Þorrablót

I had the great luck to be invited to a Þorrablot dinner on Saturday night.  Þorrablót is a winter festival, held to coincide with the old Icelandic month of Þorra.  This is usually somewhere in late January, to late February.  The tradition at a Þorrablót is to eat þorramatur, drink Brennevin, and tell stories or sing songs.

I went to a rather large private party, held by some very distant relatives from what I understand.  I was told there were 92 people there, but by my count I only ever found 50 or 60.  Still a huge amount no doubt.

The first food of the evening was what everyone has been waiting to hear about.  The rotten shark, hákarl.  Truth be told, it´s not rotten, it´s a curing or aging process like other meats.  True, it does get buried.  I do also worry a bit that we are eating something that has to be buried in order to not be poison, but hey, why not.  The deal with the shark it that to live in the ocean, the shark needs to make its own antifreeze to not die.  That internal antifreeze is what is poison to eat, but if you ferment it, it becomes non toxic.  Here is a good website explaining how it´s made.  Mmmm, shark.

Here it is, what you've all been waiting for.

A lot of the kids loved it.

Let´s not sugar coat this here.  Antony Bourdain calls this the single worst thing he´s ever eaten.  Gordon Ramsay vomited.  Andrew Zimmerman called the smell horrific, but did note that it tasted better than it smelled.  He was more generous than the others and just said it was not for beginners.  So, basically, a bunch of men who make their living out of eating gross things, couldn´t handle the hákarl.  What chance did I stand?

But I ate it.  At first, it did taste a bit like a strong cheese, which made some sense, as I have seen it translated to English as 'shark cheese'.  Then the ammonia hit.  I was suddenly having flashbacks to dying my hair in a tiny, poorly ventilated bathroom.  Fortunately, I drink, and the shot of brennivin you get along with it was a big help.  I actually like brennevin, though I imagine that it as well is an acquired taste for some.  The texture was strange as well, very very chewy.  Not helpful in getting it down quickly.  I did manage to put on a brave face though, and I swallowed it.  Yay me!  I'm tougher than Ramsay!

This smile is forced. 

Trying to swallow.

Hákarl done with, it was time to move onto the real dinner.  I am ashamed to say I chickened out a lot.  I couldn´t deal with the surmatur, or the sour food.  My employers brought home the sour whale blubber to try one night, and I wasn´t sure I wanted to be spitting out food at a nice fancy party.  I did try the sheep's head, svið, which was a bit strong, but not too bad.  I also ate hangikjöt, a type of smoked lamb, some potatoes in a lovely sweet cream sauce, and some veggies.  Things I wimped out on include sour testicles, liver and blood sausage (again, sour), and the sour whale, which I´ve tried thanks to my employers.  I don't like the sour.

The plate of food. 

Surmatur

Svið.  Here´s looking at you.

Svið in loaf form. 

Hangikjöt 

Brennivín wearing a peysa

The feast begins

People really enjoy the hákarl

The dinner was enjoyable.  Don´t get me wrong.  There were just a lot of things I am very unaccustomed to, which is why I wanted to come.

After dinner, there was a singalong and the kids performed musical numbers.  There were some amazing singers there, and Jón, who played the piano was fantastic as well.  This family seems very musical, as apparently I was talking to the bass player from the band Dikta for a while.  My first brush with Icelandic celebrity other than seeing the children´s entertainer Sveppi buying sushi.

I did have some lovely 3 year old prosciutto that Jón keeps in his attic.  It was really really amazing.  He also keeps his hárkarl and his hangikjöt hanging up there.

Sweet, sweet meat

Shark

Lots of meat 

Oooh, I could eat this forever

 After the party, I went downtown and partied some more.  But you don´t need to hear about that.  So here´s more Helgrims.

I love my new camera.  This is handheld.

So What Now?

I apologize for the long delay between posts.  The kids have been sick, I've been sick, it's been dreary, and I've been very unhappy with how my photography is going here.  Excuses out of the way, here's the post.

I realize I've posted very little abour Reykjavik yet, which is strange, since it's where I spend a lot of my time off.  101 is the main area I hang around.  Think of the Icelandic version of Osborne or the Exchange.  It's where most  of the galleries are, where the restaurants and shops are, and it's just lovely to walk around.  Here's some pictures.

Hallgrímskirkja, or what I use to find my way around

Hallgrim's Cathedral is one of the main landmarks here.  I use it to find my way around everywhere.  You can even see it from Hafnarfjordur.  It has a fancy tower you can go up in, but I haven't done that yet.

Cute craftiness

This is a school.  It scares me a bit.  I think it looks like a prison.

Not everyone loves Yoko Ono as much as the mayor does.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

So I have been a bit neglectful of the blog lately, but I've been busy being in Iceland.  I hope you understand.  To make up for it, a super image heavy post!!

Saturday, I was lucky enough to meet up with Kent.  He's been living in Iceland for almost 10 years now, but is originally from Gimli.  He had some cousins from Seattle (Maryann and Brian) coming out, and was taking them on a tour, and invited me to come along.  It turns out they're my cousins as well!  It's a very very small world.  I didn't even know these people existed, yet I find them in Iceland.  Kent's friend Karen, who is here teaching for a year, also came out.  Here's the group.

 Left to Right: Kent, Maryann, Brian and Karen

Here is a random guy who jumped in the photo.  He's awesome.

Now don't be fooled by the nice weather in that shot.  That was Sunday.  We toured the Golden Circle Saturday, when the weather wasn't nearly as nice.  In a country where you can expect the weather to change every 15 minutes, it rained consistently all day.  We had expected it to clear up, because that's just what it does here.  Despite the wind, the rain, and the cold, touring the circle was amazing.  The scenery is fantastic.  I haven't been outside the metro area much, so it was a new sight for me.

