CULTURE
Music
Easter adventure in Isafjordur Surprise Easter eggs, great music and ski slopes covered in candy.
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TEXT: Lisa Gail Shannen PHOTOS: Roman Gerasymenko
The extensive aerial views of snowtopped mountains, fjords, and glittering shores from the window seat of our Bombardier Q200 are thrilling enough, but it’s hard not to feel like an excited kid when you’re handed a surprise Easter egg by the flight attendant: just one of the unexpected perks during our holiday weekend away. And when we’re about to land in Isafjordur, the remote yet modern hub of the Westfjords, my husband and I are on a chocolate-induced happy high, ready to take on both the annual Aldrei for
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eg sudur (“I never went south”) music festival and Ski Week. Between them, these two major events make Isafjordur during the Easter holidays an irresistible destination. Come Good Friday – or so we’re told by the folks at the local information centre – the town’s modest population of almost 3,000 people increases by roughly 2,000, although they can’t be sure since the music festival is entirely free.
Ski Week Long before Isafjordur became home to the much-loved music fes-
tival, the town, with its annual Ski Week, was already renowned for its superb skiing facilities and was well established as a popular Easter destination. The Ski Week event, which draws skiers from all over the country to participate in funpacked cross-country and downhill races, is the oldest town festival in Iceland, dating all the way back to the year 1935. Gleaming with snow and dotted with brightly dressed skiers, the rising heights of the Tungudalur ski resort present an idyllic scene of winter in Iceland. By the time we arrive there, a five-minute drive
