Tónleikar í Sólheimum

Summer concerts in Sólheimar

If you are in the area in summer, I can recommend to go to concerts in Sólheimar on Saturdays, about a half hour drive from Selfoss.

Here in the eco-village of Sólheimar, a cultural festival, various concerts take place every week during the summer, usually from early/mid-June to early/mid-August, always on Saturdays at 2 p.m. The concerts usually last about 45 minutes, which isn't long, but I think if you're offered a free concert, you can't complain.

The offerings are – typically Icelandic – incredibly diverse, from pop singers, opera singers, entertainers, several tenors, to a 70s cover band; it feels like everything is there, and the great thing is, the audience is just as diverse. Perhaps that's because there aren't that many options here in the countryside, and when something is offered, people go and enjoy it; the style of music is secondary.

On Saturday (July 12th) we went to a concert in Sólheimar. We were meeting up with friends there. Last year, we had been there on a concert of Páll Óskar; this time we went to a Friðrik Dór performance.

The concerts usually take place in the Sólheimar Church. The church was consecrated by the then Evangelical Lutheran Bishop of Iceland from 2002 to 2005, with a solemn service in July 2005. The church is owned by Sólheimar, and its construction was financed entirely through monetary and in-kind donations within the framework of the foundation. The church seats 194 people.

This time, however, we found ourselves standing in front of closed doors at the church. There was a sign hanging in the glass door announcing that due to the good weather, the concert was being held outdoors, on Péturstorg square in the middle of the village, next to the café and shop. Many visitors grabbed cake, coffee, ice cream, etc. from the café and made themselves comfortable in the square. Since it quickly filled up, many also sat on the lawn in the sunshine - how often do you get to do that in Iceland...?!?

This Saturday Friðrik Dór performed.

Friðrik Dór Jónsson (born 1988 in Hafnarfjörður) is one of the best-known Icelandic singers and songwriters.

Many of his songs are popular songs here, not least his remake of "Fröken Reykjavík". The lyrics and melody of the song, presumably from the 1950s, about "Miss Reykjavík," who runs along Austurstræti in her red shoes, smelling of spring flowers and attracting everyone's attention, were originally written by the brothers Jónas and Jón Múli Árnason and were very well-known and popular in Iceland. Friðrik Dór's remake of the song was released in 2016, with the same lyrics but a different melody than the original.

Friðrik Dór also sang "Fröken Reykjavík" at his concert in Sólheimar. And the audience sang along enthusiastically, with admirable confidence in both the lyrics and the melody - from the elderly lady over 80 to the 20-year-old granddaughter.

Overall, the concert was really enjoyable. Friðrik Dór created a wonderful, upbeat atmosphere and carried the audience along, and the audience enthusiastically joined in, clapping and singing along. And I'm continually impressed by how well Icelanders can sing. An all-around wonderful experience!

This is an excerpt from a video of the concert that Sólheimar shared afterward on his website and social media. Can you find us? We're sitting on the far left, and my husband is also filming or taking a photo.

After the concert, we went home and ate cake and had a barbecue with friends and spent a cozy evening.

PS: Friðrik Dór is also a member of the IceGuys

Friðrik Dór's older brother, Jón Ragnar Jónsson (born 1985), is also a well-known Icelandic singer and former football player. Jón Jónsson founded the Icelandic boy band Iceguys in 2023. Members of the pop band, besides Jón Jónsson and his brother Friðrik Dór, are Aron Can and Árni Páll Árnason (known as a rapper under the moniker "Herra Hnetusmjör", meaning "Mr. Peanut Butter").

The fifth member of the group is Rúrik Gíslason, also and especially well known in Germany as a handsome ex-football player in the 2nd Bundesliga for 1. FC Nuremberg and SV Sandhausen, former Icelandic international and, of course, as the winner of Let's Dance 2021.

Source: mbl.is

It's said that while the other four band members quickly embraced the Iceguys, Rúrik was initially very reserved. Jón Jónsson was only able to convince him by convincing director and former national goalkeeper Hannes Þór Halldórsson to shoot the band's first video.

The IceGuys are very popular in Iceland; there's even a TV series called IceGuys, which is entering its third season this year. Hannes Þór Halldórsson is also involved in the series again.

[Translated from here.]

Cats of Reykjavík - Ófelía

Ófelía - one of Reykjavík's cats

For many people, Reykjavík is THE cat capital of all places - when you walk through the northernmost capital of the world, you can meet the city's cats everywhere, especially in the city center, in Reykjavík city center ( Downtown ) around the Hallgrímskirkja, on the Skólavörðustígur or on the Laugavegur, the city's main shopping street.

