Here are some pictures from Lauren and Jake:
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| Sweet Potato casserole |
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| Turkey before oven |
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| Apple Pie |
December 16, 2011
Thanksgiving in Iceland
My American friends and I decided we wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving so we started planning what we were going to cook and who we were bringing. Vanessa, Lauren, Emily A, and I hosted and our guests were Akeem (Miami), Binni (Iceland), Jake (Vancouver), Mario (Portugal), Begga (Iceland), Cecilia (Sweden), Marija (Croatia) and Catherine (NC, now living in Iceland). Vanessa, Lauren, Emily A, Begga, and I all went shopping together a couple days before. We bought our turkey that cost about $80 and all the other ingredients we would need. Since the turkey was so much we split the costs among all our guests. I made stuffing and peanut butter bars. The peanut butter bars were delicious and were a hit, even among the European non peanut butter eaters. Vanessa made delicious apple pie and sweet potato casserole; Lauren was in charge of the turkey and gravy and made a pumpkin roll; Emily A made mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. We put tables together and ate in our common room and went around the table and said what we were thankful for. The food and company were really nice and it was a fun Thanksgiving. I was glad to still celebrate it and to show our other friends what it was all about!
Here are some pictures from Lauren and Jake:
Here are some pictures from Lauren and Jake:
Berlin pt 2
Sorry for taking so long to write this, but I am finally done with school and have more time now. So we left Prague at 7:30 and got to Berlin around 1. We got to the hotel before check in time so they let us keep our bags behind the front desk and we went downtown to one of the main shopping streets. We went to the Ritter Sport chocolate factory and read about how they made the chocolates and then of course bought some as well. Then we just walked around the shopping street and went into some stores. For dinner I had falafel and Akeem and Lauren had shawarma. The next day we planned to do a bike tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours, which our friend Begga had done when she went to Berlin. We met at the TV tower and split into two groups, I think there was probably 20 or so people in our group (which I felt was too big, not only did we have to avoid pedestrians but had to watch out for other people on our bike tour). Our tour guide was from California, I think almost all of the tour guides were non-Germans. We started at Museum Island and our guide told us how most of Berlin was destroyed in WWII so even if the buildings look old chances are they aren't. Our next stop was Bebelplatz which is in front of the main building and library of Germany's most prestigious university, Humbolt University. It is the site of Nazi book burning on May 10, 1933 and now there is a memorial of empty bookshelves.
Next on the tour was Gendarmenmarkt, the site of the Konzerthaus and the French and German Cathedrals. The French Cathedral was built first and the Germans were jealous so they basically built the same thing. Our guide told us that many of the statues were sunk in the rivers and lakes during Nazi Germany, they later removed the statues from the water and now you can see many algae stained statues on the buildings in Berlin.
Our next stop was Checkpoint Charlie, the famous border crossing between East Berlin and West Berlin for Allied forces and foreigners. Onward we went to the Berlin Wall and the former headquarters building of the Nazi Luftwaffe Ministry which is now the main building of Germany's Finance Ministry. Next we had a lunch stop and explored the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. We had delicious Doner Kebap, Berlin's "traditional German food." It's actually Turkish but because Berlin has so many Turkish immigrants this has become their famous cuisine. Other famous/ traditional food in Berlin is currywurst. There is an information center under the memorial but we didn't have time for that so we walked around the memorial. It consists of 2711 blocks of various heights that sit in undulating ground. I really liked this memorial and it was easy to get lost in, physically and mentally.
The next stop was the Branderburg Gate which is "arguably Germany's most famous monument, the Brandenburg Gate served as a backdrop for many of Berlin's most important events: Napoleon's march into Berlin, the division of Berlin during the Cold War, famous speeches (Reagan) and concerts (Hasselhof), and much more." The Kennedy Museum and the hotel that Michael Jackson dangled his baby out of are also in the square. Then we went to the Reichstag, Germany's famous parliament building. You can go inside for free but you have to register 2-3 days beforehand. Our last stop on the tour was back to Museum Island, home to five of Berlin's most famous museums, notably the Pergamon Museum and the Egyptian Museum. Although we didn't go inside any of the buildings.
