Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.01.2005, Síða 29
Situated at the bottom of a narrow gorge amidst hot springs, Sólheimar is home and workplace
for 70 villagers, whereof half have special needs. The ideology which the place is based on is
rooted in the theories of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian scientist who developed the Gestalt ideology
of anthroposophism (I’m glad we cleared that up –ed). The founder of Sólheimar, Sesselja
Sigmundsdóttir, was a follower of Rudolf Steiner and attended his institute in Dornach,
Switzerland in the late 1920´s. A visionary, she began the arduous task of building Sólheimar in
the summer of 1930.
Bringing the Gestalt methods into rural Iceland in
1930 was a courageous act. According to Steiner´s
ideas one should sow the fields in the afternoon
when the earth was “breathing in” rather than in
the morning when the earth was “exhaling”. His
anthroposophist ideas also manifested themselves in
the furniture and interior design, no sharp corners or
angles but gently sloping balustrades and soft edges
were the way to go. For Sesselja´s neighbours, who
grabbed every grain of fertiliser and funkis with the
same enthusiasm as a hungry infant a mother’s breast,
this was sometimes a little difficult to comprehend.
They watched in awe and wonder as Sesselja refused
any fertiliser other than fresh cow dung and fermented
horse manure.
No cell phones in heaven?
Upon arrival I freaked out when I got no cell phone
connection. The next shock was the deli with nothing
but macrobiotic food. And the third shock was when
I read extensive literature on that same food and
realised my innards are currently as clean as a London
sewer. Before I went to bed that night I swore that I
would never drink another drop of milk nor eat meat
again. That is, until I read another book about eating
according to ones blood type, wherein it said that
people of my blood should specifically binge on milk
and meat. Which I did the very next day.
That afternoon as I was cursing the lack of cell phone
connection while trying to find a kiosk with candy,
I thought about hitchiking my way to Selfoss into
civilisation again before I realized that the words
civilisation and Selfoss don´t mix. That´s when I
discovered the bar. And the organically produced beer.
Does it have alcohol? Yes. Well, gimme one.
From the ridiculous to the sublime
And it all got better from there. As I observed the
inhabitants at work, the borders between ordinary and
special slowly blurred. There is a theatre group which
is brimming with activity. Everyone does their part in
accordance with their ability and functionality. And
no matter your talents, creative energy is free to flow.
After five days my cellphone, which occasionally
worked if you ran to the top of a hill, finally ran out of
batteries and I didn´t care. After seven days my stay
was over, and I was relaxed and ready to stress myself
out again in what passes for civilisation. As I sat on
the bus that took me back to Reykjavik I thought
about where to go for a vacation next summer. And I
had the perfect place in mind. In Russia, in a forest, is
a village founded by a bunch of hippies. An ecovillage,
they call it.
BERLIN Picks Compiled by Haukur Már Helgason
by Björn M.
CAFÉ MORGENROT
Kastanienallee, Prenzlauer Berg.
Situated in front of two ex-squats, where the queer vegan punk inhabitants
have in recent years started paying minimal rent. They are still there, mostly
not vegan but freegan, which means they consume eggs and milk-products
if they are found in dumpsters. A last glimpse at life at the other side of the
monetary economy, the remains of the original settlers.
CAFÉ SCHWARZ-SAUER
a bit higher on Kastanienallee, Prenzl
For people in their early thirties, who have lost all hope but still sort of enjoy
things.
LASS UNS FREUNDE BLEIBEN
or: Let’s just be friends.
On the corner of Zionskirchestrasse and some street, Prenzlauer Berg.
For those who keep a sense of hope but see it as completely irrelevant.
Aesthetically utmost satisfying, exclaiming “yes!” to the reality of Prenzlauer
Berg. The physical distance between guests expresses an abyss as empty and
grey as the streets in winter.
MÖBEL-OLFE
– for those in Kreuzberg who would like to get back to Prenzl.
The question of hope is irrelevant to local Kreuzbergers, they seem to have
actual community, and even if this looks and in a way feels like a café in
Prenzlauer Berg, it lacks the sense of lack inherent to the concept. Used to
be a furniture store, kept the name. Sweet people, sweet and gay.
ROSES
Oranienstrasse, Kreuzberg.
Decadence materialized, brothel-
concept gay, again: the question
of hope is sadly absent, you will
find actual life and a complex-free
expression of libido here, which
makes it, in the long run, unbearable
for leftist souls.
Sólheimar in Grímsnes:
Ecovillages, the next big thing?
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