the BallPark goes to Iceland

food, glorious food at Hornið

Sjávarréttaþanna

more 101

a protest

As the world knows y now, Iceland suffered very badly in the great collapse of recent times, and this protest was expressing concern over ICESAVE, an ititiative whereby the IMF lends squillions to Iceland, but the people are worried that they will lose their independence……….again. I think I have got a complex situation down to a nutshell.

a flea market

It´s funny how other people´s junk looks like really cool stuff to you wherever you go in the world. Luckily, I an constantly having nightmares about my 20kg limit between Reykjavik and London.
this is the famous Kolaportiö in the downtown area.

The bookseller was the usual serious booky type.

It took all my willpower to leave this litle cutey behind.

art museum art

Yoshitomo Nara

World-renowned artist Yoshitomo Nara has created a new installation for the Reykjavík Art Museum in collaboration with Hideki Toyoshima, one of the founders of the design collaborative graf. The room-sized installation, consisting of shipping crates and billboards, places Nara’s iconic images in a new and unexpected context.
Within the shipping crates, visitors will find paintings, drawings, and sculptures by Nara himself. Nara is often associated with the contemporary Japanese Pop art movement, which is known as “Superflat.”

Ryan Parteka

 In D14, Ryan Parteka intends to capture the metaphysical dimension characteristic of the German landscape painter Casper David Friedrich’s (1774-1840). 

Egill Sæbjörnsson

The narrative side of Egill Sæbjörnsson’s work comes to the fore in this exhibition at Hafnarhús. On display are works dating from 2005, featuring dialogue between characters or objects that convey unfolding events or time. Places and objects harbor a certain life that emerges in human proximity, within and beyond gallery walls. Through prior knowledge, each person bestows meaning on what crosses his or her path. Egill Sæbjörnsson was nominated for the 2010 Carnegie Art Award and did recently release his second music CD.

Erro

The year 2009 will be dedicated to the Erró Collection, an invaluable gift presented to Reykjavik City in 1989 by the artist himself. Hafnarhús will host special exhibitions and various happenings over the year. The exhibition Erró – Portrett presents his portraits or characters descriptions of well known individuals in the fields of science, politic, literature and arts. A part of the works will be on permanent show while others changes regularly with a emphasis on special themes such as Monsters (May 28 – August 30), Japanese Love letters (Sept. 3 – Dec. 31

Reykjavik art museum

Hafnarhus or The Harbour House, is housed in the former Warehouses of the Port of Reykjavík located in downtown area, and serves as the Reykjavik Art Museum’s institute of contemporary art. New developments in art are explored through diverse exhibitions of Icelandic and international artists.
It was designed by Studio Granda, a prac­tice of architects based in Reykjavík, Iceland and founded in 1987 by wife and hus­band team Mar­grét Hardard­ót­tir (1959, Reyk­javík, Ice­land) and Steve Chris­ter (1960, Black­fyne, UK). The building opened in 2000.

a lovely drive back accompanied by readings from the vikings.

a convoy of dentists

how are we gonna see Seljalandsfoss in the dark??

lights of course. really big spotties.

goody, more shadows

inside

outside

music in the church

The altarpiece, which hung in Holt Church and then in Ásólfsskáli Church, dates from 1768. It is a triptych depicting the Last Supper, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Crucifixes, candelabra, chandeliers etc. have also been acquired from various old churches. The chandelier in the nave is probably of 16th-century date, of Flemish or Dutch make. The carved baptismal font is a replica of a font dating from about 1600, while the brass baptismal bowl dates from around 1600; it is on loan from the National Museum of Iceland.

Skógasafn

The museum was founded in 1949 on the initiative of Þórður Tómasson. He was born in 1921 at Vallnatún under the Vestur-Eyjafjöll mountains in south Iceland, where he grew up with his parents, Tómas Þórðarson and Kristín Magnúsdóttir, and siblings.
At an early age Þórður developed an interest in Icelandic culture and its conservation. He completed lower secondary studies from Reykjavík High School.
Together with his work at the museum, Þórður has published many books on aspects of Icelandic folk culture.
In 1997 Þórður’s contribution to cultural history was recognised when he was awarded an honorary doctorate of the University of Iceland.

Þórður Tómasson unlocked the houses for us

It is a truly amazing collection, and we were priviledged to have the creator play the organ for us and open buildings.  He seemed a fairly grumpy man, but probably becasue we were popping in and ot of somewhere you could spend a whole day. see http://www.skogasafn.is/enska/eupplysingar.asp

lunch at Vik

marinerað lamb m steiku grænmeti batum og hvítlaukssmjöri

off to Vík í Mýrdal

black Beach Ball

 A remarkable  feature near Vik  is the beautiful black beach with the Reynisdrangar, black basalt columns sculpted by the sea. A folk tale says that they are former trolls which were caught outside at dawn. The sea around them is rather wild and stormy, so travelers will not be surprised to discover a monument to the memory of drowned seamen on the beach. In 1991, the American journal Islands Magazine counted this beach as one of the ten most beautiful beaches on Earth. The village is the wettest place in Iceland.

as luck would have it

I got a german tour with a singing tour guide.

walking on thin ice can be difficult at the best of times

glacial gorgeousness

and then on to Mýrdalsökull glacier

featuring the tour guide´s finger

The ice-cap of the glacier covers an active volcano called Katla. The crater of the volcano has a diameter of 10 km and the volcano erupts normally every 40 – 80 years. As the last eruption took place in 1918, scientists are monitoring the volcano very carefully. Since 930, 16 eruptions have been documented. The Laki craters and the Eldgjá being part of the same volcanic system, it can be regarded as one of the most powerful in the world.

first stop…..Skogafoss

We pass through some stunning scenery

a new day dawns, but not yet

8.30 am

I am standing outside a hotel waiting to be picked up for my tour and it is pitch black and the xmas ligts are on and it is 8.30 am in the morning. Wierd. The sun only started rising as we were well and truly on our southern adventure.

off to the big smoke

When we piled in the car at about 4.00pm, it was sooooooooooooo windy I was afraid of blowing away attached to me little bag. The sun was going down, and after a lovely few hours drive with stops for hot dogs and coffee, arrived in Reykjavik and found both Elizabeth´s spinning class and the SIM guesthouse/apartment. It is RIGHT IN THE HEART OF 101 and it is just me and Christian, a physical theatre director here form somewhere else to direct the Icelandic Ballet in an experimental work. But he is flying to Akuyeri to see his family on the weekend, so I have the place to myself. Noice.