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Just Sayings: “Að finna einhvern í fjöru”
Tired of uttering the same old threats? Feeling like your old ultimatums have lost their power? It’s a tale as old as time, but luckily Iceland has the solution. In Icelandic, when you really want to intimidate someone, say you will “find…
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RVK Newscast #127: One COVID-19 Death & A Heat Record
One man died from COVID-19 at the end of August in the biggest wave ever of COVID-19 in Iceland. This happened after the Icelandic government relaxed all domestic restrictions at the end of June. Currently, restrictions have been reinstated with a gathering…
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RVK Newscast #126: Fox News Misunderstands Iceland’s Vaccinations & Fourth Wave
First off, in a news report Fox News misunderstood how the fourth wave of COVID-19 developed this summer and how Iceland’s high vaccination rate has actually saved the nation from serious cases of the virus. One person is currently in the hospital…
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RVK Newscast #125: Iceland, Afghanistan And Covid
We are in the light news today. We go over the Icelandic connection with Afghanistan and the discussion in Iceland about the falling of Kabul. Vaccination is still going, numbers seem to be going down and restrictions are still pretty mild. This…
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Volcano Surprises Again: New Crater Forming
It’s official. The volcano at Geldingadalir is proving to be one of the most versatile to erupt in Iceland over the past few decades—even centuries—with a new crater forming just south of the one known as Number Five. There was news about…
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RVK Newscast #124: Illegal Path And The Princess Of Dubai
Valur Grettisson, the editor-in-chief at Reykjavík Grapevine visited the volcano and took Pollý with him this time. There we go over the status of the volcano and more. In unrelated news, this month we are offering walking tours of Reykjavík guided by…
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Early Voting For Parliamentary Elections Has Begun
Early voting for the upcoming Parliamentary elections in Iceland began at 8:20 today at the Chief Legislative Office in each county in Iceland. Alþingi was officially dissolved yesterday and therefore, voters can start voting early if they just can’t wait, but the…
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COVID-19 Numbers Up, Hospitalisation Numbers Down
At least 119 domestic cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed yesterday. Of those, 80 were not in quarantine—67% of those diagnosed. 27 people are currently at the hospital, which is down from 29 yesterday. Five are in critical care, four of those on…
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Emirati Princess Latifa Visited The Volcano: Campaign To Free Her Disbanded
Emirati princess Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum visited the volcano in Geldingadalir a few days ago along with her uncle, Marcus Essabri, according to an Instagram post by British woman Sioned Taylor. View this post on Instagram A post shared…
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RVK Newscast #123: Iceland At A Crossroad In The Pandemic
Icelanders are at odd crossroads in the COVID-19 pandemic. 93% of the nation is vaccinated, but we still have the biggest COVID waves since the beginning of the pandemic. Luckily, few are seriously ill and the government is still assessing what to…
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RVK Newscast #117: The Volcano Begins Erupting Like A Geyser Again
The volcano has undergone a revival and is back to being a fire geyser—at least for the moment. Lava spitting from the crater is now reaching about 20 metres high, and pollution from the volcano has led to hazy skies and a…
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RVK Newscast #116: Play On The Stock Market & The Metal CEO
A brand new Icelandic airline, Play, began operations last month and has just launched itself on the stock market. The value of the company immediately skyrocketed, and its future looks bright. We joined Play last week as they took to the skies…
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RVK Newscast #115: The Odd Rhythm Of The Volcano & A Helicopter Dispute
The volcano has a new rhythm—meaning now we have to time our visits to see it in action. There’s also currently a dispute between the landowners of the volcano area and the helicopter companies. And the blue smog, or the volcanic smog,…
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Just Sayings: The Devil’s Grandmother!
We know you love your grandmother and think she’s the world. And perhaps she is. But you haven’t met the devil’s grandmother yet. The saying “þegar skrattinn hittir ömmu sína” or “when the devil met his grandmother” describes that relatable situation when…
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Just Sayings: “Að gera garðinn frægan”
Do you want to be famous? Of course you do. But here’s the real question: Have you made your garden famous? Wait—you don’t have a garden? No worries. It’s not required. The Icelandic saying “Að gera garðinn frægan” literally means “to make…
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RVK Newscast #114: Pornshop To Be A Kindergarten & More Cancelled Musicians
Scott Estill, the lost American explained in a TV interview what happened when he got lost near the volcano. The second weekend after no COVID-19 domestic restriction was so lively that emergency responders felt like it was way too much. #Meetoo keeps…
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RVK Newscast #113: Siggi The Hacker, Wikileaks And The Lost American
In this episode we report that the FBI’s star witness in the case against Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, has admitted lying in his evidence. The story, published in Icelandic news magazine Stundin, was written by Bjartmar Alexandersson — a journalist who will…
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RVK Newscast #112: The Volcano Turns Three, And A Farm Is Doomed
Geldingadalsgos is now officially three months old, and in our latest newscast from the volcano site we look at what has surprised Icelandic geologists so far about the eruptions. We visit Íssólfstaðsskála — a farm that will probably be under lava before…
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The Butterfly Effect In The North: Egill Bjarnason On How Iceland Changed The World
It’s not that Icelanders are full on megalomaniacs (we are though, in general), but our history and culture have shaped the western world in myriad ways that we could make a strong case that Iceland shaped the world on a deep level.…
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RVK Newscast #111: Katla’s Folklore Explained & The Last Of COVID-19
Iceland is doing very well with vaccinations, meaning that we are very close to abolishing all domestic restrictions in connection with the virus. Also, the search & rescue team had to rescue missing hikers on the Laugavegur Trail. Finally, we discuss the…
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Just sayings: Að leika tveimur skjöldum
It doesn’t perhaps sound like a wise decision to go into battle armed only with two shields (unless you’re a Viking in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla), but it can be effective if you’re a Danish intelligence agent. The saying “Að leika tveimur skjöldum”…
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RVK Newscast #110: Workers Try To Save Volcano Path
There was no public access to the volcano when we visited on June 15th, but viewing points have since been reopened. Workers are building barriers to stop the lava flowing into Nátthagakriki, which would change the situation dramatically and even cut off…
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Books To Read Before The Endless Summer Days Rob Your Sanity
It’s that time of the year again—the time of maddening light and endless days that mess up your sense of time completely. Yes, you guessed it, it’s summer! And what else is there to do during these overwhelming hours than to read…
