To many visitors, Þingholt is the real centre of Reykjavík, and the place they spend most of their time while in the city. We asked one of its better known inhabitants, Mr. Egill Helgason, to give us a tour. (Bonus feature: some interesting observations on Icelandic grammar.)
Aldrei fór ég suður — literally “I never went south” — is an organically grown music festival taking place annually in Ísafjörður, capital of the Icelandic Westfjords. You could say it’s like Iceland Airwaves, but you would not be correct — there are no foreign bands and very few international hipsters. As he has done many times before and will do many times again, Aðalsteinn Jörundsson went up there. On Saturday 3 April 2010, he woke up feeling sick.
Like most landmasses, I was born of the friction between two plates. I am called Iceland, but to be honest I am a creature of fire, and my position on the Earth makes me special — a hot spot above a mantle plume.
Let me explain.