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Unnar Geir was born and raised in Egilsstaðir, Unnar then moved to the capital area for vocal studies. Later he headed to London to study acting and directing. Earlier this year he returned to his hometown after seventeen years away to head the area's Cultural Centre. It was a challenging move for a challenging job. When asked how it felt to return to the small town after years of cosmopolitan life, Unnar says it was quite nice. "I found there were still so many familiar faces in this milieu. Still, the town had changed so much, and for the better.” Childhood mischief “Egilsstaðir was a village until 1987 when it received municipal rights. When I was growing up, it had this village atmosphere. It was an era of prosperity; there was an influx of young people, raising young children. My street was Reynivellir in a brand new neighbourhood, and it was awash with children. We enjoyed life, playing outdoors, throughout summer and winter. Our street was one of the first in the village to be asphalted thus making it perfect for bicycling. Of course, children from outside our street also wanted to bike there – but we would have none of it. And, we defended our street staunchly with rocks. Outside children were literally stoned. Their only option was to befriend someone from our street who then became responsible for them. Egilsstaðir was different from other towns and villages, as it had no harbor or seafaring. But, we had the airport. My friends and I would climb the airport fences, which was absolutely prohibited, of course. We would crouch down and spy on the passengers. We would record who was leaving and who was arriving and who was suspicious. The most suspect ones were men with briefcases.” The “Lions” in the Woods “We also had the Egilsstaðir woods. At that time, the local farmers kept their bulls there. The woods were not open to the public. We would venture into the woods in search of the bulls, which was also prohibited, of course. But, to us this was a jungle, and the Bulls were lions. We were utterly terrified, and whenever we heard a twig crack, we would run for our lives. Still, we would go there again and again – just for the thrill. It was always the question of whether we would get away before the bulls caught up with us. The woods were our area for thrills and excitement. Afterwards, we would go to the river Eyvindará for a splash. We also had a favorite spot there for fishing. Years later we learned it was the precise spot where the sewage entered the river. No one remembered to tell us and obviously it didn't bother us. There wasn't much tourism at the time. But, the Norræna ferry had started arriving in Seyðisfjörður. And, every time the ferry came in my friends and I would stand by the road and wave to the tourists. We took it upon ourselves to welcome all of them, on behalf of our community.” A transient place “Egilsstaðir rested on farming and services to the area, but it is changing. I am still observing the community as a guest, and it seems to be searching for a new identity. It has a kind of teenage atmosphere. We are not bound by the rules and traditions of the old community and, therefore, a bit infirm. The atmosphere is a bit peculiar. Egilsstaðir feels like a transient place. A lot of people move here only to stay awhile, and it affects the community. Not necessarily in a negative manner. It is essential to import new trends and ideas but at the same time stability is somewhat lacking." Today, Unnar says Egilsstaðir has a lot to offer. "We have very good schools and access to education is excellent. All services and amenities are a short distance. We have quite a variety of shops, and the restaurant business is booming. We have the airport for the east coast region next doors. Thus, we are just 50 minutes away from the centre of Reykjavík. There is exquisite nature all around us and we enjoy the privilege of a relaxing atmosphere. Everything is short distance Egilsstaðir is a prosperous place. Distance learning at university stage is being developed, and I find I enjoy all the services I need here. And, most important to me, the cultural life is very rich. The Icelandic Art College is running an art form faculty here. We have a robust drama company and quite a number of choirs. We are now preparing for Icelandic and international dance companies to stay with us for a while. They will be using our facilities for rehearsals and performances. And, at Seyðisfjörður, our neighboring town, you will find The Visual Arts Centre, which has been a player on the international culture scene for quite a number of years. If this had been the reality here in Egilsstaðir when I was young, I very much doubt I would have left. At that time, we only had sports. If you didn't do sport, there was nothing for you to do. In mere seventeen years, the community has become much more diverse and open. Still, there are great opportunities for further expansion. One of my aims as the director of the Cultural Centre is to establish a basis for artists to settle here. I aim to make it possible for artists to live off their chosen art form in our region."

The Icelanders have always found Keflavík a bit odd and the inhabitants different from the other islanders. There might be some truth in it though a very few can pinpoint exactly what makes them different. It used to be a town with a vague identity and hardly anyone’s family was originally from Keflavík. The town started as a fishing hamlet that grew to be a trading centre. As it had favorable port conditions and the distance to good fishing grounds was relatively short people from the rest of the country started moving there in search of work. As a result, Keflavík became a potpourri of Icelanders who had their extended families scattered around the rest of the island. During the Second World War the American Navy built a Naval Station at the town’s threshold and stayed until 2006. Keflavík saw a fresh influx of people searching for jobs and settling in the area. The Americans brought the modern world with them in the form of television and a radio station broadcasting contemporary music 24/7. This absolutely modern media was only available to the inhabitants of the Reykjanes Peninsula, setting them still further apart from the rest of the islanders. They had a window to the rest of the world. Keflalvík was “a Room with a View.” Surrounded by natural wonders In this atmosphere of ceaseless transition Ólafur Jón Arnbjörnsson was growing up. He later left to study in Reykjavík, then Demark and later in the US. Now a teacher, Ólafur moved back to Iceland to be assistant headmaster of a secondary college in Sauðárkrókur in North Iceland and later took up the position of headmaster in his hometown, Keflavík. Ólafur has very fond memories of growing up in Keflavík. “It was great,” he says, “it is quite funny but I don’t have any conscious memories of my life before the age of twelve, but it doesn’t take much to trigger older memories. It happens when I brows through photos from that period or, I enter a house which has a certain smell of old people’s powder or perfume. Old smells, sounds and pictures have been my way of recalling my life until the age of twelve. The things I remember most is travelling around the Reykjanes Peninsula with my parents. They much admired the peninsula’s geology and we would go on daytrips to appreciate the natural wonders surrounding us. I still find the Reykjanes Peninsula to be one of the most beautiful parts of Iceland. The Age of Music At the time I wasn’t aware of Keflavík being different from anywhere else. I never wondered about the window we had to the world through the American TV and radio. I am sure I assumed it was accessible to everyone else in Iceland. Anyway, throughout those decades provincial pundits kept closing them down and reopening them in a perpetual frustration over the impact it might have on our amorphous souls. During my teenage years we had a relatively open-minded authorities; the dangerous American influence stayed open. And, I loved being a teenager in Keflavík. Due to our proximity with a radio station broadcasting all the latest musical trends in Europe and America we were aware of the Beatles very early on. We liked what we heard and Keflavík became consumed in some sort of a musical craze. There were pop bands all over the place. Everyone and their uncle were forming a band, rehearsing in every garage, shed and stockroom they could get their hands on. No one was plagued by an inferiority complex when it came to music; there were no barriers and you didn’t have to have a clue how to play an instrument. I didn’t know how to play an instrument but I played with several bands. Well, we never actually played anywhere, but we rehearsed like mad. Big changes Indeed, the musical life in Keflavík was so rich we always had live bands at school dances. Then there were the local dancing halls. I was small for my age at that time and born late in the year making it difficult for me to gain access to the dancing halls. I had to wait much longer then my friends who were more mature, or born earlier in the year. How I envied them. Still, these were great times.” Changes are an integral part of Keflavík. When the American Navy left in 2006 there were many who predicted a speedy decline, even death, to the communities on the Reykjanes Peninsula. To add to the unemployment problems were changes in the fishing industry. The fishing grounds had shifted further away and technology had advanced, permanently altering life in fishing towns across the country. This process had already started in 1995 when Ólafur returned to Keflavík, after more than two decades away. Keflavík had changed, and it kept changing, but in they way many had predicted.” Communal ups and downs “Of course I could see the changes when I came back,” says Ólafur, “but, then again, my outlook had also changed. The town was going through a transition period, once again. When I started working there as a headmaster, 500 students were attending the school. When I resigned three years ago, the number had increased to 1.200. Keflavík, and the neighboring communities are the fastest growing area in Iceland outside the Reykjavik metro. It is a lot more diverse and offers much more opportunities. It really is a melting pot with changes happening very fast. All cycles are larger and faster in this area then the rest of the country, resulting in lesser stability. This applies to both nature and economics. This is a very young area with the comparatively the largest age group between 18-25. Five years ago, unemployment for this age group was tremendous. Today, there is a shortage due to projects developing and being launched in the area, mainly in connection with increased tourism, as well as, new and changed opportunities in the fishing industry.” Realizing the potential Three years ago, Ólafur resigned as headmaster of the secondary school in Keflavík to launch a brand new project, The Icelandic College of Fisheries. The College was founded in Grindavík, to the south of the peninsula. “When I came back to Keflavík, I realized a big portion of the local teenagers would not go on to secondary school for a further education. As I have always been passionate about matters concerning education I set out to identify the problem. The primary question was: Why would young people rather settle for a life working in fishing factories than attain more education? After analyzing the communities and possibilities around the peninsula I had to ask myself: Why aren’t we educating young people in the field of their choice? We are not all cut out to become academics at the age of 16. We all have different talents. We all seek different lifestyles. And, as a community, we need this diversity. I started discussing the matter with municipality authorities in communities across the peninsula, as well as, comities responsible for further education and last but not least – the fishing industry and the unions. Everyone was interested. So, we launched the school. For the first year we had a handful of students and I was the only staff member, doing everything from teaching, to maintenance and cleaning. Today we have 70 students in Grindavik and seven permanent staff members and growing. There are satellite projects now in the West-fjords and in the North-West and more on the way – and run recruit programs for some of the bigger companies in Icelandic fish processing. “ Offering an alternative “What we offer is an alternative to sixteen-year-old kids who want to work and live in the area; kids who don’t want to know more about subjects they are already fed up with and have no ambition of pursuing further. Why not offer them a two-year education in the profession of their choice? Why not offer the technical know-how they need? We offer a variety of courses for seamen, net makers as well as workers in fish processing factories and fish farming to certify them for the profession they have chosen. The fishing industry has always been important for this area and will continue to be so. There is no reason to forget all about the industry that has maintained this nation throughout the ages, just because we have new job opportunities coming into the area. We simply have to adjust, embrace diversity and do better than ever before.”