Our first stop was Þingvettlir, the first Parliament in Iceland.  There is a huge, impressive cliff, as well as scenic destinations like the Drowning Pool, where unfaithful wives were executed after Christian law came into effect.  After that, we drove to Gullfoss, an amazing waterfall.  I can't wait to go back in the summer when there is a trail where you can walk right down to the falls.  We also had some great kjottsaupa, or lamb soup at the cafe there.  I haven't had much lamb since I've been here, which is a bit disappointing.

 Rocks.  Lots of rocks.

 The Drowning Pool

 The drowning pool now has a life preserver.

You can scuba dive here!

Because I haven't had any pictures of me yet.

 Gullfoss

Very wet.

After lunch, we braved the rain again to see Geysir and Strokkur, the geysers.  Geysir does not actually erupt anymore, which is too bad, because it is apparently the more impressive of the two.  I didn't get a picture of the eruption, because it was cold and rainy, and I just didn't have the patience for it.  I will be back before my trip ends for sure though.

 Colourful mountains.

So wet!  So cold!

The last stop was the church at Skálholt, where the last Catholic Bishop of Iceland (and his two sons) were executed after refusing to convert to Lutheranism.  In the church, a singer and organist were practicing, and the acoustics are amazing.  It was a very eerie but great moment to hear this beautiful music in an empty church, while a storm raged outside.  In the basement there is a museum dedicated to tombstones.  I was happy.

I was soaked by the end of the day, but I'm glad I got to see the circle in the winter season.  At home, I had a nap, and then headed out to a club in Reykjavik called Sodoma, where I saw this show.  A classical pianist named Vika, and the drummer Brian from Dresden Doll, playing heavy metal.  It was amazing.

Again, I apologize for any photo weirdness, I'm not doing much work to them anymore, because this monitor is so out of whack.  I will have so much editing to do when I get home.

Áfram Íslands!!! (Go Iceland!)

Handball is something I knew nothing about before I came here.  I thought that handball was like racquetball, but played with your hands.  Lucky for me, I find myself in Iceland in the middle of the World Championship of Handball (Team Handball that is, very different from the racquetball type sport), something that is a very big deal to Icelanders.

Anything that's a big deal has vevuzelas.

Iceland generally does quite well at handball.  They won silver in the 2008 Olympics.  And for such a small country, being able to beat other countries at anything is a big deal for national pride (see also Eurovision).  Last World Cup they came in third, and everyone has very high hopes for this time.

Handball is a sport that I can really only describe as a cross between soccer and basketball.  Teams of six try to throw a small ball into the opposite teams net.  You can only take so many steps without dribbling or passing.  And the really cool thing to me is that since the ball bounces, and the net is on the ground, you can bounce the ball around the goalie into the net.

 Photo from BBC, photographer uncredited.

Image Creative Commons from Wikimedia

Watching the past few games, it's really a very fast paced, very fun game to watch.  And though I've only been here two weeks, I've developed an intense national pride when it comes to sports.  The first few games Iceland was unbeatable.  We beat Japan by 14 points, which at first, I thought must mean that there was a scoring system like basketball.  Nope.  One goal is one point.  Iceland just rocks.  Here's a taste of that game.

Video from krizziix on Youtube.

However, in the second round of the tournament, we've now lost both the games we've played.  Not by a lot, but still disappointing.  I know everyone here was going in thinking we had a good chance of winning, but the losses to Germany and Spain put that hope on hold.  Next game is tonight against France, last years winner.  Hopefully we can do better!

Kaffitimi

There are a lot of things I like about Iceland so far, but the coffee is pretty stand out. It comes strong, and in large quantities. And there are no shortages of great kaffihus's around.

I had the day off on Sunday, so I headed to downtown Reykjavik.  Unfortunately, it was raining, and most shops and galleries were closed.  However, that made it the perfect day to sit inside and drink coffee.  Tiu Dropar seems to be a an institution here (at least Reykjavik Grapevine says so http://www.grapevine.is/media/pdf/bestof_grapevine.pdf).  The name literally means 10 drops, but it's a common expression to use here when you just want a bit more.  It's the Icelandic equivalent to a splash.

Hidden in a cozy basement on Reykjavik's equivalent of Osborne St, the place reminded me of Amma and Afi's house.  It's grandma-y, but that's the great thing about it.  I promise I will get some better pictures, but I'm so awkward taking pictures while I'm out and about.  I'm so concerned that I look too much like a tourist, or that I'm just freaking people out taking pictures everywhere.  Really, doing self portrait work has been more necessity for me than anything.

I have no idea what the little needlework hanger things are called, or really anything about them, other than I remember Amma having them, and I see them everywhere here.  Also the sort of needlework chair cushions they had on their dinning room set.  It all makes me very happy.

The food and coffee here were great too.  The coffee was good and strong, the sandwich came on nice thick Icelandic brown bread, which is not as common here as I thought it would be.  Neither is the coffee sock, which I thought was the official Icelandic way of making coffee.  Nope, that's really old fashioned.  What I have to go back and try is the skyrkakka.  Cake made out of the thick, amazing yogurt they have here.  Apparently it's amazing.

I have most of the weekend off, so I will likely be heading down to Reykjavik for my frimitimi (free time).  I'm going to try to get some shots tomorrow of protests that have been going on in reaction to the trial of 9 protesters who entered the Parliament in 2008.  Even the prime minister thinks the whole thing is a farce.  The 9 face up to 16 years in prison, yet so far none of the bank heads have gone to trial.  I was going to photograph today, but I read some wrong information on where the protests were being held, and wound up in an empty park.  Oh well.  They will be continuing, I'm sure.  Here's an article for anyone interested in the trials. Reykjavik 9 Trial

 Bless bless.