Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.08.2008, Blaðsíða 10

10 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 11—2008
ARTICLE By hauKur s Magnússon — iLLustration By hugLeiKur Dagsson
Nykur is a horse-like being that lives underwater.
Easily identified by its grey colour and backwards
hooves, the Nykur will occasionally surface to
try and lure passing humans to mount it. Once
mounted by an unwitting passer-by (and it can-
not be un-mounted, as its skin is all sticky), the
Nykur will immediately ride towards its underwa-
ter home – drowning whoever stuck to it in the
process. This makes the Nykur very happy.
So here is what you need to remember: If
you are ever wandering the Icelandic countryside
and find yourself confronting a grey horse hang-
ing out by a massive source of water (e.g. a lake, a
stream or the ocean), check if his hooves are on
backwards. If they are, run like hell, for you have
confronted a Nykur. And those guys are really big
on the idea of drowning you.
If you don’t feel like running you can, how-
ever, rid yourself of the beast simply by mutter-
ing its name. This will reportedly prompt it to
run back into the water and rid you of any im-
minent drowning danger. If yelling “Nykur!” at
him doesn’t seem to work, you should try uttering
some of his synonyms: Nennir, Nóni, Vatnaskratti
(“water demon”) or Kumbur for starters.
Not much is known about the Nykur’s ori-
gins, but it has counterparts in many neighbour-
ing countries’ folklore, so it has to be assumed that
the creepy beast plagued the greater Scandinavia
area in centuries past. In Orkney, Nykur’s cousin
is called a Nuggle, Swedes call him Bäckahästen
and Celtic folklore refers to him as Kelpie.
a couple of nykur, SwImmIng In the lake
Another Icelandic Monster: Nykur
Fearsome water horse of yore: These guys are way evil
Iceland gets the beer back
ARTICLE By JaMes CrugnaLe
ARTICLE By MarCus waLsh
The long, strange saga began in 1908 when Ice-
landers actually voted for a hardcore, full-alcohol
ban. It eventually went into effect in 1915. The
island’s sober, teetotaling party didn’t last long
until trouble erupted, as Spain put its foot down
and declared if Iceland wasn’t going to buy its
wine, they weren’t going to buy Iceland’s fish – a
potential death knell for the economy. To remedy
this, in 1922 prohibition for wine was repealed,
and other alcoholic beverages have been legally
imported since 1934, yet, bizarrely, beer was ex-
empt. For nearly a century, boozers jonesin’ for a
brewski had to smuggle them into the country. It
wasn’t until 1988 that a beer-sympathetic parlia-
ment finally stepped in; Alþingi voted 13 to 8 to
end the ban. The New York Times reported at the
time that there was jubilation in the streets as “a
dozen beer-lovers flashed victory signs outside
Parliament after the results came in.”
When beer was officially legalised on March
1, 1989, it was truly a night to remember, recalls
Ölstofan bar owner, Kormákur Geirharðsson. “I
remember a lot of drinking and a lot of pissing all
night long and the next days, and it [was] not stop-
ping,” said Geirharðsson. “This was the day Ice-
landers took the step to try to become civilized.
Ölstofan was not open then, but the idea of own-
ing a bar started there.”
According to a report by alcohol studies re-
searcher, Hildigunnur Ólafsdóttir, once the beer
ban was lifted, the number of liquor licenses in
Reykjavík jumped by 47% in one year. Immedi-
ately following the introduction, total alcohol
consumption rose by 23% from 1988 to 1989, from
4.48 to 5.51 litres of alcohol per inhabitant 15 years
old and over. As of 2007, consumption is up to 7.1
litres of alcohol per capita. Since the repeal of the
ban, aside from the bars, beer can be purchased
at the state-run alcohol distributor, ÁTVR. Viking
is the most popular beer-brand sold there; Thule
is second.
To commemorate Iceland’s day of beer free-
dom in the country, March 1 is considered Beer
Day and citizens hoist a brew to spite alcoholic
oppression. The legalisation of beer remains a
cultural milestone in Iceland and a major seismic
shift in the nation’s alcoholic beverage prefer-
ence, as beer has today become the most popular
alcoholic beverage of choice.
Cafe D’Haïti on Tryggvagata 16 was established
last April and has been steadily gaining fans ever
since. Owner Methasulen returned to Iceland from
Haiti with wife Elda and now finds himself keeping
Reykjavík’s caffeine enthusiasts on their toes. Elda
is the very essence of Cafe D’Haïti, her arcane eyes
and all-knowing smile acknowledge you as aromas
smoulder around the shop.
Elda has applied Haitian interpretations to
Turkish and Americano coffees amongst others.
Makaya Bleu incredibly is the only type of bean
the company uses. Roasting the product on-site al-
most every day is the secret to the delectable taste
and the cup of coffee itself is simply the outgrowth
of a lot of love.
When you enter Cafe D´ Haïti it as if Elda’s an-
ticipating your very entrance and some of the cus-
tomers describe her as the face of the company. Far
from guarding the stove, Elda lets Grapevine wake
up by smelling the coffee beans and nibbling on
cardamom, which is derived from the ginger family
and forms the Cafe Arabiskt (380 ISK), an acquired
taste that comes highly recommended.
Great Moments
in Icelandic
History
Wake Up And
Smell The Coffee
The creature we feature this
month, for all your learning plea-
sures, is the horse-like amphibian
Nykur. Try saying that slowly:
Nykur. Ny-kur. It sounds kind of
sinister rolling off your tongue.
And that’s fitting, for Nykur is
a sinister beast. In fact, its sole
purpose of being is seeing wander-
ing Icelanders (or their visitors) to
a watery grave. This is your cue
to gaze over Hugleikur Dagsson’s
chilling illustration and shiver.
Imagining Reykjavík without
beer is like imagining Amsterdam
without hash brownies. However,
only nineteen years ago (!) it was
against the law to sell and buy
beer in Iceland.