Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.10.2008, Síða 22

22 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 16—2008
Viking feasts every night
- live entertainment
“You haven't been in Iceland if you haven't been to us“ ' '
For booking and
further information:
Tel.: +354 565-1213
www.vikingvillage.is
vikings@vikingvillage.is
Strandgata 55 Hafnarfjordur
Don’t miss it!
DESTINATIoN — AKuReYRI
After a sleepy flight I quickly scored a lift into the hub of Akureyri with a
girl and her uncle, who happens to makes some of the most expensive
ice cream in Iceland. I struck it lucky here, for there seemed to be no
bus from the airport to the centre. The only options are to cab it or to
indeed hitch a ride. I was dropped off at Kaupvangsstræti, reportedly
the main art street.
It was cold. I was jaded. I needed coffee and paintings. The
Akureyri Art Museum provided both. Inside, I discovered a curious
mix of furniture, jewellery and fashion. It was like a warped-out retail
space. I bypassed this visual junket as light gave way to sound. I heard a
looped vocal refrain reeling me in like a helpless alevin. A tender male
voice lamented the line “Sorrow Conquers Happiness,” over and over
again. I made my way inside the installation, through the portal that
was made of pink velvet curtain. In a small private booth I found artist
Ragnar Kjartansson’s video installation.
Kjartansson’s work, entitled ‘God,’ sees him fronting a chamber
orchestra playing progressive, ethereal harmonies that continuously
coil the same lyric around the thirty minute entirety of the piece. I
didń t stay for the whole length; an artist ‘playing God’ in such a man-
ner tests one’s staying power. However, as I made for the exit, the allure
re-emerged. Another fix was needed. I felt strangely hypnotised, look-
ing at the artist pour his heart out into the vintage microphone. I longed
to be in a different decade and this clever synthesis of 1950's attire and
modern video art left a huge impression hanging over my memory of
the whole trip.
Another highlight was the portrait of football player and national
hero Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen of Barcelona. The artist Siggi Eggertsson
takes inspiration in everything from Lego art to a self-portrait by Henri
Matisse. There was a sinister ambiance to the portrait that added a dark
attribute to the nice guy that gave modest interviews during his days at
Bolton Wanderers and Chelsea in England. A portrait with a dark twist
indeed.
Just below the Art Museum was the Jónas Viðar Gallery which
was showing the Tómt / Empty exhibit, a collection of multi-coloured
stripey frames, displaying a white walled middle. This was an inverted
take on the way one perceives a text, making the exterior the true sub-
ject, encouraging the viewer to literally “think outside the box”. Across
the street in Café Karólína, I grabbed a beer and gazed into the sub-
oceanic art. There were purple swirls on the wall that made me feel
like the waitress could perhaps be a mermaid herself. Karólína seemed
like it could double up as a decent afternoon stop-off and a late night
haunt.
Continuing my gallery crawl, I then checked out Gallery DaLí, a
small studio space and workshop that’s normally only available to the
public during weekends. The friendly co-owner’s painting of an angry
polar bear holding the Icelandic flag was brilliant. She told me it was
painted in response to the controversial June shooting of a polar bear
in Skagafjörður, and that her art made the covers of multiple newspa-
pers in the area. I interpreted her painting as a reputable reaction to the
unfortunate shooting and I felt like the painting deserved a permanent
place in a large art museum.
Afterwards, I decided to explore the town for myself and took a
walk along the seafront to see the polychrome homes. It was zero de-
grees celsius and wrapped up warm, heading away from the hub, I felt
absolute gratitude towards my location. Earlier on, when I stopped by
an outdoor pursuits centre asking what they recommended doing dur-
ing this early Friday evening, the rep sardonically mentioned a bowl-
ing alley about a kilometre away from the centre. Because it had been
a while since I last played, I dutifully obliged. It was surreal, because
there was not a soul in sight outdoors but at the alley was the local
bowling contingent. Men with long hair were churning out strikes like
a process in a factory. Mixed in with the rattling of the pins was the
laughter of excited children knocking down the skittles from rebounds
off the bumpers. I broke through the clatter toward the shoe hire and
soon started to bowl. It started well with an opening salvo of strikes but
as standard in this game, everything went pear-shaped. I managed to
score 92. It was only 700 ISK for a game though and was good fun.
Next, it was time for a steak. The magnificent view at Brasserie
Strikið comes highly recommended. Located on the fifth floor of Ski-
pagata 14, overlooking epic, snow-covered mountains, I could see their
summits along with the pier in a sensational combination of the aquatic
and alpine. I sat at the bar and had a glass of Italian house red and a
Sirloin Steak with Béarnaise Sauce. Béarnaise is “an egg yolk, a shallot,
a little tarragon vinegar, and butter, but it takes years of practice for the
result to be perfect,” said early twentieth century restaurateur Fernand
Point. The chefs at Strikið were not far away from achieving this. The
sauce was ambrosial in its taste and the side dish of seasoned chip-
cum-wedges was mightily satisfying. The waiter didń t ask me how I
liked my steak, and just served it well-done, but today I didń t mind
because I was in my element. There were Oktoberfest prices for beer so
400 ISK was a bargain for a pint before my surprise birthday chocolate
cake arrived at the bar. I was certainly happy but felt more stuffed than
a turkey. I left in great spirits and waddled my way over to Cafe Amour
whereby more Oktoberfest prices meant a couple more gluttonous
beers before catching my flight back to Reykjavik. Miraculously, I didń t
weigh the plane down.
Overall, I found Akureyri to be a beautiful retreat. It’s not like
Reykjavík has the bustle of London or Paris, or that it causes a day-
to-day headache. But such a matchless place is Iceland that you can
legitimately go from the largest, to the second biggest city to be at one
with nature, to seek manumission from stress and to witness a humble
town at the start of autumn, free from summer tourist rumble.
Akureyri provides a mix of natural wonder and
small town cosiness. The lofty peaks of Súlur
and Hlíðarfjall overlook the pretty port and on
a snowy day in early October, a day-visit was a
welcome withdrawal from rickety Reykjavík.
A Flying Visit to Akureyri
BY MARcuS wALSH - pHoToS BY gAS
Air Iceland
www.airiceland.is
A day trip to Iceland's second city