Three years ago, Jenný Lára graduated as an actress and director from the Kogan Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Every year quite a number of young Icelanders complete their education in dramatic arts abroad, most often in London. Some choose to stay, some to return home. Jenny Lára chose to return to Iceland immediately after graduating. Back home to an extremely competitive market. Back home, to reap the rewards of her education and harness her creative spirit. But, what was it like returning home? "It was very nice, but at the same time, quite hard. Returning to all this lovely nature and my thinly populated country after all the hustle and bustle of London was great. But, it was hard. I was educated abroad for a highly visible profession. Nobody in Iceland knew who I was. I had to start building a reputation from the scratch. But, being an actor or a play director isn't easy anywhere. I reckoned it would be easier for me in Iceland than in the UK. Firstly, my roots are here; secondly, Icelandic is my mother tongue." My work has to matter to me Jenny Lara has wasted no time since returning to Iceland. She has been quite prolific, writing, acting, constantly directing for three years. She has worked with methods hitherto unknown in Iceland and in places not too obvious for staging a play. Her ways are quite unconventional, as she still hasn't found time to venture into the big conventional theatres. Why? "When I returned home I found I wasn't ready. I needed time to experiment and grow; to develop my creative voice. Establishing oneself is quite complicated anywhere in the world. The big theatres have their repertoire. Their directors can't choose which plays to direct, that is, not until they are very experienced and established. They also have a set group of actors and a director can't always choose his/her actors. I am still not ready to do just anything. I want my work to matter to me – creatively. I relish the freedom to experiment. When you are young it is important to challenge yourself, try out new methods, new venues, new ideas. I simply don't want to tread other people's path." Your standpoint seems to be that of the director. What about acting? The beloved northeast Iceland "It is a similar situation. If you are an actor working at the constitutional theatres, you have to do as you are told. You neither choose the roles you are cast in, nor the productions. Whatever your dream role, it is not yours. Not by a long shot. Maybe never. When you are working independently, you are not forced into roles where you have no chance of demonstrating your versatility as an actor. And the greatest freedom of all for the theatrical outsider is not being confined to Reykjavík. The whole country is your playground. I spent part of my youth in the northeast and my ties to that area are very strong. I wanted to bring something back to this wonderful area. Not just anything. Not a traditional piece with a traditional text. I wanted to introduce diversity and the vast possibilities the theatre has to offer. It has been a wonderful experience." A brand new experience Jenný Lára's first production in the northeast was Elska (Loving), which Jenný says is a play based on the Verbatim method. "I interviewed people living in the area about their relationships and what constituted love in their minds. From this material, I wrote the play. It was a study on the concept of love. It had six characters and in order to switch from one character to another I had shoes. Each character had his pair of shoes. I performed Elska in all the communities but one in the Þingeyjarsýsla county. After the performance, I invited questions and discussions on the topic of love. Every performance was great fun and a brand new experience for the audience and me. I also performed Elska at the Act Alone Theatre Festival in Suðureyri and in Reykjavík." The next piece Jenný Lára wrote and produced was on the Hidden People of the Northeast area. "I was asked by Mývatnsstofa (The Mývatn Cultural Centre) to write a piece from the local Elf-tales and then perform the play in English during summer 2014. It was a magnificent experience as the play was staged in Dimmuborgir, the greatest lava formation area in Iceland – and just by the beautiful Lake Mývatn. I also relished being able to bring those stories to our visitors, as I have always loved the Icelandic Elf-tales." Her very own Theatre Company Jenný Lára's third production in Iceland's Northeast was the "Culture Bus." Along with artists from England and Norway, she travelled in a bus from Kópasker to Raufarhöfn, performing their play en route. The topic was the old, Icelandic tradition of domestic work migration. The questions being asked were: Why do those who stay, stay? And why do those who leave, leave? The Culture Bus was quite a success, but alas, had limited capacity for audience. Ever since, the group is being asked when they will be back. As a director, she has staged two amateur productions, one in her beloved northeast part of Iceland, one in Reykjavík. But, Jenný Lára has not only been working in the northeast. She founded her own theatre group, Artik, where she directed the Icelandic play, The Equal and played the role of Sophie in Blink by Phil Porter. She also had a small role in Rams, the film nominated by Iceland for the Oscars. Jenny Lára has further worked as a producer for numberless theatre groups and is the founder of Uppsprettan (The Source), which is quite a novelty in Iceland. Innovation "Uppsprettan is for promoting writers, actors, directors and other professionals educated in theatre genres. We ask writers to submit a short play they want performed a few weeks before a set date. We select three selection committees that choose one play, each. Then we advertise for directors and actors who want to take part. They get the script 24 hours before the performance. At six o'clock on a set day, they start rehearsing and at nine o'clock, performances of the three chosen plays commence. During rehearsals, the audience is free to roam the theatre, read the scripts and observe the groups rehearsing. It is great fun and wonderful experience for the artists taking part. They also get a chance to meet and bond with other artists, instead of wasting away alone in their corner. This method is a very demanding for all the artists taking part. The time pressure exposes both your strengths and weaknesses, thus providing a great opportunity for you to work on your skills." Busy times, Well, what next? "Apart from managing Uppsprettan (The Source) twice this winter, I am off to London in November and December to act in "The Perfect Analysis Given by a Parrot," by Tennessee Williams. In the New Year, I'll return to the north, to direct Thorbjorn Egner's children's play about the animals in the Swedish Hakkebakke forest in Húsavík. Then, back to Reykjavík to rehearse a play I am writing along with a colleague of mine. It is a play we base on the Verbatim Method on the consequences of DUI and will premiere in April. And then I am working on developing Elska further as it has gathered interest in quite a number of places." Iceland sounds like the ideal place for you. "I believe you can do anything in Iceland if you really set your mind to it. But, it is not enough to be a creative artist. You also have to be creative in how to realize your dreams. You know, it is quite possible to be creative in Excel.

