Night Life

I wrote this as an email to a few people but thought I could just post it here since it's a good update on today...

It's about 3am here, and it is full-on party mode in downtown Reykjavik right now. It starts at 2am. I was out earlier to see my friend play in a show. It is electronic music and it was really great. After their set I sat and watched the people for quite a long time, until I couldn't take it anymore. It's insane. The favorite thing to do is go out in the street and break pint glasses on the sidewalk. Lots of screaming, chanting, and group sing-a-longs as people walk around. And sometimes people black out right in their chairs. One young boy blacked out with his legs crossed, and a woman came over after about 20 minutes and switched his legs and then walked away. A bunch of people tried to wake him up but he didn't. Eventually he did though, and seemed better. My friend also blacked out in the chair in front of him for a few minutes. My friend who is in the band, Siggi, was sitting there with me and I was watching this passed out kid, feeling kind of worried but also amused. I asked Siggi (who is an urgent care nurse at the hospital) if he was ok, and he got a good laugh at my culture shock- not being used to seeing this kind of drunkenness. This is the kind of thing that we would call an ambulance for in the States. He told me that once an American tourist came to the ER where he works and was telling them to hook him to an IV and he needed care because he was too drunk. 'you don't need help. You're drunk! You need to go home and sleep!' They laughed him out of the hospital. I guess this type of thing is common in some countries. personally I am not used to walking on streets that are littered with broken glass (all over!!) and vomit. It's not bothersome, just different. At least it is very safe to walk around despite all of this. Occasionally people get into fights but I have yet to see any. However, I have not been able to stay out past 3am yet, and they all stay out until 6 or 7am, when the bars close. So who knows. Gulfoss and the Geyser were amazing. We met up with our hitchhike drivers today too and hung out a bit at a vegetarian restaurant. We were sad to see them go. At the table today was this arrangement of people: American (southern), Australian, American (northern), French (living in Iceland), and Danish. It was quite an interesting group, and many different accents. Language is a popular topic of conversation. My friend from Melbourne is leaving tomorrow to hitch up to the north of Iceland. I am also leaving this house and going to the squat, but there is also a spare room in a new radical house that I can use. So I might do both. I've been making friends, but it is a bit difficult as the Icelandic people are rather reserved and shy. And they work a lot so they don't have much time off. Also, having no phone is terrible. There is only one pay phone in Reykjavik (which costs 100kr per call!) and places are reluctant to let you use their phones...or they just don't have them. So that is inconvenient. I have to make plans to meet people, and if something changes, well...we are just out of luck. It happened about 3 times just today. But it always works out, you know. I am not on any timetable so I can spend days doing a lot of nothing and it's fine. As for the computer, the one in this apartment is not very good. Also, I am leaving here tomorrow during the day and won't have access like I have now. I have been uploading my photos at the library which has a very fast connection. It does cost 100kr per half hour though so I can't hang out there for very long. The library here is really nice. Today after I uploaded photos I looked around on the 5th floor and there is a small room filled with seats and a medium tv screen. It's a mini movie theatre. They were playing Charlie Chaplin films so I sat and watched one. Pretty cool. I've never seen a Charlie Chaplin film before.

Now I'm off to bed. I got nothing on these Icelandic partiers.

Pylsur and Curry Haddock

Today I was introduced to some of the fine food of Iceland.

I am staying with Gulla, who is an angel. Seriously. She's amazing. Friendly, helpful, generous...etc etc. The perfect host. In the morning I had planned on walking past

Perlan and to the geothermal beach. But I asked Gulla if she wanted to join me, and to my surprise she agreed. She asked if I had seen the topographical map of Iceland in the city hall, and indeed I had not. So we set out in the (literally) freezing weather.

After going down Laugavegur we were hungry and stopped at Bæjarins Betzu Pylsur, which is maybe the most famous eatery in Reykjavik...if not all of Iceland. And it is famous because it serves the most amazing hot dogs in the world.

It's not just a regular hot dog. It's an Icelandic hot dog. A pylsur. The meat is made with lamb, and it is topped with ketchup, sweet mustard, crunchy fried onions, raw onions, and sweet remoulade. It's all rather unpleasant to look at. But it was so good that I can still taste it now. And only 280kr!

See how the table has special little pylsur holding slots?

Anyway. I will definitely be back for another, and I will definitely miss them when I leave this country.

We never did get to the geothermal beach, but it was a nice walk.

Gulla was expecting another couchsurfer from Melbourne named Adelle in the afternoon and by the time we got home and she baked some cookies, she arrived. We made quick friends and have already made some awesome plans to travel East of Reykjavik. More on that later.

The next highlight of the day was Gulla's home-cooked curry haddock. Some fish that her son gave her (I don't know if he caught it or not) baked over rice with a curry, skyr, and cheese sauced over the top. She served it with a side of cold corn kernels. Simply amazing.

It's been quite the gastronomic treat today and it's so nice to not have eaten three sandwiches today!

Reykjavik, Still

I´m still here in Reykjavik, although in a different apartment. I spent a couple of nights with a CouchSurfing host, Setta. One night was with some friends who took me for beers and Thai food (my first Icelandic restaurant experience!), and another night in one of the last squats in Iceland with a couple of people from the radical community here. Although most people here are political, and are free to talk about whatever they want. I feel as though America is a place to be paranoid, and even the mention of being an Anarchist can be dangerous. Here, all of the cops know all of the Anarchists and radicals and there isn´t much problem. No one looks over the shoulder when talking about actions or plans, etc. It´s just sort of a given.

