Hot Dog Stand

Bæjarins beztu, 2012


Bæjarins beztu, 2015

Bæjarins beztu, 2018

This tiny hot dog stand is arguably the most famous eating establishment in Iceland.

In 2012 it stood open to the harbor to the north and to Arnarhóll, monument to Icelandic independence, to the east. It was akin to an lighthouse, the city behind it, looking out and welcoming the world. As development in the harbor area has increased in recent years, this humble shack has been shuttled back and forth to accommodate construction. In 2015 there was still some sense of connection between it and the world, you could still get a peek of Harpa, but by 2018 it was surrounded by half-finished brutalist architecture, trapped in a sarcophagus of concrete.

The food may be the same, but the atmosphere has changed.