After this tour we were pretty exhausted and Lauren wasn't feeling well. We took naps and then Akeem and I went out to dinner for currywurst and walked around the area by our hotel for a while.
The next day Lauren was still feeling sick so Akeem and I went off by ourselves for the day. We walked around for a while and walked through a Christmas market that wasn't open yet, but at least we got an idea of what it would be like. We went back to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and went to the information center. It is a really nice center and we spent a couple hours there. There is a room with a timeline, another with diary/journal entries, one room with different families stories, a room that details the places Jews were killed, and then a room with videos. It was sad, powerful, and very informative. We then went back to the Brandenburg Gate to get a closer look and then walked through the Tiergarten, which is about 3km long, to the Victory Column--"This massive symbol of victory by the Prussian army over the Danes, Austrians, and French was relocated along the massive East-West Axis in accordance to Hitler's infamous redesign of Berln." We then took the S-Bahn back home where Lauren was feeling better and eager to eat dinner. We went to a traditional German restaurant and for most of the time were the only ones there. I got bratwurst and sauerkraut. The next day we walked around for about an hour by the hotel until we had to leave to go to the airport.
Next on the tour was Gendarmenmarkt, the site of the Konzerthaus and the French and German Cathedrals. The French Cathedral was built first and the Germans were jealous so they basically built the same thing. Our guide told us that many of the statues were sunk in the rivers and lakes during Nazi Germany, they later removed the statues from the water and now you can see many algae stained statues on the buildings in Berlin.
Our next stop was Checkpoint Charlie, the famous border crossing between East Berlin and West Berlin for Allied forces and foreigners. Onward we went to the Berlin Wall and the former headquarters building of the Nazi Luftwaffe Ministry which is now the main building of Germany's Finance Ministry. Next we had a lunch stop and explored the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. We had delicious Doner Kebap, Berlin's "traditional German food." It's actually Turkish but because Berlin has so many Turkish immigrants this has become their famous cuisine. Other famous/ traditional food in Berlin is currywurst. There is an information center under the memorial but we didn't have time for that so we walked around the memorial. It consists of 2711 blocks of various heights that sit in undulating ground. I really liked this memorial and it was easy to get lost in, physically and mentally.
The next stop was the Branderburg Gate which is "arguably Germany's most famous monument, the Brandenburg Gate served as a backdrop for many of Berlin's most important events: Napoleon's march into Berlin, the division of Berlin during the Cold War, famous speeches (Reagan) and concerts (Hasselhof), and much more." The Kennedy Museum and the hotel that Michael Jackson dangled his baby out of are also in the square. Then we went to the Reichstag, Germany's famous parliament building. You can go inside for free but you have to register 2-3 days beforehand. Our last stop on the tour was back to Museum Island, home to five of Berlin's most famous museums, notably the Pergamon Museum and the Egyptian Museum. Although we didn't go inside any of the buildings.
After this tour we were pretty exhausted and Lauren wasn't feeling well. We took naps and then Akeem and I went out to dinner for currywurst and walked around the area by our hotel for a while.
The next day Lauren was still feeling sick so Akeem and I went off by ourselves for the day. We walked around for a while and walked through a Christmas market that wasn't open yet, but at least we got an idea of what it would be like. We went back to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and went to the information center. It is a really nice center and we spent a couple hours there. There is a room with a timeline, another with diary/journal entries, one room with different families stories, a room that details the places Jews were killed, and then a room with videos. It was sad, powerful, and very informative. We then went back to the Brandenburg Gate to get a closer look and then walked through the Tiergarten, which is about 3km long, to the Victory Column--"This massive symbol of victory by the Prussian army over the Danes, Austrians, and French was relocated along the massive East-West Axis in accordance to Hitler's infamous redesign of Berln." We then took the S-Bahn back home where Lauren was feeling better and eager to eat dinner. We went to a traditional German restaurant and for most of the time were the only ones there. I got bratwurst and sauerkraut. The next day we walked around for about an hour by the hotel until we had to leave to go to the airport.
