A young man wanted to purchase a gift for his new sweetheart’s birthday, and as they had not been dating very long, after careful consideration, he decided a pair of gloves would strike the right note: romantic, but not too personal. Accompanied by his sweetheart’s younger sister, he went to Nordstrom and bought a pair […] Read more
December 2005
So. Here in Niceland we’re currently in the process of gearing up for the Mutha of all parties [and if you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll know that we have many over the course of the year], namely New Years Eve. Despite their crazy reputation, though, the New Years celebrations actually start off pretty […] Read more
First, we have rancid skate cooking out on the balcony [on account of the smell, obviously]… A steaming, heaping platter of rancid skate, mmmmmm…… Húrri the family feline was rather curious about the foodsmells wafting up from the table… AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT… Our tree tada! [The string of lights near the bottom […] Read more
It’s been business as usual this Christmas, with adherence to both personal and cultural traditions, plus indulging in some serious [and well-earned] laziness. Predictably, Yule chez YT begins on the 23rd, what with birthday celebrations and the much-anticipated rancid skate party. A short lie-in is allowed on Christmas Eve day, before gearing up for the […] Read more
Pity the poor tourists that spent Christmas in Reykjavík and failed to realize that virtually everything is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. A grand total of four restaurants were open on the 24th, for example – including one fast-food place. Lots of people eating fish and chips for Christmas dinner, apparently. Yowsa. HOWEVER!… […] Read more
First of all, today is my birthday. To those of you who have already jumped the gun – thank you my lovelies, it’s always great to get birthday wishes, on any day of the year. But today is the official one. Secondly, what I would love love love today, is if all you lurkers out […] Read more
So EPI’s brother and sister-in-law have invited us to a putrid skate party tomorrow. Putrid skate parties are without a doubt one of the more bizarre Icelandic traditions. Every year on December 23, Icelanders get together and eat skate [as in fish] that has been sitting in a closed container and allowed to ferment for […] Read more
At first I thought it was just me, but evidently it’s not: Birta [weekly magazine delivered free with Fréttablaðið] has the Yule Lads at the top of their trend-o-meter, accompanied by this reasoning: “They’re clad in those oh-so fashionable Icelandic sweaters, they enjoy the outdoors and have extremly macho beards. Plus they’re in much better […] Read more
Well, dinner at The Virgin may now be crossed off my to-do list. As can the Christmas prezzie thing, plus the kaffihús. Finally finally I find myself getting into the spirit of the season, what with all those jolly people waltzing up and down Laugavegur [not literally], those choirs singing [wearing Santa hats, yowsa], brass […] Read more
