Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.12.2012, Qupperneq 2

THE INTERNETICELANDIC FILM TRAVEL MUSIC
YOUR FREE COPY THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND
× 2012
December 7
- January 10
Issue 18
Why it’s so
damn tough!
Facebook bans an
Icelandic feminist
Why is everyone
making movies
in Iceland?
We go out there
on the ice…
Fact: OMAM are
HUUUGE!
Complete
Reykjavík Listings
Lots of
cool events+ Download the FREE Grapevine Appy Hour app!Every happy hour in town in your pocket. Available on the App store and on Android Market.
We consult several experts on how to conduct a most proper Icelandic Xmas dinner.
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2
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 18 — 2012
Editorial | Anna Andersen Music | Free
Christmas season has arrived in Reykjavík, which
means, lots of jólabjór, plenty of holiday décor around
the city and of course, CHRISTMAS TUNES.
This issue’s track is a cover of a well-known Icelan-
dic pop singer Björgvin Halldórsson (fun fact: he repre-
sented Iceland in the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest!).
This warm holiday song starts off with twinkling
bells, followed by verses from rockers Morðingjarnir
and Icelandic pop princess Thorunn Antonia before
swelling into a guitar-heavy chorus.
This isn’t your grandma’s Christmas song! Listen to
it while drinking a big glass of jolabjór at your favourite
bar.
KO
Morðingjarnir & Thorunn Antonia -
Þú Komst Með Jólin Til Mín
Download for FREE at airwaves.grapevine.is
Is Reykjavík The Best City To Spend Christmas?
Anna’s 19th Editorial
According to CNN it is. They have said so twice. In
2010 they placed Reykjavík at the top of their “Top
10 Places to Spend your Christmas” list
and then in 2011, they put us in
third on the same list, somehow
deciding that we had become
two spots less Christmassy
over the year.
While CNN seems to
have discontinued this
tradition, Reykjavík will
surely cling to the honour
for years to come. Never
mind that we didn’t make
it onto Forbes’ “World’s Top
Christmas Destinations” list
along with destinations like New
York, Amsterdam, Cologne and Santa
Claus, Indiana (not to be confused with the Santa
Claus, Arizona or Santa Claus, Georgia).
But how are we ever going to compete with a city
called Santa Claus anyway, a place that supposedly
“celebrates the season 365 days a year”?
Perhaps we should start by rethinking “Smokey
Bay.” Just think how many more people would visit
if we had a name that was really sexy. Perhaps we
should one up Santa Claus with “Mrs. Santa Claus.”
Or perhaps we should think even bigger and name
ourselves after whatever else we are trying to sell
to the world, like “NorthernLightsAreHere.” Or we
could even go all out with "NorthernLightsBjörkElf-
GeysirNatureLand."
The Promote Iceland campaign urging
people to submit a “new name for the
island in the North” has already
inspired some fantastic ideas.
Ideas like “SpiritLand” and
“MySunNeverSetsLand” and
“KnitLand” and “LoveLand”
and “WaterLand” and “Snow-
Land” and “EpicLand,” “Heav-
enLand,” “BjörkLand”…. Yes,
seriously.
(Before I go on, I feel obliged
to make clear that, contrary to
what USA TODAY might believe,
the person who comes up with the best
name won’t actually get to rename the coun-
try. He or she will, however, win a trip to Iceland.)
If Reykjavík is really going to secure its spot as
a top Christmas destination, to compete with the
likes of Santa Claus, our marketing forces are going
to have to cook up something really good. Even if,
as CNN pointed out, Iceland has “not one but 13
Santas,” we’re going to have to do better.
Or we could just focus on keeping it real, trying
to relax and having a nice holiday. Yeah, we should
probably just do that. Happy holidays!
What’s The Deal With
Those Crazy Icelandic
Letters Yo?
Here Is Your Kreisí Æcelandic Frase For Þis Issue!
ÞþÆæÖö
æ
ð
þ
We thought we’d explain. We’re ripping the idea off from
the Icelandair magazine. Go read that magazine if you
can. It’s free.
We like spelling things using Icelandic letters like
‘æ’ and ‘þ’ and also those crazy accents over the vowels.
Like Icelandair’s inflight magazine—IcelandairInfo—says,
the Icelandic language can use accents on all of the
vowels, making them look all unique, like this: á, é, í, ó,
ú, ö, ý (the accent also changes the pronounciation of
the letters. The á in “kjáni” sounds quite different from
the a in “asni”, for instance). We also have an additional
three letters. As IcealandairInfo notes:
(often written as ae) is pronounced like
the i in tide.
(often written as d) is pronounced like
the th in there
(often written as th) is pronounced like
the th in think”
“Fyrirgefðu, er þetta laufabrauð sykur-
skert?”
(Fyr-ir-gev-thu, err th-edd-a, lau-v-ai-br-
au-th seek-ursk-art?)
Pardon, is this leafbread low on sugar?
Cover by: Döðlur
Art Direction: Hrefna Sigurðardóttir
Photography: Magnús Andersen
FUN TRIVIA QUESTION!
Taken from the educational trivia game Instant
Iceland
Q: There is no mention of Santa Claus in Icelan-
dic folklore. Instead, Icelanders (at least some of
them) believe in the “Yule Lads”, a merry band of
borderline psychopathic pranksters who reside
in the mountains, but descend upon the popu-
lace around Christmastime, wreaking general
havoc. How many Yule Lads are there?
A) Three
B) Thirteen
C) Thirty
Turn to page 23 for the answer!
fontana.is
Your
element
• Steam rooms
• Thermal baths
• Sauna
Laugarvatn Fontana is composed of a series of interconnected outdoor mineral baths and steam rooms,
built over natural hot spring that Icelanders have used for bathing since year 1929.
The ideal stop between Thingvellir and Geysir
– daily tours by Reykjavik Excursions
Welcome to a true, authentic Icelandic experience!
Open daily
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