Find

P4090040, originally uploaded by blue eyes.

A little teaser...can you find the beer bottle in this picture? How it got where it got I can't fathom, but I'm sure it involved a tipsy+ person on a late Saturday night.

For those of you who've been here, this store, Stella, is located on Bankastræti, or Bank Street, so named because the first bank in Reykjavik was housed in this very building, circa 1886.

Volcano show

Just got back from Copenhagen! Went with Valentina on a mother-daughter trip, or mæðgurferð. We did Tivoli and Bakken and drank many 7-11 slurpees and shopped and shopped and shopped. We behaved like true tourists and had a great time doing it!

Speaking of tourists, this tiny little theater and it's Volcano Show is a perfect stop for visitors to Reykjavik. Even though it's about a two minute walk from our door, I've never been. I love the big red rock with it's cool iron decoration, though. I've heard that the film is a definite must for those who want to know more about our harrowing geological past (and future!), and since it's a homespun affair (a father-son production), I think that everyone should give it a go. I even promise to check it out myself. Soon.

Clown

Here's our local seasonal Australian street clown come back to town just like the swallows and plovers. His name's Wally and he's real good at what he does, busking and entertaining in the town square and always, always gathering a crowd. Thank goodness, I say, for a big dose of down under humor to make our lives more fun!

Red Rock

Some scenery from the wilds of outer Reykjavik. There's no snow on the ground anymore, but the pretty rises of Rauðholar are just as red as they were 4600 years ago when lava poured over this plain, gathering iron ore along the way that oxidized beautifully, if I may say so.

To read a little more about this location, go here. Or you can read this Planetary Science Research Discoveriespage about similarities between the rootless cones of Rauðholar and those of Mars. Fascinating stuff.

By the way, go to London Calling to read Luis's great synopsis of Iceland and its people. He's pretty much summed it all up in one well-written blog post.

Pump

A pump or a dial, I don't know. But this beautiful object glistened and steamed in the May sunshine on the rise behind the town of Hveragerði today. It's obviously connected to the thermal hot spots that puff and bubble in this region, though what actual purpose it serves is beyond me.

I imagined a town Pump Man, a brawny hunk of muscle, coming out every day to turn the iron wheel clockwise, opening the geothermal taps for business. And geothermal energy is well utilized in Hveragerði where hothouses grow our cucumbers, tomatos and roses all year round and the swimming pool steam bath smells of sulpher straight from the source. At some designated time of night, Pump Man would then walk with certainty back to the wheel and close the valves, containing again the intensity of heat and power that throbs eternally just beneath our island's crust.

Double-header

Spooky, eh? The first time Valentina and I saw this critter, or one jsut like him (her?) was at the Skógar Folk Museum in south Iceland. We were told by a kind old gentleman who worked there that he's seen plenty of kids burst into tears when they grasped what was going on with this lamb. Others, like my girl, just showed intense curiosity and a bit of wonder at the weirdness of the world.

This lambkins is displayed in the window of a nice new wool store (don't know the name!) on Hafnarstræti, just next door to the Dubliners pub, downtown Reykjavik, for all to see and marvel at.

While cruising and perusing the web I found a great and very up-to-date listing of Reykjavik stores on the Reykjavik.com website. The English language monthly Grapevine also has a good listing of shops here, and is well worth reading overall to get a good feel for what's really going on here in the political and cultural scene. Check it out.

May Day

Happy May Day to all, whatever it may mean to you in your culture. Here in Iceland it's traditionally the day for workers to unite and show their solidarity with each other, much the same as in many other Western countries. I'll let Wikipedia do the honors of describing in more detail the history and meaning of this day, while I'll humbly offer up a snapshot of life in the town square today where the May Day parade culminated. A picture speaks a thousand words...