Reykjavík Grapevine - jan. 2020, Síða 19

Bára Halldórsdóttir
Bára Halldórsdóttir is perhaps best
known for being the whistleblower in
the notorious Klausturgate scandal,
but she is also an activist for dis-
abled people’s rights and an artist.
Here, she details what her perfect
day in Reykjavík would be like; “a
world where I am not chronically ill
and can just do whatever.”
Morning
Freyja, my old cat and friend, gently
nudges me awake to feed her break-
fast. I have slept so well and am feel-
ing rested and ready for my perfect
day. I hug my wife and give her a light
kiss and then we get up and feed
the animals, I eat two slices of toast
with bananas. While I am chomping
down on the toast I make some cof-
fee with a dash of cocoa almond milk.
I then sit in the living room and do
a short media browse while I finish
the co"ee.
Mid-morning
A#er I drop my wife, Hrafna, o" at her
work, I take my dog, Kíra, on a long
walk at Geldinganes. It is sunny and
bright with a slight breeze. Kíra finds
all sorts of interesting new smells
and meets fun doggos to play with.
On the way home from the walk we
stop at Gælud"r where Kira gets to
go in and snoop around while I buy
pet treats for all my pets and also
buy extra food to be given to Villiket-
tir and Kattholt. We drive home and I
take o" to grab lunch.
Lunch
I meet my oldest and closest friend
Sunna at Kaktus Espressobar on Vi-
tastígur, Sunna orders a yummy sweet
potato soup with bread, and I have the
delicious scones and a latte. We talk
about nothing and everything for about
an hour.
Afternoon
Sunna heads back to work and I take
up my computer and keep develop-
ing my art show for this summer’s
Reykjavík Fringe Festival and do a
little writing. I also check my email
and see an invite from Stephen Fry
to a lovely weekend at his summer
cottage in the south of England, he
tells me that Sandi Toksvig, Alan Da-
vies, Hannah Gadsby, Terry Pratchett,
Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams and Ed-
die Izzard will be there, along with
some other friendly intellectuals and
thinking people. I hurry to accept,
of course! Once in a while I take a
pause just to look out the window and
around me. It is an e"ortless relaxed
a#ernoon.
Evening
I pick Hrafna up from work and tell
her about the invitation, she is over
the moon. We stop by Jömm at the
foodcourt in Kringlan and get our-
selves some juicy vegan food. I love
their burger and there must be some-
thing illegal in those potatoes.
We decide to take an evening drive
like we love. Kíra joins us, she loves
driving. We drive an illogical route to
Krísuvík and Kíra gets to fetch fris-
bees we throw out into the lake.
Then we drive to Reykjanesbær
and drop in for a while to visit my an-
gel of a grandchild and the family.
In the heat of the night
It’s closing on eleven when we arrive
in Reykjavík and decide to catch the
end of a Drag-súgur show at Gauku-
rinn. It is perfect as usual. On our way
home we stop at the roundabout on
the westpoint of Seltjarnarnes. We
walk on the shore for a while and I
find an interesting stone When we are
just about at our car we see a large
owl perched on a manmade hill close
by us. We watch in awe and Hrafna
sneaks a few brilliant pictures. The
owl glides away a#er a short while,
but we are elated. At home we fin-
ish packing for the trip to New York
tomorrow (it will be another perfect
day). Alarms set and we float into
dreamland, endlessly satisfied.
Perfect Day
A face of the downtown scene tells us how to spend a perfect day in Reykjavík
Vital Info
Reykjavík Map Best Of ReykjavíkPlaces We Like
January 10th—February 6th
In Your Pocket
Venues
The numbers on the right (i.e. E4) tell you
position on the map on the next page
Austur
Austurstræti 7 D3
American Bar
Austurstræti 8 D3
Andr!mi
Berg!órugata 20 G6
B5
Bankastræti 5 E4
Bar Ananas
Klapparstígur 28 E5
Bíó Paradís
Hverfisgata 54 E5
