Ride

Due to the recent controversy over the overusage of fossil fuels, Icelanders have decided to return to the old ways. Cars have been abandoned downtown in favor of the trusty Icelandic horse...

Is Arctic Tropical a New Thing?

There's a white-sand beach just below this grassy hillock : )

"It's still so warm that its almost possible to call this a late summer front over the land...it's way too early to begin talking of autumn weather given the high temperatures" ~ The Icelandic Meteorological Office

It's raining. We've been so lucky with the weather this summer that most people are probably secretly relieved to see familiar puddles and dripping trees, breathe moist air and cozy up over a bowl of soup at lunchtime. It was getting a little spooky, all the sunshine and blue skies. Even the ironic drizzles that dampen summer celebrations like Culture Night with annual regularity were absent. Bill and Hillary Clinton, Lou Reed, Forrest Whitaker, Julia Stiles, Jamie Oliver, Harrison Ford, Pink, 50 Cent and even James Brown got weather on their recent visits that was more like California in the Springtime than North Atlantic seasonal thaw.

The locals have been kind of stunned by it all. Is this proof of Global Warming? Are we the next Benidorm? How much sunscreen should I slather on my kids? Is a person allowed to barbeque every night? Stores were selling electric fans and one newspaper even ran a How-To on staying cool (Open windows on both sides of your office, if possible, so that air can flow through the room...wear light colors in fabrics like linen and cotton, and keep the fit loose). With the temperature reaching the mid-80's and even shadows holding warmth, it felt a bit like the End of the World; this was earthquake weather or some gift from an evil trickster god bent on getting us to let our guard down before the fall. What had we done to deserve such a heatwave?

It's raining cats and dogs but it's still pretty hot: sixty degrees at least. The air is muggy, a warm wind blows in full gusts, giving the grey day a tropical feel. Add a few palm trees and Reykjavik could be St Barts. At least for today.

Welcome!

Little City

Colorfully painted buildings at the corner of Hverfisgata and Frakkastígur, now torn down

There's a special pleasure living in downtown Reykjavik, a community feel I realize now I'd been searching for for many years before I found my place here.

Not being a telephone or drop-in-for-a visit kind of person, I need to know that if I leave my home I'll certainly see familiar faces, if only that of the nice man in the corner store. Each day is different, with a varied cast of characters filling the main streets and cafés. The world outside my door seems to have a seredipitous rhythm; I run into the right people at the perfect time, or on more personal days, no one I need more than nod at.

And actually, when I think about it, that's also the beauty of Reykjavik: if I'm having a nod-only day, no one takes it personally. We would never get through life together in this little town if we had to greet with care every person we knew, if we had to whip out the good old American How Are You Today? and the requsite Fine!

There's an understanding, we're all in this together. Some days I just need to get to the bank without having to turn on the social faucet. I'm allowed that here. Other days it's like a big block party, smiles all around and lots of love. I had to tone down some of my California spunk because it came across, in the longer haul, slightly false. Now I understand the daily routine, I'm comfortable. I like the safety of knowing the size of my pond.

For now, at least, it feels like home.

With kids

Iceland is a great country to visit with kids because its relatively safe. There are few of those kinds of humans I call "wolves" and not a single incident of missing children that I know of. I have a six year old daughter who is never out of my sight when we visit California, but who is free to roam around without me here in Reykjavik, which we both consider a great privelage. There may not be a ton of attractions and flashing lights, but you don't have to have to panic if you get separated from your little ones. Tell them that everyone understands English if they get lost and need help.

For older kids you might try giving them a couple of thousand kronur (about the same as a twenty) and setting them loose on Laugarvegur, the main shopping street in Reykjavik. There are cool music, clothing and book stores, plus hot dog, ice cream and candy shops. Set up a rendezvous location like Austurvöll, a cute city park downtown that's very popular in summer (turn left off Austurstræti at Pósthússtræti) and be free! Warning: Stores in the dowtown area are only open from 10 am til 2pm on Saturdays and are Not Open on Sundays !! Takes me by surprise every single weekend!

Of course there are the swimming pools, super popular with the young set, and also the Zoo and Family park (Fjölskylda-og Húsdýragarðurinn) in Laugardalur. The zoo is quaint, with a bunch or farm animals and some seal, reindeer, mink, a turkey or two and a bunch of hands-on stuff and things to climb to run off extra energy. It's inexpensive and very countryside in the middle of the metropolis. Check it out.

Mio, an Icelandic Cat with David Bowie Eyes

Our beloved and much-missed Míó

[Míó passed away, at 14 years old,  in late 2014, a grand animal to the very end :( ] This is Míó, our cat. He's big and beautiful and bold. But he's also a lover. When he's outside he's King of the Neighborhood, but when he comes in he's so affectionate it's almost spooky. He walks with me to the store and waits outside, then walks me home. Tourists love to take pix of him and he loves to pose. He's even been in the paper a couple of times! If you look closely at the photo you'll see that he has one blue eye and one yellow, making him even more special.

Reykjavik is a cat town. They're everywhere. Leash laws here are super strict for dogs, and licensing fees expensive, so dogs are not as common, though the smaller-size purebreed market is definitely picking up here. The Icelandic dog is a very good and popular breed but it needs lots of room and lots of work to do, so it's not too common in the city. When my father was a boy dogs were illegal in Reykjavik. His dog was picked up by the police after running loose downtown was shot in a burlap bag. My dad had to watch. We pretty much only had cats when I was growing up.

Quarrantine for imported animals is strict and long. They are kept on an island, Hrísey for, I think three or six months to ensure that no diseases are brought into Iceland. To protect the purity of our Icelandic horse breed, no other breeds are allowed into the country.

Pet culture is becoming more and more popular here, including birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, tropical fish, and reptiles. My friend Tommi told me last night that he had a couple of salamanders that he thought were dead, so he flushed them. He found out later they were just hibernating, so maybe we even have a giant lizard or two lurking in our sewage system...nahhhhh.