Tuesday, February 19, 2008
1 Picture = 1000 Words, Reykjavik
Bjork sings Birthday with the Sugarcubes, Laugardalshoell Nov 17, 2006.
I've always loved Bjork, but never had the chance to see her in concert. Then I heard about the Sugarcubes Reunion taking place in Iceland. Thanks to Icelandair offering great deals on packages, my friend Eric and I took a weekend in Reykjavik. The highlights included Bjork, almost getting beat down by a Soccer Hooligan, and lots of expensive beer during blizzards. And that's what I did on my November vacation!
Labels: bjork, iceland, music, photo of the week, sugarcubes, travel
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
A Picture = 1000 Words: Reykjavik, Iceland
The music doesn't stop in Reykjavik. Not in people's houses, not in the clubs, not on the streets. This brave anonymous accordion player was pictured on November 18, 2006 at roughly 1 AM. In the middle of a snowstorm that dumped about 8-10 inches on the city.
Labels: iceland, music, photo of the week, travel
Friday, May 11, 2007
Five Places to Travel in 2007
Everyone loves to travel. Problem is, where to go? I've already notched the first trip of the year under my belt - with a four day visit to California - my first visit to the west coast of the United States. Other vacations and trips are in the works. Some planned, some possible, some confirmed. Here are the top five places I plan on heading this year.
1. Columbus Ohio (confirmed May 2007)
Ohio isn't usually the first place on anyone's list. But it is on mine. I went to college here! I'm planning on visiting some old friends and new for a quick weekend getaway. I've only been back sporadically in the eight years since I finished school at Otterbein College, but I've been amazed at how quickly everything seems to change. It's been hardly recognizable from one year to the next. I haven't been back in four years, so I have no idea what to expect. At least there's always Used Kids records - the best place for music in the midwest.
2. Reykjavik Iceland (October 2007 possibility)
I made it to Iceland for the first time since I was tiny last year. Why go back? First of all, Iceland is magic and Reykjavik quickly became one of my favorite places when I went back to see the Sugarcubes reunion in November. Unfortunately, two days just isn't enough to see anything - and when there is a music festival as amazing as Iceland Airwaves, how can someone refuse? In addition to international headliners Bloc Party, of Montreal and !!!, there will be dozens of Icelandic bands worth seeing - including three of my favorites - Mum, gusgus and Benni Hemm Hemm. Icelandair runs specials from the US for the festival, so you can get four nights hotel, roundtrip airfare and tickets to see all 170 bands in the festival for about $850 roundtrip! Maybe I'll actually see Iceland during the daytime this time around too!
3. Belize and Guatemala (Summer/Fall 2007 possibility)
After my visit to Rio last summer, I've had an urge to experience more culture shock. I've always been somewhat used to Europe - and so there was never anything really strange about European nations before - at least the ones I've seen - apart from a language I can't comprehend. However, Brazil was an eye opener. I felt totally lost and totally enthralled in just absorbing a culture I have no previous relationship with. I'd love to do that with Central America as well. I'd like to see more than just the resorts and ports that both Belize and Guatemala are known for. I'd like to see the inner country, ride the chicken buses and live comfortably on $25-$30 a day. This is the kind of "seat of your pants" travel that I love to do, and hope to get done this year.
4. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland Canada (Late Summer 2007 possibility)
There's something mildly exotic about Atlantic Canada. Perhaps its the semi-frenchiness of the place. The idea that it feels half American and half European and that the Canadian identity falls between these two places makes me all the more intrigued. I just finished this book, Theatre of Fish, and its made me very attracted to the rocky shores that mark the end of the new world and the path back to the old. I don't know if it's something I'll get to this year - but I'd love it to happen.
5. St. Maarten/St. Martin (2007, likely)
Of all the Caribbean islands, this intrigues me the most. It's a small strip of land in the Caribbean that is split between two countries and is a slice of Europe, just a stone's throw from home. I'm fascinated by this concept - of culture transported so far away from its home and creating its own nest - somewhere exotic and far-flung. There's a romanticism of that which appeals to me. Will I make it to this place, or any of the others on this list? I have no idea. But it's where I'm looking to go as the summer approaches and beyond.... And if you happen to be reading this from any of these locations and want to offer me a couch to surf for a night or two, it might just very well become that much more likely for me to surface in your neck of the woods.
Labels: belize, canada, caribbean, destinations, guatemala, iceland, ohio, travel
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Picture of the Week: Reykjavik, Iceland
This picture was taken at NASA in Reykjavik Iceland on November 18, 2006. DP One was spinning at the biggest club in Iceland. Turned out he didn't even know it was happening on the way there. Neither did we til we saw posters for the event plastered across the city. NASA is one of the biggest clubs in Iceland. The turnout was small, but the dancing... who knew they had B-Boys in Iceland?
This picture was taken at NASA in Reykjavik Iceland on November 18, 2006. DP One was spinning at the biggest club in Iceland. Turned out he didn't even know it was happening on the way there. Neither did we til we saw posters for the event plastered across the city. NASA is one of the biggest clubs in Iceland. The turnout was small, but the dancing... who knew they had B-Boys in Iceland?
Labels: iceland, photo of the week, travel
