Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.12.2016, Blaðsíða 56

Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.12.2016, Blaðsíða 56
The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 18 — 2016 56 The colour, I am certain, has nev- er existed before, and will never exist again. It has something to do with blue, grey, purple, or- ange, and yellow and yet is none of them. It coats the sky to our left as we drive up Route One, ap- pearing through the mist of a far- off thunderstorm, backlit by the sun. It’s the whole sky, then it’s gone—the colour of a moment. Google Maps calculates the route from Reykjavík to Rif at about 2.5 hours. By the time we approach the tiny town of Rif, we’ve been on the road for nearly five hours, moving at a deliberate- ly easy pace between hot spring soaks and wild mountain walks. We float across the quiet northern side of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, through Grundarfjörður, Ólafs- vík, and finally, to Rif. In Rif, there are two roads that join into one. On the harbour side of the road is The Freezer, a former fish factory turned hos- tel, theatre and artist residency space, where we’ll be staying for the next two nights. It’s tucked back from the road, but the red exterior and the word “FREEZER” painted across the wall make it easy to find. Chick(en)s for free Dóra, one of the managers at the Freezer, is equa l ly easy to find. She sits in one of four mixed-and-matched couch ar- rangements in the giant lounge and lobby. She greets us like old friends: “with a smile,” as the owner of the Freezer, Kári, had mentioned in our earlier corre- spondence. At the coffee table with her are two other women busily clicking at their comput- ers. They’re working on a pro- duction of ‘Journey To The Cen- tre Of The Earth’, Jules Verne’s 1864 subterranean science fic- tion novel that begins in the Snæfellsjökull stratovolcano. “I’ll show you around,” says Dóra. “This is a chicken,” she says, motioning to a caged plastic animal that sits at the table. “We borrowed it. I need to return it.” She nudges a wad of newspaper toward the front of the cage, “I’m kind of scared of it.” Next, she leads us through a large door at the back. It opens into a room twice as large as the lobby space. The walls are painted black, and we stand facing a stage. To the right is a smaller room of stacked school chairs. The “small theatre” is a room that once functioned as the hostel-theatre’s namesake—the freezer. After the tour, we ask for a food recommendation and Dóra immediately calls the restaurant (the restaurant) in Ólafsvík to see if they are open tonight. “They are!” she exclaims. “I’ve told them you’re coming.” As we’ll continue to discover, choice is overruled by simplicity in these parts. And so, it’s decided. We drive to the restaurant, which is called Hraun (“lava,” in English), and eat pan-fried char and chocolate cake. On the way back to Rif we catch a glimpse of some northern lights and decide to bypass the town to seek more of the sky’s mighty show. But, as usual with the northern lights, as soon as we go looking they’ve disappeared behind the clouds. Instead, we retreat to watch ‘Friday’ at the Freezer. Til Sölu The next morning in Rif we head down the street to get some cof- fee and tea from the local grocery store. Or, what was the grocery store. It still shows up on Google Maps, but all that’s left of it now are some cardboard cutouts of ice cream cones taped to the win- dows. After a walk through the cool, salt-in-the-air streets we decide to drive five minutes down the peninsula to the local coffee shop in Hellissander. Or, what was the local coffee shop. It too still shows up on GoogleMaps. What was once Kaffi Síf looks promising on the approach—a cosy detached cottage with lace in the windows, and a giant sign that looks like it was made in Microsoft Paint. But instead of ice cream, we find taped to its windows two sheets of computer paper: one reads “Til Sölu,” and the other one “For Sale :).” There’s a store in town that seems to double as the local hangout for the shopkeeper and friends. It carries everything from Stonewall Kitchen jams to winter gloves. There’s also an N1 gas station where you can pick up a slice of “happy marriage” cake and a hearty bowl of vegetable soup, or a handmade lopapeysa “by Dagný.” Again, simplicity rules over choice. R i f a nd Hel l i ssa ndu r a re towns that have what you need, and not a thing more. They are ambient with their surround- ings—from the thick Atlantic on one side to the glacial and volca- nic mountain range on the other. They have hot soup, warm beds, and petrol to get between the two. They are places where most is left untouched and questions are left unanswered. Like: Why is the road painted in giant sec- tions of blue, orange, and green? And what do we call that strange colour of sky? SHARE & MORE PICTURES: gpv.is/dtt18 The Once Sky Words PARKER YAMASAKI Photos TIMOTHÉE LAMBRECQ A weekend in Rif and Hellissandur As the winter de- scends on Iceland, the range of ac- tivities on offer for tourists changes with the season. Just as the Highlands come off the menu as roads are closed to nor- mal vehicles, other possibilities open up. The Bláfjöll skiing area near Reykjavík is due to reopen for business soon, and it’s a matter of time before cross-country skiing becomes an option. It’s the season for aurora-spotting, snowmobil- ing, ice caving, and other frosty activities. Bearing the season in mind when planning your activi- ties will definitely help you make the most of your trip. Road conditions have been wors- ening all over the country recently, particularly on minor routes and on high ground. As such, there has been a spate of accidents re- ported across Iceland due to high winds and slippery surfaces. As such, we recommend that visitors to the country take a couple of simple steps. When hiring a car, make sure that it’s of sufficient size and power to handle where you’re going, especially if you plan to leave the Ring Road. Check ve- dur.is for weather warnings before setting out. Check road.is to make sure your route is safe to travel, especially if it’s windy or snowing. Take warnings from locals seri- ously, and don’t be afraid of chang- ing your itinerary to stay safe. Travel agency Travel Republic (@TravelRepublic on Twitter) made an interesting infographic recently, with the countries of the world resized according to where residents of the UK like to go on holiday. The scale of Iceland went from being a little speck in the North Atlantic to being an island roughly the same size as Spain, and bigger than France, Germany, or any of the other Nordic countries. Maybe when Katla erupts, the land- mass will grow to something simi- lar. We’ll need the extra space for all these tourists. TRAVEL NEWS IN BRIEF DRIVE-THROUGH TOWN Distance from Reykjavík 195 km Car provided by gocarrental.is Accommodation provided by thefreezerhostel.com
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