November 24, 2011
Trip to Prague and Berlin! Pt 1
From Monday Nov 14 to Mon Nov 21 I was in Berlin & Prague on vacation with my two friends Akeem and Lauren. Iceland has this website, hopkaup.is, that is like a groupon.com and we got round trip tickets to Berlin for 40% off. So we couldn't resist and took a week off from school to go travel in Europe. We got to Berlin Monday afternoon and settled into our hostel (Circus hostel, we were in an 8 person room with 4 Brazilian guys and an Irish guy) then walked around the square we were in to get lunch at this placed called Adonis where we got delicious Shawarma for 3 euro. We walked around the streets for a while and went into a few stores, although they were too expensive. We rested at the hostel for a bit then went to the bar in the hostel and we talked with some other people staying there including our roommates. Lauren, Akeem, and I soon left to get dinner at a traditional German restaurant which was quite good. I had flammkuchen, sort of like a pizza, with goat cheese and pumpkin--mm some of my favorite things that I have not had in Iceland. We then went back to the hostel and went to bed and in the morning got breakfast at the hostel. We went to a mall in Alexanderplatz and did some shopping then got our luggage at the hostel and found the bus to Prague. The bus was about 5 hours and I slept for some of it, it wasn't too bad. We arrived in Prague at night and found our way to our hostel the Czech Inn, a little ways outside the city but right by a tram stop. We had a private room here so it was just the three of us. We went out to dinner for hamburgers at a café close by that the receptionist recommended. Food in Prague is really cheap, and really good.
Wednesday we explored Prague and walked a lot. We started at the Prague Castle where there was a beautiful church and you had great views of the city. We walked down the old steps and went to see the John Lennon wall and then crossed the Charles Bridge to get to the old square to see the old clock tower. We then walked around going into shops and exploring the streets of Prague. I loved Prague because it has such an old European feel to it, and it is not so hectic and busy. We got some street food for lunch from a cart on the street, and all had sausages. We were in the city for most of the day walking around and shopping and were exhausted so went back to the hostel to rest before dinner. For dinner we found a place just up the street from where we were staying called U Bulínů, and it was fabulous! I got a HUGE plate of food and a small beer for about $15. It came with 2 potato pancakes, 2 bacon dumplings, 2 bread dumplings, 1 potato dumpling, sausage, smoked pork, pork shoulder, and red cabbage. I couldn't finish it all but I made a good dent in it. So delicious, my favorite meal of the whole trip.
Thursday was our last full day in Prague and we took the train to the bone church (Sedlec Ossuary) in Kutná Hora, about an hour train ride. On the train we mostly saw fields/farms and some snow in the trees. The bone church is in a suburb of the city Kutná Hora and it was a very quite and eery place, especially with the grey sky and slight fog (and the fact that there is a church decorated with bones from 40,000 to 70,000 people). We had to pay to go into the church and were there for about a half hour. It is quite small but very interesting and creepy. If you want to learn more about the church, check out its wikipedia page! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary. Basically there were these heaps of bones that were unearthed during construction of the church and in 1870 a woodworker was commissioned by the Schwarzenberg family (you can see their family crest made out of bones) to put the heaps into order.
After the church we got a dessert at a little café down the street and then took the train back to Prague. We walked around the city some more and had more street food, this time Lauren and I had fried mozzarella cheese which was pretty good. We were on a quest to find some awesome shoes, but they were all too expensive. Then we headed back to the hostel for a bit and went out to dinner for more delicious Czech food at U Sadu. I had a chicken bramburger, which was chicken surrounded by potato pancakes (instead of bread) covered in a mushroom sauce. It was all really good. The next day (Friday) we woke up really early to catch our 730 bus back to Berlin.
Now I have to go cook for Thanksgiving and will write about Berlin later! Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday we explored Prague and walked a lot. We started at the Prague Castle where there was a beautiful church and you had great views of the city. We walked down the old steps and went to see the John Lennon wall and then crossed the Charles Bridge to get to the old square to see the old clock tower. We then walked around going into shops and exploring the streets of Prague. I loved Prague because it has such an old European feel to it, and it is not so hectic and busy. We got some street food for lunch from a cart on the street, and all had sausages. We were in the city for most of the day walking around and shopping and were exhausted so went back to the hostel to rest before dinner. For dinner we found a place just up the street from where we were staying called U Bulínů, and it was fabulous! I got a HUGE plate of food and a small beer for about $15. It came with 2 potato pancakes, 2 bacon dumplings, 2 bread dumplings, 1 potato dumpling, sausage, smoked pork, pork shoulder, and red cabbage. I couldn't finish it all but I made a good dent in it. So delicious, my favorite meal of the whole trip.
