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The Battle For Skaftafell: A New Development Threatens Our Most Cinematic Beauty
As you drive east along the south coast ring road towards Vatnajökull National Park, you encounter one of the most breathtaking views in Iceland. The long stretches of flat glacial outwash from the volcanic chains, known as sandur, unfold onto a grand…
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The Cod That Became A Unicorn: How Kerecis Turned Leftover Fish Skin Into A Billion-Dollar Idea
If you’ve flown through Keflavík Airport lately, you might have noticed that it’s always changing — shops are constantly being shuffled around and construction never seems to end. But for years, one thing that remained unchanged was a long ad of a…
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Even Here, Donald Trump Controls The Narrative
We planned to discuss Iceland in 2025 with three experts and got slapped in the face by current events The Grapevine planned a political lunch meeting for January 5, 2026. While the flu affected our guestlist, Ólafur Þórður Harðarson, the University of…
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Anton Corbijn On 50 Years Of Capturing Icons, Making Movies, And Never Losing The Spark
“I went to a photography school one day a week, but it was just hopeless. They put you off photography, if anything,” says one of today’s most influential music and portrait photographers, sitting across from me in a dimly lit speakeasy, closed…
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Jelena Ćirić: From Playing On RÚV To Presenting
The musician discusses working at the national broadcaster, her podcast, and learning Icelandic Reykjavík is no stranger to Jelena Ćirić’s voice; she’s been nominated at the Kraumur Music Awards and Icelandic Music Awards, and won Icelandic Folk Album of the Year at…
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From Vesturbær To The West Side
Sund is trying to bring Icelandic swimming culture to New York City “They put the Icelanders in the sun!” Alex Breki Jónsson laughs as we sit down at our table, indeed, the only one directly in the hot New York sun. On…
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Pylsuspjall*: Fanfest Edition
We spoke to a few gamers visiting town *Pylsuspjall: 1. Hot dog chat 2. A brief conversation held with strangers holding sausages Welcome to our revival of Pylsuspjall, a Grapevine feature in which we accost strangers at the Bæjarins Beztu hot dog…
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A Disaster Waiting To Happen
Seyðisfjörður continues its fight against open net-pen salmon farming “The government said that they wanted to work for the people and not the big companies,” says Benedikta Guðrún Svavarsdóttir, head of the nonprofit VÁ, which has been fighting to stop open net-pen…
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Word On The Street: Is 3.8 Million ISK Per Month Too Much For The Mayor Of Reykjavík?
According to recently published info, the monthly salary of Reykjavík’s new mayor, Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir, is 3.867.891 krónur per month (to be fair, the outgoing mayor was earning about the same). That’s nearly one million more per month than the Prime Minister’s…
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Recycling Rags To Riches
ENDURTAKK is opening shop and shutting down textile waste Anyone with a sharp eye for interesting textiles might have noticed ENDURTAKK’s clothes in the last year. They’ve been available in a few local design shops and also spotted on artists like John…
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Oh, To Be In The Sea: Sea swimming could be just the self care you’ve been looking for
While in the summer months, Reykjavík’s Nauthólsvík beach is often alive with sun bathers and children splashing in the little ocean lagoon artificially heated by an infusion of geothermal water, that’s not the only time of year that bathers flock to the…
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Just Outside The City Limits
The Kátt á línunni concert series brings the grassroots music scene to Kópavogur “I moved there two or three years ago. Not Hamraborg, but close by, and I’m really content,” says artist, musician, curator, and Kópavogur resident Pétur Eggertsson as we meet…
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Beating The Blank Page
Creative writers can find community at the University of Iceland’s writing salon Breaking the fourth wall for a moment here, I can tell you, dear reader, that the blank page is the enemy. If you have ever felt the desire to put…
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Three Decades Of Decadence At Austur-Indíafjelagið
Reykjavik’s fine dining icon reveals its secret sauce to enduring success “This is a pani puri,” Chandrika Gunnarsson says as she nimbly places shot glasses of verdant pani with a perfect sphere of puri on top. “Or golguppa,” she says, offering up…
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Reaching New Heights And Feeling Boulder
Unleash Your Inner Spider-Monkey at Klifurhúsið There is something sort of primal about looking up at a big rock, or cliffside, or a tree and thinking to yourself “I could climb that.” That’s when impulse control typically kicks in. I myself have…
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Whaling Is Back On The Table
The government collapse was a gift for the pro-whaling Independence Party The last weeks of the month brought an unlikely October surprise to Icelandic voters. Thanks to the sudden collapse of the government and a breach of protocol by the Independence Party,…
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Word On The Street: So, How About That Iceland Airwaves?
The Grapevine asks the tough questions Sölvi, 52 What are your thoughts on Iceland Airwaves? I love it. It brings a really good vibe to the city, and through the years it’s uplifting to the Icelandic bands and to get all the…
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An Icelander Abroad: Andrea Kristinsdóttir Reflects On Her Successes So Far
New York-based Icelander Andrea Kristinsdóttir is an award-winning audio engineer, composer, sound designer. Currently she is working at Vox, the American media company famed for its explanatory journalism. Hired in May of this year, Andrea began as an audio engineer on their…
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Waxing Poetic: Reykjavík Poetics provides space for art, experimentation
Internationally infamous for its saturation of writers and authors, Reykjavík was designated a “UNESCO City of Literature” or “Bókmenntaborg” some 13 years ago. This honorific gains tangibility in its sponsorship of myriad literarily-skewed projects — one of which is Reykjavík Poetics. Founded…
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Word On The Street: Seeking New Autumn Traditions
The Grapevine took to the streets in search of new autumn traditions to adopt The red and orange leaves, and dewy morning air are showing us that autumn is upon us, so the Grapevine took to the streets to ask people what…
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The Last Podcast On The Left Is Coming For You, Reykjavík
If you like your comedy with a healthy (or unhealthy, depending on your perspective) serving of murder, haunting or war crimes then you’re probably already a diehard fan of The Last Podcast On The Left. Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski and Ed Larson…
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What Are People In Reykjavík Reading?
Iceland is often referred to as a book-reading nation, yet finding a person on the street with a book in hand turned out to be more difficult than we had expected. Here are a few people we’ve met that were not glued…
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Throwing For Gold: Erna Sóley Chases Her Olympian Dream
“They’re all in boxes. If you’re moving everything, there’s no space for all of it,” says Erna Sóley Gunnarsdóttir, speaking about her sporting trophies, when we meet at the ÍR training grounds in Skógarsel. The 24-year-old athlete trains here every day, and…