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Reykjavík is a car city, for better or worse. According to Statistics Iceland, as of 2003 there are 69,727 private cars in the city alone – one car for every 1.6 people. As Dagur B. Eggertsson, chairman of the Reykjavík Planning Council,…

This all started a week ago, when I was told about the unique farm of Hindisvík. According to sources, there was a group of scientists studying this farm where seals were known to play with visitors, even to take fondly to the…

After an hour of photographing, I was welcomed back to the boat, though we had to stop again as Helvítis got out to stand in the shallows and take a few more photos of the boat. “So you’re all professional divers?” I…

That their majesties the Beckhams did not turn out was only the first of the ominous signs of the evening. The complete lack of fashion also suggested something was wrong. The amateurish production values, described by a local magazine editor off the…

In an even bolder move, in 1996, representatives from the three oil companies wrote up an agreement among them detailing how they would divide the gas market among themselves at nine different locations in the countryside: AGREEMENT Olíuverzlun Íslands hf. [Ólís], Olíufélagið…

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It is true that Oprah Winfrey has an estimated 30 million viewers and is one of the most influential people in today’s entertainment. It is also true that when it comes to Iceland’s global reputation, sex seems to be a touchy subject…

Here’s the transcript: Winfrey: Wonderful. Thank you, Thorunn. Mm. I think it’s fascinating. Svanhildur is an anchorwoman on IBC Channel 2 in Reykjavik (pronounced Rock-a-vitch). Ms. Valsdóttir: Reykjavik (pronounced Ray-ka-vitch). Winfrey: Reykjavik (pronounced Ray-ka-vitch). Reykjavik (pronounced Ray-ka-vitch). Ms. Valsdóttir: Reykjavik (pronounced Ray-ka-vitch). Winfrey: Reykjavik (pronounced…

The categorical imperative: Create! It happened suddenly and swiftly and no one even seemed to notice. 30 years ago bohemians Dagur Sigurðarson, poet, and Róska, artist, walked down Laugavegur, Reykjavík’s main shopping street, laughing. They were laughing in broad daylight, and this…

Sometime this year, Spaugstofan, the comedy program that is the country’s most popular television show, took on an eerie role. As it parodied the leaders of Iceland, we realized that the country’s elected representatives are a great deal more cartoonish than their…

“I want to make it a law that ministers can’t be members of parliament,” Siv Friðleifsdóttir tells me on the phone, and the first thought that springs to mind is: sour grapes. She had been Minister of the Environment from 1999 until…

How Fischer Played his Part in Political Disputes But not between the countries you think Getting Bobby Fischer to Iceland has never been easy. Upon arriving in 1972, one of the first things Bobby Fischer said was that the country was inadequate…

The facts: Fischer is wanted by the US for breaking the trade embargo with the former Yugoslavia in 1992 (and more recently, for tax evasion), is currently in custody in Japan, and a few chess players in Iceland want to bring him…

“In politics, an organized minority is a political majority.” – Jesse Jackson On March 18, 2003, a decision was made that could have meant the end of the political careers of then Foreign Minister Halldór Ásgrímsson, then Prime Minister Davíð Oddsson and…

From “Baghdad Burning,” The United States has ended its physical search for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq, which was cited by the first administration of President George W Bush as the main reason for invading the country, the White House…

By Valur Gunnarsson An American book from 1965 called The Art of Scandinavian Cooking (a contradiction in terms, you may be thinking) states: “The cold climate of the North demands that more fats be eaten. But all the opulent sauces and clouds of…