Don't worry - the legendary Cats of Reykjavík are not usually poor, neglected animals that have no home - quite the opposite.

Keeping cats in Reykjavík is strictly regulated:

Outdoor cats generally require a collar with the owner's name, address, and telephone number. Furthermore, cat owners in Reykjavík are required to have their cats microchipped by a veterinarian, and the number must be registered with the authorities. All outdoor cats must be neutered by 6 months of age at the latest.

Most of the cats here are outdoor cats, meaning they have a permanent home with people who love them, care for them, and take good care of them. The cats roam the city during the day before returning home in the evening.

In the Icemart souvenir shop at Skólavörðustígur 38, you can often meet one of Reykjavík's most famous cats during the day.

Here you can find many typical Icelandic souvenir items , from puffin tea towels, aprons and pot holders to Iceland glasses, metal shot glasses with Viking motifs and Iceland mugs, as well as rubber puffins for bathing, socks, T-shirts and sweaters - in other words, almost everything that could delight the tourist's heart.

The absolute highlight of this shop, often THE reason why many tourists come to this shop, is Ófelía, the neighbor's cat.

Ófelía is a beautiful cat, she is already 16 years old.

She's probably a Ragdoll cat, at least that's what people who know more about cats than I do say.

She is a beautiful animal, with silky smooth, long fur, a small white spot on her nose and bright sky-blue eyes.

For example, she likes to eat dried fish and has two Instagram accounts of her own, although neither of them is up to date.

Ófelía is not for sale .

She usually comes to the souvenir shop every day and makes herself comfortable on her favorite wool blanket on the large table by the door.

The store even has a sign posted so visitors know who they're dealing with.

Ófelía has also had a leading role in a film, namely in the Icelandic film "Undir Trénu" (Under the Tree) from 2016.

In our encounters in the shop, I have experienced Ófelía as an incredibly patient, deeply relaxed cat who patiently endured all the petting.

Unfortunately, I've also heard of tourists becoming aggressive. Just today, I read in a Facebook group that the cat was apparently grabbed and disturbed by visitors until it left the shop in frustration.

CatWalk

When we visited the shop in April and took our first photo of Ófelía on her wool blanket, a tour guide even came along with a small group and told his group - and us - lots of interesting facts about this special cat.

I then saw online that there are private tours to the "Cats of Reykjavík", special CatWalks, so to speak. The tour I saw was a two-hour walk for small groups of up to six people through the city center, following the trail of Reykjavík's cats. The tour costs from 56 euros per person , but the price also includes a stop at the cat café with coffee, hot chocolate, and pastries. According to the website, a portion of the proceeds is donated to the Kattholt cat shelter in Reykjavík.

The guide of the tour group also asked us if we had already been to the cat café in Reykjavík, just around the corner, maybe 500 m from Hallgrímskirkja...? The "Kattakaffihús"...? Yes, of course, we have been there, we could confirm - at the invitation of the owners, we as food bloggers had already been to this cute café for cat fans in June 2018, which has been in downtown Reykjavík since March 2018 (Bergstaðastræti 10a).

Photos from the Kattakaffihús 2018

With a last look at the deeply relaxed Ófelía on her wool blanket, we said goodbye to the tour group and their friendly guide and moved on.

PS: Winter and summer fur

We first met Ófelía after Easter when we were visiting Reykjavík, and last weekend when we were in town for the Slut March ( Druslugangan ), we paid her another quick visit - and were delighted to find her again in the same spot on the same wool blanket in the shop.

At first, though, I was confused. The cat at Easter seemed somehow much bigger, hairier, and wilder than this little sleeping bundle, which looked so delicate, soft, and fluffy... But in comparison, the ears, the little white spot on the nose, it was exactly the same... So, really, the same cat!

Cat people I know have now explained to me that this must be the difference between winter and summer fur.

Now I know that many cats shed their fur twice a year - the winter fur is much longer and denser, with a thicker layer of undercoat, which allows an insulating layer of air to form between the hairs and keep the cat warm.

The summer coat, on the other hand, is lighter and usually thinner, shorter, and less dense. This means the cat is still protected from excessive UV light, but can more effectively dissipate excess body heat and avoid overheating.

The difference is quite noticeable when I compare these two pictures of Ófelía, one taken in winter (early April) and one in summer (late July). But she's cute either way!

[Translated from here.]