The Icelandic farmer’s son who became an Internationally renowned Conceptual Artist His compositions are lyrical, poetic and ethereal; they are touching the untouchable like the light and the wind through philosophical ponderings; they are a perfect picture of things that don't exist. Through his compositions, Hreinn Friðfinnsson explores the everyday human experience and transcends the mundane materials from which they are made to evoke strong emotions in the viewer. His works have been exhibited all over the world. Observing the Invisible As a young boy, Friðfinnsson had a front seat position to observe the wonders that later would become the basis for his art. Raised on a farm in the beautiful and historic Dalir in West-Iceland with nothing much happening, his seemingly mundane life was transformed every day by the display created by lights and shadows, wind and rain, completely and continuously metamorphosing both the arable land and diverse nature surrounding him – as well as, affecting the farmers' philosophical outlook. Anything meaningful was created by invisible sources. At the age of fifteen Friðfinnsson left his beloved homestead to study at the Arts and Crafts School in Reykjavík – and later to London, Paris and Rome to develop his very personal voice to touch us with his stories of invisible wonders. During this period, he frequently returned home for observation and work, until 1971 when he settled in Amsterdam. One would think being raised on a farm wouldn't provide much leisure for gazing at nature and its forces, but as luck would have it, Hreinn was the youngest of the three Friðfinnsson brothers – by far. "For as long as I remember, I had this obsession," says Hreinn. "I was constantly drawing and consuming anything related to art. In our rural area, we didn't get much in the form of art exhibitions, but I read everything I could get my hands on about the art scene in Reykjavík and elsewhere, primarily through newspapers. I studied the pictures attached to the articles very intently. They made quite an impact on me. And, upon understanding my interest, relatives and friends gradually started bringing me catalogs from art exhibitions in Reykjavík.” Moulding and shaping “I soon realized it was possible to make a living as an artist. Still, I didn't know where I was headed. I loved everything. When you are young you don't discriminate, you merely absorb. When I was a teenager and fully realizing what I wanted to do with my life modernism was the popular art form in Iceland. And all due respect to our pioneers, like Kjarval, who were imperative in shaping my path. But abstract art and the modern poetry – what we in Iceland used to call "the atomic poetry" – held the greatest impacts. I still remember as a child, when one of our guests at the farm brought me a catalog from Þorvaldur Skúlason's exhibition. It was the first time I had laid my eyes on the works of our geometric painters, and I was fascinated." In spite of the modern and geometric paintings shaping and molding the young farmer's son, the painting was not to become his art form. "Studying at an arts and crafts school is not all about drawing and painting," says Hreinn. "It is not least about the people you meet, the friends you make. Friends, who are like-minded, and share similar interests. It is about sharing opinions and widening your horizon pretty fast. In Reykjavík, the bookshops had books on arts and culture, which was an excellent supplement. They enabled me to study what was brewing in the modern art scene abroad, as well as, earlier art forms." The notorious SÚM In 1965 Hreinn was one of the founders of SÚM, the most influential art movement in Iceland to date. They were a group of artists determined to widen the Icelandic cultural horizon. Which, in itself, was no mean feat as the general public, led on by art critics, would only consider oil and watercolor paintings, figurative sculptures and possibly graphic art as "real" art. Of course, the SÚM exhibitions generated quite an uproar. They received a lot of negative reviews; other artists were condescending, and the public was incensed. But, bear in mind, this was the sixties and Iceland was still Europe's backwater. The reaction was due to prejudice and ignorance of tides and currents that had been developing abroad for some years. In a way, the SÚM group can be seen as criticizing the prevalent order and rebelling against the prescriptivism dominating the arts and culture scene. They would break away from the preconceived framework assigned to arts and culture. They sought inspiration from abroad; from the Fluxus movement, Arte Provera with ideology reaching as far back as the Dada movement and Marcel Duchamp. It is evident; the SÚM ideology was based on art nouveau avant-garde ideas from Europe and the US. Foreign influence "The SÚM group was entirely different from anything the Icelanders had seen before. We, ourselves, regarded it as a significant avant-garde art, but in reality, it was a bit of a mixture, a sort of impression of what was going on abroad and we had had the opportunity to observe," says Hreinn. "I seriously doubt you could have detected any Icelandic characteristics. Foreign influence was quite evident. We had pop-art and Duchamp, you could spot ready-made, and even much earlier influences which had made a great impact, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future." Of course, SÚM had a manifesto, but alas, it was neither here nor there with its ambiguous, and often contradictory, articles. The original members dispersed all over Europe, new members joined, some were expelled, some quit, some persisted and the nation was furious, deeming most of the SÚM artists mad, and at times requesting the government to discontinue grants to those artists who couldn't paint a decent painting. It was a great time to observe the discourse between the artists and their nation. Settling in Amsterdam Hreinn moved on to London where he met his wife who was a ballet dancer. When she got a position in Limos in France, the couple moved there and Hreinn continued to develop his art. Then, in 1971 his wife was offered a position with various companies, amongst them the Dutch National Ballet, which she deemed the most feasible. They moved to Holland where they both have lived to this day though they split up in 1980. In spite of living in Amsterdam his entire career, Hreinn has been an active force in the Icelandic art scene. "For the longest time, I came back to Iceland at least once or twice a year. Every spring I felt this need for the Icelandic nature, the light, the people. My extended family lives here and the majority of my friends. Most of my colleagues in the art world were living her. Iceland was the central point for SÚM even though we started producing exhibitions abroad in 1971 and 1972." Hreinn says he also needed Iceland for inspiration. "There is no doubt the Icelandic nature has always impacted my work. I used to paint the landscape from a very early age with whatever material there was on hand. The scene developed and changed until it was merely implied in my work. It takes more than a mere glance to see it. But, then again, I never think about Icelandic connections in my work so I couldn't tell you where and how to find them. Others have spotted the links and written about them.” Connecting past and present “My photographic works are an exception. After moving to Amsterdam, I used Icelandic motives. My first one-man exhibition was in Amsterdam in 1972 where I exhibited anecdotal pieces on enchanted patches in Iceland. It was comprised of photographs and the stories attached to those patches. All the material was obtained in Iceland, from nature and the folklore. I still use this material now and then. I have used ideas from the works of our writers, especially Halldór Laxness, and Þórbergur Þórðarson, as motives. Their ideas are as fresh today as they were in 1970. I can always take a walk back to the past to collect material, bring it to our present times and turn it into a piece that is entirely different from the original one. When I succeed it is more in tune with our age even though the roots are old, or ancient." When asked if he has ever considered moving back to Iceland, the answer is no. "I made my home in Amsterdam. A lot of my exhibitions have been there, as well as, in France, German and Belgium. I'm perfectly placed for exhibition staging in Europe. In later years, I have been too busy to visit Iceland as frequently as in my earlier years. I would have liked to come more often – and for longer stays than a mere few days," says this poet amongst artists who is the recipient of both the Ars Fennica Award and the Carnegie Art Award.

