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Denmark’s Oldest Newspaper Refers To Icelandic Fishing Interests As An “Oligarchy”

This past weekend Berlingske Tidende, Denmark’s oldest newspaper, ran a story it had been working on for months. The topic: the Icelandic fisheries industry. The conclusion: Iceland is an oligarchy. 

Man Fined For Hate Speech in Reykjanesbær

A man in Reykjanesbær was ruled to pay a 100.000 ISK fine after expressing hate speech online. The hate speech in question was a comment the man made to a Vísir news story, the offender said that the “German showers” needed to be revived because of asylum seekers, and that the Greeks knew how to beat them into submission.

Airplane Fuel Reserves in Iceland Good, Says Oil Executive

According to Skeljungur’s CEO Þórður Guðjónsson, fuel reserves in Iceland are in good shape, though the closure of the strait of Hormuz is likely to affect that at some point this spring.

Person Busted For Trying To Pay With An 11.000ISK Bill

An undisclosed person tried to pay for products with an 11.000ISK bill. As no such nomination of the ISK exist, they bill was a forgery. Details on what person was to be found on the bill are yet not in the public. 

Former Foreign Minister To Become Ambassador To The UK

Former minister of foreign affairs, Þórdís Kolbrún Gylfadóttir Reykfjörð, was appointed Iceland’s ambassador to the UK on April 20th. Þórdís has been a MP for the Independence Party since 2016, but her views of foreign policy have as of lately been more in line with the current coalition government, rather than her own political party.

Windmills Show Up In Þorlákshöfn

The first shipment of windmills for electricity production for Iceland’s state owned energy company Landsvirkjun has arrived by ship in the town of Þorlákshöfn. Recently, roads from Þorlákshöfn to the part of the highlands the windmills are destined to, have been strengthened for the move.

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This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast.
The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. 

The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication.

You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content.
www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of.

The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Grapevine editor-in-chief Bart Cameron, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in the past week. On the docket this week are: 

Pop Legend Björgvin Halldórsson Passes

Björgvin Halldórsson passed on April 9th last week, a week short of his 75th birthday. Björgvin, or “Bo” may be a bit hard to explain to non-Icelandic audiences, but he started out as Iceland’s first teen pop-star in the late 60s, and went on to have a prolific music career and series of hits, along with becoming a larger-than-life character in Icelandic life.

Eleven “parties” in the running in Reykjavík’s upcoming municipality elections. One “party” in the town of Vopnafjörður

The municipality elections will take place for all municipalities in Iceland, on 16 May. Excitement seems to vary between places, as eleven entities turned in a candidate list for the elections in Reykjavík, while one such list of candidates was sent in for the elections in Vopnafjörður, east Iceland.

Icelandair Pilot On Last Flight, “Hedgehops” Over Hometown

Last Friday, an Icelandair passenger jet flying to Keflavík from Frankfurt, made a very low and unauthorized flyover over the Westman Islands. The pilot was celebrating his last flight, by flying low over his home town, and as is reported, much to the satisfaction of the passengers onboard, but to the chagrin of the residents of the Westman Islands.

 Man Wakes Up, Sees Notice Of Own Demise In Newspaper

Sölvi Guðmundarson woke up last Friday to the unpleasant experience of reading about his own death in Iceland’s last remaining daily paper, Morgunblaðið.

Government Announces Three Pronged Plan To Battle Inflation

In short, the government announced that they’d be 1) lowering VAT on fuel from 25% to 11%, 2) more diligently watching changes in prices, 3) Spending 500 million ISK to increase access to EV charging stations. Opposition members were unsurprisingly unimpressed, but so were union leaders.

New Report On The Town Of Grindavík, Advices Against Families With Children Moving To The Town. 

The report was met with little enthusiasm by some of the

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Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/

Or donate to the Grapevine here:
https://support.grapevine.is

You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store:
https://shop.grapevine.is

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast.
The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. 

