Reykjavik

Some Photos

Okay, first of all I will apologize as I have before for not posting more often. With that out of the way I will present to you today a link to some nice photos taken by one of my all time favorite bloggers, Audi.

And now another promise to start posting more than I have been. Promise.

Happy Anniversary

I'd like to wish Rainy Monday in Reykjavik a happy anniversary. As of March 3, she's been living in Iceland for a year. What I like best about her post regarding the big event is this line, in reference to her difficulty learning Icelandic: "But don't, you know, just wander up and ask me a question without laying out some context first, because words that I know perfectly well suddenly sound like Sims chatter when coming unwarranted from a total stranger."

First of all, I know 'Sims chatter' all too well as Sigh Club is a recovering Sims addict. And, as far as the language learning thing goes, myself, I've tried several times to learn languages (German, French, Spanish, and, hehe, Old Irish) but have failed miserably each time. I remember being in a Munich beer garden ordering a sausage and a beer and getting instead a seltzer water and a beer. I still don't know what I said. And, that same day, my friend John, who was living there at the time, telling me to meet him at some place that I thought he called "Cafe Andruni" that turned out to be--when I finally found it--"Cafe an der Uni."

But, at any rate, good luck to Rainy Monday with the language learning and congratulations on your milestone.

What's Your Thing?

My thanks to Audi for our second guest blog entry. Reading this makes me want to go back to Reykjavik again and again.

I often wonder what it is like to be a visitor in Reykjavik. When you come to a new place you want to take in as much of the environment as you possibly can and you notice every little detail on your way. You see things that the inhabitants have long forgotten and you hardly ever get to see their vision of the city.

I wonder if you notice all the chewing gum in the streets. I wonder if you appreciate the colourful mountains everywhere you look. I wonder if you know how beautiful it gets by the Pond in the golden fall sun.

Reykjavik is just another city and there is nothing special about it. The houses look ugly to the outsider and the people cold and conceited. Yet it has some unexplainable force that draws you to it. You have to look inside of yourself to see what it is for you. For me it's the Elliðaá river and the valley that is named after it. It's walking down Laugarvegur on St Þorlákur's Mass Night and watching the fireworks on Cultural Night. It's sitting in Austurvöllur during the summer seeing all the different types of people come together with ice cream and beer. What's your thing?

Almost Interesting Fact of the Day: Happy Beer Day!

Well, I'm glad I took the time to read Audi and Thora's blogs today because now I know that it's the 15th anniversary of the return of beer to Iceland!!

The Almost Interesting part of this anniversary is that, while beer was banned for a long, long time, hard alcohol wasn't. Go figure. I tried to find a good link to give you more of the history, but couldn't find one. I've read about it in books though. Maybe if I'm a bit more motivated this afternoon I'll look it up and let you know what I find. But I'll probably be out celebrating Beer Day, so don't count on it.