In Iceland, the Snæfellsnes Peninsula is considered to be an area of supernatural energy. It oozes from the Snæfellsjökull glacier – the gateway to the centre of the earth according to Jules Verne's novel from 1864, A Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Not that it is affecting the everyday life of those who live on the Peninsula. They go about their daily lives on farms and in villages, minding their own business and enjoying the exquisite nature surrounding them. The Snæfellsnes Peninsula is indeed an area of natural beauty and diversity, as well as, rich history; an area where many an Icelander dreams of living. Lúðvík Smárason, a fisherman, a teacher, a carpenter and a construction engineer was born and bred in Hellissandur and later at Rif, the westernmost villages on the Peninsula. When he was still a child, his family upped and moved to Reykjavík but only stayed there for a year. "We didn't like it," says Lúðvík. The family moved back to Rif where his father, a carpenter, built his family a home. It didn’t feel small Being a carpenter in Iceland has its challenges. The weather is not at all favorable to those working outdoors, building houses; nail-by-nail, board-by-board, brick-by-brick. In 1987, Lúðvík's father decided enough was enough. He packed his carpentry and took on the role of custodian at the local elementary school until his retirement. When asked how he felt about returning to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula after living in Reykjavík for a year, Lúðvík replies: "I felt immensely relieved. It had been a short-lived experience, and I didn't make any lasting connection with other children and the community there. I loved my life in Rif and Hellissandur. We enjoyed freedom alien to children living in Reykjavík. At the time, there were many children living in Rif and Hellissandur. The two villages have always functioned as one. In my year, there were seventeen children. In the next year above there were 24 children. Today there are much fewer children around. There are only 160 people living in Rif and between 400 and 500 in Hellissandur. Still, it didn't feel like a small community when I was a child as there were so many children around." Leaving and returning home After completing elementary school at the age of 16, Lúðvík went to Akureyri in North Iceland to finish his A-levels. "The kids from the Snæfellsnes Peninsula who went to college tended to go to Akureyri as they had a dormitory. I don't know why we didn't go to Laugarvatn, which is much nearer to Snæfellsnes," says Lúðvík. After completing his A-levels, he took a sabbatical year where he studied English in England and took a fishing season in Rif for a few months before starting his studies at the Teacher's College in Reykjavík. "There I met my wife who comes from Keflavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula. When we finished our studies we were both hired as teachers at the Rif Elementary School." The builder and the fisherman Lúðvik was a teacher from 1984 to 1996 when he quit. "My wife and I were together 24/7, at home and the school and it simply got to be too much. I got a job debarking and unloading fish at the harbor. Ever since I was a teenager, I had gone fishing with my father during the summer. That is when the weather allowed. When it didn't, I was working with him building houses. I liked both jobs very much. I like the sea and the activity around the harbor. As teachers Lúðvík and his wife, Anna Þóra, could have settled anywhere in Iceland. Why Rif? "The elementary school here was in need of teachers. They offered subsidized housing, which was very convenient. It was a good place to start. My wife never intended to stay more than two years – but here we are. When she stopped teaching, she decided to train as a yoga teacher, which is her profession today though she is still a substitute teacher both at the local preschool and the elementary school." The Inspector In 2006, Lúðvík moved to Denmark to study construction engineering. His wife joined him a year later, and they stayed in Denmark for three and a half years. When they moved back in 2010 Iceland was still in a mess following the economic crisis in October 2008. Lúðvík was free-lancing designing constructions until July 2014 when he started working as Snæfellsbær's building inspector. "I gave it a year but didn't like it at all. It was rather a dull job. So, I resigned and went back to what I had always done, fishing and carpentry during the summer, with a bit of free-lancing in between." When asked what is the greatest advantage of living in a place like Rif, Lúðvík replies: "If you have connection to the sea, this is a very good location. The distance to the waters is short, and they are good waters. We can start fishing very early in the spring and continue until late fall." A creature of habit But, why fishing when he can choose from so much more? "I like the waters, and I like fishing," says Lúðvík. "It offers much freedom, and I have always enjoyed success. I am also a creature of habit. Somehow, I got caught in this profession and find it hard to tear myself away from it. My time in Denmark was great, and I am very happy to have had a try at being a construction inspector. Now I know I am not missing out on anything. For a fisherman, Rif is a great place. Then we are a mere two and a half hours drive from the capital area. It is very easy for us to enjoy all the services, entertainment and pastime Reykjavik has to offer. Rif and Hellissandur is a good community. I am now building a house in a traditional Icelandic style in Hellissandur where my wife and I plan to run some operation in the future. She has been running a café during the summer for some years at a rented location. It has its disadvantages, so I decided to build us a house."

One of the things that might strike you when you get to know the Icelanders is how diverse a career many of them have. When it comes to choosing how to spend their lives, linear thinking and planning is not at all popular. They like circular, square and triangular. Any shape that can take them away from their homestead and be sure to bring them back when they so choose. They want to have it all. They want to live in different areas in Iceland; they want to live abroad. They want to be regular citizens, teachers, bankers, etc.; they want to be artists, bohemians, free spirits. Quite many of them manage all of this during one lifetime. That's why, when you meet the Municipality Director of Rangárþing eystra (the East Rangárþing), Ísólfur Gylfi Pálmason, you are also meeting a former member of parliament and a musician, a former athlete and a teacher. Born in Hvolsvöllur, within his current municipality, he has completed his circle (at least for the time being) and is now back home. When asked what it was like to grow up in this tiny village next to ferocious volcanoes and proximity to the Highlands, the answer is: Simply beautiful. The settler’s son "My family was among the first to settle in Hvolsvöllur. Which means I am practically a settler's son," says Ísólfur Gylfi. "And, it was just great. What was there not to love? We were surrounded by fantastic nature; we had a good school and an excellent music school. Our sporting facilities were good and our social life diverse. And, there were nice people living in the village. It felt good to be a child in Hvolsvöllur. During summer, we would fish in the Brooks, pluck flocks from fences and sell them to the Co-op. Hvolsvöllur had a town hall and when I was a kid Saturday night dancing was quite common there. On Sunday mornings, I would get up early to collect empty bottles scattered all around the hall. I would sell them to eke my pocket money – and sometimes I would even find money lying amongst the litter. Like so many Icelandic children at the time, I was sent off to stay at a farm during part of the summer. It was invaluable. I was sent to stay at Hallgeirsey in Landeyjar, which is so incredibly short distance from the Vestmanneyjar that we could see their cars flashing even though we were separated by the ocean.” The musical farmhand “The farmer was a very talented musician which was fortunate for me. He had drums I could play whenever I found the time and later when I was a teenager; I got to play in a band. I still do. I just love music. Whenever I get a chance, I visit the old farmer. He is now 85, and we play music together. He has a Martin saxophone from 1914. Both the farmer and the instrument are still in excellent condition. Ísólfur Gylfi left Hvolsvöllur to go to the Teachers College and then the Sports Academy. For six years, he was a teacher at the Bifröst in Borgarjörður school and then moved on to try something new. He was a personnel manager at a co-op store in Reykjavík before moving back to Hvolsvöllur to work as a Municipality Director. Not for long, though as he served as a member of parliament for two terms. Amongst his roles was to be Iceland's representative to the Nordic Council and a member of the Icelandic Chambers of Commerce. After the eight years in Parliament his beloved south Iceland was calling him back, loud and clear. He first returned to Flúðir where he was Municipality Director for six years, before returning to his hometown of Hvolsvöllur in 2010 to work as the Municipality Director of Rangárþing eystra. So, what have been the greatest changes in his hometown from his childhood? Big changes "It is completely different. The population is much larger. In 2002, six neighbouring municipalities were joined into one. As a result, we have 1800 inhabitants living in a huge area, reaching from Eystri-Rangá to Jökulsá at Sólheimasandur, just east of Skógar. The area has been quite prosperous and today we have a very nice swimming pool, excellent sports hall, a modern pre-school, elementary school, and of course, a wonderful music school. We are a mere 100 km from Reykjavík with a much better road system from when I was a kid. As a result, it is very easy for us to enjoy all the best the capital has to offer and still enjoy our pastoral lifestyle. This municipality is the most fertile agricultural area in Iceland. We produce more milk than any other area. The tourist industry is quite diverse, and some of the best-known tourist attractions in Iceland are within our area, e.g. Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Þórsmörk and Emstrur. Horse-breeding and training are very popular within the municipality, and we are party to the annual horse tournament of South Iceland. Last, but not least, we have the Saga Centre, which is based on one of the greatest Icelandic Sagas, Njáls Saga, that was set in our municipality. At the Saga Centre, one of the ongoing projects is the 90 m Njála Tapestry. Anyone can visit the centre to make a few stitches. It is a popular destination both for Icelanders and foreign visitors and already 45 m of the tapestry have been completed – in mere two and a half years." Living next to Eyjafjallajökull When asked what he likes most about living at Hvolsvöllur, Ísófur Gylfi says: "Well, all around us we have the most spectacular and diverse landscape in Iceland. We are next to the "unpronounceable" Eyjafjallajökull. When it erupted in 2010, we got endless calls from our friends abroad asking us to leave, to stay with them. But, we were never in any danger. We could simply sit by the window and enjoy the display. It is a privilege for children to grow up here. All the basic family services are intact which is essential if you want young families to move to the area. Increasing tourism has resulted in an influx of young families who are benefiting the area a great deal. Our senior citicens are more of a part of the community than in larger towns and the capital area – which means, they are less lonely. Hvolsvöllur is a good place to grow up and to grow old. I am very proud of our community."