The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication.

You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content.
www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of.

The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are: 

Winter Still Rages - Flights Cancelled - Avalanches - Blizzards

We’re having a bad case of the winters these days, making the past week seem like the week before. Most, if not all international flights to and from Iceland were cancelled on Friday, bunch of road closures due to blizzards and in some cases avalanches, such as in on the main road near the town of Sigufjörður in North Iceland. Power also went down in the Westfjords.

Reynisfjara Black Beach Back In The News

Westerly winds, that had already swept the sands of Reynisfjara beach westwards, leading to stories about the beach having disappeared or having closed, kicked in again last week, hitting the parking lot by the beach hard. Landowners are still betting on the usually prevailing easterly winds to return, with high hopes that this will mean the return to sand around the famous cave and basalt columns, so loved by tourists. 

Russian Oligarch In Super Yacht Barred From Docking In Iceland

The yacht, named La Datcha is owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Tinkov. Tinkov is the founder of Russian internet bank Tinkoff, which is one of the biggest bank in Russia.

Iceland The Second Happiest Nation On Earth, After Finland

Yet again, Iceland scores high, but falls short of coming in number one, which falls, yet again, to the Finns. 

Big Explosion In Reykjavík

A “Dust Explosion” blew a hole in a big industrial building in Reykjavík, killing one worker and injuring others. The workers had been wielding in a silo of a factory that manufactures animal fodder. The sparks from the wielding set fire to the dust in the silo, leading to an explosion.

Interests Rates Go Up

Interest rates were raised by the Icelandic Central Bank last Thursday from 7,25% to 7,5%. The Chairman  of the Central Bank, cited inflation and the war in Iran in his reasoning for the raise.

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SHOW SUPPORT

Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/

Or donate to the Grapevine here:
https://support.grapevine.is

You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store:
https://shop.grapevine.is

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast.
The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. 

The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication.

You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content.
www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of.

The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are: 

500 Travelers Stuck In North Iceland Because Of A Blizzard  

While weather conditions remained fairly uninteresting in Reykjavík a blizzard closed the road between Reykjavík and Akureyri this Sunday, which meant that up to 500 people had to unexpectedly had to spend the night in various hotels and guesthouses, and for dozens, the local schools were opened up to shelter people. 

Nordic PMs Meet To Hang Out With Canadian PM Mark Carney

The Nordic PMs met in Oslo on Saturday, along with Mark Carney, who’s stature in the international political landscape risen significantly over the past months, and dramatically after a speech he gave in Davos earlier this year. The speech in question was also probably on Iceland’s MP Kristrún Frostadóttir mind when she commented after the meeting, that “We have had concerns about Greenland, we have concerns about the situation in Europe regarding Ukraine, but we are not afraid. We also see this as a way to reshape alliances. Although we are not excluding anyone, we are also just broadening our horizons, and I think this group, together with Canada, shows that there are great opportunities out there."

EU Debate Takes Over Icelandic Discourse

The upcoming EU referendum has been heavily debated over the past week, and we’ve already had enough.

Laufey Lín Performed For 36.000 Icelanders This Weekend

With two concerts in a hall that takes 18.000 guests, Musical Superstar Laufey Lín, may have shattered a national record.

Tourists Cause More Serious Road Accidents Than Drunk Or Young Drivers

According to Reynir Bjarni Egilsson, of the insurance company VÍS, who said, last week that "There is often talk of perhaps dangerous groups such as young drivers and drunk drivers, but foreign tourists are causing more serious and fatal accidents per year than these groups that are most often discussed. We think it is well worth drawing attention to them in order to generate debate about whether i

Support the show

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SHOW SUPPORT

Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/

Or donate to the Grapevine here:
https://support.grapevine.is

You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store:
https://shop.grapevine.is

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast.
The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. 

The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication.

You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content.
www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of.

