Menningarnótt

This was a while ago, but quite a short while. Unlike some of the other stuff I am trying to get around to posting about. It means "Culture Night", although it's not just the night. I actually had more fun during the day because for some reason I found myself completely exhausted by half past ten, and ran home to bed after the fireworks.

Anyway, I met up with Ahmad and Stacey, and we wandered around central Reykjavík looking at all the people and the stalls and various things. There were people who were cooking waffles in their gardens and giving them free to passers by. And music and other things to eat, and more people than I have ever seen in Iceland before, even on Gay Pride.

"Culture Night !! Closed to general traffic," said a sign just outside my house. Early in the day, the people of Reykjavík did not take this to heart and could be seen getting out of their cars, moving the cones and driving through before carefully replacing them.

This isn't really Menningarnótt related (although I did take it on that day) - just a nice late summer early autumn shot of the Tjörn.

It was also the day of the Reykjavík marathon, but it was in the morning, so I was too late to see much of it. I think Reykjavík must be rather small for a marathon - I feel like there'd be a lot of running in circles.

Look who we saw playing in Ingólfstorg! Look at his costume. Great. For those of you who don't know, the answer is Páll Óskar. We arrived just in time for Gordjöss, which is my favourite of his songs.

Street party.

We also went out later in the evening, but I didn't take my camera. There was more music in Ingólfstorg (including Páll Óskar again!), and they lit up Harpa for the first time, the recently completed Reykjavík opera house down by the harbour. Then there were fireworks, and I was cold.

By the way, the next time you hear someone talking about Icelandic music and going on about Sigur Rós or Björk or possibly something more obscure, I strongly encourage you to say, "Yeah, but have you heard of Páll Óskar?" And play them this song.

The chorus is "Not everyone can be gorgeous, not everyone can be cool, not everyone can be fabulous, like me". I really like Sigur Rós, but I don't think they've ever written anything quite so profound.