Iceland 2025 — Day Three

The morning broke warm and still, with Tjörnin turned into a mirror:

Even the ducks were basking in the unseasonable warmth:

The pool was crowded, with lots of families and kids. I talked with a couple of men: one a native, one an ex-pat from Brooklyn. Theatre, literature and even AI music generation were some of the topics of our conversation. I returned to the apartment and after a brief respite went back on the streets, wandering ‘aimlessly’ just enjoying the sights and sound of the area.

Lost and found wall, Lækjargata:

Entrance to the Punk Rock Museum (formerly a toilet), Bankastræti:

47 Nalsgata:

And a pair of notable architectural details (Laugavegur, Lækjargata):

For the evening’s entertainment, I attended a play, Ibuð 10B, by Olaf Olafsson and directed by Baltazar Kormákur. The set was mostly static, with minimal changes in the background and lighting.

This was a talky play, set in an apartment (Ibuð) where a group of residents gathered to forge a covenant for potential incoming refugees who might be living in their building. What started out as an exchange of pleasantries (and wine tasting) turns sour as everyone gets more drunk. When a mixed-race resident comes in with his spouse unacknowledged feelings of bigotry simmer and boil over. I’ll let an Icelandic reviewer give a deeper explanation:

There are big issues here and some are very hot, and Ólafur Jóhann skillfully weaves them together so that from the first quiet minutes, the tension in the living room grows more and more, the characters reveal themselves better and better until we have a clear understanding of how they are put together, where they come from and where they are going. The conversations are fast-paced and often very funny, you have to keep your eyes peeled when it is at its most intense. This is a dense and substantial text, brilliantly thought out and written. ~ Silja Aðalsteinsdóttir, TMM Forlagið

The near-capacity audience gave the cast multiple ovations at the end.