iceland
Reykjavik
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una September 2016
September 2016 | Una Magazine | 1
Dear Toti &
wf readers! Thank you for having chosen us to contribute with this creative work about journalism and photography held in Reykjavik, September 2016. All the information showed in this magazine was gathered with a lot of enthusiasm, eort, inspiration and real willingness to show some of the history behind this unique city.
Contents: Workcamps summer 2016
06
WF farm
12
Living in Reykjavik
16
Who fears Death cannot enjoy Life
18
No shoes & lots of music
20
(Really) COFFEE LOVERS
22
The oldest bakery in Reykjavik
24
Andri’s dreamland
27
Rockall festival
30
Street Art in Reykjavik
32
Lighthouses
38
The Golden Circle excursion
42
Eugenia (Spain) “Lovely paths near the sea” “Coffee is really good!” “The best hot dogs ever!” “Astonishing church architecture”
Kana&Hitomi (Japan) “Spectacular sunsets in this city!” “Creative art on the streets” “Nice souvenirs shops”
Reykjavik is Katia (Russia) Elena (Italy)
“Nice coffee shops” “Icelandic design shops”
Berenice (Mexico)
“Lighthouses!” “Bright colors everywhere” “Nice discoveries every day” “The weather is better then I expected”
“Human, lovely and friendly people everywhere” “Caring cats walking calmly on the streets” “WIFI connection far and wide” “Enjoyable looong walks surrounded by beautiful nature”
Reykjavik
Workcamps Summer 2016 It’s September and winter is coming to Iceland by now. Our volunteers enjoyed the unusual warm summer of this year during their workcamps around Iceland. More than 50 projects were activated and hundreds of people coming from more than 35 differents countries participated in our workcamps. Here’re some pictures and infographics about Worldwide Friends in 2016!
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Most applicants in 2016 came from:
Russia - 5,5 % Canada - 4,4%
Germany - 8,3%
France - 12% Spain - 9% Italy - 10,2%
Korea - 11,3% Japan - 7,7%
1175
ap p l ic an t s
(from january to september 2016)
69% female 31% male
ap p licant s
6 | UNA Magazine | September 2016
147 projects wf.is
in 2016
check the site!
Marshmallow night
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A paradise for nature lovers
Goodnight!
Art in progress
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Watch out!
There’s something in the water‌
To infinity and beyond!
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C O F F E E T I M E
Enjoying the amazing sunset in Reykjavik
Yoga lessons! 10 | UNA Magazine | September 2016
September 2016 | Una Magazine | 11
WF farm All year round Worldwide Friends organization is renovating an old farmhouse in the outskirt of Reykjavik. It is 15 km away from the capital centre, surrounded by ďŹ elds and hills. We traveled to this farm to see how the life goes there.
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Volunteers help the organization with the renovation and care of the work in the farm. Every day they feed 5 chickens, which have funny names (Pikachu, Guinness, Zebra, Apple and Axel). They look after a piece of land where potatoes, carrots, lettuce and other types of vegetables grow. And they build a greenhouse for growing herbs. When it rains, volunteers usually work decorating the farm and the surrounding area. After the work, they chat, play games, hike, go to Reykjavik or travel.