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| The chandelier contains every bone from the human body. |
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| Family crest |
Now I have to go cook for Thanksgiving and will write about Berlin later! Happy Thanksgiving!
November 12, 2011
Inspired by Iceland
So if you've seen my shutterfly website you've seen my pictures from the last two events I've done through Inspired by Iceland. It is a new tourism campaign here in Iceland, and it is absolutely awesome and would probably only work in Iceland. Basically people post videos inviting tourists to do activities with them. The president had pancakes at his house, the mayor invited people to have sushi, my friends did a jeep safari today, and so far I have walked an Icelandic Sheepdog named Mosi, I went mussel picking and saw sheep being sheared yesterday, and today I did yoga! All for free! It is starting to get attention and yesterday when we were picking mussels there were people filming us. They have been following some of the recent invitations and are interviewing people and filming the different invitations. Here is the website where you can check the invitations; my friends and I check it daily! http://invitations.inspiredbyiceland.com/invitation/list
So last Friday (the 5th) we (Emily A, Vanessa, and I) walked an Icelandic Sheepdog named Mosi with his owner and two other exchange students around the pond. His owner told us about the breed and we each took turns walking Mosi. The Icelandic Sheepdog was recently recognized by the AKC as its own breed. They are good family dogs, are small-medium sized, friendly, and energetic although they shed a lot. Mosi was really cute, doesn't really bark, and breeds so I think we should get a puppy...:) He even has his own facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sindra-Mosi/187041648224
Side note: last weekend on Saturday I went to see Mammút perform at Bíó Paradís, an independent movie theater, for about 40 minutes and then saw a documetary, An Independent Mind, brought on by Amnesty International. I went with my friend Akeem because he loves Mammút. We sat down in the movie theater lobby at a table eating popcorn and watching them perform a few feet in front of us. Then we saw the documentary which was really good. It was about the right to freedom of expression. It followed eight characters from around the world attempting to exercise their right to freely express themselves. Their stories included facing the threat of imprisonment for drawing a cartoon of the President (Algeria), being sent to a labour camp for telling a joke, being tortured for writing a poem (Syria), and being forced into exile for singing a song (Mali).
Back to Inspired by Iceland. Yesterday (11.11.11!!) a bunch of exchange students and I rented a van and drove 70km to a farm Bjarteyjarsandur. 8 of us went: Lauren, Emily, Begga, our friend Cecilia from Sweden, and Jake and his two friends Lukas (Czech Republic) and Elise (Vancouver). To get to the farm you had to drive around a fjord (the same one I had driven around to go up North) and it was so beautiful. We had great weather, it was sunny and warm out about 50 F. We were a little late so we met the farmers down at the beach. Three horses were hanging out there and two dogs and I was so happy. The dogs were border collies and were "wicked smaht". They would pick a rock out, bring it to you, and then you would throw it and the two dogs raced each other to get the rock. And every time they got the exact same rock you threw even though the whole beach was rocky. I think I threw more rocks to the dogs than I found mussels :) . Then we headed down to the waters edge and were told how to find the mussels, which size to look for, and how to clean them. Lauren found a HUGE mussel and we were told it was a different kind called a horse mussel (we had been getting blue mussels). Arnheiður (the women organizing this invitation) told Lauren that she would experiment with it. So after about 45 minutes our fingers were freezing and we headed back to the farm. We had free coffee and desserts while Arnheiður cooked the mussels. We all sat at a big table and talked. There were a few other people who also came, one was from Minnesota, one from South Africa, and one from NY (she was here for work as a journalist). There were two kinds of mussels, one batch was cooked in butter with onions, carrots, and herbs from the garden, and the other batch was cooked in beer. They were both good but the butter ones were definitely my favorite. Arnheiður kept bringing out bowls of mussels and we also had garlic/cheesy toast. It was a mussel feast! We must have had about 8 bowls of mussels, it was never ending. She cooked the horse mussel and Lauren ate some of it, although she was a little scared of it. After our feast Arnheiður told us her husband was going to the barn to shear sheep so we all went to see that. There were so many sheep in the barn and some were sheared, some with intense horns, and a lot of different colors. We watched three sheep being sheared and then looked at some of them for a while. Then we headed back to say goodbye to Arnheiður and to thank her. It was an awesome day and the farm was in one of the most beautiful spots I've been to. We got back to Reykjavik around 6 and Lauren, Begga, and I walked down Laugavegur (the main shopping street downtown) for a while going into some shops, and then we had dinner--soup in a bread bowl! It was yummy.
