Don't speak

Our arrival in Keflavík was a very excited one.

We had been flying in from Copenhagen, and our flight was full of drunk Danes. This didn't stop us from being in complete awe when we first glimpsed the midnight sun over Norway.

Landing, 4am

After a 4 hours flight spent in awe and happiness (and craziness), we entered the tiny international airport in high spirits. And spirits, of a different kind, were what all our fellow passengers were after: every one bought a lot of brennivín at the duty free shop.

We decided to follow the tradition and entered the cool night with a bottle of brennivín, too, and looked for our taxi.

A stout man with a sign was waiting for us. It was 4am, yet he seemed incredibly pleased to welcome 3 foreigners on his taxi and move our luggage, telling us we must be tired from the flight and shouldn't be pulling luggage.

As soon as he started driving towards Reykjavík, he began to tell us about a lot of things. The radio was playing Don't Speak by No doubt.

We were in a strange land, almost alien, with huge lava fields in every direction and the dark sea roaring on our left side. We could see smoke rising from the mountains and some lights coming from the villages we passed, even though the midnight sun made the night light and clear.

While we were astonished by the sight, our driver was speaking. I suddenly started to pay attention to what he was saying in his adorable and sweet accent.

"Out there is the blue lagoon. You must go. But if you don't want to pay, there are many hot pools around the country. I can make you a list!"

This is the Icelandic spirit. It's 4am, and the cab driver offers to give you a list of free hot pools in the country. This is what I call welcoming people.

He then started telling us the history of the first settlements in the area, and of the volcanic eruptions he remembered from when he was a kid. As we entered the Reykjavík urban area, he told us about the Perlan and that if we didn't want to spend all our money in food we'd better shop at Bónus.

We arrived to downtown Reykjavík (the famous 101 area) with our driver biding us welcome to his city.

We met our flat contact person in Laugavegur, and the cab driver offered to drive us further for the 500 meters that separated us from our flat. Because, you know, we shouldn't pull our luggage.

And suddenly I realized why there's a sign that says "Welcome home" at the airport.

Sin Fang with love

Everyone's been head over heels for Sin Fang lately because...hell...he's awesome.

That's why The Reykjavík Grapevine decided to award him their Second Ever Music Award, Ever prize for best album and best song for, respectively, Flowers and Young Boys. They even dedicated the cover of this month's issue to him, with a remarkable photo by Axel Sigurðarson (you can find the complete issue here ).

Cover photo of The Reykjavík Grapevine by Axel Sigurðarson

If you are familiar with Sindri and his surprisingly wide range of music then you'll be already head over heels for this album as well. If not, you need to check it out now.

What you may not know, though, is that Jónsi from Sigur Rós did an amazing remix of Young Boys that you can listen for free on soundcloud.

Go on and enjoy some Sindri on these cold winter days!

Lopapeysa is good for you

Lopapeysa is the name of the most famous garment in Iceland and the smartest thing you can buy once you land there.

You probably have seen it: it's a thick sweater decorated with traditional shapes. To be fair, it seems the design isn't traditional at all and began to be knitted just about 60 years ago. Some people say it was brought from Greenland by Halldór Laxness and his wife but who knows, really.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a pic of Kjartan from Sigur Rós wearing one (on the left):

he seems quite proud, doesn't he?

Anyways even though the lopapeysa may seem incredibly expensive, you will need it (not only in Iceland, I use it really often in Switzerland too for example). It comes in any form and shape and design (I even saw one with a peacock design which I didn't quite understand but, you see, you can find anything). You can even have one made specifically for you in some shops and lopapeysa dominate every thrift shop I've seen across Iceland. I bought mine in a thrift shop and the girl told me it was knitted by a 90 years old lady. every lopapeysa is hand knitted, as I don't think there is a large scale production.

Believe me, it's a win/win situation. 

What always struck me as awesome is that Icelanders seem to be really proud of their traditional sweaters. They own many and wear it whenever and wherever possible. 

They don't seem to be embarassed by their customs, on the contrary. 

And rightly so, because their sweaters are comfy, cozy and incredibly warm. Thank you, Iceland, for one more amazing product of yours. 

Sorry for the hiatus!

I've been dealing with changes and stuff lately, and haven't been able to post much at all. I've also been away to Paris for some time and discovering that beautiful city took up a lot of my time.

Anyways, here I am ready to resume talking about Iceland.

You know, while I was dealing with problems and changes Icelandic music really helped me going through it all.

Be it the calm and cozy feeling from Of Monsters And Men or the wild sound of Reykjavik!, Iceland gave me once again what no other Country was ever able to give me.

And here I am now, longing to go back to my safe place on Laugavegur and take a walk on the harbour admiring the Harpa from afar pretending to hate it.

Oh Iceland, this is a love note for you.

You are always in my heart.