Icelander’s Campaign Is a Joke, Until He’s Elected
A polar bear display for the zoo. Free towels at public swimming pools. A “drug-free Parliament by 2020.” Iceland’s Best Party, founded in December by a comedian, Jon Gnarr, to satirize his country’s political system, ran a campaign that was one big joke. Or was it?
Last month, in the depressed aftermath of the country’s financial collapse, the Best Party emerged as the biggest winner in Reykjavik’s elections, with 34.7 percent of the vote, and Mr. Gnarr — who also promised a classroom of kindergartners he would build a Disneyland at the airport — is now the fourth mayor in four years of a city that is home to more than a third of the island’s 320,000 people.
In his acceptance speech he tried to calm the fears of the other 65.3 percent. “No one has to be afraid of the Best Party,” he said, “because it is the best party. If it wasn’t, it would be called the Worst Party or the Bad Party. We would never work with a party like that.”
This makes me want to go to Iceland even more than I already do.
I’m going to Iceland for the first week of April. Get ready, Reykjavík.
Goals for My Trip to Iceland Next Week
- Ride some Viking horsies (umm, I have never ridden a horse before, just a pony and a camel)
- Get a massage at a geothermal spa
- See the Northern Lights
- Watch some whales (and try not to think of them being murdered)
- Make some Icelandic friends
- Not die on a glacier
That’s all I got so far. Let me know if you’ve been to Reykjavik and have any recommendations!
[Flickr photos from cen77, exiula, tarfur, icelandexcursions]
I’m heading to Iceland tonight, be back in a week. The first question I’ve been getting is, “Who are you going with?” And the answer is: myself!
I wanted my brother to come with me, since we had so much fun on last year’s Costa Rica adventure, but he couldn’t make it. I’ve traveled alone for business a bit within the U.S. and enjoyed being able to do what I want, but this will be my first solo overseas trip. I’m turning 25 in a few weeks, so I figure I’m a big girl now and I can handle it. I’m looking forward to the adventure.
My passport photo is the worst, like my everything-else photo. This is me, six years ago, looking fat and grouchy. Ooh, hologram eagle!
Iceland Is Niceland: Part I
Hello from Iceland! The land here is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Looking out the airplane window made me feel like we were landing on Mars. The land is flat and gray and cracked like elephant hide, pockmarked with rocks and craters. It is crisply cold here and a bit cloudy, but thankfully not raining like Weather.com said.
The guest house where I’m staying is nice and the owner, a tiny, energetic young woman named Bedda, gave me a hug when I arrived. I met a couple of Aussies from London who are leaving today, and they marveled at the fact that Americans only get 10 vacations days a year (I agreed it’s miserable). When I told my cabbie I was from New York, he said, “Ah, so you’re not really from the United States of America.” There’s only one other person staying here for now and he’s from New York, too.
Most places are closed on Sunday, despite the fact that Icelanders aren’t very religious. I hope I can find somewhere to eat, although there is a bit of food in the kitchen. My theory is that Icelanders are all thin because the food isn’t so great, but I had a chicken and cottage cheese sandwich on the plane and it was surprisingly tasty. I’m planning to head over to the flea market in a little bit and do a bit of exploring from there.
The flea market was meh, but I did take a nice stroll down Laugavegur and went in a bunch of stores and bought some goodies (edible and non-edible). I forgot what the exchange rate is, so I literally have no idea how much I spent on things. I might have bought a $80 T-shirt, I don’t even know (that happened to me in London when I was a teenager, oops). I should probably go figure that out.
I also went in two bookstores in search of this hilarious comic book at the guesthouse called Iceland: “The Land of Ice” by cartoonist Hugleikur Dagsson. I must find and buy it before I leave. Otherwise I might have to steal this one.
Unfortunately, I realized that I forgot to put a memory card in my digital camera and I haven’t been able to find one that fits. I asked a clerk at the bookstore where I might be able to buy one and he said, “There are no camera or computer stores anywhere near Reykjavik city center.” So I can basically only take about 10 photos per outing, before uploading them to my laptop (thank goodness I brought it).
Oh, and I keep noticing my hair smells faintly of eggs because I took a shower and the water is pretty sulfur-y. It tastes pretty good, though (the water, not my hair).
Skyr cake I had for lunch-dessert. It tasted like a slightly lemony cheesecake, very tasty. Fun Fact: The Icelandic word for cake is “kaka.” This cake was not kaka.
Iceland: “The Land of Ice” by cartoonist Hugleikur Dagsson. Mad funny.
Everyone staying at the guesthouse has a Polaroid photo of them posted in the lobby, so guests know each others’ names.