Halldór Bragason is the leading figure in the Icelandic Blues scene, turning it into a much appreciated music genre in Iceland At the mere mention of blues in Iceland, one name instantly springs to mind. Halldór Bragason. Founder of the Reykjavík Blues Festival and now an honorary member of the Icelandic Blues Festival, Halldór has been tireless in introducing and developing this wonderful genre into the Icelandic music scene. A music genre some find a bit outlandish and removed from the Icelandic music traditions. But, then again, the international language of music belongs anywhere. "Those of us who represent the blues in Iceland, always emphasize the fact that the blues communicates peace, empathy and understanding of man's life and destinies. Wherever the Blues is being played, it is a powerful weapon against racism and creates an atmosphere of charity. It is very sincere and goes straight to the heart of those who are listening." The history When asked when the Blues first arrived in Iceland, Halldór says the earliest records to be found in newspapers from the 1920s. "It was and advertisement for a workshop in jazz and blues music. But, I don't think the blues genre really hit us until 1965. It all started with the British blues-wave; the Rolling Stones, John Mayall and Fleetwood Mac. The blues simply became the music genre of that era. It was quite an explosion, and you can follow it through Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, and Doors. It was a time when musicians started searching through original traditions and make music that was understood by the whole world. Here in Iceland there were suddenly blues bands on every street corner and in every garage. We saw blues and jam sessions appear between 1965 and 1970. They became the Icelandic blues roots. Still, the whole endeavor was very unclear and disorganized until 1989, when a band called "Vinir Dóra" (Dóri's Friends) started playing at Púlsinn bar. It was the start of a huge wave, and we saw musicians like KK and others emerge. The Icelandic Blues was born.” The Blues is the source “It's the same all over the world. Whereas music is concerned, the Blues is the genre closest to the heart. It has to do with its groove, its roots. You find it in pop music and today in rap music. The Blues is the source and musicians are constantly recreating it. The Blues you listen to today is not the same Blues you heard 60 years ago. Nowadays, you hardly ever listen to a pop song without hearing the blues gamut. Maybe it is more obvious to me than most as I have been living and breathing Blues most of my life. Still, it is curious that people always seem to be able to listen to Blues. You can choose from so many different types of Blues. It is funny, sometimes I ask people if they like listening to Blues, and they reply: No, I have never listened to Blues. Then I ask them which is their favorite group, and their reply is, Led Zeppelin. People just don't realize when they are listening to Blues. It has become such an intricate part of us.” Interest piqued at a young age When I was about six or seven years old and started listening to the Beatles and Rolling Stones, I realized there was a purpose in life. There was more to it than simply an everyday, gray and boring existence. Those groups were a revolution to my ears. I started acquiring their records by any means. In those days, we had vinyl, which came in large covers with loads of information on the back. Somewhere along the way I started reading the information and kept seeing the name Dixon again and again. He had a lot of different roles. He was a bass player, a producer, a songwriter. And, he most certainly caught my interest. I realized not all those Beatles and Rolling Stones songs I was listening were not necessarily written by the group members, but by a variety of original Blues musicians. Now, that piqued my interest. I started an extensive research into the original musicians and gradually managed to make the connections. Vinir Dóra “In the 90s my band "Vinir Dóra" wanted to work with the originals of the blues and invited them to Iceland to play and record some CDs. We were working with and learning from sheer legends in the business, Pinetop Perkins, Jimmy Dawkins, Deitra Farr and more. Later we toured with those legends from Chicago to Italy. They gave us a glint into this musical genre, and it was all we needed. It was parallel to a classical instrumentalist being invited to play with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and directed by Karajan. We formed the Reykjavík Blues Festival in 2004. We invited those geniuses back to Iceland to play with us and take part in the Reykjavík Blues Festival. It has been a treat ever since." In spite of all the connections to pop music Halldór is pointing out, it remains that he plays, teaches and promotes the Blues genre. So, what is it about the Blues that attracts people all over the world? Conflict and tautness "In blues you always have to tell a story – or rather the feelings behind the stories. It is easier to play blues than other types of music from the heart. It demands the instruments to sing the story being told. Blues might sound very simple – but it is anything but. The Blues is riddled with one-seventh parts. There is always this conflict, always this tautness. And then there are tunes that can be a single chord, a groove. Performing Blues is very dependent on the musicians. It is relatively easy to spot whether a musician has got the feeling for blues. He has to be able to express the feelings behind the story he is telling. He has to have a story to tell. If he does, it doesn't matter what his mood is like during a performance. For example, Bob Dylan may give five concerts. Maybe four of them are awful because he is not in the mood. But Dylan is always Dylan and maybe one of those awful concerts is the best concert someone in the audience has ever attended. And then, we have geniuses like B.B.King, who appeared on stage with only his guitar. The minute he started playing it felt like the heavens had opened up. Always." All them Gigs Apart from being the Artistic Director of Reykjavík Blues Festival since 2004, Halldór is the Chairman of the Reykjavík Blues Society. He is also the leader of the Blues band. "Vinir Dóra" aka The Blue Ice Band. "We have regularly been playing as a band since 1989. We came together for one gig and then decided to do a second gig. Since then we have constantly been adding a one more gig –, and soon we shall be old men."

