Jón Gnarr nominated Moomin Valley as vinaborgir

MoominValley, Finland: a city that can improve Iceland's understanding of UE policies

In a good article published today by the Reykjavik Grapevine, it is said that Reykjavik has many friend-cities all over the world. The most peculiar vinaborgir (this is what “friend-cities” are called) has to be Moomin Valley though. Even if not confirmed yet, the mayor of Reykjavik Jón Gnarr (which you may know because of his Darth Vader attire, or because he strongly supports LGBT rights) seems pretty determined to make it happen. In an interview appeared some time ago on the Grapevine, he said:

“I am one of many Icelanders that believe in elves and trolls. I mainly believe in Moomin elves. It is more of a certainty than a belief. I have seen them and touched them. I know they exist. I have been to Moominworld in Naantali, Finland. I have evidence; photographs, video recordings and witnesses. I had a good talk with Moomin Papa. He told me that life in Moominvalley was much better after Finland joined the EU. He encouraged us Icelanders to join the EU. He also said that the Moomins had always existed, long before Tove Jansson “invented” them. The Moomins are eternal, at least in books.”

Now let me tell you something about Iceland. The fact that trolls and elves and stuff are a huge part of the icelandic culture may be alughed about or frowned upon. Still, it’s there. There’s a thin line on which this culture positiones itself: it’s between serious and a joke. You never quite understand if Icelanders truly believe in trolls or if they want you to believe they do. One cannot deny, though, that there are some pretty awesome legends going on about them. There’s probably the hugest amount of legends than in any other Country. Some of the traditions are well known: the “invisible people”, the elves, the 12 Jule lads. There are some terrifying things, too, like the zombie cat that eats children around Christmas. When we were touring the Golden Circle with our kind guide, Jon, he told us a lot of different and crazy legends linked to the places we were visiting. Some were variations of the fact that elves appear to be extremely territorial and can get very offended if you accidentally move a rock that is their home. Other stories were new: I remember in particular a story about a farmer who lived in the middle of nowhere beyond Þingvellir. He needed someone to help him tending to the animals and do farm work, so he simply woke the dead. Let me tell that again: he woke the dead. He created zombies. He had zombie slaves. HBO, did you hear that?? So, you know, the fact that Jón Gnarr wants Moomin Valley to become a friend-city to Reykjavik doesn’t surprise me at all. In a land were every rock probably carries a legend, having an imaginary town as your friend is no big deal. In conlusion, I really hope the legacy between Reykjavik and Moomin Valley is going to happen. I really do like Moomins and I think they can bring a fresh look to European policies.