Free Play Reading: Our Boy

Looking for something to do tonight?

The Scandinavia House will be hosting another installment of their SATContemporary Reading Series with a reading of Our Boy/Pabbastrákur by Icelandic playwright Hávar Sigurjónsson

Details

Monday, May 5th

8pm with 7:30pm pre-reception

FREE

http://finnurarnar.com/category/theater/

Written by Hávar Sigurjónsson (Iceland, 2003), translated by Árni Ibsen (Iceland), & directed by Onur Karaoglu (Turkey). In a series of isolated scenes of various lengths, Sigurjónsson examines the relationships between a mother, a father, their homosexual son, and his boyfriend. Themes like machismo, love and longing, sex, upbringing, and marriage are dealt with an equal amount of seriousness and humor.Our Boy premiered at the National Theater in Iceland in January 2003. It was selected at the Bonn/Wiesbaden Biennale for Best New European Drama in 2004.

Traveler Tip: Don't Receive A Handshake In Reykjavik

If a Reykjaviker offers you a "Reykjavik Handshake," don't accept it. 

Iceland, for the tenth year in a row, has topped European countries for the number of chlamydia cases. 

https://www.internations.org/iceland-expats/guide/living-in-iceland-15712/healthcare-education-and-safety-in-iceland-3

According to The Reykjavik Grapevine, "2,179 cases of chlamydia were diagnosed in Iceland last year, marking a 14% increase from 2012" This is in a country of 320,000 people. That's .6% of the country. 

Now.... before you get all scared and keep yourself from having any fun while in Iceland. It may not be as bad as it seems. These high numbers could also be due to the high-quality healthcare and extensive testing done. 

Just remember, better safe than sorry. 

Read More: Iceland #1 in Chlamydia For Tenth Year Running 

Free Trip Courtesy of Reyka Vodka

The free trips to Iceland seem to be rolling in lately. 

This time, courtesy of Reyka Vodka.

http://thecocktailgeek.com/review-reyka-vodka-and-bitters/

Reyka, the small-batch vodka handcrafted in Iceland is offering one Grand Prize Winner:

• 4 day/3 night trip for Two to one Grand prize winner
• Hotel 
• Round-trip airfare from any U.S. airport
• Airport transfers to/from Keflavik

All you have to do is head to Rekyaadventure.com to enter.

Good Luck!

Does Iceland Have A Lot To Learn About Tourism?

Has the service and accommodations during your previous stay(s) in Iceland left you wanting? If you're leaning towards yes, you appear to be in good company.

Iceland, when compared to other tourist destinations, does not offer the same quality for price as other major tourist destinations, according to the recent The Reykjavik Grapevine article "Hotel Industry Harshly Criticized."

http://www.visitreykjavik.is/

In spite of the countries friendly reputation, Renato Gruenenfelder, the managing director of Guðmundur Jónasson Travel found that when,

"Comparing Icelandic hotels to those hotels with the same number of stars in Copenhagen, Paris, Dubai, Paris, Rome, Beijing and New York, he found that in most cases, Icelandic hotels ranked lower when it came to conditions, service, and quality for the same amount of money."

My experiences have been generally very positive. I will say there are times when I thought hotel staff could have been a tad more helpful but nothing really to the point of a complaint. In regards to restaurants and other places, everyone was extremely friendly and nice. 

Has anyone had a bad experience? Let me know. 

Want Free Tickets to Iceland Airwaves '14

Do you like music?

Do you like Reykjavik?

Do you like listening to music while in Reykjavik?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions then you've probably heard of the music festival, Iceland Airwaves. 

You, may, then be interested to hear that Iceland, Naturally and Fordham-based radio station, WFUV are offering a contest to win tickets with airfare and hotel to this year's festival.

This year's Iceland Airwaves runs November 5-9th, and features artists from around the world including a closing show by The Flaming Lips.

WFUV is using this as a prize for their Spring Member Drive; so if you contribute to them, you'll be automatically entered to win the tickets. Additionally, you may their Iceland Airwaves Contest by filling out an entry form. 