Iceland’s foremost Whale specialist, Gísli Víkingsson, reveals the truth about Iceland’s Whale hunting and explains the “ridiculous” and unsubstantiated propaganda Iceland has had to suffer. Decadal changes in distribution, abundance and feeding ecology of baleen whales in Icelandic and adjacent waters, was the heading of Gísli Víkingsson’s Ph.D. dissertation from the University of Tromsö, Norway. And who better to present us with educated and unbiased information about the real truth when it comes to whale hunting. Gísli has been working as a whale specialist for the Marine Research Institute in Iceland for over three decades and is head of the Whale Research Unit. The Marine Research Institute (MRI) was established in 1965. It is a government institute under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Innovation. The MRI conducts vast marine researches and provides the ministry with scientific advice, based on its research on marine resources and the environment. In July 2016 the MRI merged with the Institute of Freshwater Fisheries and is now called Marine and freshwater Research Institute (MFRI). Like the rest of the world, Icelanders are concerned about whale hunting, but feel the discussion on the international forum has been unfair when it comes to Icelanders and whale hunting, to say the least. Especially, when the outcome from the latest whale counting in Icelandic waters shows an astounding increase in the harvested whale stocks. A record-breaking increase rate “We started monitoring the whale stocks in Icelandic waters in 1987,” says Gísli, “which means strategic surveys for estimating numbers and distribution. Since then we have been carrying out these researches every 6-8 years in collaboration with neighboring countries by the North Atlantic. The last one was carried out in 2015, which means we have been scientifically monitoring the whale stock for nearly three decades. Generally, there are twelve species of cetaceans regularly seen in the Icelandic waters, but we only hunt two of them, the fin whale and the common minke whale. During those three decades we have seen great changes in the distribution of some of the species. The most remarkable is, of course, the increase in the humpback whale stock, which was estimated to consist of 1800 animals in our original count but is now estimated to consist of 14.000 animals. It is a record-breaking increase rate. The fin whale stock has also increased considerably, albeit not as much as the humpback whale stock. Then again, the abundance of minke whales has diminished quite considerably since the turn of the century throughout the Icelandic backshores, which is primarily due to climate change as the hunting has been at a minimum. In 2001 the number of minke whale in Icelandic coastal waters was estimated at around 40.000. In 2009 it was estimated at 10.000. The most probable explanation is the changes to various the minke whale’s various food groups. We had, e.g., a collapse in the sand eel stock around 2005, but the sand eel is the minke whale’s primary food along the south and west coast of Iceland. Then the capelin, a cold-water fish, which is the minke whale’s primary food along the north and east coast of Iceland, has retreated towards Greenland during the summer. For quite some time we couldn’t figure out from the Norwegian’s and Greenlander’s counting where the minke whale had disappeared to. As we had only been hunting approximately 30-50 animals a year, we were at a loss to understand how the stock could have decreased from 40.000 animals to 10.000 animals in a matter of eight years. Then, this summer, we had good news. The minke whales hadn’t disappeared, they had only got lost. The Norwegians had spotted a massive volume of minke whales around Jan Mayen. They had never seen anything like it. We realized, the “Icelandic” minke whale stock had been found.” Chasing the food When asked about the reason for the increase in the humpback whale stock, Gísli says it is quite a mystery. “Until 1980 the humpback was a rare species but since then they have been increasing at a rate of more than 10 percent every year – which is an increase traditionally assumed to be more than biologically possible for the whales. Maybe it is a similar story as with the minke whale. Maybe they come from elsewhere; maybe it is not simply a biological increase. The thing is though, this has been happening all over the world. There is a significant increase by the USA backshores, and in Australia we are looking at similar numbers. This has astounded scientists all over the world. We don’t have an adequate explanation. How can a species, which has been quite rare all over the world despite decades of protection suddenly increase in such numbers? There is no interaction in any way between the stocks. The Icelandic and the Australian stocks are quite different from each other. Still, from the turn of the century, we have seen substantial changes in the Icelandic waters, possibly due to ocean warming. Quite a number of marine stocks primarily found by the southcoast have now moved quite far to the north from Iceland. Instead we have got mackerel by the southcoast, a species that used to be found quite far to the south. There has been a northwardly shift in the whole system due to ocean warming. The increase in the whale stock numbers is possibly a part of that lateralisation. They are chasing their food.” Efffect on the ecosystem With Iceland being a fishing nation such increase in the humpback whale stock might be a cause for concern. When Gísli is asked how the increase will impact the marine stocks around Iceland, he says: “Well, it is a complicated matter as we don’t have a thorough knowledge of which fish species the various whale species feed on. What we do know from a research we carried out a few years ago though, is how much the twelve species around Iceland eat. They eat approximately six million tons each year. In contrast, the Icelandic fishing fleet only catches one to one and a half million tons a year – so it is considerably more than the fishing fleet is conceivably able to catch. Still, we don’t know how it will impact our fishing industry. The consumption by whales of 4-6 times the total fishery landings is likely to have some, and probably significant effect on the ecosystem. However, this is difficult to quantify at the present stage of knowledge. Better understanding of these interactions in the marine ecosystem is essention to future management of our marine resourses using an ecosystem approach. At present, our scientific advise is largely limited to assessment of the stock situation. Such assessments involve complicated modelling exercises conducted within international Scientific Committees but in simple terms their goal is to estimate the present status of stocks, or how large the stocks are in comparison to a historical maximum. Based on sucht assessments we make suggestions as to how many animals we can hunt without harming the stock (long-term sustainable catch).“ Never overstepped the recommended quota “We have carried out extensive research on the fin whale and the minke whale as they are our primary hunting species. The situation is is quite good so we have recommended a hunting of up to 150 fin whales and 220 minke whales. But, in reality, Iceland has had to adapt to the domestic marked and has only been hunting less than a 100 minke whales a year. The whale industry has never overstepped the recommended quota. Our recommendations are quite precautionary and conservative so we are a long way away from depleting the stock. The hunting is by no means pinking the stocks. The only question is, is it economically worth it.” When Gísli is asked if he thinks we should stop hunting whales because of the global condemnation and the negative consequenses it has for Iceland, he replies: “It is not my call. I am a biologist and my job is only to assess the stocks. Still, there is one major fact which is confusing the discourse, especially when it relates to the fin whale. It is on the IUCN global red list because the fin whale situation in the southern hemisphere is poor. Even though it is a different sub-species and has nothing at all to do with the fin whale in the northern hemisphere where the situation is quite good, the poor status of the southern fin whale is used in the propaganda against Iceland.” The only untouchable species There is a growing feeling in Iceland that we will have to start thinking about thinning some of the whale stocks out. When asked about his feelings on the matter, Gísli says: “It is perhaps not essential at this stage. The whale watchers are quite happy with “the more, the merrier.” But, if we leave the whales as the only untouchable species in the ecosystem, it will likely have consequnces. It will impact other species because we are fully utilizing anything that is usable from the ocean’s ecosystem. Leaving this large and significant part of the ecosystem alone, will impact other parts. Still, we can not yet scientifically claim whether the fish-catches would increase if we kept the whale stocks at 60-70 percent from the known maximal number. No one is even thinking about going beyond that number. Here, at the Marine Research Institute we are working towards a better understanding of the impact through ecosystem modelling. Hopefully, in the future we can predict the possible impact on the finshing industry, or the cause and effect link between whale stocks and fisheries. For the time being, we are not absolutely sure. ”Wlith twelve species of cetaceans, one can’t help but wonder why only two of them are being hunted. “Some of them, like the blue whale, still haven’t recovered from overexploitation in earlier centuries. The most aggressive hunting took place around 1900. The complete stock in the Icelandic waters is only estimated to count a thousand animals. We don’t know why it has not been able to procreate like the closely related fin whale. No one would ever think of hunting them anywhere in the near future. It is a stock, which would never be able to withstand hunting today. The number of humpback whales, on the other hand, has increased considerably. It could without a doubt withstand some hunting. But, as I said, it is not my call. We, who are are working at the Marine and Freshwater Research Institude can only make recommendations based on research. I think it would be harmless to hunt humpback whales and sei whales. But, we have not been asked to carry out stock assessments for them. That would have to be and administrative decision.” A ridiculous claim So, when we are being accused by the international community of destroying significant species, the propaganda has no substantiation. When Gísli is asked his opinion, he agrees. “The claim is totally ridiculous. We would never recommend whale hunting if we thought it would harm the stock. The criticism from academics who previously maintained that the whale hunting was not sustainable has abated. The extensive surveys and associated international scientific assessments have proved the present takes to be well within sustainable levels. However, wrong information on status of whale stocks is still upheld by many NGO‘s. Another part of the criticism centred upon the hunting methods being inhumane. The Fishery Directorate, hired independent foreign specialists to carry out a fin whale hunting method appraisal. They published their report last year and the comparison was much in favour of the Icelandic hunt when it came to whale hunting practices around the world s.a. in the USA, Japan, Greenland, Norway etc. According to the report 84% of the targeted whales died instantly upon shooting and most of the remaining ones within seconds. The comparison was even more favourable when it came to hunting large terrestrial mammals, like reideer, moose and fallow deer.” Unsubstantiated propaganda “The whale hunting was much more humane than these hunts. The hunting method, using explosive penthrite grenade harpoons is quite effective, the animals die very quickly after they are shot. Of course, there are exceptions in these huntings like in any other huntings. A shot can misfire. And when they do, they are used as an example in the media for propaganda purposes. It is unsubstantiated propaganda fabricated by big companies that prey on people in order to extract money from them. Apparently, it is a much more effective money-making machine than pollution. You can’t see things like pollution and ocean acidification which pose a much greater theat to cetaceans (and the whole ecosystem) than the limited whaling conducted around the world today.”