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Camp 4-14 September 2016
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Living in Reykjavík…
…the point of view of 2 ex-volunteers
Andrea and Zoe are a young couple who used to be volunteers for our organization. They have a beautiful daughter, Mia Stefania, who is now seven months old and some months ago, they decided to move to Iceland together. How old are you? A: 28 Z: 25 Where are you from? A: Italy. Z: Russia. How long have you lived in Reykjavík? A, Z: Since April 2016. What do you do in Reykjavik? A: I have a full-time job in a hotel downtown. I also study at the university in Reykjavík and I play volleyball. Z: I don’t work at the moment; I take care of our daughter. You met each other in 2012, what happened after you finished your experience in Iceland? How did you end up moving to Reykjavík? A: Oh, that’s a long story! Actually I went to Iceland in 2011 where I spent a period studying at the university in Reykjavík. Then, I took part in a project with WF in 2012 for seven months and that’s when I met Zoe. Z: I was studying in Russia before coming to Iceland. I took part in the Christmas workcamp with WF in 2012. When I finished my workcamp, I came back to Russia. A: After my volunteering project, I came back to Italy and we spent some years going back and forward from Italy and Russia to see each other. In 2013, I even went back to Iceland where I worked for 3 months. When she got pregnant, I was looking for a job and I found a very interesting offer in Barcelona but when everything was almost set and done, they informed me, 4 months later, that the job was not available anymore. I got quite upset because it was a great opportunity for me, especially knowing that I would have to start a family soon. So after some time, I came to Iceland to try to make a new life and I easily found a job in a hostel. Z: In the meantime, I was staying in Russia, also because I needed to get my VISA to stay in Iceland. After our daughter was born, I waited for some time and when she had about 2 months, I moved to Reykjavík and now we live all together in an apartment.
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What did you find more difficult about living in Reykjavík? Did you have any cultural shock? A: The housing system in Reykjavík is what shocked me the most. We would like to buy an apartment or a house, because now this one starts to be too small for a family; but it is very hard to find one. The offer is very little and what is left is very expensive and it is not worth it. For the rest, I feel quite well here — I can’t complain — I’ve also learnt Icelandic! Z: I like living here, too. Sometimes it may be hard to go around downtown with a pram, you know, here restaurants and cafés are quite narrow and there are a lot of people, so it may be difficult to find a seat. What are your plans for the future? A: At the moment, we would like to stay here. I often feel tired because I am very busy, but I like what I do, it lets us travel where we want.
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Z: In October, our daughter will start going to the kindergarten so I will have some free time. I will probably look for a part-time job or continue my studies here. I would like to continue to study Swedish and learn Italian and Icelandic.
September 2016 | Una Magazine | 17
Who fears Death cannot enjoy Life These are some of the pieces you will find in the Dead Gallery, genuine Art created by Jón Saemlindur Audarson. Who fears Death cannot enjoy Life is a proverb that provoked deep reflection about Jón's life after being diagnosed VIH in 1994. Want to find out more? Keep reading! What has been your inspiration to create this pieces? Life & Death What is your point of view about life? Enjoy life as much as you can. Painting is to play, to play like a little child, it is a good way to be in the “now”, doing what you love. I love to paint so that's what I do. I find Art as a good therapy. When did this Death concept start? By 2003, nine years after being diagnosed HIV. My life had turned down, a lot of drinking and drugs abuse that lead me to Death slowly until 2002 when I decided to stop it due to an spiritual experience. My therapy — the Death concept — has been my way to face the fear of dying. This concept has something to do more with Life and this expression has grown in many directions: painting, T-shirts designing, music and films. Talk to us about this musical expression I have a band called Dead Skeletons since 2008 where I chant the Mantras mainly in Icelandic, English and German. Our most popular song is “Dead Mantra”, a hit that was released in 2011. We have performed mainly in Europe, Russia and America. We have not performed since 2013 as we are now more focused on our families.
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Interested in knowing more about his work? You can check his website at www.dead.is - OR- if you are in Reykjavik you can certainly find him at the main street Laugavegur 29.
Reykjavik Is there any religious influence in your work? I don’t consider myself as a religious human being but spiritual. I see Jesus Christ as a master and so Buddha so some of my work show that. Finally, what are your thoughts about contemporary art? Though question. Some of it is joyful and nice. There are just a few artists that really create and express through art. Art is life and life is art. Real art makes you experience spiritual moments. Jón is not afraid of dying anymore as his spirit has become strong and confident of the joy of being alive. He who fears death cannot enjoy life.
