Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.07.2015, Qupperneq 8

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 1 — 20118 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 9 — 2015
Best of| Reykjavík
Alison MacNeil
kimono guitar shredder
I just witnessed two cars full of drunk
teenagers getting into a fight because
the one in front was going too slow down
Laugavegur for the second car's taste.
Probably no one will die from this en-
counter tonight.
Bergsteinn Jónsson
executive director at UNICEF
The best things are the mountains I see
from my office window and my little
village community in 101 Reykjavík. Be-
ing close to nature and part of a tightly-
knit community encourages sustainable
ways of living and humility. Both are
great life lessons.
Birgitta Jónsdóttir
captain of the Pirate Party
The Einar Jónsson Museum is a mythi-
cal oasis of art in the sculpture garden
and in the magical home and museum
of this visionary artist of ours. Einar
used Norse myth as the backbone of
much of his work and one can always
see a new aspect of each and everyone
of his works. A perfect place to get lost
in.
Drífa Snædal
chair of SGS union
I think Reykjavík is the most beautiful
place in Iceland, and I fall in love with
my city every time we get a good sum-
mer day, feeling ecstatic cycling down
Sæbrautin. The incredibly-active cul-
tural life is another important part of
my city, because there is always some-
thing going on, whether it be concerts,
art exhibitions, political rallies, or
educational meetings. Reykjavík has
the charm of being close to nature, like
a country village, but at the same time
everyone acts like it is a metropolis,
competing to offer world-class events.
Helgi Valur Ásgeirsson
musician
The best thing about the city is that
you can walk everywhere you want to
go, and that there are plenty of great
swimming pools.
Hildur María
Friðriksdóttir
geophysicist at Icelandic
Met Office
The best thing about Reykjavík is the
variety of ice cream shops. One of my
favourite things to do is to partake in
the Icelandic tradition of "ísbúltúr"
and drive to get ice cream late at night,
no matter what the weather's like. Ice
cream tastes just as good in a blizzard.
Indriði Arnar Ingólfsson
Muck guitar shredder
These days the best thing about Reykja-
vík is being near the ocean and getting
dragged by the endless day without a
plan.
Jón Örn Loðmfjörð
poet and programmer
I think my favourite thing is after mid-
night in Grafarvogur or Breiðholt, when
everyone is asleep and no one is around.
The suburbs, yeah. I like just watching
the sky. It’s quiet. It’s kind of urban but
still dead.
Katrín Jakobsdóttir
chair of Left Greens
The best thing about Reykjavík is its
proximity to the sea––being able to walk
to old harbour, and the feeling of living
on an island.
Kolfinna Nikulásdóttir
(Kylfan)
former member of Reykja-
víkurdætur
The best thing in Reykjavík, in my
opinion, is a small place on Tryggva-
gata called Momo Ramen. They have
excellent service, and incredibly good
dumplings—I always feel like I'm abroad
when I go there. Afterwards I like to go
out to the harbour, there lurks power in
the sea, and it has such a healing effect.
Some people live their lives without ever
seeing the sea, and they yearn for it, but
we've got it right in front of us in Reyk-
javík.
Sif Baldursdóttir
Fashion designer at kyrja
I like how many non-pretentious, in-
sanely talented and creative people there
are here… especially artists, designers
and musicians. I just love that the ma-
jority of these amazing people are super
nice and chilled!
Sunna Ben
DJ
I’ve been coming to Prikið since I was
a teenager. Now I’m DJing there all the
time and my best friend is managing it so
that’s kind of my go-to place. It’s always
been the best place for hip hop in Reykja-
vík and at times probably the only place I
can count on finding it. Also it’s just very
nice. It’s a nice café in the daytime and
you have regulars that sit there and old
people that come every day, and in the
evening it gets really wild. It’s a very nice
combination.
Þórdís Nadia Semichat
stand up comedian
The best thing about Reykjavík is El-
liðarárdalur. It's pretty amazing that
you can live in a suburb like Breiðholt or
Árbær, go for a walk and within few min-
utes you're walking by a beautiful river
and green nature… and the fog that floats
over the river in the fall is amazing.
We reached out to bunch of notable Reykjavík figures to
find out what they like best about the city. From the cul-
ture, to the people, to the pools to their favourite hidden
corners of the city, here are their personal takes on what
makes Reykjavík special.
Compiled by Grapevine
Photo by Axel Sigurðarson
The Best Thing
About Reykjavík Is…