Iceland Roundup

The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are: 

Icelanders To Vote On EU

The government announced last week that a referendum asking whether or not Iceland should  continue negotiations with the EU about what terms Iceland could join the union on. The referendum will take place on August 29th.

Fish Washes Ashore In South Iceland, Locals Eat It

The strange occurrence of perfectly edible fish washing ashore in the small fishing village of Stokkseyri made the news this weekend. Reasons are unclear, but getting fish into the pots of the locals, usually requires more work.

Standardized School Tests Back After A 5 Year Absence 

Elementary schools in Iceland held the first standardized tests since 2021, last week.

The Chancellor Of the Catholic Church In Iceland’s Great PR

 RÚV reported that the Catholic Church in Iceland was providing suppression therapy, which is illegal in Iceland. The Chancellor of the Icelandic congregation said, when queried on the subject that: “We must preach what the church preaches. It is that simple. [..]Whether it is legal or illegal, I know about these laws [..] Parliament does not  dictates to me what I should say. I should say what the church tells me and what Jesus Christ proclaims." So much for secularism.

Price Of Food Has Risen Faster Than Salaries

The price of food in Iceland has risen by 7,8% since the last collective bargaining agreement was signed in March 2024 according to The Icelandic Confederation of Labour (ASÍ), and by 10% according to Statistics Iceland. ASÍ’s main economist, Ágúst Arnórsson, told visir.is that the price hikes could void the 2024 collective bargaining agreement.

Middle East War — Oil Prices To Go Up In Iceland

And adding fuel to the fire that is currently the high inflation in Iceland are expected price raises on gasoline.

Support the show

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SHOW SUPPORT

Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/

Or donate to the Grapevine here:
https://support.grapevine.is

You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store:
https://shop.grapevine.is

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast.
The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. 

The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication.

You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content.
www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of.

The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are: 

The Reykjavík Grapevine Was In The News

The Reykjavík Grapevine was in the Icelandic news this past week because of layoffs at its editorial office. The layoffs, which are both sad and difficult for such a small, tight-knit workplace, were undertaken to ensure the future publication of the magazine. Give us a hand at support.grapevine.is

Davíð Oddsson, Former Prime Minister Of Iceland, Dies At 78

Davíð Oddsson, former Prime Minister of Iceland, Mayor of Reykjavík, Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland, and Editor-in-Chief of Iceland’s daily newspaper Morgunblaðið since 2009, passed away yesterday, Sunday, March 1. He was 78.

Reynisfjara beach Is Not Closed And Has Not Disappeared

Reynisfjara beach was in the news recently for having “disappeared” and for being “closed”. Neither of which is true. The Reykjavík Grapevine went on location yesterday (video report forthcoming) to investigate.

Half Of Tourist Say That Portrayal Of Icelandic Landscapes In Movies And TV Shows, Affect Their Decision To Visit Iceland

A recent report reveled that half of all tourists that visit Iceland cite portrayal of Iceland’s landscapes in popular culture as affecting their decision to visit.

46% Of Icelanders Worried That The US Might Take Over Greenland

A recent poll reveled that 46% of Icelanders are worried that the USA will take over Greenland, while 36% said they didn’t worry much about it, and 18% neither worried much nor little.

Iceland’s Main Hospital Stops Using Icelandic Butter

The main hospital in Reykjavik announced last week that it had exchanged the locally supplied dairy based butter Smjörvi in its cafeterias for the Italian Bertoli alternative. This caused some outrage.

Keflavik Bound Flights Rerouted To Other Icelandic Airports Due To Weather

Bad weather around Keflavik Airport last week led to flights to Iceland being rerouted to Akureyri and Egilsstaðir Airport.

Political Part

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SHOW SUPPORT

Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/

Or donate to the Grapevine here:
https://support.grapevine.is

You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store:
https://shop.grapevine.is

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast.
The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. 

The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication.

You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content.
www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of.