September 2016 | Una Magazine | 19
Reykjavik
No shoes & lots of music
When we asked her if she remembered any great moment while busking in the street, she said: “When I met you, guys!” We saw Jennifer Bennett for the first time in a corner of Reykjavík’s downtown, playing the flute and accompanying a guitarist. “I’ve come to Iceland to meet people and play music with them”, she told us. The day of the interview she didn’t come with a flute, but with a violin…. and barefoot. “I don’t wear shoes because I like the freedom in my body. Is it okay for you if we sit on the grass? I love nature.” We went to the grass and she walked calmly, as if she was really feeling the wind -and obviously, the floor. Actually, she really feels everything: “I heard a cello for the first time when I was a child, 20 | UNA Magazine | September 2016
and it was so moving. I cried a lot. It was really intense for me.” And after that, she learnt playing the cello… and the violin, and the double bass, and the flute. And she kept pensive because she plays so many instruments that she can’t even remember. But what is even more impressive is that she taught herself. When she was just eight years old, she felt like playing, so she learnt for herself how to play. “I watched videos and I used my own imagination” she says smiling. “I made my own way of writing music.” And it seemed as if she just got swept up in passion. “I like to play what I feel like playing, to be free to express what I feel and excites me in the moment. I just improvise. I’d like to create from the
inside and just to dream and do what’s necessary. Sometimes I just like to do nothing. This is my favourite thing” she said laughing. But actually, she has done so many things, not only busking (she only busks when she feels like doing it), but she also plays in concerts – she has just played in Iceland with the people of Sigur Rós- and she is recording a CD. “I’m a bit tired, it’s been happening so much!” she says. And she still has so much to do. She defines herself as a daydreamer: “I dream when I’m awake”. And what are the dreams like? “Well… fantasy, and colours… then I paint what I dream. I had a dream of a mountain, waking up with music, and there was bubbling water…” she said, like seeing that
happening in her head. Actually, this is how music comes to her head. “When I was a child I composed songs about butterflies, because I really love them.” She said that she loves the sound of nature, the space… so Iceland is the perfect place for her, though she is from England. Feeling homesick? “Actually, no. I feel like belonging here, in my heart, like I connect to here.” She has been in Venezuela, Tel Aviv and Italy, and she is going back to England soon. “But I’m planning to come back to Iceland, it’s my favourite.” It will be winter, then; and the floor will be so much colder. “I just have one pair of shoes. They are boots, just in case I’m walking on the snow, or on the hot water…” September 2016 | Una Magazine | 21
(Really) COFFEE LOVERS How the coffee espresso got to Iceland is a really nice love story. “The first espresso machine in Iceland is now in my bedroom, as a decoration” says Gudny. “My grandparents fell in love in Italy 62 years ago” she says. She stops explaining because someone has ordered a coffee and she has to make it. It’s 11 AM, and Mokka, the oldest café espresso in Reykjavík, is full of people. It’s a small place in downtown, a bit narrow but cosy, and it looks exactly the same as 1958, when Gudny’s grandparents started it up. “My grandfather went to study opera-singing in Italy, and he supported himself by being a tour guide. My grandmother went to Italy with a friend, and they went in one of his tours, and they just fell in love.” She smiles and looks at the wall, where there’s an old photo of them. They learnt the Italian coffee culture, they bought an espresso machine, and when they came back to
Iceland, they started running Mokka. “People didn’t know what all of this was about. I mean, they didn’t have the coffee culture, they didn’t know that they were paying just for one cup made with the espresso machine, no refilling as at home”, says Oddny. Oddny is one of the daughters of the founders, and like everyone in the family, she is also working in Mokka. Actually, she now runs it. “They had to teach Icelanders because they weren’t used to the coffee culture. At first, they were afraid because it was something absolutely new here, but then everybody liked it, so here we are.” Gudny recalls her grandmother explaining that at first, some drunk people went to Mokka because bars closed earlier. “My grandfather was such a child guy, and to kick them out, he would come over and say: <hey, how are you doing buddy? > And just start talking to them and slowly walking
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them out” says Gudny, standing up and imitating him. “And then he would say: <it was really good to see you, bye! > And the struggler was out. He knew everybody, he was really kind.” Her grandfather passed away eight years ago, but her grandmother still lives next door and almost every morning goes to Mokka. “She is proud now” says Oddny. “This is what she and my father did, so it’s nice now just to walk down the stairs and see all of this.” Reykjavík has now a lot of tourist shops, and Gudny says that now it is changing a lot. “I am cool with tourists, but it is the tourist industry… Icelandic entrepreneurs are very opportunistic and when something is popular for tourists, everybody is dong it. So there are lots of hotels and all the old shops are closing down… the prices have gone up so high and it’s so difficult to live here.”