Birnir Jón Sigurðsson was raised in the ambitious and competitive town of Kópavogur In Iceland, everything you need is short-distance. When you are raising children, it is easy to let them have a try at most anything that sparks their interest. If it is sports, a proper sport-hall is sure to be in your neighborhood. Be it music, and a music school is sure to be connected to their school. In most places, the same goes for dancing and drama, art and handicraft, skiing, hiking, sailing, fishing, hunting. Most Icelandic children have a chance to get acquainted with their field of interest from a very early age. And, did I mention travelling the world? In Kópavogur a young man, Birnir Jón Sigurðsson, was raised enjoying all the advantages of a prosperous community. Situated next to Reykjavík while still being a "kind of" small town, the Kópavogur administration has always been ambitious and competitive. With the first music hall in Iceland, Salurinn, an excellent museum/gallery, Gerðarsafn, great libraries and first class sports facilities, Kópavogur has been able to offer their young quite an advantage when it comes to finding out what they want to do with their life. A sabbatical year In spite of his young age, Birnir Jón already has a surprising experience and success in writing and directing drama, as well as filmmaking. He has been writing and directing at the Ungleikur (Young Theater), a venue for young people who are planning for a future in the theatre and has recently premiered one of his pieces at a Ungleikur festival at the City Theatre. After graduating from college in 2013, Birnir Jón decided to take a sabbatical before starting to prepare for the future. "I spent four months working on everything I could get my hands on to gain some money. Then I spent six months travelling through Spain and South-America," says Birnir Jón. "My purpose was to gain experience, get acquainted with different cultures, amass ideas and have fun. It was really worthwhile." Upon returning to Iceland, Birnir Jón spent a year at the University of Iceland studying Film Studies. He also staged a musical at his former college. "It was a strange experience," he says, "I staged the musical along with a friend of mine. Neither one of us had any experience in staging anything, but suddenly we were working with 50 teenagers, actors, dancers, musicians and set designers. It was a matter of learning as you go and was a powerful experience. Fortunately, the staging was a big success." First price for first short film But, the dice was rolling. The summer before starting University Birnir Jón was working at "Creative Summer-jobs" a project launched by Kópavogur a few years earlier. The aim of the project was to give young people a chance to work in their creative field of choice. Birnir Jón and his friend made a short film. During the winter, the film won the first price in a short-film competition in Iceland. It was sent to a short-film festival in Tahiti where it also won the first price. It was sent to further three short-film festivals, amongst them Cannes. Birnir Jón took the film to Cannes and said it was a very educational experience. "During my year at the University I also joined the University Theatre Group," says Birnir Jón. "Apart from acting I took part in creating a play along with the group and the director. We performed in a theatre in Hafnarfjörður. There I got to know a new friend, Arnar Geir, and the following summer we made another short film we still haven't yet submitted for viewing.” Running a film school “When I returned home from South-America, I knew I wanted to do something creative. I enrolled in Film Studies because I wanted to learn about filmmaking. But, the university course was all about theories and not at all what I was looking for. So I decided to create a project called the Film Commune, an independent non-profit film school in Kópavogur. Lára Marteinsdóttir and our teacher, as well as, I run it voluntarily and we get rent-free facilities from the town. Monday through Thursday we meet between 10.00 and 14.00. We bring our works and ideas there, work on them and discuss them amongst ourselves. We motivate ourselves, and each other, to work on something creative, instead of just drifting. On Fridays, we work with a teacher. We watch and discuss films and receive a bit of academic basis. The Film Commune is all about finding your voice, your own projects. It is about dedicating time to your ideas and projects.” Learning responsibility “Kópavogur offers excellent facilities for those who are planning their future. They provide a house, called Molinn, which is used, among other things, by young people preparing a future in the creative industry. We can work there during the winter. During summer, we can apply for a grant in Creative Summer-jobs. For eight weeks, we receive basic salaries while working on our own projects. It is invaluable and a great encouragement. Of course, we have to complete our projects that provide us with a sense of responsibility. We are simply thrown into the deep-end of the pool and told to swim. It has been a great experience." When asked what it was like for a creative child to grow up in Kópavogur, Birnir says it was okay. "The funny thing about Kópavogur is that it doesn't have a town center with a centralized art scene. Instead of a center it has a town shoulder called Hamraborg. There we do have a library, the music hall, the music school, the museum and Molinn. My feeling is that Kópavogur has always been a bit more about sports, but I think it is beginning to wake up and fuel the art scene due to programs like the Creative Summer Jobs and art grants. I quite like the development." In spite of liking his hometown, Birnir is getting a bit restless to turn his time and energy full-time to filmmaking. His next step will be to find a film-school abroad. He hasn't decided where, but he is well prepared. And yes, two of his latest music videos will be aired in December.

We at Hit Iceland met Francesca last summer hitchhiking on the Ring Road from Kirkjubæjarklaustur to Reyðarfjörður. Fortunately, we were driving al the way to Neskaupstaður, only a mountain pass away from Reyðarfjörður. We fount her story fascinating as she had traveled to Iceland with her parents fifteen years earlier and completely fallen in love with the country and the Icelandic nature. After that, she has been in Iceland a few times for work and travel. We were also impressed by all the places she had visited in the Highland. Again while driving the seven-hour drive, when she told us that she had met her boyfriend Carlos from Spain in Iceland, we had to love the story. Francesca was kind enough to send us her story and images from Iceland to share with our readers. Brush her teeth with mom in the morning wearing flip-flops on the snow My first time in Iceland was in August 2000 when I was 14 years old. I came with my parents and two cousins on a road trip (it was on a tour that my parents had booked from Italy and my first ‘real’ experience of travel.) We spent two weeks traveling the Ring Road and part of the Highlands. One of my fondest memories is when my mom and I woke up the morning of 15th August to a snowy landscape and had to brush our teeth wearing flip-flops on the snow. The evening before, on our 4x4 bus, we had crossed a large part of the country, which we hadn’t been able to see because it was already dark. We only knew that we had come to a cozy mountain hut. On the next day, which I used to associate with fireworks and a rather big family dinner at my grandma’s summer house in the Alps, what I experienced was totally unexpected and highly fascinating for a teenager who loved nature. A land of beauty and unpredictability There are other things I link with my first trip in Iceland, such as strange little cottages with grass on their roofs (which I’d learn to call turf houses in my later trips), the basalt pillars of Skaftafell, the swans at the Tjörnin pond in Reykjavik and the fact that we weren’t able to go out to sea and spot any whales in Husavik (due to the fact that all the snow and rain that had fallen when staying in the Highlands had made some roads impassable. We had to take a huge detour which left us with no time for whales) and of course, bathing at Landmannalaugar. The beauty and unpredictability of the country had made that 14-year-old girl decide that she wanted to move to Iceland, or at least spend part of her life there! Returned as an a volunteer for SEEDS Iceland and met her boyfriend Carlos from Spain It was twelve years before I could return. I applied for an EVS, a program run by the European Commission, and I became a volunteer for SEEDS Iceland. I spent seven amazing months running work-camps for international volunteers on farms and institutions around the country, meeting some amazing people, including the person I now live with, Carlos, who shares my passion for Iceland. I went back to Landmannalaugar with him and hiked to Thorsmork and Skogar. Then up the Highlands again to Karlingarfioll and Hveravellir. We found our way out from the fog thanks to a Fox in Hornstrandir, we finally saw the whales of Husavik on a chilly day of October and found plenty of other precious hidden gems spread around the country. One of them is a place called Laugarfell, in the highlands of eastern Iceland. It is a hot spring located at the foot of a hill and, next to it, a cottage with accommodation. Working in at Laugarfell in the eastern Highland in Iceland My second work camp with SEEDS took place there. I shared the experience of marking hiking trails with a group of Italians and Estonians. I kept in touch with our hosts, Pall, Hildur and Dagbjort, and two summers later I went back to Laugarfell to work for them, this time with Carlos. I arrived in June when the area is still covered