The contest goes until April 30th. and the drawing will be held on May 7th. 

Gain some good karma and donate if you can. It won't help your chances but you'll feel better about yourself. 


The fine print...

Retail value $2,230 USD, donated in part by Icelandair and Iceland Naturally. No purchase or contribution is necessary to enter. WFUV employees, Advisory Board members and Community Advisory Board members and their respective household members are not eligible. Contest begins at 12:01am on April 23 and ends at 11:59pm on April 30. Drawings will be held May 7, 2014. The winner will be chosen at random. Limit one entry per household. Incomplete entries are void.

Searching For Summer Flights to Reykjavik From New York?

Looking to ditch swelteringly sticky New York City this summer for refreshingly cool Iceland this summer?

People may think of Iceland as a cold, desolate place but, during the summer months, it is a vibrant island whose natural beauty is on display the almost unending days and nightlife to match. 

http://www.airlinesanddestinations.com/airlines/delta-to-add-new-service-elements-on-transcontinental-flights/

Whether you're looking to head over for the Summer Solstice in June or Gay Pride in August, your travel options have now increased. 

Starting June 4th, Delta's seasonal service from New York's JFK airport to Keflavík International Airport (KEF) resumes!

Delta will offer daily non-stop flights through September 12th.

The flight details are 
Delta 256 
Departs JFK - 11:32pm
Arrives KEF - 9:10am 

Departs KEF - 10:50am
Arrives JFK - 12:34pm

So bust out those unused Sky Miles and start booking now to explore the stark beauty of Iceland's volcanic landscapes or the lush, verdant coastal towns.

Interested In A Peek At The Final Member?

Did my previous post "Icelandic Films: The Final Member" arouse your interest in the upcoming documentary chronicling the journey of Icelandic Phallological Museum curator, Sigur∂ur "Siggi" Hjartarson, in his quest to add a human phallus to the collection?

You now have another chance to satisfy your desire. 

The Museum of Sex will preview the film, The Final Member, this Wednesday, April 16th. 

The Final Member Screening

Wednesday, April 16th

7-9pm

Museum of Sex

NO COVER!

RSVP:

RSVP@museumofsex.com

or

nathaniel@brigademarketing.com

Looking For A Free Photography Art Exhibit?

Looking for some free culture this weekend?

Check out "Darkness & Light: Contemporary Nordic Photography" at the Scandinavian House this weekend.

"Darkness & Light: Contemporary Nordic Photographypresents over 30 recent works by 10 emerging and established photographers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden whose practices demonstrate the breadth and strength of Nordic photography today: Thora Dolven Balke, Tonje Bøe Birkeland, JH Engström, Joakim Eskildsen, Ulla Jokisalo, Bára Kristinsdóttir, Tova Mozard, Nelli Palomäki, Katya Sander, and Pétur Thomsen."

It's Free.

It's 30 works (so you can get culture but not too much culture)

Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12 – 6 pm (Wednesday until 7 pm)

Location: 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016

This Is A $10 Latte...

You are looking at a $10 latte from BÚÐIN NYC. 

After reading several articles and writing about the opening of BUÐIN and its distinction of being the most expensive latte in the New York City, I finally made it to Greenpoint to try the nordic coffee sensation, the Lakkrís . 

What is worth the $10? Yes, I enjoyed it. 

Primarily, it tasted really good. Sweet with a after-taste of licorice that lightened the richness of the rich latte. I drank this after a fairly large brunch and didn't feel worse for the drinking of it. 

Secondly, it was well worth the money to see the painstaking effort that went into making it. While others ordered regular coffee and received it within a couple minutes, my Lakkrís took a good 5-10 minutes to make. You can watch as the barista adds each ingredient with care like each latte is a batch of polyjuice potion. 

The wait for your latte is the perfect time to browse the design section of the store. Here you can peruse goods from all over Scandinavia including Iceland. The Icelandic offerings range from herbal beauty products by Soley Organics to Saltverk Sea Salt and handcrafted goods.

