Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.12.2016, Qupperneq 4

The R
eykjavík G
rapevine
Iceland A
irw
aves Special 20
16
4
First things first, the absolute
beginning: Kelfavík Airport.
That's where you can buy some:
Booze
Buy all the alcohol you can at the
Duty Free store. Booze in Ice-
land is ridiculously expensive,
and can only be bought in bars
or at a select few state-owned li-
quor stores that usually close at
6pm. (Don’t buy the cans/bottles
that look like beer at the grocery
store! It is light 2% beer.) May-
be you’re thinking: “But I’m not
gonna be drinking at my Airbnb/
hostel/hotel room, I’ll be seeing
shows all the time!” Wrong an-
swer! That may be your inten-
tion, but you’ll thank me when
you want to invite all the cool
people that you’ve met during
the evening to an afterparty, or
when a crushing hangover on
the fourth day can only be cured
with a couple of beers so you can
handle going outside to see said
shows. A well-placed hip-flask
can be handy, but you didn’t hear
it from us!
Pro tip: If you’re staring at the
beer shelf in confusion, try
something Icelandic. Bríó is a
good local lager, and Einstök or
Kaldi are flavoursome choices.
Planning
Airwaves happens fast, so you’re
gonna need a plan to make the
most of it. As you probably know,
conflicts in the schedule can be
a headache for music enthusi-
asts. The “Off-venue” program is
crucial here. This is the daytime
programme of music that runs
from around noon until the eve-
ning programme begins. Many
bands play several day shows
during the festival, so if you
catch one of those, it might solve
a troublesome clash later. There
are off-venue concerts in nearly
every bar, coffeehouse and shop
in the downtown area. Check out
the schedule on page 46!
Pro tip: If there’s a particular show
that you absolutely don’t want
to miss, get there super early, as
there are sometimes long queues.
Water
It’s the foundation of life on the
planet, it f lows straight from
our taps, and it is delicious and
refreshing. Do not buy it in bot-
tles! It’s no better than Icelandic
tap water, and all that unneces-
sary plastic isn’t exactly good for
Mother Earth. But water is not
only good for drinking: it’s also
great to soak in. Our geothermal
swimming pools are the best
hangover aid one can ask for,
whether you wanna swim laps,
soak in the hot tubs or detox in
the steam bath. The downtown
pool is Sundhöllin, but Vestur-
bæjarlaug is also walkable from
downtown. So is Laugardal-
slaug, a big pool with a gazillion
hot tubs and a water slide.
Pro tip: Trust me on this. Pools in
Iceland are very different to that
chlorine-filled puddle back home.
Nutrition
Occasionally you’ll need nutrition
in forms other than liquid. Here
are some of our recommendations:
Hverfisgata 12: The pizza place
with no name (except the street
address) offers quality pizzas
and a cosy atmosphere. The po-
tato pizza kicks asses in all con-
tinents and the cocktails are to
die for.
Vitabar: A cosy yet sleazy burger
joint, popular amongst locals.
Kaffi Vínyl: A hip coffeehouse/
restaurant with great vegan food
at affordable prices.
Bæjarins Beztu: The infamous
hot dog stand is located within
a two-minute walk from most of
the venues, so if you need some
hot dog fuel, it’s quick to run over
and then go on with the show.
Pro tip: If you’re on a tight bud-
get, Bónus is the cheapest gro-
cery store. Their main downtown
locations are on Laugavegur and
Hallveigarstígur; the logo is a
pink pig on a yellow background.
Heating
At this time of the year, we face
the endless challenge of dressing
to be neither too cold outside, nor
too hot inside. There’s no way to
predict the weather here, but my
advice is built on the fact that
most of the venues are within
five minutes’ walking distance
from one another, and you will
be spending more time inside
than outside: so, don’t dress for
a glacier trip.
Pro tip: if you’re too weak to
face the cold and rain, Harpa is
a great place to spend the eve-
ning, as there are four venues
inside the same building.
Drinking
Kaffibarinn: A staple in the
scene. Good coffee and an af-
fordable happy hour in the early
day, banging techno and house
music in the after hours.
Paloma: A miniature version
of a Berlin techno club. Seedy,
packed and just the right amount
of decadence. Try the basement
if you dare.
Bravó: An unpretentious bar.
Has all the adjectives you need:
small, cramped and cheap.
Prikið: A café by day, Iceland’s
finest hip-hop club by night.
Party with the locals: We are
your friends! There are lots of
afterparties during Airwaves—
chat up some locals and try to
get invited to some, or host one
yourself. The best location for
scouting/planning afterparty
action is outside the adjacent
bars Húrra and Paloma.
Pro tip: Icelanders don’t take
the concept of “personal space”
very seriously, especially under
the influence. So you’ll have to
get used to sometimes feeling
cramped and having people
push into you. Try not to let it get
on your nerves—or even use it to
your advantage and elbow your
way to the front!
Living
Iceland Airwaves
Survival Guide
How to tread the murky, beer-saturated
currents of Iceland’s top music festival
Words Davíð Roach Gunnarsson Photo Jói Kjartans