Reykjavik September 2016 | Una Magazine | 23
THE OLDEST BAKERY IN REYKJAVIK, ICELAND?
Reykjavik
YES! This is about Bernhoftsbakari, a familiar business that started almost 200 years ago! Sigurdur Mรกr Gudjรณnsson, who runs this business tells us about it.
The history of this bakery dates back from 1834. It is said that the king of Denmark wanted to build a bakery in his country so a competition was made, it consisted of who opened the bakery would receive $8,000 shillings. An Icelandic business man opened it in Reykjavik and hired a baker for Northern Germany. 24 | UNA Magazine | September 2016
Since that time this bakery has been providing to locals and foreigners a great delight with a wide variety of cakes, cookies and of course typical pieces of bread called Snúdur. This bakery was the first one in Iceland until about 1868.
Another remarkable fact about this bakery is that it has won the award to the Cake of the year three times, in 2009, 2011 and 2013 cooked of course with local ingredients. “We try to keep the old traditional cakes recipes” he points out. This bakery has been providing delicious desserts to Mokka, also one of the oldest Coffee shop in Reykjavik since 1958. September 2016 | Una Magazine | 25
This bakery is moving to a different location in a couple of weeks, Sigurdur expressed his feelings for this location where they have been baking for almost 72 years however â&#x20AC;&#x153;you can never been so tied to a place, you need to have the ability to move and to see this as a new opportunityâ&#x20AC;? he concluded.
Sigurdur, the owner
Reykjavik
st of e b e h t urdur g i cation k. S o l h s w i e w n We ykjavi n his e i R k 1 c 0 u 1 the l ur 3, g i t s a p at Kla The national Icelandic cookie
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Andri’s dreamland In Iceland there are pigs everywhere: in the bread, in the ham, in the chocolate, even in the sweepers. Why? Well, the cheapest supermarket chain, called Bónus, has a pig as a logo, and it is becoming an Icelandic emblem. This is why Andri Magnason, a man so difficult to describe just in one word, thought: “Bónus makes everything… except for poetry. So, how the cover of a Bónus poetry book would look like?” At first it doesn’t make any sense, but it was coherent in Andri’s mind. “Everyone participates in the market and studies to sell something in it. But what happens with the poets?” So basically, he wanted to know what would happen
if the poetry was given to the consumer just like bananas are, just like a product. This way, poets wouldn’t be important people
(they are usually so-well considered in Iceland), but just like everybody else, selling products. He was sure that it would be the ugliest and the most tasteless book someone could ever imagine. So in 1996, he made it. “I got inspired by Dante’s comedy: The paradise was the fruit, the hell were the meat pr oducts and the purgatory were the cleaning products”. The book was sold out.