This morning (Saturday 12th) I woke up for another invitation that I was doing with Vanessa. We did vinyasa flow yoga at this studio from 10:30 to 11:45. It was kind of far away so we took the bus. Vanessa wanted to get there earlier than I so she left on another bus. It was the first time I took the bus by myself and went someplace I didn't know. It took me a couple minutes to find the yoga studio but I finally did and made it on time. I was pretty proud of myself for doing it on my own. The class was good and it was warm in there so we sweated a lot. The instructor would walk around and correct us so it was nice to actually get some feedback. I hadn't done yoga in awhile either so it was nice to do it again. Elise was also there and a couple other exchange students I recognized. Tonight is our friend Elizabeth's birthday party upstairs in the attic so I will probably stop by for a bit. Then tomorrow I will be packing and getting ready for Berlin and Prague!! We are leaving early Monday morning for a whole week! I am going with Lauren and Akeem and am really excited! I've never been to "mainland" Europe before.
So last Friday (the 5th) we (Emily A, Vanessa, and I) walked an Icelandic Sheepdog named Mosi with his owner and two other exchange students around the pond. His owner told us about the breed and we each took turns walking Mosi. The Icelandic Sheepdog was recently recognized by the AKC as its own breed. They are good family dogs, are small-medium sized, friendly, and energetic although they shed a lot. Mosi was really cute, doesn't really bark, and breeds so I think we should get a puppy...:) He even has his own facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sindra-Mosi/187041648224
Back to Inspired by Iceland. Yesterday (11.11.11!!) a bunch of exchange students and I rented a van and drove 70km to a farm Bjarteyjarsandur. 8 of us went: Lauren, Emily, Begga, our friend Cecilia from Sweden, and Jake and his two friends Lukas (Czech Republic) and Elise (Vancouver). To get to the farm you had to drive around a fjord (the same one I had driven around to go up North) and it was so beautiful. We had great weather, it was sunny and warm out about 50 F. We were a little late so we met the farmers down at the beach. Three horses were hanging out there and two dogs and I was so happy. The dogs were border collies and were "wicked smaht". They would pick a rock out, bring it to you, and then you would throw it and the two dogs raced each other to get the rock. And every time they got the exact same rock you threw even though the whole beach was rocky. I think I threw more rocks to the dogs than I found mussels :) . Then we headed down to the waters edge and were told how to find the mussels, which size to look for, and how to clean them. Lauren found a HUGE mussel and we were told it was a different kind called a horse mussel (we had been getting blue mussels). Arnheiður (the women organizing this invitation) told Lauren that she would experiment with it. So after about 45 minutes our fingers were freezing and we headed back to the farm. We had free coffee and desserts while Arnheiður cooked the mussels. We all sat at a big table and talked. There were a few other people who also came, one was from Minnesota, one from South Africa, and one from NY (she was here for work as a journalist). There were two kinds of mussels, one batch was cooked in butter with onions, carrots, and herbs from the garden, and the other batch was cooked in beer. They were both good but the butter ones were definitely my favorite. Arnheiður kept bringing out bowls of mussels and we also had garlic/cheesy toast. It was a mussel feast! We must have had about 8 bowls of mussels, it was never ending. She cooked the horse mussel and Lauren ate some of it, although she was a little scared of it. After our feast Arnheiður told us her husband was going to the barn to shear sheep so we all went to see that. There were so many sheep in the barn and some were sheared, some with intense horns, and a lot of different colors. We watched three sheep being sheared and then looked at some of them for a while. Then we headed back to say goodbye to Arnheiður and to thank her. It was an awesome day and the farm was in one of the most beautiful spots I've been to. We got back to Reykjavik around 6 and Lauren, Begga, and I walked down Laugavegur (the main shopping street downtown) for a while going into some shops, and then we had dinner--soup in a bread bowl! It was yummy.
