Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.11.2009, Side 27

Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.11.2009, Side 27
I like Yoko Ono. In fact, I like Yoko Ono far more than I’ve ever liked John Lennon. I once worked in a museum and watched Ono’s “Cut Piece” almost every day. I appreciated the way she felt it necessary to include the audience in her work and wondered at the small but revealing results of that dialogue. I was thus looking forward to see- ing the Imagine Peace Tower. A five- minute boat ride later, I stepped off the pier and onto Viðey Island. It’s a rugged crop of land, but handsome too, featuring two 18th century struc- tures: one of the oldest churches in Iceland and the stately residence of Treasurer Skúli Magnússon, which is used these days for weddings, banquet celebrations and the communal eating of sheep heads. The guided tour by- passed all this at first, opting instead for the Imagine Peace Tower. Despite resembling a death laser, there is something calming about the Imagine Peace Tower from up close. Six powerful beams shoot through the ground, bounce off 45-degree mir- rors, join nine more lights, and launch into the sky forming a brilliant white column. The base structure, known as the ‘Wishing Well’ is panelled by opaque glass with the words ‘Imagine Peace’ etched in 24 languages. Born out of a conceptual artwork known as the ´Light House, ´ I wonder if the tower wasn’t an intergalactic weapon after all, but a beacon of hope. At the instruction of the guide, the tour- ists joined hands in a human chain around the Wishing Well and respect- ed a minute of silence. It was all very... peaceful, for lack of a better word. Back at Magnússon's pad, we write peace wishes on little cards meant to be buried under the tower, drink hot chocolate and listen as our tour guide weaves history and humour, extract- ing laughter with rehashed zingers. Back to the boat and back to town be- fore 23:00—all in all, a peaceful, pleas- ant and painless tour. In Reykjavík, however, things are a bit more complicated. I live down- town, where I can see the Imagine Peace Tower every time I go out for a beer. It’s always there, burning bright between houses and trees. It frustrates me: unlike her other work, Ono’s Imagine Peace Tower doesn’t need my participation, it’s a blinding mono- logue I can’t silence. A few days ago I stepped outside my house for a smoke and saw what every foreigner dreams of seeing in Iceland: the glowing ribbons of the northern lights. Seeing them in Reyk- javík is rare, and seeing them this bright is rarer still. I grabbed my coat and ran to the shore, the darkest place I could think of. Sitting on the break- ers with the city at my back, the north- ern lights were brighter and faster than I’d expected. But I couldn’t help thinking that without a gigantic beam of light shooting aimlessly at the sky, they would’ve been brighter and fast- er still—that sometimes, Reykjavík might be a more peaceful place with- out the Peace Tower. This country sure has a lot of water: trapped in glaciers, f lowing from gla- ciers, trickling down mountainsides, raging through canyons. And all that water sure is something nice to look at. But what watery spectacle is the nicest to look at? The most magnifi- cent? Which foss is the mother of all fosses*? 1. DETTIFOSS Without a doubt, Dettifoss is one im- pressive foss. The thing is huge, at 100 metres wide and 44 metres high, carving out the gorgeous Jökulsárgljú- fur canyon with its powerful surge of water. In fact, Dettifoss is the wateri- est foss in all of Europe, spewing 200 cubic metres per second of the wet stuff. While unrelated to the foss, this well-visited tourist attraction not far from Mývatn is made all the more en- joyable by the hilarious signage above the restroom sinks warning of a water shortage in the area, despite there be- ing a raging waterfall right there. How delightfully ironic. 2. GOðAFOSS While it is a relatively small foss, Goðafoss makes up for what it lacks in size in pure natural beauty. Here the Skjálfandafljót river tumbles 12 me- tres over the horseshoe-shaped ridge, with one main powerful chute and a gentler trickle reaching around to the right of it, where the river is shallow and dotted with mossy rocks peak- ing up through its surface. Goðafoss is also special for its role in Iceland’s history—after spending some time wrapped in fur and deep in thought, Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði decided that Iceland would adopt Christianity and promptly threw all his Norse idols into the waterfall on his land. You know, that’s probably why this foss’ name translates as “waterfall of the gods.” Another major selling feature of this foss is that despite being fairly close to Mývatn and Dettifoss, Goðafoss is not congested with all you tourists, so it can be appreciated in peace. 3. GuLLFOSS The most visited foss in Iceland, Gull- foss is just a hop and a skip from Reyk- javík and is one of three attractions of the famed Golden Circle—in fact, Gullfoss translates to “golden falls.” From a distance this mid-size foss ap- pears to not be a foss at all, instead the Hvítá river seems to just vanish. But upon closer inspection tourists—and there are always a lot of those—notice that this multi-level foss is just ob- scured by the curved canyon that it has carved out over the centuries. Another high point of this foss is the ample and delicious lamb soup available for con- sumption on site. Gullfoss and meat soup is a recipe for good times. So which foss is the best foss? It’s a tough decision and all fosses have their pros and cons, but this round goes to Goðafoss. Goddamn, that’s one beautiful foss. It may not have made as massive a dent in the earth and it may not be accompanied by some seriously tasty meat soup, but Goðafoss is so spectacular it could bring a tear to the eye of even the most cold-hearted tour- ist traveller there. Apologies to the los- ing fosses and to the fosses that didn’t even make the list, you’re all very nice too. *Foss means waterfall and fosses is not the actual plural of foss. But it sounds fun. 23 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 17 — 2009 Trip was provided by Elding Adventures www.elding.is Travel | Viðey Travel | Waterfalls Always best price online. Various online-offers to all Air Iceland's destinations. www.airiceland.is websales@airiceland.is / tel. +354 570 3030 Contact Air Iceland or travel agent for reservation. ÍS L E N S K A S IA .I S F L U 4 75 69 1 0/ 20 09 KEFLAVÍK BORGARNES STYKKISHÓLMUR SNÆFELLSJÖKULL DRANGAJÖKULL FLATEY NESKAUPSTAÐUR BLÖNDUÓS SIGLUFJÖRÐUR BOLUNGARVÍK HRÍSEY NARSARSSUAQ Greenland FAROE ISLANDS REYKJAVÍK AKUREYRI EGILSSTAÐIR VESTMANNAEYJAR ÍSAFJÖRÐUR VOPNAFJÖRÐUR ÞÓRSHÖFN HÚSAVÍK GRÍMSEY KULUSUK Greenland Blue Lagoon AKRANES Geysir Gullfoss Jökullónið Kárahnjúkar Krafla Hallormstaður NUUK Greenland ILULISSAT Greenland www.airiceland.is CONSTABLE POINT Greenland MICHAEL ZELEnkO CATHARInE FuLTOn CATHARInE FuLTOn Yoko’s Tower of Power Tres Foss How peaceful is a column of light? Dettifoss v. Gullfoss v. Goðafoss: which foss reigns supreme? Car provided by the good people of CC Car Rental. Check them out at www. citycar-rental.com

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