Atlantica - 01.02.2002, Page 36

i-site AURORA BOREALIS❍
34 A T L A N T I C A
The Mad Hatter
Walk around in downtown Reykjavík on a cold winter’s
day and you’re bound to notice them – monsters of fur
on top of people’s heads or hats with flaps dangling
over wind-blown ears. There’s even the odd baseball
cap, although it takes a pound of glue or an industrial
staple gun to secure these caps in the wind. Hats keep
the old noggin warm, but in Iceland they’re also a
major fashion statement. And staying warm while
boosting one’s hip quotient is what it’s all about. EW



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Dark City
The Icelandic winter can be summed up in one word: darkness.
At its worst, residents of the capital area endure days with 20
hours of blackness, and in some of the most remote villages of
the West Fjords, the sun doesn’t even rise above the mountains.
But we’re on the upswing. The 21st of December has passed
and each successive day delivers an extra few minutes of light.
Winter is far from over, though. When that coffee bell sounds at
ten o’clock, it still looks like night outside. How do we cope with
eternal twilight? Glad you asked. EW
1 Drink.
2 Keep working – after all, it’s not like you can go out and play
a round of golf?
3 Start reading all those untouched books lining the shelves like
trophies.
4 Drink some more.
5 Watch videos and eat greasy hamburgers, pizza and candy.
Hey, what else is there to do when you’re hung-over?
6 Go swimming. I know the big minus symbol appears on the
temp billboards and the snow is falling sideways, but the pools
are steaming. Besides, at this time of year the pools are the only
place to find girls wearing bikinis, or men in speedos.
7 GO ON VACATION! If you can’t afford a trip off the island, go
candle shopping. A room full of candles lights the house cosy.
8 Sleep. Why not? It’s dark outside. Okay, tired of sleeping?
Head to one of Reykjavík’s many cafés.
9 Gaze at the northern lights. Scientists insist that the aurora
borealis occur from the sun’s electric discharges, causing atoms
and molecules to reflect light. I prefer to describe the green
lights spiriting across the black sky as celestial magic.
10 Make love, not war.
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