Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.04.2019, Page 56

L IF E , T R AV EL & EN T ER TA INMEN T IN ICEL A ND
Issue 05 × 2019
April 12th—April 25th
www.grapevine.is
LAST WORDS
Open Your
Window To The
Drama
Words: Gunnar Hrafn Jónsson
Photo: Art Bicnick
Living in downtown Reykjavík has its draw-
backs. A lot of people who live in the area never
get tired of complaining about the noise from
drunkards on weekends and the constant shuf-
fling of Airbnb patrons in the early hours, on
all days of the week.
I have lived smack dab in the middle of the
“problem area” for extended periods but re-
cently moved to a quiet residential neighbour-
hood. And let me tell you, I miss it. There is
something to be said for being in the midst
of a whirlpool of life and activity rather than
a tranquil offshoot from it. But to be honest,
the best thing about living downtown is the
microstories.
If you live on the ground floor and keep your
window open it transforms your daily exis-
tence at home into a series of dramatic and
comic vignettes from the lives of strangers. A
lot of these tend to be foreign voices, from all
over the globe, expressing a variety of senti-
ments that only leave you wanting more as
you catch a sentence or two of context-free
conversation.
“I’m pretty sure that’s illegal here, you’re
fucking crazy man!” an American male in his
twenties blurted into my life as I stood by the
kitchen counter one evening. “Chill out, dude!”
another voice implored him. And they were
gone as suddenly as they arrived.
Another night someone called out in Icelan-
dic: “This cocaine is fucking awesome! Do you
think anyone can see us doing it here?” - no,
you’re good, just keep shouting about it in the
street. And it’s just after midnight on a Tues-
day, so, congratulations on those life choices.
But it’s not all about nefarious or illegal
activity, a lot of it is just people having heated
arguments about love and spilled beer. Often
there is crying. You get a lot of lost tourists as
well, including an American couple in their
fifties who stopped to admire the house I was
in and remarked: “In America we consider
aluminum siding tacky but here they have it
on all the nicest houses! Take a picture of me
with this one!”
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