September 2016 | Una Magazine | 27
Reykjavik The only one who could ever come up with this idea is Andri Magnason. He lives in Reykjavík, and we meet in a very surrealistic place I would say, though Magnason thinks it is “beautifully ugly”: an old powerstation that had to be demolished. Andri used to walk around it: “I was always afraid of this building because it’s scary and full of electric warning signs.” But as he says, “you can create value with your point of view”, so he decided to think of the philosophy of the building, and now this old powerstation is a place for doing work collaboration, starts ups, exhibitions and small concerts. He has contributed with different architects to think about the meaning of different spaces. “I thought this would be a good space to take over and make something fun.” Actually, Andri’s mind seems to be so fun. He arrives at the powerstation by bike and goes upstairs, with the helmet still put on, and
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making brrrrrmmmmmm brrrrmmmm with his mouth. He takes a look at the newspaper:
— Have you heard? Justin Bieber is coming to Iceland! — he says jokingly. — Do you like Justin Bieber? — I liked him last year, now I think he is too in the mainstream. — Really? — No, I’m kidding. He’s 43 years old and he doesn’t like Justin Bieber, that’s not weird. But before he finished his grade on Icelandic Literature, he had already published three books. And that’s surprising. How Andri became a writer is a short story: he began studying Medicine (most of his family are nurses or doctors), but he only lasted half a year. “I was writing too much and I didn’t pass the exams, so I quit.”
And his parents… “Parents are always worried when they have a healthy child that can do maths and just wants to become a writer. But my first book was sold out, and things went well, so they were happy… and here I am!” Now he is in Reykjavík, but in October he is going to Switzerland because of a book he wrote twenty years ago. “My books are always coming up somewhere, and usually later than expected. A book that I wrote fourteen years ago has won a prize in France this summer…” There’s not a day-to-day routine in his life –he changed our meeting four times - and he travels at least once a month. “I have my time divided between many things… I write books, plays, documentaries…” and he has four children, so he has to write between 8 AM and 4 PM. Now he is writing a book connected to the melting glaciers and our sense of time and place in history. — What do you think about all this? — Well, it’s a collage of different influences. I was invited to interview Dalai Lama and climate scientists. My grandparents were glacier explorers, and they were travelling over glaciers in Iceland before anybody was thinking of global warming, when the glacier was in the context of eternity, like it would be there forever. And now they will only last ninety years. So it’s like going from geological spirit to human spirit. So nature changes affect to human lives… it’s kind of a mix of all this. — How was the interview with Dalai Lama? — So interesting. It will be published soon.
have to watch!” Another thing that he thought that he had to watch was the sky of Reykjavík with all the city lights turned off. So thank to him, the night of the 28th Sept. 2006 Reykjavík was completely in the dark for half an hour. — Did you like it? — Well… I was actually managing it, so I couldn’t be into it properly. I knew that everything that happened in the city during that half an hour would be my fault, and that’s a terrible responsibility, — says laughing. — So you didn’t look at the sky at all? — Well, yes, it was a bit cloudy. But I was basically waiting for it to finish. But nothing happened, only good things. People fell in love… actually I know a couple that are still in love. So that’s enough. What can you ask for more? His phone suddenly rings. He answers, and when he hangs up, he smiles. — My daughter wants to go to Justin Bieber’s concert. — Kidding? — No, not kidding! She’s going… The powerstation is in Reykjavík’s outskirts, so getting to downtown is quite an adventure. “Hope you find your way back” he says. “If you get lost, just follow the birds!”
Andri’s works are inspired by literature and nature. He hikes with his friends, and his family has a farm in the north of Iceland. “There you can sit on a rock and listen to 50 spices of birds attacking you at the same time” he says laughing. So do you sit there anyway? “Well, they are angry birds and they can be really hungry… but it’s something you
September 2016 | Una Magazine | 29
The Rockall Festival The Rockall Festival is an international project that this year is happening in Reykjavik from July 1st to September 30th 2016. The setting of the festival is in Vesturbugt, the old harbor, where they organize meetings, lectures, but they also project movies and it is used as stage for artists. Also some of our volunteers participated in the building of the project! It is a creative lively public space which comes from an original idea; the Rockall is, in fact, an uninhabitable rock in the Atlantic Ocean, which no country can claim according to an UN statement, as no one can claim an inhabitable land. The aim of the festival is strictly related to the origin of its name: to rebuild a new society from scratch, to make people think critically and dream. The Library, CafĂŠ and Workshop are open from 11 am to 8 pm, Wednesday through Sunday. The Travelling Embassy of Rockall, as the participants of the project are called, invites you also to participate actively to the festival as a collaborator, volunteer or even as a performer! So be creative and let yourself be part of a new society! They will post the following events on their FB page and they are also on Twitter and Instagram.
