, it could be cloud soup up there. This is Iceland after all.
12. alþingi is the world´s oldest parliament and is now situated in the city centre, for your
convenience. Housed in the grand old stone building on Austurvöllur square, visitors are welcome to go inside and have a snoop around the halls of power.
13. sticking to a vaguely political theme, you should make
your way to the city hall which straddles the pond. Inside, there is a giant model of Iceland that takes up an entire room. So big in fact, that you can actually see yourself looking at the model on the model. Well, that may not be true, but it really is rather large.
14. þjóðmenningarhúsið. Go on, say it out loud, I dare you. It actually means "the national culture house" and it´s where the Viking sagas are kept. You can go and see them...
15. if you´re hungry again, you might like a snack. Bæjarins Bestu hotdog stand is the country´s best-loved pylsur (hotdog) dispensary, located down by the harbour near Kolaportið. Alternatively, if you´ve a bigger hole to fill, try out Hlöllabátar at Ingólfstorg. Their generouse and adventurouse subs are crazy good.
16. go shopping of course! You have probably heard that designer gear is comparatively cheap here in Iceland, so feel free to stock up on your Gucci and Dolce, and even your Gabana if you´re so inclined. But you should really try out the local labels. Watch out for Dogma, Dead and Ósoma. Iceland deas good t-shirts. Especially for a cold country.
17. on saturdays and sundays, the city´s flea market, Kolaportið opens up its doors. Located in the huge building by the harbour, you´ll be sure to find a bargain. They also sell a lot of local foods. When you leave, be sure to notice Iceland´s only train, over the road on the waterfront.
18. the settlement museum underneath Hotel Centrum at Ingólfstorg is an accidental hit - being the archaelogical site uncovered during the construction of the hotel. You don´t have to be a history buff to find this interesting.
19. in good weather, the bookshop at Klapparstígur 27 has a chess board and chairs outside for passers by to challenge one another to a game. Who knows, you might attract a bit of a crowd... if you´re any good.
20. right next door, you will see Gallery Lobster or Fame. In addition to all the weird and wonderful exhibits, this is also the home store of Gad Taste records - so you can pick up a few CDs while you´re at it.
21. if the weather is clear, you should really book yourseld onto a Northen Lights tour. No trip to the Nordic countries is complete without having seen the aurora. It´s like visiting Kenya and not going on safari.
22. belly´s bar on Hafnarstræti is much bigger than it looks from the outside and serves the cheapest beer in town. For 350 kronur, you too could be the proud owner of a half - litre of frothy loveliness. I am not referring to the latest Hugh Grant movie.
23. you need to check out Sirkus bar on Klapparstígur. At night time it gets ram packed full of
seriously cool people who go there to revel in its crazy shabby, misfit atmosphere.
24. at the other end of the spectrum, you might like to go for a drink at Rex, Austurstræti, you know - just to see how the other half live. This swanky bar will surely leave you all schmoozed out.
Now, how do you like Iceland?
(found this great thing in a news paper called ReykjavikMag)
1. hung-over? You should really try out the spa at Hotel Nordica. The soothing waters and myriad of treatments will set you right for the rest of the day. They also have an excellent fitness centre. Noth that there´s much chance you´ll be excited by that particular prospect.
2. eat some breakfast. Prikið do a spot-on fry-up for less than the price of the average house. What´s more, they offer the choice of a British fry-up or an American one - so no more arguing over scrambled or fried eggs and wether to have tomato ketchup or maple syrup. Who in their right mind puts syrup on bacon though, I mean, really?
3. take the lift up to the top of Hallgrímskirkja
(that big cathedral you can see from everywhere). The view is amazing and you can also play the bells game: the looser is the first person to drop to the floor or run for their life when the bells strike. It´s harder than it sounds - especially on a hangover.4. the late Einar Jónsson is one of Icelandi´s most celebrated sculptors. You can find out why by visiting the sculpture garden and gallery at his old house.
5. feeding the ducks on the city
pond sounds a bit childish - but there are so many ducks, swans and geese that it´s more like feeding the lions. The activity is best suited to those who have no first - hand experience of feeding lions.6. "go for a walk" would be such a copout of a suggestion, were it not for the opportunity to cross - promote. And the paper talks about there walk of the month.