I would definitely recommend it. 

Has anyone else been? What did you think?

Looking For Brennivín Recipes?

The wait is over!!! You can now get Black Death in America!

No. I don't mean this Black Death. I'm talking about Brennivín. 

photo via Brennivín American 

You may remember I posted a few weeks back that Brennivín would soon be available in the United States. Well...you need to wait no longer, my fellow Icelandophiles and aquavit-lovers. It was recently announced by Brennivín America that Brooklyn based DrinkUpNY will be selling Brennivín domestically. 

In support of their stocking of Brennivín, DrinkUpNY recently posted on their blog, "Exploring Brennivín - The Icelandic Aquavit", recounting a brief history of the Icelandic aquavit along with a few recipes using the drink. If you'd like to buy some Brennivín from DrinkUpNY, you can do so here

I figured there had to be more recipes than that so I went looking through the interwebs for more ways to consume the caraway-flavored elixir and came up with the recipes below. 

COCKTAIL RECIPES

Northern Lights

• 1 part Brennivín
• 1/2 part Amaretto
• 1 part grapefruit juice
• splash of soda water
• garnish with an orange slice

via DrinkUpNY

Katla

• 1 part Brennivín
• 1/2 part Kahlua or other coffee liquor
• squeeze of lemon
• soda water

via DrinkUpNY

Geir

• 2 oz. Brennivín
• 1 oz. Kahlua liqueur
• Half-and-half

In a rocks glass, add brennivín and Kahlua over ice. Top with half-and-half, stir and serve. 

Nohito via The Grapevine.is

via TheAwl.com

B & T

• Use Brennivín as in a gin & tonic but garnish with lime wedge and dill sprig

via DrinkUpNY

Nohito

• 1 part Brennivín
• 1.5 parts Martini Bianco, 
• 1/2 part dark rum
• slice of lemon
• slice of lime
• Dash of Bols Peppermint
• Top off with 3 parts ginger ale

via The Reykjavik Grapevine

Mountain King

• 2 parts Brennivín
• 4 parts Mysa (whey produced during Icelandic yogurt production. A recipe for homemade Skyr is available here)
• Mountain Dew

via The Reykjavik Grapevine

1972

• 1 Can Coca-Cola, rested on a radiator until extremely warm 
• Combine with three shots of Brennivín

via The Reykjavik Grapevine

Eskimojito (From the Seafood Cellar Reykjavík)

• Muddled together in a long drink glass:
• 8 leaves of fresh mint 
• 3 wedges of fresh lime 
• 2 wedges of fresh green apple 
• Then add: 
• 2 cl. vanilla syrup (50/50 sugar and water with seeds from 2 vanilla pods per liter) 
• 2 cl. green apple pourée 
• 5 cl. Icelandic Brennivín 
• Then fill the glass with crushed ice and top it up with sparkling water. Decorate with the top of a mint branch.

(FYI... 2 cl = 2/3 fluid oz)
via Weinquelle

The Iceberg

• (Makes 2 cocktails) 
• Pulverize 1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds in a mortar
• In a pitcher, stir
• 4 oz Brennivín
• 2 oz dry vermouth
• 2 Tbl fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tbl wildflower honey, until honey dissolves
• Add 1/2 cup of ice, chopped in 1/2-inch pieces, and stir
• Strain into two cocktail glasses, add heaping tablespoon of ice to each glass and float a few pinches of caraway seeds on top

via The New York Times

Midnight Sun

(makes 1 cocktail)

• 2.5 oz Brennivín 
• 1 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
• .75 oz Donn’s Mix #2 (see below)
• Juice of half a lime
• 8 cardamom pods
• 1 slice lime (for garnish)

photo via Steak For Dinner

Pour the aquavit, St. Germain, Donn’s Mix, and lime juice over the cardamom pods in a pint mixing glass. Muddle the ingredients together for a couple of minutes, really working to break down the cardamom pods. Add ice and shake for a few seconds. Strain into an old fashioned glass over ice and garnish with a slice of lime.