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| This is the beach and the buildings in the distance is the farm. |
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| Food! |
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| Everyone that rode in our van. |
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| Sheep Barn! |
This morning (Saturday 12th) I woke up for another invitation that I was doing with Vanessa. We did vinyasa flow yoga at this studio from 10:30 to 11:45. It was kind of far away so we took the bus. Vanessa wanted to get there earlier than I so she left on another bus. It was the first time I took the bus by myself and went someplace I didn't know. It took me a couple minutes to find the yoga studio but I finally did and made it on time. I was pretty proud of myself for doing it on my own. The class was good and it was warm in there so we sweated a lot. The instructor would walk around and correct us so it was nice to actually get some feedback. I hadn't done yoga in awhile either so it was nice to do it again. Elise was also there and a couple other exchange students I recognized. Tonight is our friend Elizabeth's birthday party upstairs in the attic so I will probably stop by for a bit. Then tomorrow I will be packing and getting ready for Berlin and Prague!! We are leaving early Monday morning for a whole week! I am going with Lauren and Akeem and am really excited! I've never been to "mainland" Europe before.
October 31, 2011
Music From Iceland: Ólafur Arnalds & Arnór Dan
Music from Iceland: Ólöf Arnalds
I haven't really listened to Ólöf Arnalds but I saw this video and love this cover of Bob Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man. This was recorded at KEX hostel during Airwaves. Also the two girls performing (Ólöf & Klara Arnalds) are cousins to Ólafur Arnalds who I posted about earlier in my Airwaves post.
Oh and Happy Halloween!! Snow on the ground in Maine, crazy! Hope everyone's power is back by now!
October 27, 2011
Iceland Airwaves
Triple blog post today ya'll (this ya'll is Vanessa's influence haha). So Iceland Airwaves music festival was from October 12-17--five music filled days of awesomeness. There were off-venue shows for free during the day and then the on venue shows at night which you needed a bracelet for. Bands from all over the world were here in Iceland, as well as music lovers, and SO many hipsters. I met people from Australia, Germany, Belgium, and Canada who were here visiting Iceland for the week. It is always fun to meet other tourists and be able to say that I live here now and am studying here! I'm going to go through some of my emails so I don't have to retype everything :)
So airwaves started on Wednesday and I started it off going to KEX hostel with Begga and her Icelandic friends so we got picked up in a car. We went to see GusGus and For a Minor Reflection. KEXP seattle was broadcasting live there, they have some free podcasts on itunes and videos on youtube you should check out. The hostel is also really cool. It was super packed for GusGus so we couldn't see but they sounded great. The bands only play for about a half hour at this hostel. There was a break in between for a minor reflection and GusGus so we went across the street and got burgers. Then came back around 2:45, saw For a Minor Reflection, had amazing french press coffee, and watched Just Another Snake Cult. This last band wasn't so popular so the hostel really cleared out and we could sit down right by the stage. We left KEX around 5:30 and got dropped off at the dorm. My friend Vanessa loves this band Yacht from the US and they played off venue at 7 so Vanessa, Jake, and I went to see them under a tent outside. They have crazy energy and are pretty good, we were in the front for this concert and Vanessa was in heaven. Then around 9:30 I started my on venue shows, no one wanted to go with me so I went by myself to this venue NASA. The line at NASA was so long (about 20 minutes) so I actually got into NASA to see the last 30 seconds of this band I really like Mammut. The next band was ok (Sykur), I used it to make my way to the front of the stage for my next two favorite bands. Side note--saw the singer of Sykur the other day working at a second hand shop. So for Agent Fresco (4th time seeing them, and would see them 2 more times during Airwaves) and Of Monsters and Men (3rd time I think seeing them) I was literally in the front row leaning over the rail. It was awesome!After I headed home and went to sleep.
