Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.07.2016, Page 54

THE HOUSE AT EYRARBAKKI

Árnessýsla folk museum is located in Húsið, the House, historical home
of the Danish merchants built in 1765.
Húsið is one of the oldest houses in Iceland and a beautiful monument
of Eyrarbakki´s time as the biggest trading place on the south coast.
Today one can enjoy
exhibitions about the story
and culture of the region,
famous piano, shawl made
out of human hair and the
kings pot, are among items.
Húsið prides itself with warm
and homelike atmosphere.
The Maritime museum is
close by where the beautiful
twelve-rower Farsæll is the
largest item.
A glimpse of the past lives of
Eyrarbakki´s villagers is what
meets the eye of the guests.
Opening hours: May 1st - September 30th daily 11.00-18.00 or by an agreement
Tel: +354 483 1504 & +354 483 1082 | husid@husid.com | www.husid.com
The House at Eyrarbakki
Open 11:30-22:00
saegreif inn. is
Geirsgata 8 • 101 Reykjavík • Tel. 553 1500 • seabaron8@gmail.com
An absolute
must-try!
Saegreifinn restaurant (Sea Baron) is like none other
in Iceland; a world famous lobster soup and a diverse
fish selection.
There’s no better way to discover a
new city than by foot. Once you get
out of the car or bus, everything
slows down, but more than that,
it gives you more time to think.
“I suspect that the mind, like the
feet, works at about three miles
per hour,” Rebecca Solnit writes in
her book ‘Wanderlust: A History of
Walking’. “If this is so, then mod-
ern life is moving faster than the
speed of thought.”
In some respects, Reykjavík is
a pedestrian’s paradise—the the
city is small and can be easily cov-
ered by foot. On the other hand,
the streets are often winding and
lead in unexpected directions, and
many Icelanders seem more accus-
tomed to driving between destina-
tions. Here are some of Reykjavík’s
best walking routes that are easily
accessible from downtown.
The Classics
There are some walking paths that
need no introduction: the sculp-
ture and shore walk by the harbour,
for example, or the stroll around
Tjörnin. These are perennial fa-
vourites, and for good reason. An-
other perhaps less well-loved walk
is on Öskjuhlíð, the hill most fa-
mous for Perlan, the shining pearl
on its peak. Take a hike through the
wooded area on Öskjuhlíð’s south
side down towards Nautshólsvík.
Vesturbær
The neighbourhood just west of
downtown features plenty of cute
streets and hidden treasures to
discover. From downtown, walk
west down Vesturgata before turn-
ing left onto Bræðraborgarstígur.
Take a gander at the quaint and
colourful houses down this street
until you reach a beautiful view
over the ocean at Faxaskjól. Keep
following the road as it turns north
and becomes Hofsvallagata, be-
fore turning right onto Túngata
at the impressive Christ’s Church
Cathedral to head back downtown.
Along this route you can stop for
ice cream at Ísbúð Vesturbær, for
a swim at Vesturbæjarlaug, or for a
coffee at Kaffihús Vesturbæjar.
Beyond Hallgrímskirkja
Everyone’s familiar with
Skólavörðustígur, the street that
leads to Hallgrímskirkja, but the
streets around the famous church
get a lot less love. Some of my favou-
rites for people watching and dis-
covering new shops and galleries are
Bergstaðarstræti and the more tree-
lined Laufásvegur. For the more ad-
venturous, turn off Skólavörðustígur
onto Njálsgata, and continue across
Snorrabraut before turning right
onto Rauðarárstígur. After walking
a few blocks you’ll hit Klambratún,
a big green park that houses Kjar-
valsstaðir, a gallery that features the
art of Jóhannes Kjarval.
Grandi
For those with an eye for the more
industrial, take a stroll through the
up-and-coming Grandi harbour
area. If you turn right onto Gran-
dagarður after passing through the
hubbub of the old harbour area you
can wind a big loop through the
neighbourhood on foot. Down Ey-
jarslóð you’ll find shops and design
studios such as Farmers Market, as
well as some stunning views of the
city and Esjan. For bonus points,
stop in at Bryggjan Brughús on
your way back downtown for a pint
and some good food.