DONN’S MIX #2
RECIPE (makes about 1.5 cups):

• 5 cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces
• 1 cup grapefruit juice
• 3/4 cup sugar

In a small pot, mix the sugar and 1/2 cup water and add the cinnamon. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, ensuring all of the sugar dissolves. Let simmer for 30 minutes and take off heat. Let the syrup cool and then mix it together with the grapefruit juice. 

via Steak for Dinner

Caraway Coffee

• Pinch of caraway seeds
• Coffee
• Brennivín to taste
• Add caraway seeds to pre-ground coffee or grind with fresh coffee beans. Brew the coffee and add Brennivín to taste.

via Jo's Icelandic Recipes

In addition to cocktails, Brennivín can be used in cooking such as for curing fish and other recipes that call for schnapps or a caraway flavor. 

Of course, you can also drink it how nature intended... as a chaser after eating Hákarl.

Has anyone tried any of these? What did you think? Do you have any ideas for ways to drink/use Brennivín? Let me know in the comments.

Further Reading
Drinking The Black Death - Vice.com

Tour Iceland ... Without Leaving Your Couch

           

Take an amazing journey around Iceland, without leaving your couch.

Brothers Patrick and Henrick Shyu of Blue Eden filmed this video of 2 weeks in March 2014 all around Iceland. 

Watch as you glide over frozen tundra and glaciers to waterfalls and volcanic rock all under the skyscape of Northern Lights. 

(h/t Iceland Review)

In A Land Far, Far Away... Iceland in Films

Do I have any film buffs reading this?

Then you've probably seen Iceland has been in the news lately related to the upcoming Star Wars film directed by JJ Abrams. 

This got me thinking about the many times I've watched a movie and tried to guess where the actual shooting location was. Does anyone else play that game? No. Just me? Ok. Cool.

I've decided to compile a list of popular movies/shows that have shot in Iceland.

Game of Thrones

I'm starting with an obvious one but as a huge Game of Thrones fan I had to go for it. Any scene taking place north of the wall is filmed in Iceland. 

http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/File:Wights_1x10.png

Fun fact*: Game of Thrones producers were the first to ever convince the large White Walker community in Iceland to be filmed on camera.

Noah

The upcoming Biblical Darren Aronofsky epic was filmed near Reykjavik in Fossvogur and also in the southern most point of the island in Reynisfjara. Reynisfjara is a breath-taking beach location. Seattle Travels named it as her favorite place in Iceland

Oblivion

Speaking of Dettifoss, the Tom Cruise post-apocalypse movie filmed at the waterfall and other areas around the country to fill in for the ruined landscape. The landscape was the most entertaining part of the movie. 

Prometheus

Many of the exterior shots were filmed in Iceland. The beginning of the film with the Engineer on a waterfall was filmed at the Dettifoss, supposedly the most power waterfall in Europe. Exterior shots around the Engineer ship were shot around Hekla. You may remember Hekla from my previous post, Want to Ride on a Volcano?  

Thor: The Dark World

Waterfalls in Iceland seem to be a popular shooting destination. Scenes of the Dark World for Thor were shot around Iceland, including Skógarfoss and Reykjavik.

http://screenrant.com/thor-2-costumes-photos-gallery/thor-2-the-dark-world-official-still-photo-asgard-waterfall/

What are your tell-tale signs of something being filmed in Iceland? Craggy landscape? Glaciers? Movies taking place in Iceland? 

*There are no such things are White Walkers, I think. 

Want To Ride On A Volcano?

Iceland is known to most as the "Land of Fire and Ice." This of course comes from the juxtaposition of its unstable tectonic location and its  snow and glaciers covered landscape. 

Recently, the fire of Iceland has been making the news. You may recall the volcano Eyjafjallojökull caused travel disruptions all over the globe in the wake of its eruption. 

Because of the havoc and destruction these eruptions cause, it may seem ironic that things which caused to much choas to air travel are used by Icelandair as names for their planes. 

via. http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/oldroot/legends/iceland/icemap.jpg

Below is a list of volcanoes used as by Icelandair for naming their planes and where you're likely to grab a ride on them.

