Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.06.2007, Qupperneq 27

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Chances are that your handy rough guide
doesn’t mention this. From the road, it appears
that someone has transplanted colourful build-
ings from the city centre and placed them in the
middle of a homogenous suburb of identical
housing tracks and eerie new shopping centres.
For the planners of Árbærsafn, the Reykjavík City
Museum, this was exactly the idea: to preserve a
piece of 19th Century Iceland right in the midst
of the ugly, overdeveloped suburb..
Currently on display is the “Disco and Punk-
Different Cultures?” exhibit, which documents
the frustrating history of the two subcultures in
Reykjavik from the 70’s onward. Almost unheard
of elsewhere, the disco and punk scenes bonded
uniquely over their exclusion and small size. Ár-
bærsafn has divided the highly interactive exhibit
into two sections: a teenage punk’s room and a
teenage disco’s room. In the punk section, one
can find flyers from old punk shows, records,
and pictures of the once-punk Bubbi Morthens
with hair. The garage is complete with brand-
new band equipment that guests can use. The
disco section includes a representation of the
70’s disco club “Hollywood,” with a light up
dance floor and blaring Bee-Gees. The panels
are in Icelandic, so English speakers should be
sure to take the tour.
A replicated turf house (turf houses were
banned in the city in 1894) is the Mona Lisa
of Árbærsafn. Inside are preserved rooms with
artefacts such as paintings made with human
hair, old stoves, a loom and family portraits. I
found it disturbing when my guide showed me
that the entire family of six slept in the same
room. But when he told me that the family
invited a respected guest to take the bed with
the oldest daughter, I was mortified. Detailed
explanations of turf-placement and sheep-dung
cooking techniques were fascinating.
Coming soon to the museum is an early
locomotive and fire engine section, featuring
cool models of old Reykjavík and the Great Fire
of Reykjavík of 1915.
Admission: 600 kr
Unexpectedly
Awesome
Text by Chandler Fredrick
Photo by Gulli
Barinn on Laugavegur 22 is one
of my favourite spots in Reykja-
vik. It ś nice to sit there during
the day, have a cup of coffee and
chill with friends. The weekends
are packed with people and
you can usually see me there
moonwalking all over the place
on a Saturday night. It ś very
refreshing to moonwalk on a
crowded dancefloor, I highly
recommend it.
Óli Hjörtur Ólafsson is the manager of Q Bar
and a journalist for www.getrvk.com