Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.08.2004, Qupperneq 35

BREIÐAFJÖRÐUR: THE ICELANDIC
MEDITERRANEAN?
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Island Life
Stykkishólmur
after dark
by Valur Gunnarsson
“Are you Icelandic?” asks a man as I stand outside Narfeyrarstofa bar in Stykkishólmur up on
Snæfellsnes, wondering whether to go in. “Yes,” I replied. He looks at me disappointed. “And I was so
hoping to speak English,” he says and walks away.
No one can accuse the people of Stykkishólmur of not being friendly to foreigners. And it´s been moving
a lot closer to Reykjavík recently. In 1980 a bridge was built over Borgarfjörður, connecting that
peninsula with this one. In 1998, a tunnel was opened under Hvalfjörður, meaning that Stykkishólmur
is now a mere two hour drive away from Reykjavík.
Herjólfsdalur: Man jumps off
bridge
A man jumped off the bridge over
the pond at Herjólfsdalur. Police say
the fall is about four metres but the
pond is only one metre deep. The
man was found unconscious and was
brought to life by rescuers, and flown
to Reykjavík. He is hurt, but not as
badly as originally thought.
OUTSIDE REYKJAVÍK
Norðurárdalur: Driver falls
asleep at wheel
A car turned over at Norðurárdalur.
Three people were in the car. The
driver was injured and was moved by
ambulance to Reykjavík, but others
were unharmed. Police say the cause
of the accident was that the driver
fell asleep at the wheel. The accident
caused considerable delays in traffic.
Vestmannaeyjar: Convicted
politician entertains
thousands
Former MP Árni Johnsen
has been performing at the
Westman Islands festival for
30 years. He couldn´t make it last
year as he was doing time for stealing
public money, and called his wardens
killjoys for not letting him out to
attend the festival. The 8000 people
who sang along seemed to have
forgotten about the theft, which may
or may not be alcohol related.
Reykhólar:
Gunshots lead to
cannabis find
A man was arrested at
Reykhólar for firing gunshots. This
led to his house in Reykjavík being
searched, where police found 170
cannabis plants and suspected stolen
goods. A second suspect was also
arrested. The case is currently being
investigated by Patreksfjörður police.
The first thing I did upon
arrival in Stykkishólmur was in
fact not head straight for the bar,
but go swimming. The walls of
the swimming hall are lined with
newsclips from papers documenting
the astonishing success of the
Snæfellsnes basketball team, with
a special section devoted to local
hero and Eurobasket All-Icelandic
League Most Improved Player of
the Year, Hlynur Bæringsson. Right
above the town a hole has been
drilled for fresh water. The water
discovered there in 1997 is called
by residents “Vatnið góða,” or “The
good water,” and turned out to have
special properties, not unlike the
Blue Lagoon or the Baden-Baden
spa in Germany. It is this water that
is being used to fill up the hot tubs
at the swimming pool.
Norwegian Wood
Another of Stykkishólmur´s main
attractions is the Norwegian house.
It was built in 1830 from wood
shipped over from Norway. At the
time, most Icelanders still lived in
turfhouses, so to most locals the
house looked like a palace out of a
fairytale. It was built for a wealthy
landowner, Árni Thorlacius, who
was also responsible for collecting
the king´s dues of his lands. In
the 20th Century the house was
used both as a residential area and
for various businesses, such as by
seamstresses, packaging house,
restaurant and hostel, but in 1970 it
was bought by the county and has
been restored to its original state and
turned into a museum.
It is only after having examined
the aforementioned attractions that
I belatedly head for the bar. A lone
policeman cruises by in a Hyundai
minijeep, looking hopefully around
for signs of trouble. But this is
Verslunarmannahelgin, and most
of the towns youngsters are away
causing trouble in secluded camping
areas elsewhere. He slows down as
he passes me, but as I show no sign
of letting him earn his pay, he drives
on.
Stykkishólmur has about 1200
residents. Quite a few of the houses
have Christmas stars on top, which
seem to be lit in the appropriate
season. There are three bars in
Stykkishólmur, and as in most
smaller towns these are restaurants
as well. Sjávarpakkhúsið is situated
down by the harbour. The name
means quite literally “The Sea
Bastard´s house,” but it is actually
rather cozy and full of German
tourists when I arrive there. The
other two bars are Fimm fiskar (Five
Fishes), a seafood restaurant and yes,
pizzeria. But the man who wanted
to speak English recommends
Narfeyrarstofa, so that´s where I go.
The house was originally built for a
chemist´s widow, but she died before
the house was completed. Since then
it has served as a hairdresser´s, a
billiard hall, a fishing company office
and the residence of the town´s
labour leader in the first half of the
century.
Not snobbish, just Danish
Inside, people are clustered around
the six or so tables, no one paying
any attention to the people on the
other tables. One man stands by the
bar, wearing a T-shirt which says “I
am a sailor.” I order a Thule. The
Thule here has got a different label
on it then in the city. This one has
a Danish and Icelandic flag. The
waitress, pretty here as they are
anywhere else, tells me the label is
made especially for Danish days.
Danish days have been held here
annually since 1993 and will be held
this year from the 13th to the 15th
of August. The girl excitedly tells me
the band Vinir Vors og Blóma will
be coming, a pop band who were in
their prime at the same time the first
festival was held.
The festival is meant to remember
the Danish past of the town, when
the merchant, the chemist and
the officials were all Danish. They
all met in the church on Sunday,
and it was said of the people of
Stykkishólmur that they were snobs
and spoke Danish on Sundays. This
is now made fun of by residents, in
between eating Danish food and
attending auctions, art exhibitions
and concerts on Danish days.
Past Stykkishólmur, on Snæfellsnes,
is the Snæfellsnes glacier, renowned
as the entrance to the centre of
the earth in Jules Verne´s story
and also as the landing spot for
aliens in 1993, although these
turned out to be invisible. Halldór
Laxness also wrote the book Under
the Glacier which has a
Snæfellsnes setting, and starts with
the famous lines “Where the glacier
meets the sky.” On the outskirts of
Stykkishólmur, where you would
previously have seen the wilderness
meet the town, you will now find a
golf course. This is the last thing you
see in Stykkishólmur, as you head
out in the direction of the glacier.
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