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The Battle For Skaftafell: A New Development Threatens Our Most Cinematic Beauty
As you drive east along the south coast ring road towards Vatnajökull National Park, you encounter one of the most breathtaking views in Iceland. The long stretches of flat glacial outwash from the volcanic chains, known as sandur, unfold onto a grand…
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The Cod That Became A Unicorn: How Kerecis Turned Leftover Fish Skin Into A Billion-Dollar Idea
If you’ve flown through Keflavík Airport lately, you might have noticed that it’s always changing — shops are constantly being shuffled around and construction never seems to end. But for years, one thing that remained unchanged was a long ad of a…
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Even Here, Donald Trump Controls The Narrative
We planned to discuss Iceland in 2025 with three experts and got slapped in the face by current events The Grapevine planned a political lunch meeting for January 5, 2026. While the flu affected our guestlist, Ólafur Þórður Harðarson, the University of…
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Anton Corbijn On 50 Years Of Capturing Icons, Making Movies, And Never Losing The Spark
“I went to a photography school one day a week, but it was just hopeless. They put you off photography, if anything,” says one of today’s most influential music and portrait photographers, sitting across from me in a dimly lit speakeasy, closed…
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Jelena Ćirić: From Playing On RÚV To Presenting
The musician discusses working at the national broadcaster, her podcast, and learning Icelandic Reykjavík is no stranger to Jelena Ćirić’s voice; she’s been nominated at the Kraumur Music Awards and Icelandic Music Awards, and won Icelandic Folk Album of the Year at…
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From Vesturbær To The West Side
Sund is trying to bring Icelandic swimming culture to New York City “They put the Icelanders in the sun!” Alex Breki Jónsson laughs as we sit down at our table, indeed, the only one directly in the hot New York sun. On…
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On The Ground With An Icelandic War Photographer
Óskar Hallgrímsson documents the brutal reality of war in Ukraine “I’ve seen this happen slowly — the evolution of it becoming a day-to-day thing. This building fell down, that person died under that bus stop — it just becomes life,” says photographer…
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The Joy Of Milk: Sauðagull Puts Sheep Milk On The Map
At the southern tip of Lagarfljöt lies Fljótsdalur, a scenic river valley carved out by meltwater from the northern edge of Vatnajökull. It’s a wild and storied place, with a glacier research centre, a writer’s retreat, and a monastery dating back to…
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The Bane Of Big Fish: Helgi Seljan On Life As An Investigative Journalist
“It’s not always as glamorous as people might think,” says Helgi Seljan as I meet him at the spacious RÚV headquarters. Having started as a deckhand in his hometown of Reyðarfjörður, Helgi has grown into one of the country’s most influential investigative…
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Pylsuspjall*: Fanfest Edition
We spoke to a few gamers visiting town *Pylsuspjall: 1. Hot dog chat 2. A brief conversation held with strangers holding sausages Welcome to our revival of Pylsuspjall, a Grapevine feature in which we accost strangers at the Bæjarins Beztu hot dog…
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No Museum Left Behind: Katie Teeter’s Quest To Visit Every Museum In Iceland
Some people love a good challenge. For some, it’s pounding pints in every bar of Laugavegur on a Friday night. For an American expat Katie Teeter, it’s ticking off a museum every week. She’s already hit around 70 exhibitions, juggling her day…
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A Disaster Waiting To Happen
Seyðisfjörður continues its fight against open net-pen salmon farming “The government said that they wanted to work for the people and not the big companies,” says Benedikta Guðrún Svavarsdóttir, head of the nonprofit VÁ, which has been fighting to stop open net-pen…
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A Life Dictated By Ducks
Íris Indriðadóttir and Signý Jónsdóttir of Studio Erindrekar built their design practice — and their lives — around the nesting season of wild eiders “We are product designers…,” says Íris Indriðadóttir, smiling from Seyðisfjörður over a video call, “But we’re also eider…
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Word On The Street: Is 3.8 Million ISK Per Month Too Much For The Mayor Of Reykjavík?
According to recently published info, the monthly salary of Reykjavík’s new mayor, Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir, is 3.867.891 krónur per month (to be fair, the outgoing mayor was earning about the same). That’s nearly one million more per month than the Prime Minister’s…
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Running Against The Odds: Meet Iceland’s First Running Wear Brand
“What’s special about the Icelandic runner is that they are a specific kind of runner who is really affected by their surroundings. They’re ready for anything,” says fashion designer Guðmundur Magnússon as I meet him and his business partner in their studio…
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Recycling Rags To Riches
ENDURTAKK is opening shop and shutting down textile waste Anyone with a sharp eye for interesting textiles might have noticed ENDURTAKK’s clothes in the last year. They’ve been available in a few local design shops and also spotted on artists like John…
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Oh, To Be In The Sea: Sea swimming could be just the self care you’ve been looking for
While in the summer months, Reykjavík’s Nauthólsvík beach is often alive with sun bathers and children splashing in the little ocean lagoon artificially heated by an infusion of geothermal water, that’s not the only time of year that bathers flock to the…
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Your Favourite Place, In A Glass
Kjartan and Sveinn of Grugg & Makk capture the flavours of Iceland with their wild ales “It’s a little bit too much work to be a hobby, but not quite enough to be a full-time job,” says Kjartan Óli Guðmundsson, laughing as…
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Just Outside The City Limits
The Kátt á línunni concert series brings the grassroots music scene to Kópavogur “I moved there two or three years ago. Not Hamraborg, but close by, and I’m really content,” says artist, musician, curator, and Kópavogur resident Pétur Eggertsson as we meet…
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Beating The Blank Page
Creative writers can find community at the University of Iceland’s writing salon Breaking the fourth wall for a moment here, I can tell you, dear reader, that the blank page is the enemy. If you have ever felt the desire to put…
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A Life In The Trees: Meet Christmas Tree Farmer Guðmundur Sigurðsson
For some, Christmas isn’t complete without snow, but for me there’s no festive season without a Christmas tree. In my quest to find an authentic, Iceland-grown Christmas tree, I reached out to Guðmundur Sigurðsson, a farmer who cultivates a pine forest in…
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Side Hustle: The Election Worker
Sverrir Páll Sverrisson on his fun side gig that comes around every so often When Bjarni Benediktsson announced snap elections this October, half of the nation thought, “God. Why now?” For the other half, including Sverrir Páll Sverrisson, it was an immediate…
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Three Decades Of Decadence At Austur-Indíafjelagið
Reykjavik’s fine dining icon reveals its secret sauce to enduring success “This is a pani puri,” Chandrika Gunnarsson says as she nimbly places shot glasses of verdant pani with a perfect sphere of puri on top. “Or golguppa,” she says, offering up…