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Dormah
Youngsters Muck were already in full swing by the time I arrived at the tiny room on the second level of Bar 11, which somebody had sadly mistaken as a suitable venue for a live rock show. Although I only caught two…
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Rizzo Pizzeria
Nothing beats a good pizza, right? OK, that’s not entirely true, but I think we can all agree that a good pizza is one on the fundamental elements of life as we know it. A good pizza should not only be tasty…
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From the Editor’s Chair
This turned out to be the most difficult issue of the Grapevine that I have ever worked on. As I write this, it is eight in the morning, and I’ve not slept for 24 hours, so you’ll excuse me if I keep…
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Chasing Monsters in East-Iceland
Like most small towns in Iceland, Fellabær (pop. 350) seems to be little more than a random collection of houses surrounding a gas station. The village lies on the banks of lake Lagarfljót in East-Iceland and, with the neighbouring town Egilsstaðir, it…
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Wanted: Musicans to Support
Tell me a little about this new fund. The Aurora Foundation is a charity fund that was set up by Ólafur Ólafsson and his wife Ingibjörg Kristjánsdóttir one year ago. It focuses on supporting charity work and cultural projects, and Kraumur is…
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Misery Index
By the time I arrived at Organ, Celesine had already fired up the heavy machinery and set out on their path of destruction. It was a somewhat misguided journey. As awesome as this post-metal band sounds on record, they face a problem…
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Scenes from the Road: Einar Kárason
On Cars “I consider myself very lucky to have witnessed both the rise and fall of the petrol fuel age,” says author Einar Kárason behind the wheel of his Chrysler PT Cruiser. “We have not witnessed any real advances in this technology…
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From the Editor’s Chair
A friend suggested that I try and write something a little more optimistic on this page. I’ll try, but these are desperate times. But, summer is just around the corner. This month, we celebrate the first day of summer, according to the…
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From the Editor’s Chair
We have just survived February, the coldest, darkest month of the year. Every time we escape this gruelling period alive, and relatively unscathed, it is cause for celebration. So, take a seat by the bar and chuck down a few, and take…
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From the Editor’s Chair
Throughout January, Reykjavík has seen a sudden surge in politically charged protests. This is cause for celebration. Despite what misguided tour books will have you believe, Iceland does not have a long democratic tradition. We may have had some functioning form of…
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City Hall: Theatre of the Absurd
All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field. – Albert Einstein Since the May 2006 municipal…
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Young American Radio Sweetheart
The Sound of Young America initially started as college radio show in Santa Cruz. During the early days of the podcast revolution, host Jesse Thorne, America’s favourite radio sweetheart, latched on to the new technology. Today, anyone with a broadband connection can…
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Looking Back
Dog Cheats Death, Photographer Escapes Angry Mob The most peculiar news story of 2007 is the adventurous tale of Lúkas the Chinese Crested dog wonder who was reported to have met his fate last June in a most gruesome manner. The dog…
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Markús Bjarnason
Congratulations on topping our list for album of the year. Thank you. I was convinced, of course, like the other two times I’ve put out a record, that this was the best record in the world. Naturally. Did you work on this…
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Birkir Fjalar Viðarsson
So, Chainlike Burden topped our list for album of the year, joined by Skátar’s The Ghost of Bollocks to Come. This is the first I Adapt album to receive considerable notice from the Icelandic media [it finished high on most other year-end…
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Síam
The Thai restaurant Síam in Hafnarfjörður has a long history. Although several name and location changes make the trail hard to follow, it has evolved from the restaurant Bangkok which claimed to be the first Thai restaurant in the Nordic Countries, founded…
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Óttar Martin Norðfjörð
When did you get the idea to write this book? The idea first came to me when I was in Scotland, studying for a Master’s degree in Philosophy. It first came to me on an airplane really, on the way to Scotland,…
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Café Alvar A
The Nordic House is a cultural institution that serves to highlight Nordic cooperation and cultural inheritance. The house is designed by renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto and serves as a great testimony to the early days of modern Scandinavian architecture. Located near…
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Obituary: News Photography
How did you select the photos for the exhibition? What was the guiding light? I didn’t really have a guiding light. I just wanted to find old photos, all the way from the beginning of photography in Iceland, at the turn of…
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Arnar Eggert Thoroddsen
You and Einar Bárðarson really come from opposite ends of the Icelandic music scene, how did you end up writing a book with him? Yes, people have wondered about this. Einar sent me an email last April and presented me with the…
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I Only Ask for Hard Work
How did you get started in coaching? Now there’s a story. My wife was studying at university in 1981 and one of her classmates was a member of a small sports club in Vopnafjörður in eastern Iceland, called Einherji. At a party…
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Elves in Cultural Vocabulary
Terry Gunnel is a professor of Folkloristics at the Unicersity of Iceland. He recently initiated a survey to explore how Icelands’ attitude towards elves and other supernatural phenomena have have changed since a similar survey was conducted over thirty years ago. Perhaps…