Thursday I went to the Nordic House on campus with Begga, her Icelandic friend Elsa, and her friend from Belgium Hanne and we saw Pétur Ben, Guðrid Hansdóttir (from Faroe Islands), and Agent Fresco doing an acoustic set. The Agent Fresco acoustic set was one of my favorite shows of the whole festival. Guðrið Handóttir was also really good, we were all happily surprised by her. Here is a video of her performing off venue (I didn´t see this show but she performed this song at Nordic House). Side note--saw her at a bar this past weekend and Begga told her we really liked her.
Then after Nordic House we went back to the dorm for a little bit and ate then we headed to KEX hostel again. We went to see Mugison who was great--I only knew one of his songs but really enjoyed his set. We then hung out in the hostel on these couches in the corner and listened to Lay Low perform. We then went upstairs and hung out in the hostel since Hanne was saying there and came back down for Of Monsters and Men. I spent most of the night at KEX with Begga, Elsa, Hanne, and this German guy we met who was staying there and we hung out in the kitchen. Then I met this Australian girl staying at KEX who wanted to see Yacht and I knew Vanessa and Jake were there so we left together. I found Vanessa and Jake in the front. There is a picture of us on Yachts homepage, http://teamyacht.com/.
Friday I saw Ólafur Arnalds with Emily at Nordic House, it was packed but I was able to see him. He is the cutest person ever and makes really beautiful music. You can get some of his music for free---living room songs and found songs (should come up on google).
Friday night was the big night, I went to the Art Museum (really cool venue) and met my friend Karyn and Jake there for For a Minor Reflection and Agent Fresco. They were both great, and again I was in the front row. Then I left to meet Vanessa at NASA for Tune yards but the line was so long and wrapped around the square downtown. We waited for like 20 minutes but moved 10 feet so then we met Akeem and Biggi at the English Pub, then went back to the art museum to see HAM but it was too intense (they are a heavy metal band) so we went to Glaumbar to see the end of Of Monsters and Men, then went to Bakkus to see Mammút, then I went to NASA at 2:30 to see Bloodgroup. It was a really fun night and I saw a lot of bands. I ended up getting a sub at 4am and walked back home haha. Then I slept through all the off venue shows on Saturday. Saturday night I went to Iðno and met Jake to see We are Promised Jetpacks then we went to see GusGus but the line was too long so we saw some metal band called Swords of Chaos. We didn´t stay for that whole show since I wasn´t really into it, and then we met up other friends and hung out for a bit then I went home with my friend Karyn. Sunday I went to see an Icelandic reggae band, Hjálmar, with Vanessa, Akeem, and Biggi. Mammút was playing afterwards but it was on venue and Biggi and Akeem didn´t have bracelets and they were going home in Biggi´s car so I decided to get hot dogs with them and get a ride home. Overall a very successful airwaves. I had tons of fun, saw awesome concerts, saw my favorite bands, and got to experience new ones.
So airwaves started on Wednesday and I started it off going to KEX hostel with Begga and her Icelandic friends so we got picked up in a car. We went to see GusGus and For a Minor Reflection. KEXP seattle was broadcasting live there, they have some free podcasts on itunes and videos on youtube you should check out. The hostel is also really cool. It was super packed for GusGus so we couldn't see but they sounded great. The bands only play for about a half hour at this hostel. There was a break in between for a minor reflection and GusGus so we went across the street and got burgers. Then came back around 2:45, saw For a Minor Reflection, had amazing french press coffee, and watched Just Another Snake Cult. This last band wasn't so popular so the hostel really cleared out and we could sit down right by the stage. We left KEX around 5:30 and got dropped off at the dorm. My friend Vanessa loves this band Yacht from the US and they played off venue at 7 so Vanessa, Jake, and I went to see them under a tent outside. They have crazy energy and are pretty good, we were in the front for this concert and Vanessa was in heaven. Then around 9:30 I started my on venue shows, no one wanted to go with me so I went by myself to this venue NASA. The line at NASA was so long (about 20 minutes) so I actually got into NASA to see the last 30 seconds of this band I really like Mammut. The next band was ok (Sykur), I used it to make my way to the front of the stage for my next two favorite bands. Side note--saw the singer of Sykur the other day working at a second hand shop. So for Agent Fresco (4th time seeing them, and would see them 2 more times during Airwaves) and Of Monsters and Men (3rd time I think seeing them) I was literally in the front row leaning over the rail. It was awesome!After I headed home and went to sleep.
