Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.08.2013, Page 2

TRACK OF THE ISSUE TOURIST OF THE YEAR?
Earlier this year, Mr. Kristinsson put
out his third independent album ‘Head-
phones’ which he recorded in the
quaintness of his basement, the profes-
sional style of Studio Syrland, and the
haunting magic of the Engelsholm Slot
medieval castle in Denmark. It’s hard
to tell which one of those this floating
track was recorded in (or which part
was recorded where!) since it has all
the natural creakiness of an old, creepy
place but the vast sweeping reverb of
a great stone hall. Either way, it’s got
a good melody! Download this great
indie-folk tune and decide for yourself. Jóhann Kristinsson – “Typewriter”
Download NOW at www.grapevine.is
2The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 12 — 2013
Hafnarstræti 15, 101 Reykjavík
www.grapevine.is
grapevine@grapevine.is
Published by Fröken ehf.
www.froken.is
Member of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association
www.saf.is
Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 25.000 copies.
Editor In Chief:
Haukur S Magnússon / haukur@grapevine.is
Editor:
Anna Andersen / anna@grapevine.is
Editorial:
+354 540 3600 / editor@grapevine.is
Advertising:
+354 540 3605 / ads@grapevine.is
+354 40 3610
Publisher:
Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson / hilmar@grapevine.is
+354 540 3601 / publisher@grapevine.is
Editorial | Anna Andersen
COME SEE OUR NEW HOTELS!
Anna’s 29th Editorial
Five thousand metres somewhere above
Colorado, I was sitting on an Icelandair plane
called Askja and it struck me that there was
perhaps something strange about naming a
fleet of airplanes after a bunch of volcanoes.
I probably would have chuckled had I been
on the Eyjafjallajökull plane, but I wasn’t on
that one and I couldn’t help thinking that it was
somehow a bit gimmicky. I tried to imagine if
The Volcanoes were some kind of Icelandic
sports team and how ridiculous their mas-
cot would look running around and cheering,
“Áfram Ísland!” But I digress.
Icelandair’s decision was of course a delib-
erate one: “The names of Iceland’s volcanoes
have close ties with the country’s heritage and
history and inform foreign conceptions of it as
the ever-volcanically active island in the North
Atlantic,” their website states. “The names
reflect Icelandair’s branding strategy to high-
light what is distinctly Icelandic in an increas-
ingly homogenised world.”
The number of foreign tourists visiting ev-
ery year now outnumber locals two to one and
as this number continues to grow it’s inevi-
table that our surroundings will change. The
face of Reykjavík is certainly changing—not
only temporarily each summer in the form of
Gore-Tex clad visitors colouring our streets,
but also more permanently as hotels and hos-
tels move in to occupy places where cultural
venues, for instance, once stood.
While this change is hard to swallow, it
doesn’t have to be a bad thing. There’s noth-
ing wrong with hotels per se. I’m probably not
the only local who now spends a fair amount
of time hanging out at newly opened hotels
and hostels like Marína, KEX and Loft, but the
key is that these places appeal to locals as
much as they appeal to tourists.
How many people want to live in a city that
caters exclusively to tourists? The answer is
probably the same number of people who
want to visit a city that caters exclusively to
tourists. A city that appeals to the local popu-
lation is a city that appeals to tourists, too.
As a tourism magazine, we write stories
about places we imagine tourists might like to
visit, foods they might like to eat, and culture
they might like to experience. But these aren’t
special tourist things. These are the same
places that we like to visit, the foods we like to
eat, and the culture that we like to experience.
Do you really want to visit a city centre
that has cleared out all of its culture to make
room for your existence? Do you want to have
Viking trinkets and stuffed animal puffins
shoved down your throat as you walk down
Reykjavík’s main drag? What are you going to
do with “a bit of volcano” or “a piece of moun-
tain” in a can?
As the number of tourists continues to
grow, we have to be careful that we do not
cater exclusively to them. You don’t need a
wild imagination to picture what kind of dam-
age Iceland’s tourism industry could do to our
county if it expanded too quickly and reck-
lessly, if it grew even remotely close to how
Iceland’s financial sector grew before the bub-
ble burst. As I reached for that grey Icelandair
blanket embroidered with the words “Missing
the hot springs? Warm yourself with this in-
stead,” a chill ran down my spine.
Turn to page 24 to read this issue’s feature,
“Hotels, Motels, Holiday Inns.” Also, turn to
page 46 to read about volcanoes.
