More on Art

This weekend the students of LHÍ, Listaháskóla Íslands or the Icelandic Academy of the Arts, presented their final works at Kjarvalsstaðir Museum. Unnur, shown here, had a four-video installation, one of which co-starred Mio, our cat. He played his role well, definitely out-performing the rabbit, who did nothing at all in his box, and the mouse in Unnur's plexiglass hat, who basically skittered around and pooped the entire time. Mio was generally content in his box, and was enough of an actor to meow and blink his lovely mismatched eyes for the camera when I called to him softly. The video was brilliant and I know Unnur has a fantastic career ahead of her.

Mio

And this is Mio, up close. He's big and beautiful and bold. Yet 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 at least four times In this photo you can clearly 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.

The Future

After so many outdoorsy shots of Reykjavík, I wanted to share this more eclectic image of Iceland, where the shades of the past meet a vision of the future.

Here my daughter Valentína stands in front of an projected image of past president of Iceland, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. For Icelanders Vigdís and her twelve years in office represent the true entrance of our little island into the global parade. Her natural beauty, intelligence and diplomacy presented to the world a new face of Iceland, and sparked the growth of a new national pride. Women gained especially from her honest leadership, recognizing more fully the essential place they had in the development of this country. This photo of her was taken in 1981, and she is still as beautiful today as she was then.

Valentína and all the young women of Iceland are inheritors of the legacy Vigdís created. In this shot she is like a whisper in the ear of youth to take an active role in the world in which they live, Iceland in the 21st century.

The Neighborhood

Here's a photo of my charming neighborhood. Valentína and Karítas talked me into going up to the top of Hallgrímskirkja this afternoon, and thanks to cold but lovely weather I was able to take this birdseye pic of my little slice of the world. You can just see the roof of my building, dead center and just a little above the middle of the shot, behind the long pinkish building that runs right to left. I like this photo, especially for the fact that the town lake shows so well.

From the Tower

...and here's the money shot of downtown Reykjavík as seen from the Hallgrimskirkja bell tower.

Town's Bezt Dawgs

This little red and white hot dog stand downtown by the harbor is called Bæjarinn's Bezta Pylsur, or Town's Best Hot Dogs. This is where Bill Clinton stopped to grab a bite (check out this photo) while in Reykjavik last summer. The fact that he very much enjoyed this snack is the only thing him and my father, a staunch classic Republican, have in common...

When my dad is here in town he likes to take what he calls his "evening constitutional," a nice stroll around downtown to stretch his legs, breathe fresh air and, usually, grab a Bæjarinns Bezta pylsur. It's said the owners heat their pylsur in water spiked with malt, a thick, dark, sweet beery kind of beverage, which adds to their taste, and also that they rarely change this water, preferring instead to let the meat fats and juices accumulate. Whatever their secret is, there is always a line at Baejarinn's Bezta. Be sure to give it a go while here.

Oh, and ask for "one with everything." You'll get ketchup, sweet mustard, remolade, fresh onions and crunchy toasted onions plus the dog in your bun. Yum!!!