Anyway, there used to be several political squats in Reykjavik. One was victim to eviction, to which there was much protesting. The others have burned. I had assumed that the burnings were at the hands of police, but not so.

What happened before the financial crisis here was the typical buying up of properties by investors, with the intention of knocking down the houses to build larger buildings. However, a demolition permit is needed to do this, so the houses must sit for a couple of years to deteriorate enough to get the permit. It´s very wet here and without the heat being on, mushrooms and rot takes care of a home in a year or two.

However, the crisis made these developers bankrupt, and so the houses are just sitting and getting worse and worse, and they are quite an eyesore for neighbors. The few political squats left were burned by children using them to smoke inside of. A particular 13 year old boy in the area is blamed for intentionally setting fire to two of the squats.

Another thing that can happen is that developer will burn the house himself for the insurance money.

So the squat that I was in last night and will be staying in soon is very nice, and doesn´t seem to be in danger of any interference like this. Four young women live there and decorate it very eccentrically.

I haven´t been doing much except wandering around Reykjavik, and not even very far. Mostly the main street, which is Laudavegur. It is a town of hipsters. There are many expensive and extravagant shops (none that I can afford. I haven´t even been in any except the grocery store, Bonus, and a flea market). The people here dress well and are very lovely. Almost all look like models.

Sometimes I come across a place of interest, such as a church or a cemetery or sculpture garden. Tomorrow is Wednesday and that is the day that many museums are free, so I might visit some. I intend to get around to the other main sights as well, such as Perlan and the hot springs here in town.

I´ve been rather easily tired. Perhaps because of the antibiotics that I´m on? And all day today I had to walk with my pack plus an extra small bag, which is never much fun.

Some things that I´ve noticed that are different from Iceland:

1. No one looks before they cross the road. They just walk right on through and the cars stop. Personally, I have trouble breaking this habit, and it is a dead giveaway that I am a tourist to pause at intersections.

2. There are no drinking fountains. I don´t even think they know what one is.

3. A 'regular coffee' is an Americano. It is served in about a 6oz. portion with the option of cream and sugar. I have not seen any drip coffee (which is fine by me), even in people´s homes. In the homes of people who drink coffee, there is either instant, or they have a small espresso machine.

4. People do not start to party until 2am. This is the start of party time. People can be seen having beers at any time of day, but it is incredibly uncool to 'go out drinking' before 2am. And it is even more uncool to go home before 6 or 7am. Most bars don´t even open until 10pm, but beer can still be bought in café's and restaurants. Also, Friday and Saturday are the party nights. Starting around midnight, the main street is full of drunk people (who probably pregame at home because alcohol is very expensive. A cheap beer like Viking costs between 500-800kr). Although it is not legal to drink on the street, everyone does and there is no penalty. Most places that serve alcohol have a stack of plastic or paper cups by the door in case you want to take your drink to go. Despite this, there is always a lot of broken glass on the sidewalks and often there is puke. Icelanders complain bitterly about the high cost of beer (and liquor is even worse. Cocktails can be 1.500kr!) but they get very drunk on weekends and seem to overdo it. Fights are also common. I have yet to go out partying, and I probably won´t. I can´t seem to get used to going out at 2am.

5. My favorite difference is that almost every house is painted a beautiful, bright color. Since the weather here is unpredictable and often miserable, it´s a nice contrast.

6. Since food is expensive (going out to eat much would be impossible) I haven´t tried much on the Icelandic menu. In fact I´ve only gone out for Thai food, because some people wanted to take me. I have seen some of the traditional foods though. There was horsemeat and skate at the flea market, and Setta said that you can also buy the fermented shark there. I am curious but have no idea how to cook it. I have been enjoying the skyr, which is cheap in the grocery. Other than that I have been eating a lot of sandwiches.

7. There are no public phones. Well, there is one. It´s at the taxi cab station. And it costs 100kr! People are not too generous here with their things, either. Every time I have asked to use a phone, no one volunteers. Perhaps I´m spoiled living in the South.

8. And...unless I made a mistake, the public toilets here are not segregated by sex. It was kind of hard to tell. Oh well.

Anyway, this CouchSurfing host is named Gulla, and there is also a girl here from Sweden. I am staying on the floor of Gulla´s son´s room and he has a nice computer that I´m using. I probably won´t be able to update for some time after this.

Some photos have been posted on my Flickr, which is http://www.flickr.com/photos/pliabletrade/ or there is a link on the top of this page.

I can access the internet from the public library, but it costs 100kr for half an hour (not too bad, and definitely worth it) so I try to use that time to upload photos.

78

So I´m sitting on the 4th floor of a small building in downtown Reykjavik, right off of the main shopping road. But, as my Couchsurfing host, Setta, says 'it´s all really downtown'.
This floor is dedicated to an oganisation called 78, which is for the gay and lesbian community of Iceland. There are only 6 people here, including myself. One of the young men playing chess let me use his laptop computer. Setta said that it is exam week so not many people were expected. It´s been over an hour so I assume this is it.
My arrival into Iceland was somewhat dampened by the intense pain of a urinary tract infection, which I finally was able to get antibiotics for today. I went to a hospital in the middle of the night because the pain was extreme, but they could only take a urine sample and detect blood and white blood cells. Also I am not pregnant, haha.
But I was turned away because the cost was too much, so I had to go back to Setta´s house and wait until morning and find a cheaper clinic. I saw a doctor for about two minutes and she wrote me a Rx for antibiotics. That took up most of my day.
Ah, well, I have to go. The person lending me this laptop is leaving.
Will update if I get the chance!