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. 

Literary Sites: Reykjavik and New York

Reykjavik is known for many things: the bitter cold, the hard partying, and it's great literature. Wait... what?

That's right! Reykjavik is known for it's great literature. It has bore such works as:

• The Eddas - split into the Prose Edda and the Poetic Eddas. These are compilations of poems that serve as the greatest source of Norse mythology. 
• Independent People - written by Icelandic author, Halldór Laxness. He went on to win the Nobel Prize for Literarture in 1955 for his work.

Because of the above works and many others, Reykjavik was the first non-native English speaking city to receive the UNESCO City of Literature and the fifth in the world. 

"Reykjavík boasts a veritable abundance of literary riches, with our Icelandic medieval literature ranking amongst the world’s most important and culturally significant. Still read the world over, The Icelandic Sagas, which tell of extensive family disputes between blood-thirsty vikings, are a case in point. The Culture House exhibits some of the original medieval manuscripts, including the poetic Edda - the key to Nordic mythology - which is without doubt amongst the most important medieval literature specimens ever preserved. The Arnemagnean Manuscript Collection, also preserved in Reykjavík, was added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2009." 

To commemorate this, painted all over the city on walls, streets, buildings you'll find famous quotes from Icelandic literature.

You're able to get a closer look at a lot of these works of art in the Icelandic Culture House. This offers the best one-stop sightseeing of the greatest works of Icelandic literature from preserved Edds to Thor comics. 

If you'd like to continue your literature exploration of Iceland, the Reykjavik UNESCO literature site has set up a literary map and a literary walk and tails map. The walk and trail map is also an app available for download for iPhone and Android. 

You may be surprised to find that New York City is not considered a UNESCO City of Literature. This, of course, doesn't mean that there aren't some great literary sites to see once you're back home and looking to continue your literary travels around New York. 

One of the first places I'd recommend is to grab a drink at the famous Algonquin Hotel, where Dorothy Parker and the rest of her roundtable coterie held court and formed "The Vicious Circle."

After a few martinis, head over to Tiffany's and see the windows adored by Holly Golightly in Truman Capote's "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

Then Head on to Central Park and see the Bethesda Fountain featured in Tony Kushner's play, "Angels in America." 

For suggestions on other New York City literary sites, check out:

• Beats, bars, and books: Visiting the literary spots of New York City
• A Book Lovers Guide to New York City
• Walking Off The Big Apple - Literary New York

For further reading:
Reykjavik UNESCO City of Literature 
VisitReykjavik - UNESCO City of Literature 

Literature.is

The Burger Joint / Hamborgarabúllan

I had been in Reykjavik for a total of seven hours. Dawn and sunset had already occurred. I was exhausted from the overnight flight and starving. I was finally warm having switched out of my ill-thought adidas and into freshly bought hiking boots and looking to get warm on the inside as well. 

This is I came across a small, warmly-lit "restaurant" located in the middle of a traffic triangle. It was like a snowy oasis. The sign outside said...

"Burgerjoint."

I knew I was home.  

I went inside, talked to the friendly staff and ordered their recommended angus burger with a side of fries. It was decent-sized (I could have eaten two), juicy and DELICIOUS. Then a thought came to my mind... "This is better than Shake Shack."

I am a burger aficionado and I love me some Shake Shake. The small, crispy patty with lettuce and tomato has satisfied my cravings more times than I can count but... this BEATS Shake Shack. 

Burgerjoint has several locations around Reykjavik but I went to the one on Geirsgata. Check it out!

If you've had burgers from both places, do you agree that Burgerjoint is better? I'd love to hear your opinions.  

Welcome To My Blog / Velkomin á bloggið mitt

Columbus, Ohio:
Population: 809,798
Area: 223.1 sq. miles

Wilmington, Delaware(New Castle County):
Population: 546, 076
Area: 494 sq. miles

New York City
Population: 8,337,000 
Area: 468.5 sq. miles

Iceland
Population: 321,857
Area: 39,770 sq. miles

One of these things is not like the other. I'll give you one guess...

I was born in Columbus, Ohio. I grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and I currently live in New York City. All of these are fairly dense urban or suburban centers. I'm the first to admit that I'm a city boy; I once neared panic-attack-levels of anxiety driving through the wilderness of coastal Oregon. 

So how would you explain falling in love with Iceland, a misunderstood country of 321,857 people with close to half located in the capital city of Reykjavik? 
Could it be their famous musicians, Björk and Sigur Rós? 
Their landscape being featured in movies and television shows like Game of Thrones? 
Our shared love of Huldufólk, or Hidden People?
Or possibly love of fermented shark chased with a shot of Black Death?

Answer: It's a little bit of everything. As judged by the clichéd nickname of the country, The Land of Fire and Ice, Iceland is a land of opposites. Most people end with that cursory depiction. Similarly, on the surface, New York City and Iceland appear to have nothing in common. While there are quire a few differences between the two, there is also quite a bit that connects the two cultures. 

This blog will explore the differences, similarities and everything in between. I hope you find it informative, enjoyable and helps you in your exploration of Iceland.