At table! 30 | UNA Magazine | September 2016
Some street art
The stage
The Entrance of the Festival
The playground September 2016 | Una Magazine | 31
Street Art in Reykjavik
What if not focusing on getting from point A to B, but taking in your surroundings? One sunny day we woke up early in the morning to explore the Street-art of Reykjavik. We walked almost 3 hours around Reykjavik with our cameras. On our morning adventure we discovered a lot of street-art pieces. Reykjavik can be called a museum under the sky definitely! What’s more, we realized that the city is full of colorful houses, doors and friendly cats. So, let’s take a small Street-Art tour with us! To take it easier, we marked all the best Street-art walls on our way below. Enjoy your stay in Reykjavik :)
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Reykjavik September 2016 | Una Magazine | 33 ISSUE 2016 September | Una Magazine |04
Reykjavik
Hve
rfisg
ata
Lau
gav egu
r
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September 2016 | Una Magazine | 35
Reykjavik
Guido van Helten is talanted Australian artist, who created these paintings, based on old pictures he found in Iclandic museum.
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September 2016 | Una Magazine | 37
Light houses
iceland
Reykjavik
If you are into photography or just interested in exploring new things in Iceland, you need to look at the lighthouses. We matched some of them not far from Reykjavik. But you can find lighthouses in Reykjavik as well!
Svörtuloft Light House
Breiðin
Malariff
Light House
Light House
Gardur Light House
Reykjanes
Light House
Grótta Island Light House
Knarraros Light House
Dyrholaey 38 | UNA Magazine | September 2016
Light House
September 2016 | Una Magazine | 39
iceland Reykjavik
Just 5 kilometrs away from downtown ReykjavĂk you will see this fascinating lighthouse of GrĂłtta. In the morning it is possible to get closer to it, and in the evening you have a chance to see the beautifull sunset.
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September 2016 | Una Magazine | 41
Worldwide Friends UNA
4.09.2016
iceland
THE GOLDEN CIRCLE EXCURSION Rich Nature in Iceland
We went to the golden circle excursion tour on September 4th 2016, in our day off during our volunteering workcamp, such an incredible lively experience! The Golden circle trip is one of Iceland’s most stunning tourist spot since it is considered as historical and geological wonder. In here you can enjoy Thingvellir National Park. It took us about 8 hours to go all over the Golden circle as we departed from the old harbor in Reykjavik downtown. The excursion involves 4 famous places which are amazing. We felt the mystery of the nature here. You can see rich and clean nature so near you. When you come to Iceland, make sure you don`t miss this excursion!
When you come to
Iceland, make sure
you don’t miss this excursion.
þingvellir This place has old history. The oldest
Democratic Congress “Althing” was held
in this place. You can watch a crack of the earth.
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1
Worldwide Friends UNA
4.09.2016
Strokkur This is a highly active geyser hot spring area with boiling mud pits. This geyser spouts out water 30 meters into the air every 5 or 10
minutes.
Gullfoss …or Golden Waterfalls is just an emotional landscape. Lots of crystal clear water, fresh
air. You can listen to the sound of the water as if it were expressing itself. The view is just
Kerið
breathtaking! You can catch the rainbow in a
sunny day if you’re lucky. And this not all, you can also enjoy meal here and buy souvenirs.
Kerið is a crater lake which was
formed almost 3,000 years ago. The surface of this lake is aquamarine, the color is reddish brown, and it is
covered by moss. The altitude from
the edge of cliff to surface of water is 55 meters so you have to be
careful when walking around it. This view is so mysterious and
impressive. Going down there, you will find a bench where you can sit
and be in complete touch with silence, sunshine and yourself.
2
September 2016 | Una Magazine | 43
Eu
gèn
ia Katia
Hito Kana Ele na enic mi e
Ber
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