Hengill

Hengill is located in the southwest of Iceland. The geothermic energy from it is a source of power for the southern part of the country. 

Departure Cities
New York City - J.F.K.


Her∂ubrei∂

Her∂ubrei∂ is located in the North-east of the island. 

Departure Cities
Denver 
Boston


Eyjafjallojökull

Eyjafjallojökull, arguably the most famous Iceland volcano, is located in the south of the island. It most recently erupted in 2010 causing travel disruptions and severe economic consequences felt around the world. The ash cloud spread to Western Europe, Scandanavia and Russia

Eyjafjallojökull in 2013

Eyjafjallojökull in 2010, mid-eruption

Watch a webcam live-stream from Eyjafjallojökull here

Departure Cities

Seattle
Orlando
Boston


Eldborg

Elborg is located in the West of Iceland. Only a crater now remains of it that is accessible for hikers to walk around and even climb up it.

Departure Cities

Lava Pile at Krafla
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Lava_at_Vulkan_Krafla_Iceland_4.JPG

Boston

Krafla

Krafla is located to the north. This volcano is a source of power for the northern region. 

Departure Cities
Denver
Seattle
Newark, NJ


Snæfell

Located in Western Iceland and visible from Reykjavik. This volcano was made famous in Jules Vernes' novel Journey to the Center of the Earth. 

Departure Cities
Seattle
Washington, DC
Boston


Askja

Askja is located in the central highlands of Iceland. In April 2012, it was closed to tourists in fear of possible eruption.

Departure Cities
Seattle
Orlando
Washington, DC


Hekla

Hekla, located in the South, is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes.  Scientists are predicting that it will erupting again soon. 

Eruption at Hekla
http://www.katlageopark.is/hekla-showing-signs-of-increased-seismic-activity/

Watch a webcam live-stream from Hekla here

Departure Cities
Orlando
Denver


Katla

Katla, larger than the well-known Eyjafjallojökull, is located on the southern part of the island. It is one of the more active Icelandic volcanoes. Combined, Katla and Hekla form "The Angry Sisters"

Departure Cities
Seattle


Skjalbrei∂ur

Located in the West, Skjalbrei∂ur means "broad shield"

Departure Cities
Denver



What do you think of Icelandair's naming their planes after volcanoes? Tongue-in-cheek and funny? Asking for trouble? 

I'd like to hear from you!



Further reading:
A Guide to Iceland's Volcanoes
Volcanoes of Iceland
Volcanology of Iceland

Looking For A Cheap Deal to Iceland?

Have you been to Iceland? Have a friend who's been to Iceland?

According to a recent article, "Iceland Tops European Tourism Report" in The Reykjavik Grapevine, you probably have OR do. Iceland topped other European countries with a 21% increase in foreign visitors last year. 

Groupon is taking advantage of this trend and offering a vacation deal to Reykjavik. 


Available departures dates range from October '14 to March '15 from NYC. Depending on your departure date, the price varies from $799 to $999 USD. 

This would be a perfect deal to take advantage of if you're looking to experience the infamous Icelandic New Year's Eve celebration. 

I can tell you first hand it's a MUST-DO in your life. 

The vacation package includes:

5-Day Iceland Vacation with Northern-Lights ViewingDespite its name and northerly location, much of Iceland's landscape is carpeted in greenery. This vacation puts you in Reykjavik, the heart of Iceland and the northernmost capital city on earth. There's no set itinerary, so travelers can spend most of the vacation exploring the Icelandic landscape at their own pace. This vacation includes a nighttime tour to see the breathtaking northern lights. This vacation includes:

• Round-trip airfare

• Airline taxes and fuel surcharges

• Alternate departure dates/gateways may be available for additional fees.

• 3 nights of standard accommodations at Best Western Hotel Reykjavik, Bjork Hotel, or similar, depending on option purchased

• Daily breakfast

• Northern-lights evening tour

So... What are you waiting for?!?!