Brushfires On The Outskirts Of Reykjavík

Sunday saw a massive brushfire near Elliðavatn, on the outskirts of Reykjavík. South Iceland has been having a dry spell and the brushfires spread as a result of that. According to Veitur, the company that takes care of providing water to the city of Reykjavik, the water supply to the city, located next to where the main brushfire raged, escaped the worst, but only because of a favorable wind direction. All of the fire departments in the Capital Area had to be called out to deal with the situation and to put out the fire. Over the weekend, two other brushfires had to be put out, one in Kjalanes, and another one in Norðlingaholt, both within the boundaries of Reykjavík

Snowstorm On The South Coast

The Road just west of the town of Vík, and all the way west to Seljalandsfoss, was closed for two hours during a snowstorm on Sunday, which both saw a truck drift drift off the road, closing it, and a bus with 27 tourists running of the road and into a ditch, nobody was hurt. Traffic was severely interrupted, and farmers in the general area of the south coast helped the SAR with tractors, in pulling out cars that had skid off the road or got stuck in snow.

Kayak Turns Out To Be A Small Iceberg

The Police in Reykjavík were called on location because of what was thought to be a kayak upside down in Skerjafjörður. After the police arrived on a boat with a drone, it turned out that the supposed kayak was a lump of ice.

Skiing Slopes In Akureyri Overflowed

The police had to be called out to control traffic in the ski area of Akureyri, Hlíðafjall. Icelandic schools had a winter break on Thursday and Friday, which saw thousands of parents take their kids skiing in the north. The caretaker of the skiing area was asked if he had any advice for the skiers. His reply? “No, but I’d like to point out to the municipalities to maybe not all have the winter break during the same week.”

Reykjavík’s Emergency Rooms Still Overflowing

This ongoing story has gone nowhere, although the Ministry of Health is reportedly trying to negotiate with a private health care company, Klínikin, for space for about 10-20 patients, of the around 100 spaces needed the elevate the overflow at the emergency facilities in Fossvogur hospital.

Icelandic Easter Eggs

No

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SHOW SUPPORT

Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/

Or donate to the Grapevine here:
https://support.grapevine.is

You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store:
https://shop.grapevine.is

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast.
The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. 

The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication.

You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content.
www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of.

The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are: 

Terrible Air Quality in Reykjavík 

The last few days, with cold and still weather, saw air quality in Reykjavík plummet.

ADHD And Driving In Iceland

An Icelandic attorney wanted to bring it to the attention of the public that every so often people in Iceland loose their driver’s license because they are taking ADHD medication. The reason, they don’t have a prescription.

Horse And Tooth

A person that bought a 13 year old horse wanted to return the horse because it had an extra tooth. The case was taken to consumer court, where the buyer lost. The court pointed out that the horse seems to have lived with the extra tooth for at least a decade without issue, and therefore the extra tooth was not enough ground for returning the horse.

Progressive Party Votes New Chairman

Over the weekend the Progressive Party, on of Iceland’s oldest political parties, voted for a new chairman. The winner was Lilja Alfreðsdóttir, a former MP and minister.

Man. United Owner Says UK “Colonized by Immigrants”

Jim Ratcliffe, billionaire owner of Manchester United, said publicly that the UK had been “colonized by immigrants”. The comment received a lot of pushback in the UK, for various reasons. One of which is that Ratcliffe doesn’t even live or pay tax in the UK, but in Monaco. The comments were thought to be quite ironic to Icelanders because Ratcliffe is the single biggest landowner in Iceland, after the state, municipalities and the church, having thus, in his own way, been “colonizing” Iceland.

The Last Week In Healthcare

The past weeks have been rough for the good name of the Icelandic Health Care system and Icelandic health in general. The emergency room in Reykjavík is so full that it pretty much doesn’t function. On top of that it turns out Icelanders are way too fat, and the minister is pondering to propose a tax on sugar. Lastly, a poll revealed that 83% of Icelanders want to put ban energy drinks, so kids can’t buy t

Support the show

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SHOW SUPPORT

Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/

Or donate to the Grapevine here:
https://support.grapevine.is

You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store:
https://shop.grapevine.is

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast.
The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. 