7. go to Bónus supermarket on the main shopping street, Laugarvegur and revel in the garish colourscheme and the gact that they have a separet room for meat. Maybe buy yourself a can of Egil´s Malt and pounder how a drink that is essentially sweetend Marmite can taste so darn good.
8. laugardalur is Reykjavík´s version og Central Park. But the best thing is that there´s an ice
rink there. All your friends back home will think you´ve gone native when you tell them how you got your skates on with the locals. Just don´t tell them that the rink is actually surprisingly underused by Icelanders.9. take some time to do somthing cultural. Some suggestions might include the city art gallery, the national museum the natural history musem or the pub.
10. why not paint some ceramics to take home with you? Ceramics for All really want to help get your artistic juices flowing. If you can´t be bothered to take your creations home, why not try to sell them to drunken festival - goers? They´ll buy anything apparently.
11. taking an air tour seems extravagant at first glance - but starting at just 5000 kronur, it could be an unforgettable exprience. Then again, it could be cloud soup up there. This is Iceland after all.
12. alþingi is the world´s oldest parliament and is now situated in the city centre, for your
convenience. Housed in the grand old stone building on Austurvöllur square, visitors are welcome to go inside and have a snoop around the halls of power.13. sticking to a vaguely political theme, you should make
your way to the city hall which straddles the pond. Inside, there is a giant model of Iceland that takes up an entire room. So big in fact, that you can actually see yourself looking at the model on the model. Well, that may not be true, but it really is rather large.14. þjóðmenningarhúsið. Go on, say it out loud, I dare you. It actually means "the national culture house" and it´s where the Viking sagas are kept. You can go and see them...
15. if you´re hungry again, you might like a snack. Bæjarins Bestu hotdog stand is the country´s best-loved pylsur (hotdog) dispensary, located down by the harbour near Kolaportið. Alternatively, if you´ve a bigger hole to fill, try out Hlöllabátar at Ingólfstorg. Their generouse and adventurouse subs are crazy good.
16. go shopping of course! You have probably heard that designer gear is comparatively cheap here in Iceland, so feel free to stock up on your Gucci and Dolce, and even your Gabana if you´re so inclined. But you should really try out the local labels. Watch out for Dogma, Dead and Ósoma. Iceland deas good t-shirts. Especially for a cold country.
17. on saturdays and sundays, the city´s flea market, Kolaportið opens up its doors. Located in the huge building by the harbour, you´ll be sure to find a bargain. They also sell a lot of local foods. When you leave, be sure to notice Iceland´s only train, over the road on the waterfront.
18. the settlement museum underneath Hotel Centrum at Ingólfstorg is an accidental hit - being the archaelogical site uncovered during the construction of the hotel. You don´t have to be a history buff to find this interesting.
19. in good weather, the bookshop at Klapparstígur 27 has a chess board and chairs outside for passers by to challenge one another to a game. Who knows, you might attract a bit of a crowd... if you´re any good.
20. right next door, you will see Gallery Lobster or Fame. In addition to all the weird and wonderful exhibits, this is also the home store of Gad Taste records - so you can pick up a few CDs while you´re at it.
21. if the weather is clear, you should really book yourseld onto a Northen Lights tour. No trip to the Nordic countries is complete without having seen the aurora. It´s like visiting Kenya and not going on safari.
22. belly´s bar on Hafnarstræti is much bigger than it looks from the outside and serves the cheapest beer in town. For 350 kronur, you too could be the proud owner of a half - litre of frothy loveliness. I am not referring to the latest Hugh Grant movie.
23. you need to check out Sirkus bar on Klapparstígur. At night time it gets ram packed full of
seriously cool people who go there to revel in its crazy shabby, misfit atmosphere.24. at the other end of the spectrum, you might like to go for a drink at Rex, Austurstræti, you know - just to see how the other half live. This swanky bar will surely leave you all schmoozed out.
Now, how do you like Iceland?
Sunday, November 05, 2006
very bad weatherfrom yesterday morning a very bad weather has been here in hole Iceland. Roofs, windows and loos things are moving, ships braking and the rescue teem has lot to do. People can´t leave the islands and can´t come, no planes going but they are trying now.
