Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.08.2010, Blaðsíða 48

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12 — 2010
REBECCA LOUdER
JULIA STAPLES
Foxes make a really weird sound when they bark.
You should try and meet one some day.
So, this discussion came up in
the pub last Friday: Wouldn’t it
be fascinating if we Icelanders
started embracing our Viking
heritage more? Instead of our twisted version
of the American way, which is to binge ‘til
you’re full and purge ‘til you drop.
I do not mean going completely back
to the Viking ways, more for ceremonial
purposes.
For starters our national costume would
have to be changed. We could still keep the
black suit, but overlain would be large piece
of bear fur, both for warmth and to ward off
predators with the bear musk, like the deadly
mink and horrifying red fox. The luxury of
the fur would differ from person to person,
for instance the President would receive the
largest fur, which would be more like a cape.
The costume would also feature a
skullcap with horns on it, and an ornamental
battle-axe.
It would make family pictures much more
interesting. Instead of the traditional baptism-
gift of ‘a cross’, the newborn would receive a
small throwing axe, maybe even a set of them.
The larger axe would be a confirmation gift.
I can see it now: After the ceremony, the
youths would line up, dressed up in their
white robes, carrying their large axes.
Religion could also be spiced up. Icelandic
religion has always been very laid back, with
our National Church’s motto basically being:
“Believe in God. Or don’t. Let us sing.”
But let’s move on to the real meat of this
discussion, which is the change this will mean
to Icelandic nightlife. One of the benefits
would be introduction of mead. I, for one,
would love to see mead re-introduced to
Icelandic drinking life. It would of course be
served in horns.
Troubadours would also make a
comeback, although their odes would be
a bit less fantastical than the songs of old.
Now, they would sing of ‘Árni the Economist’s
victory over the stubborn lawnmower.’
“Three times did Árni’s boot strike the
hateful mower of lawns...”
It would bring back a sense of
camaraderie, everyone sitting by the long
table singing, drinking mead, singing while
drinking mead.
The downside would of course be
the increased danger. Let me paint you a
scenario:
“Hey, where’s Andri?” // “Oh... He... He
passed...” // “...Out?” // “Away.” // “What?”
// “He stepped on someone’s foot inside, the
guy challenged him to a duel and killed him.
Andri’s dead.”
So there would be a slight increase in
nightlife-murder, but not as much as you’d
think. Fights have pretty much become
commonplace on a Saturday night. I even
witnessed a fight just a couple weeks ago
inside a club. Not some sleazy place, either,
but a pretty high-end establishment.
It was between two doormen, two middle-
aged men and woman holding a broken glass,
which she used to cut one of the doormen.
So it wouldn’t be that big of a leap to take up
the older, more barbaric ways. We’re already
halfway there.
So just think about it: On two years’ time,
the most important concern the police would
have on Culture Night wouldn’t be rapes or
fights, but the annual longboat beach raid.
iViking
Opinion | Andri Már Hagalín
Must-Love Foxes
The Arctic Fox Centre comes out of its hole
Mere minutes away from Ísafjörður,
the Arctic Fox Centre in Súðavík is the
first of its kind in the world. The cen-
tre is dedicated to Iceland’s only na-
tive animal and features a small, but
growing, collection of all things fox re-
lated, from stuffed creatures to jars of
fox droppings (and fox foetuses, too).
The exhibit is also jam packed with in-
formation on the species to raise foxy
awareness, in three languages, to wit.
They even have an orphaned fox pup
that they are fostering until he can go
live alone in the wild! Yes, that is as
cute as it sounds.
Opened of June 12 of this year, the
centre is housed in the oldest building
of this adorable, tiny fishing town in
the Westfjords, which was abandoned
for many years and recently restored.
Ester Unnsteinsdóttir is the curator of
the exhibit and also runs the café in the
building. She has been studying arctic
foxes since 1989 and has worked at
the Hornstrandur nature reserve ob-
serving fox wildlife. She moved to the
Westfjords from Reykjavík as there is
the highest density of arctic foxes re-
siding in this region of Iceland. She has
been building the collection for the past
three years and is now very happy with
the response the centre has received,
estimating approximately 1.500 visitors
since it opened.
“I am involved in the scientific com-
munity here,” Ester tells us about how
she managed to make the centre a real-
ity. “I was invited to Sweden last year for
a conference of arctic foxes where my
PhD advisor was speaking and that was
really great. We are also really lucky to
be in collaboration with so many people
and institutes such as the University of
Iceland, the Nature Institution and a lot
of photographers.”
In addition to providing knowledge
and information, they also act as a
non-profit research centre where they
work to gain more information on the
species, observe their behaviour and
develop sustainability methods. They
work in conjunction with nature re-
serves and organisations such as Wild
North, but also with fox hunters who
are hired to control the population and
contribute to the centre’s growth.
“We are also developing an interac-
tive children’s programme,” says Ester,
“We working with an illustrator named
Billa and she is creating characters for
the centre based on the popular Scan-
dinavian character Mickey the Red
Fox.” Further expansion for the centre
will include scientific material, a re-
search library and a collection of na-
ture films. She has also received a large
collection of receipts from the son of a
fox hunter who sold pelts to the Hudson
Bay Company in Canada in the 1930s.
Most of all, she is truly happy with
the building and how beautiful the
restoration process has made it. “I am
really proud to give the old house life
again,” she brims with joy, adding that
members of the community have come
by to bring her things that once be-
longed to the house. Another excellent
gift to the house is a stamp collection
donated by a former police officer from
Reykjavík. The cosy atmosphere, hot
coffee and super friendly staff (not to
mention all the foxy fox wisdom) makes
this a must on any Westfjords road trip.
They have free Wi-Fi too!
Travel | Súðavík
Mountaineers of Iceland • Skútuvogur 12E • 104 Reykjavík • Iceland
Telephone: +354 580 9900 Ice@mountaineers.is • www.mountaineers.is • www. activity.is
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