The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication.

You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content.
www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of.

The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are: 

Preschool Problems In Reykjavík

On Thursday it was reported that child in a preschool in Reykjavík suburb Breiðholt was left on the grounds alone, for its parent to find it there, when all of the staff had already left the premises.  This story overlaps with all of the headmasters of Reykjavík’s 63 preschools telling the city that it has until the end of the month to solve the city’s preschool problems.

Emergency Room Still Full At Reykjavík’s Main Hospital

The chairman of the Medical Doctor’s association, told the news this past week that the situation in the hospital’s emergency rooms had never been worse, and currently a 100 patients are waiting in the overcrowded hospital for space in a nursing home. This comes after reports that seven health care employees got TB from a patient that died from that in January.

Interest Rates Stay The Same, Inflation Roars

The Central Bank announced last week that they would not raise interest rates, even though inflation has now been measured above 5,2%. If this trend continues, the collective bargaining agreements now in place might become void. .

Epstein Files and Arctic Circle

The release of the Epstein files has brought back a 2020 story on the fact that Ghislaine Maxwell spoke  at the annual Arctic Circle Council in 2013 and 2014, and that there she  met, and subsequently married the council’s co-founder Scott Borgerson.

Reynisfjara Beach No Longer A “Beach”

Heavy ocean currents, with easterly winds have all but swept the beach element of the famous tourist destination Reynisfjara beach, away. The famous basalt columns, one of the most photographed places in Iceland, are now directly exposed to the waves, with all the sand in front of them gone. 

The USA Has Access To All Icelandic Government Data

Last summer, an Icelandic hosting service provider, Mörður Áslaugarson, pointed out in a Op-Ed on visir.is, that companies such as Amaz

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SHOW SUPPORT

Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/

Or donate to the Grapevine here:
https://support.grapevine.is

You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store:
https://shop.grapevine.is

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast.
The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. 

The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication.

You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content.
www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of.

The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by guest host Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are: 

Handball, Handball, Handball

The European Men's Handball Championship took place during the last two weeks of January in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, with the final matches being played in Herning, Denmark. The whole of Iceland seems to have been watching, with local media publishing pictures of empty Reykjavík streets during televised broadcasts of the Icelandic team playing. Iceland came 4th overall, loosing to Croatia in a match for the third place. 

Icelanders In The Epstein Flies

The latest batch of Epstein files released by the US Justice Department, led to some newsprint being spent on the few Icelanders that appeared there, such as former First Lady Dorrit Moussaieff, her husband former president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, former CEO of DeCode Genetics, Kári Stefánsson, and cab driver Kristján Jón Karlsson. As far as we know, non of these Icelanders had any real ties with Epstein.

Iceland’s Laufey Wins A Grammy

Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir, the Icelandic musician and singer, took home her second Grammy for her latest LP A Matter of Time. The also received an Emmy for her 2024 album Bewitched. 

Gas Prices & Inflation

Inflation in Iceland is now at 5,2%, which is “too damn high”. This may have the result of nullifying recent collective bargaining agreements, which in turn might tip the generally fragile Icelandic economy into turmoil.

Iceland’s New Defense Policy.

Icelands new defense policy was published last week, being immediately criticized for not taking into account the ongoing changes to the global world order. And what is the defense policy you may ask? It’s the same as the old defense policy, basically non-existent.

Tesla’s Fail To Pass Inspections

The 2021 model of Tesla’s are now due for their first law stipulated inspections, which they’ve been failing, specifically the Y model, of which 30% didn’t pass inspection in Iceland, whereas in Denmark 45% of that type of Teslas didn’t pass.

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This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast.
The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. 

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