Monday, March 16, 2020

Virtual Iceland

It was a question of when, not if.

The Iceland Writers Retreat I was planning to attend in April has been canceled. With a limit on public gatherings as well as confusing travel bans, there was not much hope for ten authors and one hundred and fifty participants to get together in Reykjavík at the end of April. Fortunately, I could cancel my hotel reservation without penalty. A refund for my flight looks a little iffier, although there will still be Icelandair flights, they will restricted to a few major hubs, of which MSP is not one.

These are trying times, but my personal setbacks don’t mean a lot in the face of pestilence and disease. In the meantime, I’ll have to make do with some vicarious Iceland experiences, including a spooky yet charming video of my favorite Icelandic musician: JFDR at her CD release party, last Friday at the Iðno concert hall. Unfortunately, she pulled the video so you can no longer see it. This was truly a family affair, with all FIVE of the Ákadóttir sisters performing (including Björg, who wasn’t even born when Jófríður started her career) as well as various friends helping out on stage and with production. It is eerie to watch: when the camera panned to show the empty seats my heart sank.

Here is a video you can watch from this event:



By Professor Batty


4 Comments:

Blogger jono said...

Sorry your plans are screwed up. That would have been a really interesting way to experience Iceland. I was able to get a bit of Iceland for myself over the weekend. Netflix offered up The Valhalla Murders, an eight part story. The big surprise of my binge was recognizing AAH, Alda's daughter, in a minor role. She is all grown up and plays a cop in this bingeable series. It is as dark as any Icelandic murder story and is shot in winter, of course. Stay healthy down there.


Blogger Professor Batty said...

Well the conference is definitely scrubbed, but I still have a flight scheduled for April 28, it is conceivable that I could go but I would probably have to fly out of Seattle or D.C. or New York and I’m not doing that.

The Valhalla Murders sounds good—it might be the final straw i my resistance to Netflix. Alda’s daughter is almost unbelievably beautiful.

We're OK so far, knock on wood.

We're going be in GM July 9-12 (if we aren’t dead!)


Blogger Mary said...

Valhalla Murders could be better, but we are sufficiently interested to finish the series. I hear Trapped - a series set in Iceland and available on AmazonPrime -is good. Might try that soon.

Sorry you are missing your trip. I hope we are traveling again soon. Ken and I are fine, under Shelter in Place orders.


Blogger Professor Batty said...

I’ve seen some of Trapped, and it is good, with a Johann Johannsson soundtrack.

Good to hear that you are doing well, I’m afraid that we are all in for a long haul.

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