So Much In Such A Small Space

“This is my favourite spot in the whole of Reykjavik”, Jon told me as we looked out towards the lighthouse. Located just a few minutes drive from the centre of town, it was almost as if you were in the countryside. “When I was young, you could come here and no one else was around. But now they’ve put in a path, and lots of people come here to walk their dogs”, he added.

Jon is a friend of a friend who has lived in Reykjavik most of his life, aside from a few years living in Canada during the early part of the 200s.… Read the rest “So Much In Such A Small Space”

Blue Lagoon, Iceland

Twenty-something years ago I remember seeing a photograph in NME or Melody Maker (I can’t remember which) of Damon Albarn from the group, Blur. The full-page photograph was of him swimming at The Blue Lagoon, outside Reykjavik. Over the next few months, I became somewhat obsessed with the photograph. I’d never heard of The Blue Lagoon before then, and the image of a large, oddly-coloured blue, steaming swimming pool fascinated me. In hindsight, it was probably that image which sparked my interest in visiting Iceland.… Read the rest “Blue Lagoon, Iceland”

The Icelandic Phallological Museum

“Ooooh mate, it’s a crook one”, I heard the nearby bloke say (in a distinctly Australian accent), as he and his mate looked at the only “human exhibit” in the Phallological Museum of Iceland, or as I like to call it, “The Dick Museum”. The look on their faces said it all. It did look a bit “crook”. You could be forgiven for thinking the shrivelled lump of white flesh in the container was anything but a penis.… Read the rest “The Icelandic Phallological Museum”

Before We Had Beer

“I’m not old enough to remember, as I was only thirteen years old when the law changed…” the barman told me when I asked what happened before the mid-1980s removal of the beer ban in Iceland. “But I do know”, he added, “we used to have light beer that people used to add vodka to, and that’s wrong in oh so many ways”.

He was the barman and co-owner of “Litla Gula Hænan” (The Little Yellow Hen).… Read the rest “Before We Had Beer”