Nanna Gunnarsdóttir
Certified travel blogger
My blogs
My blogs
What not to say to Icelanders
OK, so after my last blog a friend agreed that she constantly gets the same reply as me, when she says she's from Iceland. And another (foreign) friend asked me to write key phrases. Which gave me the idea to list the top 5 things you shouldn't say to an Icelander the first time you meet them (or at least not me). Now, the reason why, is because these are the ONLY responses I ever get when I state my nationality and quite frankly I'm just bored of having the exact same conversation again and again and again and.... So, the most (un)popular sentences to say to an Icelander in the reply to
Secret Solstice 2015
Yesterday was the last day of Secret Solstice festival - and by far the best day! Secret Solstice 2015 was held in Laugardalur (Pool valley) in Reykjavík from 19th to 21st of June, starting at noon Friday and finishing just after midnight last night (Sunday). Friday started slowly, when I arrived at 4pm to watch Zero7 DJ set there were just a few hundred people there and the area felt a little empty. As the day went by (and people finished work, or stopped celebrating 100 years of women voting day which was on the same day), the area gradually got filled with people and by the time Gus Gus
100 years of women voting
On the 19th of June in 1915 the first Icelandic women got the right to vote. 2015 marks 100 years of women's right to vote in Iceland. To begin with, in 1915 only women aged 40 and over were allowed to vote, whereas men from the age of 25 had the right to vote. This age gap was supposed to gradually decline until it was the same as the age of men and if it that would've been the case, women would've had to wait until 1931 until they could vote at the age of 25. Instead, 5 years after the first women could vote, in 1920, the age was lowered to 25 to be equal with the men. It's interesting t
Hike to a free concert with Ásgeir Trausti!
Are you a fan of hiking and good music? Tomorrow evening there will be a free concert with Ásgeir Trausti on the top of Esjan, the mountain overlooking Reykjavík. Don't miss out! Time and date of the concert Friday 29th of May 2015: From 6pm DJ Yamaho will be playing on the top of the mountain, by the rock on the very top of the mountain. From 8pm Ásgeir and his band will start playing - and the entry is completely free. Ásgeir Trausti has become quite the international sensation recently and he and his band have just finished a 2 year long tour around the world. His last concert for now
Support Nepal by going whale watching!
A huge earthquake shook Nepal on the 25th of April, as the world is so painfully aware of. Thousands of people died and thousands more are injured. You can help out by going whale watching this Saturday! Icelandic charities as well as tourist agencies and individuals are doing their bit to help in the aftermath of the earthquake. This Saturday Whale Safari is organising special whale watching tours every hour from 9am until 4pm. The weather is supposed to be good so it's the perfect thing to do to show support! All of the proceedings go towards rescue and relief programs for victims of the
The Icelandic Circus
Did you know there is a circus in Iceland? A totally Icelandic circus, that tours the country? Sirkus Íslands, aka the Circus of Iceland, hasn't been around for many years. This is the first - and only - circus in Iceland and it was founded in 2007 by an Australian clown, Lee Nelson, who has lived in Iceland for a number of years now. He is now the director of the circus, that has a strong core of around 20 acrobats, aerial artists, jugglers, clowns and fabulous entertainers. There are no animals used in the circus. Currently, a few of the founding members of the circus are studying circus
Free The Willy!
Update: This article was an April's Fool prank, sadly. Only the "#FreeTheWilly being popular part" and the "student's blog piece" are untrue, everything else is true :) so, you can keep on supporting #FreeTheNipple (or start supporting #FreeTheWilly - I wouldn't mind!) History in making again! It was hard not to notice #FreeTheNipple that washed over Iceland like a tsunami and made international headlines last week. Today the men of Iceland are replying with #FreeTheWilly ! #FreeTheNipple is a campaign that started off in USA but re-emerged in Iceland last week after a girl was mocked onli
Free the nipple!
Remember today, 26th of March 2015. Today may have been somewhat of a historical day in Iceland. It all started yesterday when an Icelandic college girl, Adda Smáradóttir, bared her breasts on Twitter to promote gender equality, only to be cyberbullied by an Icelandic guy. They have both erased their original Twitter posts but the storm of support was already brewing. The girl's college announced that today would be the "Free nipples day" - and the students were encouraged to leave their bras at home. Some decided to go topless (both girls and guys). Three other colleges followed suit, as
Movember...? No, Moustache March!
Around the world a month is dedicated to cancer awareness by men growing moustaches, in most countries this takes place in November and the month is renamed as Movember. In Iceland on the other hand, this month is March - aptly named Mottumars - or Moustache March. Yesterday the organisation Mottumars released the above video - of known Icelandic male actors shaking their asses to Hossa Hossa by the Icelandic reggae band AmabAdamA. (Every actor in this video is nation famous!) It's a great and fun way to get people talking - and to take care of their own ass! Being aware is not enough. Ca
Stockfish: A new film festival in Iceland
In light of the Oscar awards having been dealt out last night in America, I think it's worth mentioning some European movies as well. Iceland boasts some very good films - and indeed an Icelander, Jóhann Jóhannsson, was nominated for an Oscar last night for the soundtrack of The Theory of Everything, although he sadly didn't win. Only one Icelandic movie has ever been nominated for the best foreign movie at the Oscars, Children of Nature. At the moment I'm very excited about a British film that was released in UK cinemas last weekend, called The Duke of Burgundy and I can't wait to go
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