Seltjarnarnes
This is a bit further out of the way,
but the beach, views, and grassy
park areas are worth it. If you loop
around Seltjarnarnes, a small city
on a peninsula just west of Reyk-
javík, you’ll find incredible views
in all directions. The long, sandy
and sheltered beach at the furthest
point of this walk is objectively the
best place to watch the sun set, and
you can cap off your stroll with a
trip out to the lighthouse or a soak
in the warm foot bath tucked in the
rocks on the north shore. The city’s
plentiful green space and quirky
houses make Seltjarnarnes a fun
area to explore.
Of course, if you’re looking for
less of a choose-your-own ad-
venture tour of the city, there are
plenty of guided walking tours in
Reykjavík. Some favourites include
the Reykjavík Music Walk, the city
library’s Dark Deeds Walk and the
Haunted Walk of Reykjavík.
Guides Where do we go now?54
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10 — 2016
What if you could start over, and build a new society from the ground up?
That’s the central question posed by the Travelling Embassy of Rockall, a new
art installation on the Reykjavík waterfront. To the unwitting passerby, the
collection of empty shipping containers that form the installation might not
look out of place in the harbour area, but the project has goals that extend far
beyond Iceland.
“What it has a lot to do with is
combating cynicism,” says Allart
van der Woude, one of the project’s
organizers. “A lot of people that I
know, of all age groups and all na-
tionalities, have lost faith in politi-
cal and spiritual and social narra-
tives.” At the Travelling Embassy
of Rockall, visitors can image new
narratives in a space that is free of
any restrictions posed by existing
structures or traditions.
Rockall is a small, uninhabitable
rock off the west coast of Great
Britain, and the island has caught
many people’s imagination due
to its isolation and harsh condi-
tions. Over the years, the United
Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and
Iceland have all claimed sovereignty
over the landmass. “Rockall is, in a
way, sort of a game,” Allart says. “We
pretend to be this embassy because
we want people to imagine a differ-
ent kind of place, a different kind of
nation, where things can be started
anew without them having to proj-
ect that onto a space they know.”
The “embassy” is composed of
eight old shipping containers that
have been arranged in an empty lot
between downtown and Grandi. In
some cases, these containers have
been turned into a library, work-
shop, bar or art gallery for people
to visit from Wednesday to Satur-
day. Allart says they plan to host
film screenings every Wednesday
throughout the summer and week-
ly concerts on Friday, as well as
other workshops or events as they
come along.
“We want to offer an accessible
level of inspiration,” Allart says
about how they curated the event
programme. “You want to be able
to really identify with the person
who is delivering the lecture or or-
ganizing the workshop.”
In the end, Allart says he hopes
people leave the installation feel-
ing inspired to tackle the social
issues in their communities. “A
lot of people want to feel like they
have some sort of control or some
sort of crafting ability in regards to
their environment,” he says. “It re-
ally just takes a humble little thing
to get people to feel better about
themselves and feel as if they can
contribute to the community.”
The artists behind the Travelling
Embassy of Rockall come from all
over Europe, from Portugal and
the Netherlands to France and, of
course, Iceland. Allart says Reykja-
vík was chosen as the first location
of the installation because it has
faced problems relating to resourc-
es and economic structures in re-
cent years. “These are the themes
that we would also encounter if we
were to start a society in Rockall,”
he says. After Reykjavík, the em-
bassy will be travelling to Rotter-
dam and Aarhus.
The Travelling Embassy of Rockall
will be open on Mýrargata until the
end of September. For a full overview
of their summer programme, visit
www.rockall.is.
Combating
Cynicism
On Rockall
“We want to offer an accessible
level of inspiration.”
Words ISAAC WÜRMANN
Photo EMBASSY OF ROCKALL
A Pedestrian’s Guide
To Reykjavík
Words ISAAC WÜRMANN
Photo ART BICNICK