Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.08.2008, Page 10

10 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 12—2008
ARTICLE BY HAukuR S MAgnúSSon — ILLuSTRATIon BY HugLeIkuR DAgSSon
Last issue, we learned about fatal underwater
horse Nykur, who likes to lure folks to a watery
grave using a combination of charm and adhe-
sive skin. This week’s amphibian is an altogether
more benign being; although he’s still kinda
sinister, the Marbendill has no interest in luring
anyone and mostly wishes to be left to his own
devices under the sea.
Best described as a psychic, slightly weird
Merman, most tales describe the Marbendill as
humanoid-like from the navel up, with his bottom
half reminiscent of a seal’s. He is a marine crea-
ture and doesn’t like leaving the ocean. Sight-
ings of the beings thus only occur when they get
caught in fishermen’s nets – or when their bodies
drift ashore post-mortem (there are also reports
of them being found in sharks’ bellies). Apparent-
ly, they’ve resided in Iceland’s waters for a long
time; there are records of Marbendill encounters
in Landnámabók, the book that tells the tale of
Iceland’s first settlers.
Marbendill is a wise and mysterious being,
almost oracle like in character. Indeed, Marben-
dill-tales almost always involve him negotiating
his way out of captivity from a fisherman who’s
caught him by accident and decides to keep him.
One story goes thusly:
As a Marbendill was being dragged to land against
his will, his captor’s dog rushes to greet them. The
captor, a farmer-slash-fisherman, gets annoyed
and kicks at the dog, which leaves the otherwise
quiet Marbendill laughing. Walking home to the
farm, the sailor stumbles on a hillock and yells
out a loud curse. Again, the Marbendill laughs.
Finally reaching his home, the sailor is greeted by
his wife, whom he kisses and hugs back.
This prompts the Marbendill to laugh a third
time, perplexing the sailor further. Enraged, he
finally asks the Marbendill: “What’s so damn fun-
ny?” Our amphibian antagonist strikes a deal with
the sailor, promising to disclose if he returns him
to the ocean from whence he came. “I laughed
the first time because you kicked your dog, who
loves you more than life itself. Then I laughed for
that hillock you cursed holds a great buried trea-
sure. Your antipathy towards it thus amused me.
Lastly, I laughed at your affection towards your
wife, for she is a cheating whore who wants you
dead.” Needless to say, all of the creature’s proph-
ecies came true, and the fisherman had great for-
tune after following its advice.
mArbendill lAuGhs At the silly humAn.
Yet Another Icelandic Monster: Marbendill
They’re not as evil as Nykur
ARTICLE BY DeSIRee AnDRewS
ARTICLE BY SIguRðuR kJARTAn kRISTInSSon — pHoTo BY gAS
If you’re like me, a new arrival to Reykjavík, the
free walking tour that leaves from the tourist info
centre on Aðalstræti is worth the time. It helped
me get my bearings around town and was loaded
with important cultural and historical facts,
for example, I now know that Iceland was once
famous for breeding the world’s best hunting
hawks.
At two-plus hours, the walk around town
at times felt a bit long. It promised to cover all
the main sights of Reykjavík, which it did, but it
could easily have accomplished this in an hour.
However, tour guide Jónas Freydal’s blunt, savvy
and often subversive observations about sex and
politics in Iceland made for a tour that was as
entertaining as it was informative.
Freydal was quick to mention that the tour
has no sponsor (i.e. there would be no two-for-one
coupons to substandard restaurants or shameless
promotions of chintzy gift shops,) which was a
refreshing new take on the word free. Instead, he
gave away valuable local secrets such as where
to get cheap souvenirs and the best place to buy
used wool sweaters. He also pointed out local
shops and encouraged us to stay away from tourist
traps.
This made the experience feel more like a
local friend showing us around rather than a tour
guide. Highlights included a look at the oldest
house in Reykjavík, a stop at a graveyard—now
covered in pavement in the city centre, and a nice
view of Tjörnin pond.
While the sights were a great way to be
introduced to the city, Jonas’s personal touches
made the tour unique. He compared the more
dreary sections of the city’s architecture to “a
bad day in Eastern Europe,” told us where to find
“necro-pants” (trousers made from stripping the
skin of a man’s lower half including testicles, in
order to obtain his luck,) and a added taste of his
own personal theology.
If you like free things and you want to be let
in on little of the city’s more interesting secrets,
then this tour is for you.
Many consider the choice of studying in Iceland
as somewhat of an oddity, but the main attraction
must lie in the modest tuition fees and the rather
lenient admission qualifications. These facts
could possibly undermine one’s expectations to
a decent study on this isolated island, but it turns
out Iceland’s education establish-
ments are doing OK. Now when
the school season is quickly ap-
proaching it is appropriate to
find out what it is exactly that
they are offering.
It’s wise to begin with the old-
est and most established college in
Iceland, the University of Iceland. It
offers the most versatile studies in
their numerous departments. Their medicine, en-
gineering and law departments are the most pop-
ular and they have the luxury to pick out the most
eligible applicants out of the hundreds that apply
every year. The other departments are however
open to all and are equally prolific. There is no tu-
ition, but the registration fee is 45.000 ISK per year.
If you wish to try your luck in the dangerous
perimeters of the arts, The Icelandic Academy of
the Arts is a good option. The recent outburst in ar-
tistic excellence in Iceland can partly be blamed
on this fine institution, which has practically
raised the bulk of Icelandic artists, but the tuition
is a little high. Their design, music and theatre de-
partments are outstanding although some might
find the lack of departments such
as film and photography demot-
ing for the school’s reputation.
If you’re more into busi-
ness-wise education, the newly
founded business academy next
to Reykjavík’s beloved Commerce
High School might arouse your
attention. It has attracted all the
yuppie kids with stockbroker
dreams in recent years. In order to prevent com-
mon hillbillies from attending the establishment
they decided to have that tuition sky-high
These three establishments basically grasp
the college scene in Iceland but there are several
smaller institutions, such as Akureyri University
and Bifröst University. So if you’re thinking about
studying here it is apparent that the selection is
vast indeed.
Where to Find
Necro-pants
The Foreigner’s Guide to Icelandic Colleges
Leaves every day at 13:00 from the Tourist
Info Centre on Aðalstræti. The tour is free of
charge but the guides happily accept tips.
fOR fuRTHER INfO:
www.hi.is
www.lhi.is
www.unak.is
www.ru.is
www.bifrost.is
the university of icelAnd offers versAtile proGrAms.