in melting snow, nesting pink-footed geese and crossed by reindeer which are moving from the lowlands to the highlands. Working at Laugarfell gave us the opportunity to go on more hikes, including a memorable one from Laugarfell to Stafafell, into Lónsöræfi, at the end of July. Hiking Lónsöræfi and the weather was a surprise Our first day was spent hiking along the wetlands of the Eyjabakkar, with the top of the mountain Snæfell covered in fog but always watching us, seeing swans and families of geese waddling on the last patches of snow next to the river, or even climbing the glacier. We were not exactly sure where to. We got to the first hut, Geldingafellsskáli, as it was already getting dark. The sun was completely gone as the clouds coming down from Vatnajökull were getting lower and lower. We went to bed quite early, excited about what the next day would be like. We had the feeling that it wouldn’t be like the ones I was used to in Andalucia but, once again, Iceland managed to surprise me. When I got up at 5 am to go to the toilet I noticed that something had changed overnight. I was walking on snow! I felt like I was fourteen again. A layer at least 5 cm thick was turning everything white, and snowflakes kept on falling from the sky, well until 12 o’clock, when we finally decided that the snow wouldn’t stop us. We decided to stick to our plan to reach Egilssel, the next hut, as we had only a few days off from work. The fog made me feel sick for the first two hours as it always does when I go skiing, and it’s foggy. We walked, or rather hurried, up and down the hills, seeing only low clouds interrupted by the appearance of herds of ghost sheep climbing snowfields. Then we started our descent to Egilssel, which is located on the shores of Kollumúlavatn, and it started to rain heavily. By the time we got to the hut, we were totally soaked. Tough and unpredictable but rewarding Luckily there was another group of hikers who had got to the hut some time before us, so there was already a fire roaring in the fireplace. Late in the afternoon we enjoyed a walk down the valley into a fairytale-like landscape, as it was clearing up a little. After four hours of ‘darkness’, we were back to heaven: fast running streams, waterfalls, glaciers and mountaintops poking out of the clouds. The following three mornings we woke up to rain, sometimes very heavy, sometimes less heavy, still we were able to enjoy some quiet moments and scenery. Among these; Trollakokar, the rhyolite hills up Mulaskáli, chilling in the hut where we were the only guests with an Icelander hiking with her two fun kids, stop to camp in a clearing in the beech wood before the canyon at Stafafell, which was special to us because we had been there two years earlier. The rewards of hiking As always, the wilderness of Iceland faced us with tough moments but rewarded us in return. What happened at the end of our hike, on the Ring Road by Stafafell, says it all. I was feeling so cold and miserable that I doubted any car would stop to give us a lift to Djupyvogur when a cyclist shouted ‘hey, hi!.’I looked up and I saw the same guy from Texas we had hosted in Laugarfell a week earlier. That cheered me up a lot, even if he couldn’t take us where we were headed! Half an hour later someone did and shortly after we were having coffee and cakes at a café, ready to hitch-hike to Dettifoss to start our next hike to Asbyrgi but already thinking of going back to Lónsöræfi.

In recent months earthquake activity has increased in Öræfajökull the southernmost outlet glacier in the Vatnajökull icecap. Just like the increased activity in the Bárðarbunga outlet glacier on the northern part of Vatnajökull this development is quite intimidating. Both outlet glaciers are also huge volcanos, and both have a humongous amount of ice on top. In addition to increased earthquake activity, scientists at the Icelandic MET office monitoring the Vatnajökull icecap and both outlet glaciers, have noticed that the icecap is rising. This could indicate that the underlying magma is pushing its way to the surface under the glacier. Both indicators, earthquakes, and the rise of the icecap, point to a growing probability of an eruption. And even though an eruption in Bárðabunga can produce a large disaster, an eruption in Öræfajökull will cause a monumental natural disaster. Öræfajökull along with Katla volcano is the most dangerous volcano in Iceland The main difference between the two is the distance to inhabited areas whereas Bárðabunga is more or less in the remote highland, but Öræfajökull towers over Skaftafell National Park and many farms, hotels, and tourist attractions. In case of an eruption, large-scale floods could occur in the many rivers coming from under the glacier tongues stretching out from the Öræfajökull outlet glacier. As the ice above the volcano is on average about 400 meters thick major floods, loaded with mud, rocks, and ash, are expected in a short period threatening and destroying everything in its path. Possibly within an hour from the start of an eruption. The ash from the eruption would also be similar or worse than the Eyjafjallajökull eruption. The scenario is similar only to the most feared volcano in Iceland, Katla. Fortunately, Iceland has many capable scientists equipped with state-of-the-art technology to monitor the situation and hopefully give us all time to respond if we are faced with the worst scenario. Öræfajökull stratovolcano is like many of its relatives, a beauty, and a beast Öræfajökull is a stratovolcano similar to Mt Rainier in Washington state and Mt Fujiyama in Japan. It is the highest mountain in Iceland 2110 meters. The diameter of the crater is about 4 to 5 kilometers, so in the case of magma entrance, there is a lot of space to spew lava and ash in all directions. In the Icelandic landscape, Öræfajökull and surrounding area are among the most beautiful places in the country, so a large area could be affected for years to come. Its next-door neighbor Breiðamerkurjökull outlet glacier and provider of icebergs to the Jökulsárlón iceberg lagoon could be affected. One thing is clear if an eruption occurs in Öræfajökull glacier, it will be a large-scale natural disaster as under this beauty lies a beast, a vast chamber full of glowing magma. At least that was the case in two of its last eruptions in 1362 and 1727.

A vibrant capital city that is home to approximately 220,000 residents, Reykjavík possesses the perfect blend of metropolitan energy and small town appeal. Whether it’s the hustle and bustle of its vivacious night life, the serene natural beauty of the nearby geothermal valley Laugardalur, or the allure of its diverse art and music scenes, Iceland’s capital has something to satisfy every tourist’s interests and expectations. For Imogen Wilson, a lighting and television set designer from Canada, Reykjavík has proven to be the ideal stopover getaway on her way back from a work-related trip to Finland, allowing her to relax while enjoying both nature and night life. Heading Home Imogen, who travels across the globe for her work in set design, decided to pause her journey home to spend a few days exploring Iceland. “I’m heading home to Canada and flying Icelandair, so I opted for the stopover,” she explains. “My itinerary is the northern lights, because it’s December, the Golden Circle and hopefully the Blue Lagoon. I was looking to go yesterday, but my tour got cancelled due to the weather.” A subarctic nation situated near the tail end of the warm Gulf Stream, Iceland—which is well-known for its volatile climate—experienced several record-breaking weather events in December 2015: heavy snowfall and a gusty storm that swept over the entire nation. Traditional winter weather in Iceland is fairly temperate compared to Northern America and Europe, with only occasional snowfall and deep freezes. However, aside from the delayed tour, the stormy welcome didn’t bother Imogen a bit. She used the opportunity to check out local bars and immerse herself in Reykjavík’s unique club culture: “I went Lebowski Bar last night and had a lot of fun!” she says, with a grin. Lebowski Bar, which is located halfway down the main shopping street Laugavegur, is a bar and restaurant combination, modelled after Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1998 neo-noir crime comedy film The Big Lebowski. A favorite destination among locals and tourists alike, Lebowski Bar is a great place to grab a burger and milkshake, before drinking an iconic White Russian and tearing up the checkered-tile dance floor. From what she’s seen of it, Iceland’s nature has also impressed Imogen, reminding her of another destination known for its mysterious, otherworldly beauty. “The weather and landscape reminds me a lot of Northern Scotland because the cloud cover hangs so low here,” she reports. “I’m hoping that the clouds will clear up a little tomorrow so that I can see even more of the landscape.” A High Recommendation After traveling to Finland, where she worked on the set of a popular celebrity talent show, Imogen has found Reykjavík to be just the right place to unwind: “I really like Reykjavík, and I’ve seen a lot of it. It reminds me a lot of a small town, but it seems like a small town without an end,” she describes. “So far I’ve enjoyed my stay here. Icelanders all seem very polite and kind, and I think they’re perfectly happy hosting travelers here.” Imogen reveals that she was named after one of the main characters in the Shakespearean play Cymbeline before encouraging others to take the time to visit Iceland, instead of just skipping over it on their way to another destination. “I would say absolutely come to Iceland,” she says with enthusiasm. “It’s such a pretty and unique place. Plus, if you’re flying Icelandair, it’s free to stopover, so why not just do it?”