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Home On The Rangá: Friðrik Pálsson’s Oasis Of Countryside Luxury
Hotel Rangá is one of southern Iceland’s travel institutions. Located in the southwest near the small town of Hella, it opened in 1999, and has developed a reputation for luxurious countryside stays on the shores of the Rangá river. The hotel sits…
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The Paint Witch: Caitlin Ffrench’s Earthy Art
A single visit to Iceland can turn into something bigger. For some people, this country exerts a magnetic fascination that keeps them continually returning for years — or even decades. Caitlin Ffrench is one such person. A Canadian artist who first came…
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Editorial: Video Games Are Growing Up
There’s a certain stigma attached to being a gamer. And I mean… I get it. For a lot of Gen Xers and elder millennials, video games are something experienced through kids and cousins, whether they’re hustling cash for Robux, sweating over a…
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Let The Games Begin: Inside Iceland’s Rising Video Game Development Scene
It isn’t often that an entirely new cultural medium is born. But over the last few decades, video games have taken over the world. With over three billion active players, games have emerged as both a new art form and a vastly…
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Risk Of Another Eruption In Reykjanes Increases
Reports emerged today of an increased likelihood of further volcanic eruption on Reykjanes peninsula. Magma has apparently continued to gather under the Svartsengi region, and the Norwegian Meteorological Agency has issued a new hazard assessment that raises the threat level in the…
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Google And Microsoft Now Use More Electricity Than The Whole Of Iceland
New research has surfaced that suggests Google and Microsoft now consume more electricity per year than the whole of Iceland. Climate change writer Michael Thomas reported on Twitter (known by some as “X”) that the tech giants use more power than several…
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Global IT Outage Hits Iceland, Affects Some Flights
A global IT outage struck this morning, causing problems with ATM machines, bank services, and flights. Some services in Iceland were affected, including several delayed flights. The American airline Delta was the worst hit, with three westward flights being postponed. If you’re…
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Grapevine Events: Drag Comedy, Street Food, Indigenous Dance
IT IS. THE FREAKIN. WEEKEND. And a lot of folks have packed off to LungA Festival on the Costa del Seyðó. But if you happen to be chilling in Reykjavík and looking for some fun things to do — we got you.…
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Unknown Object Causes Small Explosion At Keflavík Airport
A small explosion happened in Keflavík International Airport’s departure area today. The explosion occurred in the toilets, with the unidentified object going off near an airport employee, who suffered minor injuries as a result. The bomb squad attended the scene to investigate.…
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Covid-19 Surge Reported In Reykjavík Hospitals
There’s been a resurgence of Covid-19 at the Landspítali hospital in Reykjavík for the third summer running, mbl reports today. The hospital released an announcement stating that cases of Covid-19 have been detected at the Landakot, Hringbraut and Fossvogur locations, with 32…
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Talk To The Skull: Aldin Dynamics aims to change the face of VR gaming
Gaming offers players the chance to do the impossible: to roam fantastical worlds, defy gravity, use magic and travel between stars. But even virtual worlds have limits. Most often, gaming involves looking at a screen and interacting via a controller, mouse, or…
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The Miniature Mountain: Hiking Up Úlfarsfell
The number 15 bus roars away and I’m suddenly alone. To the north, Mount Esja rears up over the choppy ocean waves, still streaked with snow just a month from midsummer. Closer, it’s a less romantic view: a car park, a strip…
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Driving Down A Road To Nowhere
Taking the high road to a curious backwater of the Reykjanes peninsula Reykjanesbraut is one of the most well-travelled roads in Iceland. It’s a straight shot that slices through the windblown stretch of lava between greater Reykjavík and the international airport in…
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Exploring The Island Of Winds
Parity’s ambitious adventure game casts a distinctly Icelandic spell Iceland’s bleakly picturesque landscape has become a popular backdrop in the last two decades. From Hollywood sci-fi, to crime literature, music videos and prestige TV, the country’s gleaming glaciers and gnarled lavascapes have…
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Enter The Bunkhouse: A new contender emerges in the Icelandic video game scene
In a colourful wooden house on a Hafnarfjörður side-street, something exciting is brewing for the Icelandic video game scene. It’s the home of Bunkhouse, a new studio that started up in February of this year. The studio was born from the ashes…
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Fringe Bangs Again: Gird your loins for a wild week at the 2024 RVK Fringe Festival
There’s something creeping up on Reykjavík’s cultural scene this week. It lurks on the edges of the city’s nightlife, getting ready to explode into the bars and basements, clubs and theatres, nightspots and goth bars. It is, of course, the RVK Fringe:…
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Chasing The Phantom Spark: The Iceland-made racing game that’s gathering real momentum
You are an iridescent bug, skating at high velocity across a wide, glassy surface. You speed effortlessly forward, arcing smoothly between coppery pillars and rusty ruins, finding the path of least resistance — a graceful, chitinous speed skater. Ahead, a ghostly shape…
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The Grapevine Bookclub: Sperm Banks And Erotic Sheep
Driving the Ring Road means a lot of downtime in the car. Pick up one of these books to enrich your mind while you get those kilometres in. LoveStar By Andri Snær Magnason, 2013 If you are an Icelander and have already…
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Strange Rewards: Cate Le Bon Dropped Out Of Music And Made A Mercury-Nominated Masterpiece
At the start of the summer, talk of Cate Le Bon’s beautifully formed new LP ‘Reward’ spread like wildfire. Lauded for its careful production, earworm melodies that unfold at a languid pace, poetic and revealing lyrics and striking arrangements, it was a…
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The Vegan Food Guide: A Reykjavík ExtraVEGANza
It wasn’t a million years ago that it was hard to come up with a reliable dinner recommendation for vegans in Reykjavík. But with the rise in demand from international tourists, and the help of the wildly popular Veganuary, veganism is on…
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The Renegade Mister: Mr. Silla Returns With A Pop Banger
Mr. Silla’s new single is an unexpected pop banger. A far cry from the largely downtempo and emotional sound of her eponymous 2015 debut, “Naruto (say you wanna run away)” is three and a half minutes of unabashedly summery dance-pop. Its carefree…
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DJ Playlist: Yamaho Lines Up Páll Óskar, GusGus And ILO
Natalie G. Gunnarsdóttir is better known as Yamaho, a respected veteran DJ on the Reykjavík scene. Known for propulsive sets that set the dancefloor alight, she’s been a staple DJ at many of the city’s best spots since starting out at legendary…
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The Real Thing: Icelandic Teams Have Their Asses Handed To Them In Europe
As the domestic Pepsi League chugs along in a state of relative stasis, the top four Icelandic teams of last year have begun their qualifying campaigns for the two European competitions. Drubbed As last year’s winners, Valur had the chance to qualify…
