Reykjavik posts

by Tom Johansmeyer (2 months ago)
Apr 26th, 2009 at 8:00AM: The economic collapse of Iceland has been covered extensively and zealously, so it's no surprise that people are taking an interest. For Canadians, this makes even more sense, given their proximity to the country that has as many people as my neighborhood. At this time last year (when I went), just picking up dinner would cost you a fortune. Now, it's almost half price ... and that doesn't include ...

by Tom Johansmeyer (4 months ago)
Feb 9th, 2009 at 9:00AM: Eyesore or art, graffiti is part of any culture's public dialogue. Vandalism is visual profanity, and we all swear in our own f---ing ways. I've been drawn to these wall scrawls for a while, probably since I read Holden Caulfield's concerns about the subject in Catcher in the Rye. My fascination gained momentum while I was stationed in South Korea. A soldiers' bar in Tong Du Chon (the Peace Club, ...

by Tom Johansmeyer (5 months ago)
Jan 10th, 2009 at 2:00PM: If the entire world is too much from which to choose, take a look at The 44 Places to Go in 2009 suggested by the New York Times. Some are obvious, such as Reykjavik, which was been on everyone's mind 2008. Others are easy, including Washington D.C. Our nation's capital has plenty of hotels (including the funky Hotel Helix, photo at right), great public transportation and access via two major ...

by Tom Johansmeyer (6 months ago)
Jan 4th, 2009 at 1:30PM: After reading Brenda Yun's piece on Iceland (the most recent Photo of the Day), memories of the Blue Lagoon's warm waters rushed back to me ... as it did yesterday, when I saw Slate's coverage of the country's economic collapse. When I came home from Iceland back in June, I joked that its population was roughly the size of my neighborhood's. Thanks to Slate, I have confirmation. Thanks to Nathan ...

by Tom Johansmeyer (6 months ago)
Dec 17th, 2008 at 2:00PM: If you're going to walk around Reykjavik, Iceland, do it with Jonas Thorsteinsson. A guide on the GoEcco walking tour of the city, he knows more than which Viking killed who, where and how. In fact, the only word to describe Thorsteinsson is "prophetic."
I took his free walking tour backing June. The most insightful moment came when Thorsteinsson showed us one of Reykjavik's oldest houses, which ...

by Jerry Guo (8 months ago)
Oct 29th, 2008 at 2:00PM: A lot of foreigners are taking advantage of the ridiculously depreciated Icelandic krona and flying there this winter. Which is a bit weird because it's Iceland. And winter. As one Icelandic native said to me, "The nation is surviving right now on foreign journalists and tourists." I'm in the middle of figuring out the logistics of my trip. My top priority is booking a rental car and hopefully ...

by Jerry Guo (8 months ago)
Oct 16th, 2008 at 9:30AM: So I just took advantage of Grant's tipoff last week to $400 roundtrip airfare to Iceland. I'm flying out of Boston the weekend before Thanksgiving, and staying for a week. And I believe my flight came out to something like $550, not bad at all for a departure on Saturday and return on Sunday. Now I'm trying to scoop up some dirt-cheap hotel rooms, a rental car, and hmm, maybe a mid-sized bank ...

by Anna Brones (10 months ago)
Aug 19th, 2008 at 4:00PM: The good folks at Grist put together their own list of 15 green cities. Although their thought was probably to showcase the green efforts made by local governments and locals to make the cities more environmentally friendly, in reading it I realized it was a great list of places to chose your next eco-vacation. If you're looking to take public transportation, play in parks and learn more about ...

by Adrienne Wilson (2 years ago)
Jan 7th, 2007 at 11:41PM: After reading through all the official rules for this Hometown Views Photo Contest I spotted a few days ago while standing in Staples, I must say the prizes are worth chasing after and it shouldn't be too painful to enter. To start you must be an amateur photographer (meaning you haven't been compensated for photography in the last five years) and the photo you submit must not have been previously ...