Alísa Kalyanova
Most read
Latest
-
So I’m in Iceland And I Want To Be A Writer…
To get the most obvious question out of the way, you need to write. You can write in any language in the world, but if you want to take part in Icelandic literary society, it helps to have translations into Icelandic, or…
-
Popular Pirates: Tender Trends, Fickle Fashion, Party Politics
Information about Icelandic politics is anything but accessible to outsiders (hell, most of us natives don’t know jack shit about them, either). Luckily, we found a political pundit and historian type who was all into explaining it to us. Straight outta Iceland’s…
-
kimono: This Will Hurt You More Than It Hurts Us
Over the past fifteen years, kimono have slowly become one of Iceland’s more venerated guitar bands, their small but powerful collection of music marking them as a band that runs a slightly different course to its peers. However, things have been fairly…
-
Restaurant Review: Restó—Where The Fish Is King
It is considered fairly common knowledge amongst locals in downtown Reykjavík that the quintessential restaurant for enjoying some of the best fish courses ever prepared in this country was in the cellar of Ostabúðin, a gourmet shop for cheeses and dry meats.…
-
Too Many Books: Do Icelandic Publishers Need To Chill Out?
The annual jólabókaflóð, or Christmas Book Flood, is a beloved Icelandic tradition. Every year around Christmastime, publishing houses across Iceland unleash a deluge of new books on the marketplace and inundate bookstores with stacks of fresh titles for the holiday season. During…
-
Mystic (anonymous) Pizza
Much like the version of himself Ted Danson portrayed in the cult TV hit show ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’—in which Mr. Danson donated handsomely, and anonymously, to a good cause—there was a huge buzz this spring about a new pizza place that was,…
-
A Sunny World: Ecovillage Sólheimar
If you happen to be cruising down a valley-snaking road about an hour’s drive east of Reykjavík, there’s a chance you’ll curl around a grassy embankment and notice, nestled among rolling hills, Iceland’s lone ecovillage. The Sólheimar Ecovillage has existed sustainably since…
-
Not Such A Knock-Out
Located in the basement of Laugavegur mainstay bar Dillon, Chuck Norris Grill opened for business a few months ago, after what seemed like aeons of renovation work (I remember passing the boarded-up basement windows announcing “Hér opnar nýr veitingastaður”—“A new restaurant will…
-
There Will Be Rainbows
Reykjavík has many reasons to be proud. Heck, just last issue we catalogued the gamut of what makes Reykjavík such a groovy place to call home—including the best of everything under our conspicuously elusive sun. But, as summer (or whatever this cold,…
-
From Heavenly Lakes to Hell’s Gates: Seeing Northern Iceland
Seeing Iceland from the air can be an astounding experience. From the soft blue-grey washes of coastal estuaries and floodwater plains, to black flatlands with their gleaming silver rivers, to expanses of blinding white glaciers—a flight over the Icelandic heartland is often…
-
First Icelander Admitted to Yale’s World Fellows Programme
Þóra Arnórsdóttir, renowned national media personality and 2012 candidate for the Presidency of Iceland has been invited to Yale’s prestigious World Fellows programme, becoming the first Icelander ever admitted, reports Vísir.Although she lost the 2012 race by a narrow margin, along with her…
-
Friends Surf Iceland’s Waters
As a part of a commercial for Jagermeister, a group of friends travelled to Iceland to be filmed surfing in Iceland’s waters. The Daily Mail reports that apart from surfing waves off Iceland’s shores, the friends also braved swimming amongst icebergs. By all…
-
Reykjavík Grapevine’s Podcast: Airwaves Wednesday Edition!
The Reykjavík Grapevine podcast is back! And what better reason for a re-launch than the biggest music festival of the country–Iceland Airwaves! If you ever wondered how Airwaves sounds like, then this is your chance. The Grapevine podcast team, comprising of the…
-
Three Days In Ilulissat
“What are all these people doing here?” a guy asked his mate in the fourth row. “Beats me,” he replied, looking up at us as we walked past to find our seats on Air Iceland’s 37-seat Dash 8 bound for Ilulissat. Home…
-
Exploring Infinite Consciousness In Snæfellsnes
The Icelandic sun warms our cheeks as we arrive at Lýsuhóll farm on the Snæfellsness peninsula. The area is well known as the setting of Jules Verne’s novel ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth,’ but on this trip, it proves also…
-
Ísafjörður, City Of Mystery
On the descent into Ísafjörður, decades’ worth of glacial labour is plainly visible. The small burg, named after the fjord it lies in, is surrounded by tall mountains and looks quaint and peaceful below. As the plane from Reykjavík lands, I haven’t…
-
Husavík: Tales Of Whales And Birds
“Welcome to Húsavík, there is lots to see here,” our pilot announced after touching down on Húsavík airport’s single landing strip. After a 45-minute flight from Reykjavík it is only a fifteen-minute drive from the airport to Húsavík, a small town on…
-
‘I Never Went South’: Ísafjörður’s 100% Free Good-Time Family Festival
“It’s such a treat for us,” Sigurlaug Gísladóttir of Mr. Silla and múm said. “All the companies in Iceland have an annual party and we don’t have that as musicians, so this kind of feels like one.” Sitting backstage, jam-packed with members…
-
Caving and the Golden Circle: Cave In, Cave Out…
The Golden Circle tour is a quintessential activity for most visitors to Iceland. You get to see a waterfall, geysers and Þingvellir national park, boasting another waterfall, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and historical significance as the meeting place of Alþingi, the oldest parliament…
-
A Tour Of The Northern Lights: Light A Pyre In The Sky
You know those pictures you see of the Northern Lights? The ones where they engulf the night sky and the hues of green and red are really intense…You know they’re not exactly accurate, right? Of course it’s the Northern Lights you’re seeing…
-
Lake Mývatn: Get In The Van
It’s 7:15 on a cold December morning, a horrific time to be out of the house whichever way you swing it. But there is good reason; intrepid Grapevine photographer Alísa Kalyanova and I are embarking on a tour of the Lake Mývatn…
-
Arctic Adventures: Pioneering Iceland’s Wild West
When Torfi G. Yngvason started working at a river rafting company in 2001, Iceland was host to 300.000 tourists annually—compared to 540.000 today—and hardly any of them were going rafting. “There’s been a huge increase in tourists since I started, but the…
