this day in icelandic history — The Reykjavik Grapevine %

‘You’ve Got To Be Firm With These People’

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Variations On Tough Love —Debates on Monday #3Against Container-Prejudices Eygló Harðardóttir, Welfare Minister on behalf of the Progressive party, wrote…

Holuhraun Continues To Erupt

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It’s been almost a month since the Holuhraun eruption started, and there doesn’t seem to be any indication of it…

Hello! I Must Be Going!

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The Debates on Monday #2To forge a synthesis: Last week, as evident in what follows, citizens of the volcano-plagued republic…

So What’s This Faroese Ship I Keep Hearing About?

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The Faroese trawler ‘Næraberg’ was fishing for mackerel in Greenlandic waters when its engine suffered a malfunction. As the Icelandic…

This Is Not The First Time We’ve Seen Change

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Gusgus on reaching the brink, and coming back strongerReykjavík Art Museum’s Hafnarhús is making more noise than usual. Normally a…

“We Are All The Same”

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Jónína Leósdóttir, writer and wife of Iceland’s former Prime Minister, is changing the world, one page at a timeI am…

More People = More Fun

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To generalise: Icelanders are a greedy bunch. After we escaped from the claws of Danish colonialist rule, the national imperative…

This Is Not A Media Blackout!

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The Romans Have Not Taken Over The Media! Move Along, Please!You wouldn’t call it a media blackout, I guess. Because…

A Volcano Bigger Than Timberlake

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Or: How we learned to stop worrying and love the lavaThe most prominent, truly devastating volcanic eruption in Icelanders’ public…

Iceland On The Brain: 1200 Years Of Tourism

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Everyone knows that Ingólfur Arnarson (that chap with the spear thing on the hill overlooking the city centre) was Iceland’s…

A Volcano Bigger Than Timberlake

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Or How We Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The LavaHistorically, Iceland has seen some volcanic eruptions at a devastating…

BREAKING NEWS: Small Eruption Reported Northeast Of Bárðarbunga

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A small eruption has been reported at Dyngjujökull glacier, northeast of Iceland’s subglacial Bárðarbunga volcano. RÚV report that Kristín Jónsdóttir with…

In A Class By ItsELF

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A visit to Reykjavík’s ElfschoolReykjavík’s Elfschool is an institution of learning unlike anything you’ve experienced before. Nestled on the second…

Bárðarbunga Volcano Watch: The Morning Edition

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Bárðarbunga volcano continues to rumble but as yet there is no eruption to report, so here is a round up last night’s…

Old Masters, New Dude

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Eating babies, retroactively redesigning Reykjavík, philosophising…all in a day’s work!He’s young—only 36—but creates his work using the same methods that…

Hidden People: They’re Just Like Us (Kind Of)

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When foreign media outlets report on Iceland and need to add a little local colour, they will invariably throw in…

Virus In Imported Meat Might Alter Nation’s Behavior, Warns PM

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Says Toxoplasma Infection ‘Might Be Changing The Behavior Of Whole Nations’According to Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, a virus that…

The Book Cellar’s Book Seller

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Children’s Books and Ancient Icelandic Porno at BókakjallarinnNarratives of Reykjavík’s used book culture often take the form of jeremiads—languorous laments…

Travelling Queer, There And Everywhere 

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Chatting to Iceland’s only queer-aimed travel group about turning Iceland’s greenery pinkIceland’s reputation as a haven for LGBTQIA people is…

The Magnificent 7%

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Making The Case For Art In The Time Of Need When I was 20 years old I decided to enter…

Crossover Appeal

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We kiki with the producer and director of The Icelandic Drag CompetitionSince 1997, The Icelandic Drag Competition (Draggkeppni Íslands) has…