Bjarni Fel
Austurstræti 20 E4
Bravó
Laugavegur 22 E5
Boston
Laugavegur 28b E5
Dillon
Laugavegur 30 E5
Dubliner
Naustin 1-3 D3
English Pub
Austurstræti 12 D3
Gaukurinn
Tryggvagata 22 D3
Hard Rock Café
Lækjargata 2a D3
Hressó
Austurstræti 20 D3
Húrra
Naustin D3
I"nó
Vonarstræti 3 E3
Kex Hostel
Skúlagata 28 E7
Kaffibarinn
Bergsta"astræti 1 E4
Kaffi Vínyl
Hverfisgatur 76 E6
Kiki Queer Bar
Laugavegur 22 E5
Loft
Bankastræti 7 E4
Mengi
Ó"insgata 2 F5
Nordic House
Sturlagata 5 H2
Paloma
Naustin D3
Priki"
Bankastræti 12 E4
R6013
Ingólfsstræti 20 E4
Reykjavík Roasters
Kárastígur 1 F5
Stofan Café
Vesturgata 3 D3
Ölsmi"jan
Lækjargata 10 E3
Tivoli bar
Hafnarstræti 4 D3
Tjarnarbíó
Tjarnargata 12 E3
Museums & Galleries
ART67
Laugavegur 67 F7
Open daily 9-21
ASÍ Art Gallery
Freyjugata 41 G6
Open Tue-Sun 13-17
Aurora Reykjavík
Grandagar"ur 2 B1
Open 09-21
Ásgrimur Jónsson
Museum
Bergsta"astr. 74 G4
July 8-Sep 1, Mon-Fri
Berg Contemporary
Klapparstígur 16 E5
Tu-F 11-17, Sat 13-17
The Culture House
Hverfisgata 15 E5
Open daily 10–17
The Einar Jónsson
Museum
Eiriksgata G5
Open Tue–Sun 10–17
Ekkisens
Bergsta"ast. 25b F4
Gallerí List
Skipholt 50A H10
M-F 11-18, Sat 11-16
Hafnarborg
Strandgata 34, 220
Open Wed-Mon 12-17
Hitt Húsi"
Pósthússtræti 3-5 D4
Hverfisgallerí
Hverfisgata 4 D4
Tu-Fri 13-17, Sat 14-17
i8 Gallery
Tryggvagata 16 D3
Tu-Fri 11-18, Sat
13-17
The Penis Museum
Laugavegur 116 F8
Open daily 10-18
Kirsuberjatré"
Vesturgata 4 D3
M-F 10-18, Sat-Sun
10-17
Kling & Bang
Grandagar"ur 20 A4
W-Sun 14-18, Th 12-21
Listastofan
Hringbraut 119
Open Wed-Sat 13-17
Living Art Museum
Granadar"ur 20 A4
T-Sun 12-18, Th 12-21
Mokka Kaffi
Skólavör"ustíg. 3A E5
Open daily 9-18:30
Museum of Design and
Applied Art
Gar"atorg 1
Open Tu-Sun 12-17
The National
Gallery of Iceland
Fríkirkjuvegur 7 F3
Open daily 10–17
The National Museum
Su"urgata 41 G2
Open daily 10–17
The Nordic House
Sturlugata 5 H2
Thu-Tu 11-17, W 11-20
Hafnarhús
Tryggvagata 17 D3
Open 10-17, Thu 10-22
Kjarvalssta"ir
Flókagata 24 H8
Open daily 10-17
Ásmundarsafn
Sigtún
Open daily 10-17
Reykjavík City Library
Tryggvagata 15 D3
Mon-Thu 10-19, Fri
11-18, Sat-Sun 13-17
Árbæjarsafn
Kistuhylur 4
Open daily 13-17
The Settlement
Exhibition
A"alstræti 16 D3
Open daily 9-18
Reykjavík Museum
of Photography
Tryggvagata 15 D3
Mon-Thu 10-18, Fri
11-18, Sat-Sun 13-18
Saga Museum
Grandagar"ur 2 B2
Open daily 10-18
Sigurjón Ólafsson
Museum
Laugarnestangi 70
Open Tu-Sun 14-17
SÍM
Hafnarstræti 16 D3
Open Mon-Fri 10-16
Tveir Hrafnar
Baldursgata 12 G4
Open Fri-Sat 13-16
Wind & Weather
Window Gallery
Hverfisgata 37 E5
Venue Finder
Useful Numbers
Emergency: 112
On-call doctors: 1770
Dental emergency: 575 0505
Taxi: Hreyfill: 588 5522 - BSR: 561 0000
Post Office
The downtown post office has moved to
Hagatorgi 1, open Mon–Fri, 09:00–17:00.
Pharmacies
Lyf og heilsa, Egilsgata 3, tel: 563 1020
Lyfja, Laugavegur 16, tel: 552 4045
and Lágmúli 5, tel: 533 2300
Opening Hours - Bars & Clubs
Bars can stay open until 01:00 on
weekdays and 04:30 on weekends.
Opening Hours - Shops & Banks
Most shops: Mon–Fri 10–18, Sat 10–16,
Sun closed. Banks: Mon-Fri 09-16
Swimming Pools
Sundhöllin, the downtown pool at
Barónsstígur, is an indoor swimming
pool with hot tubs and a diving board.
More pools: gpv.is/swim
Open: Mon-Thu from 06:30–22. Fri from
06:30–20. Sat from 08–16. Sun from 10–18.
Public Toilets
Public toilets in the centre can be found
inside the green-poster covered towers
located at Hlemmur, Ingólfstorg, by
Hallgrímskirkja, by Reykjavík Art Mu-
seum, Lækjargata and by Eymundsson
on Skólavör!ustígur. Toilets can also be
found inside the Reykjavík City Hall and
the Reykjavík Library.
Public Transport
Most buses run every 20–30 minutes
Fare: 470 ISK adults, 220 ISK children.
Buses run from 07–24:00, and 10–04:30
on weekends. More info: www.bus.is.
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