Even in the depths of winter there is never a dull moment in Reykjavik. The city is very noticeably extreme both geographically and climatically. But it also has a population that is undeniably outre. While the rest of us moan and mutter come February, little deters the fun and imagination of Icelanders who think up offbeat ideas to liven up the winter evenings.
The Winter Lights Festival is a four-night splurge of fun. One night the Hallgrimskirkja, a landmark church, was lit in dreamy, mazy purple that bounced surreally off the church’s surface.
Then on Museum Night, 40 museums opened their doors till midnight. In the Hafnarhusio, the main contemporary gallery, they launched a series of works by 80 local artists. Look out for Omar Stefansson and Magnus Helgason for, as a former London art dealer, I can see that they will reach international renown.
Most arresting was the third evening, when locals were bussed around 17 city swimming pools. In the one downtown, the film Psycho was showing from a large screen at the pool edge. The rooms were decorated with candles and a suitably themed changing room was splattered with stage blood dripping from a shower.
A four-day trip to Reykjavic would probably suit most appetites and pockets and it works best as a base camp to the different tours. There’s horse-riding, lying in the thermally cleansing Blue Lagoon, seeing the Northern Lights, going on the Golden Circle tour to see both geysers and an impressive waterfall, or caving, or whale watching or simply hiking.
This Nordic island is proud of its eccentric people and the hybrid breed of Celtic and Viking. The volcanic landscape is lunar, sulphuric and unique. The weather is variable and in winter can be demanding and dramatic, as cars get abandoned in the snow drifts and daylight finishes early. Though, to my eyes, it lingered for as long as it does in Scotland, and the temperature was surprisingly mild apart from the odd wind. Locals say that global warming has already affected the growth of shrubs (which they call trees), has melted ice and changed fish migration patterns.
The city's main shopping street, Laugavegur, is thankfully free of any mall, and if it’s not a bar then it’s a woollen clothing store and both are expressed in the rather folksy, unpretentious population, warm and hip in their ever-present beenies. Much is imported and thus not cheap. Bookshops abound as the main retail outlet for those curious about the outside world.
Here, alternative is almost mainstream. I listened to a rock band strutting its stuff on a decommissioned Cod War patrol boat, supervised by the sophisticated and youthful mayor Dagur Eggertsson. He told me Polish immigrants were the mainstay of the 15% non-Icelandic population and how five gay Syrian refugees were adopted into the country.
Kex hostel (Skulagata 28) is a trendy hostel housed in an old biscuit factory, which serves delicious food and drink. The head chef at the Blue Lagoon, Prainn Freyr Vigfusson, is the current Nordic Cook of the Year. Other characters of note are Blur frontman Damon Albarn who fell for the city and part owns the Kaffi Bar Inn and the singer Bjork, popular as ever in the local charts and beyond.
I bought an Icelandic to English dictionary in the flea market, and discovered that sofa means sleep and bless goodbye. They have plenty of unusual terms. Skjar, a sheep's placenta, once used by farmers as window-panes, has become the word for television screen. Tolva means computer, fusing tolur, or number, with volva, an ancient prophetess. Telephone is simi, from an ancient word for thread and a jet plane is a thota, from the verb thjota,"to zoom. My favourite word is hippoppolli, which sums up the locals’ upbeat approach to winter … to jump into puddles.
Adam Jacot was a guest of Visit Reykjavik – www.visitreykjavik.is.
Prices start from £195 per night at the Apotek Hotel for a standard double room. Visit www.keahotels.is/apotek-hotel.
Icelandair flies from Glasgow to Reykjavik. Flights start at £211. Visit www.icelandair.co.uk.
For more on the Reykjavik Winter Lights Festival, visit www.winterlightsfestival.is.
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