Thursday I went to the Nordic House on campus with Begga, her Icelandic friend Elsa, and her friend from Belgium Hanne and we saw Pétur Ben, Guðrid Hansdóttir (from Faroe Islands), and Agent Fresco doing an acoustic set. The Agent Fresco acoustic set was one of my favorite shows of the whole festival. Guðrið Handóttir was also really good, we were all happily surprised by her. Here is a video of her performing off venue (I didn´t see this show but she performed this song at Nordic House). Side note--saw her at a bar this past weekend and Begga told her we really liked her.
Then after Nordic House we went back to the dorm for a little bit and ate then we headed to KEX hostel again. We went to see Mugison who was great--I only knew one of his songs but really enjoyed his set. We then hung out in the hostel on these couches in the corner and listened to Lay Low perform. We then went upstairs and hung out in the hostel since Hanne was saying there and came back down for Of Monsters and Men. I spent most of the night at KEX with Begga, Elsa, Hanne, and this German guy we met who was staying there and we hung out in the kitchen. Then I met this Australian girl staying at KEX who wanted to see Yacht and I knew Vanessa and Jake were there so we left together. I found Vanessa and Jake in the front. There is a picture of us on Yachts homepage, http://teamyacht.com/.
Friday I saw Ólafur Arnalds with Emily at Nordic House, it was packed but I was able to see him. He is the cutest person ever and makes really beautiful music. You can get some of his music for free---living room songs and found songs (should come up on google).
Then I went to Eymundsson, the super cool bookstore that I spent a lot of time in before I got internet, to see Útidúr and Sóley. Útidúr is one of my other favorite bands, they have 12 people in the band and play really fun music with a lot of different instruments. They played a few new songs which were great, so hopefully they will put out a new album or ep soon. I had heard a few songs by Sóley (she is doing solo work now but it is in my favorite band Seabear) but wasn´t super interested in her. However, she was awesome live and I am now getting more into her music. She was one of the best surprises for me at Airwaves. Here is a video of her performing at Harpa. When I saw her she was wearing the most Icelandic bun I had ever seen (girls in Iceland love wearing buns).
Friday night was the big night, I went to the Art Museum (really cool venue) and met my friend Karyn and Jake there for For a Minor Reflection and Agent Fresco. They were both great, and again I was in the front row. Then I left to meet Vanessa at NASA for Tune yards but the line was so long and wrapped around the square downtown. We waited for like 20 minutes but moved 10 feet so then we met Akeem and Biggi at the English Pub, then went back to the art museum to see HAM but it was too intense (they are a heavy metal band) so we went to Glaumbar to see the end of Of Monsters and Men, then went to Bakkus to see Mammút, then I went to NASA at 2:30 to see Bloodgroup. It was a really fun night and I saw a lot of bands. I ended up getting a sub at 4am and walked back home haha. Then I slept through all the off venue shows on Saturday. Saturday night I went to Iðno and met Jake to see We are Promised Jetpacks then we went to see GusGus but the line was too long so we saw some metal band called Swords of Chaos. We didn´t stay for that whole show since I wasn´t really into it, and then we met up other friends and hung out for a bit then I went home with my friend Karyn. Sunday I went to see an Icelandic reggae band, Hjálmar, with Vanessa, Akeem, and Biggi. Mammút was playing afterwards but it was on venue and Biggi and Akeem didn´t have bracelets and they were going home in Biggi´s car so I decided to get hot dogs with them and get a ride home. Overall a very successful airwaves. I had tons of fun, saw awesome concerts, saw my favorite bands, and got to experience new ones.
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