The weather in Reykjavík finally feels like home, i. e. rain from all sides. It is a bit colder though – perfect weather to be snug in at home with a book. Therefore I braved the rain yesterday to get myself some Icelandic writings, and ended up with “Angels of the Universe” by Einar Már Guðmundsson and a book about sex with elves. Yes, sex with elves. I detect a pattern here…

Speaking of Icelandic writing: as we not only aim to get a feel for the music scene here in Iceland, but also want to know why Icelandic art in general is highly regarded world-wide, we met with local poet, critic and Tom Waits-lookalike Arngrímur Vídalín at Hressingarskálinn (or short Hresso), a café-bar downtown.

The place used to be a hangout for the Atom Poets of the 1940ies and -50ies, had been conversed to a McDonalds (!), and has now been restored to its former and proper use. Settling in the beer garden, while the rain was lashing down on the canopy above our heads, we had a really interesting conversation with Arngrímur that covered various topics – from Icelandic grassroots poetry over to the impact the Sagas still have on current-day writing and rhyming, to how the independent poets and writers in Iceland perceive the fact that Iceland is guest of honour at the Frankfurt book fair next year.

We ended the day with hot dog at the world-famous stand near the harbour and a couple of beers at Boston bar on Laugavegur. Weekday-Reykjavik never ceases to amaze me when it comes to doing something – doing something at all. We had initially planned to attend a free show at a venue called (ta-daa!) Venue, but when we reached the place around 10 PM, the prospect of being the two only guests did not seem very appealing. Hence, the beers in Boston.

PS: if you are interested in independent Icelandic writing, Fictious Island is the place to go to for an interesting overview.