Photographer:
Axel Sigurðarson
www.axelsig.tumblr.com
Photo illustration by:
Döðlur
www.dodlur.is
Special thanks:
Hjörtur Hinriksson at Special Tours
Contributing Writers:
Árni Hjörvar
Björn Teitsson
Bob Cluness
Carol Devine
Davíð Roach Gunnarsson
Helgi Hrafn Guðmundsson
Kári Tulinius
John Rogers
Patricia Þormar
Sam Knight
Steinunn Jakobsdóttir
Valur Gunnarsson
Vera Illugadóttir
Journalist & Listings editor:
Rebecca Louder / rebecca@grapevine.is
Journalist:
Ingibjörg Rósa Björnsdóttir / ingibjorg@grapevine.is
Editorial Interns:
Shea Sweeney / shea@grapevine.is
Tómas Gabríel Benjamin / gabriel@grapevine.is
Parker Yamasaki / parker@grapevine.is
Adrienne Blaine / adrienne@grapevine.is
Alex Ardri / alex@grapevine.is
Kaisu Nevasalmi / kaisu@grapevine.is
Art Director
Hörður Kristbjörnsson / hordur@dodlur.is
Design:
Guðmundur Úlfarsson / giu@grapevine.is
Photographer:
Alísa Kalyanova / www. alisakalyanova.com
Sales Director:
Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / adalsteinn@grapevine.is
Helgi Þór Harðarson / helgi@grapevine.is
Distribution manager:
distribution@grapevine.is
Proofreader:
Jim Rice
Listings:
listings@grapevine.is
Submissions inquiries:
editor@grapevine.is
Subscription inquiries:
+354 540 3605 / subscribe@grapevine.is
General inquiries:
grapevine@grapevine.is

YOUR FREE COPY THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND
× 2013
August 16 - 29
Issue 12
+ 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.
Hotel
Reykjavík!
DANCECRIME POLITICS FOOD TRAVEL
Grapevine gets an
illegal strip dance
:-/
Your fucking face o‚!
It's a festival!
Invade Afghanistan
(via feminist PsyOps)
Enjoy Prins Póló's
sausage
SCHEDULE
EXCERPTS
INSIDE
Eyjafjallajökull
done two ways
YEARS
2003-2013
Is
this
what
we
want?
And
if not,
why
not?
A tension is building. Reykjavík's illustrious 101 arts scene is feeling pushed out
by the forces of CAPITAL, cornered and marginalized by the wealthy, who want to
"fill downtown Reykjavík with hotels" so they can "capitalize on TOURISM
FRENZY," and city o‚icials, who seem to be letting them "do whatever they feel
like" in the name of progress/profit. But is this the case? What's the story here?
Your Friends At The Grapevine investigate. Page 24
Founders:
Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson,
Hörður Kristbjörnsson,
Jón Trausti Sigurðarson,
Oddur Óskar Kjartansson,
Valur Gunnarsson
The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 18 times a year by Fröken ltd.
Monthly from November through April, and fortnightly from May til
October. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in
part without the written permission of the publishers. The Reykjavík
Grapevine is distributed around Reykjavík, Akureyri, Egilsstaðir,
Seyðisfjörður, Borgarnes, Keflavík, Ísafjörður and at key locations
along road #1, and all major tourist attractions and tourist information
centres in the country.
You may not like it, but at least it's not sponsored (no articles in
the Reykjavík Grapevine are pay-for articles. The opinions expressed
are the writers’ own, not the advertisers’).
As all of you surely know by now, we’re running
a pretty amazing contest to find the TOURIST
OF THE YEAR where one lucky person will win
a trip to Iceland courtesy of Icelandair, Inspired
by Iceland and yours truly! Now that the sum-
mer has hit its peak and tourism is at critical
mass, we’ve gotten some really cool submis-
sions in from readers who may be our contest
winner.
Like Sophia Both from Germany:
“Iceland was the country where I first fell in
love at the age of 16. Iceland was the country
where I first got my heart broken at the age
of 17. But, Iceland was also the country that
taught me to always stand up and follow your
dreams. Iceland was the country I fell and in
love with. It taught me to enjoy life, no mat-
ter what. So, that's what I did. At the age of
19, Iceland was the country that I spent a year
working as an au-pair in, it was the country
that taught me how to be a family. Iceland was
the country that I missed really badly at the age
of 20, when I came back to Germany. Iceland
is the country that I am now teaching about at
the age of 23.”
But don’t stress! The contest is far from
over! If you think you should be our lucky win-
ner, head on over to touristoftheyear.is and
submit your tale! GOOD LUCK!
www.fontana.is
Be in your
element
GEOTHERMAL
STEAM ROOMS
THERMAL
BATHS
SAUNA
The perfect rest stop between Thingvellir and Geysir
Open everyday 10-23
Make sure your Golden Circle tour completes the geothermal experience
Visit the Laugarvatn Fontana wellness centre. Relax in steam rooms over a natural
hot spring and open air thermal baths. Afterwards try local delicacies in our café.
Ask us how the locals at Laugarvatn use the steam baths!