Druslugangan 2025

The Slut Walk 2025

The Drusluganga, the Slutwalk, is a movement that opposes the reversal of perpetrator-victim roles among victims of sexual violence and provides a platform for the victims.

The aim of the “Slut March” is to avoid shifting the responsibility for sexual crimes from the perpetrators to the victims and to make it clear to people that the victim’s clothing or behavior cannot and must not be a possible excuse for the crime.

Source: Profile picture of the page
Drusluganga on Facebook

Ég er drusla - I am a slut

The movement dates back to a sexual violence prevention event at a university in Toronto, Canada, in January 2011, where a police officer said that women should avoid dressing like sluts to avoid becoming victims.

The Toronto police spokeswoman later stated that the statement was in complete contradiction to everything police officers are taught, and the officer himself apologized for his remark, calling it "ill-conceived."

However, the basic idea that women only have themselves to blame if they dress too provocatively is still widespread worldwide. Women still hear after a rape that it's their own fault because they wore a skirt that was too short, a neckline that was too low, or whatever, or behaved too "provocatively," or drank too much alcohol. The fact that a woman wearing a short skirt doesn't want to be harassed or raped has apparently not yet spread everywhere – and that's precisely what these "slut marches" are about: It's the perpetrators who are responsible for sexual violence, not the victims.

The first Slutwalk took place in Toronto at the beginning of April 2011, the first German Slut March was in Passau, Lower Bavaria, in July 2011, and the first Germany-wide Slut Marches in major cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, and Hamburg followed in August 2011.

The first Drusluganga in Reykjavík took place on July 23rd, 2011. Since then, it has been held annually here (except in 2020 due to COVID-19). The parade starts at Hallgrímskirkja and proceeds via Skólavörðustígur and Laugarvegur. The march culminates with a large stage in front of the Parliament on Austurvöllur, featuring music and speeches. Well-known musicians supporting the Drusluganga also perform there, including Friðrik Dór and, this year, Páll Óskar.

Sound rehearsal in front of the Drusluganga

Mætum og styðjum þolendur kynferðisofbeldis

The motto of the Drusluganga is "Let's meet and support victims of sexual violence".

On Saturday, July 26th, 2025, at 2 p.m., the church bells of Hallgrímskirkja rang, followed by the police motorcycles, and then the Drusluganga 2025 started.

This year, Drusluganga was dedicated to the memory of Ólöf Tara Harðardóttir and all those who did not survive the violence they experienced.

Who was Ólöf Tara?

Ólöf Tara was born on March 9th, 1990, and grew up in Hafnarfjörður and Grafarvogur. As a teenager, she was a victim of domestic violence in a relationship, and later lived with violence from her partner for years. Only after a serious illness was she able to escape the relationship in 2018.

The self-employed fitness instructor and personal trainer for women became an activist and, among other things, co-founded Öfgar (= "Extreme") and Vitund (= "Awareness"), a non-profit organization against gender-based violence and for change in this area, both in the legal system and in social awareness. She was also one of the faces of the Icelandic #metoo movement. With Öfgar, Ólöf Tara received numerous awards for her work, including from the Mannréttindaskrifstofa Íslands, the Icelandic Human Rights Center.

In the end, her strength was exhausted, and Ólöf Tara was found dead in her apartment on January 30th, 2025, at the age of 34.

Her funeral took place on February 10 in Grafarvogur Church. The ceremony was presided over by Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir, the parish priest and Bishop of Iceland. Also present at the funeral were Kristrún Frostadóttir, the Icelandic Prime Minister, Þórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir, the current Speaker of the Icelandic Parliament, and Icelandic President Halla Tómasdóttir.

This year, the proceeds from the sale of all Drusluganga merchandise will go to the Minningarsjóður Ólafar Töru, the memorial fund for Ólöf Tara.

Ein af hverjum fjórum

One in four women in Iceland is a victim of sexual violence, or one in four. That's the statistics. In reality, the number is likely higher, because not every woman chooses to report it.

Ólöf Tara's work was also particularly concerned with looking beyond these mere statistics – one in four women is more than just a number, a figure; it's about the person behind it. Ultimately, it's also about the statistics of women who have not survived the consequences of the violence they experienced – sexual assault or rape represent risk factors for later suicide – as in Ólöf Tara's case.

Accompanied loudly by a megaphone, the march began with the cry "Ég er drusla! Ég er drusla!" "I'm a slut!"

Behind the women carrying the banner, the rest of the protest march followed, with a whole host of very different people, many of them carrying homemade signs - from "Fuck Patriarchy" to "feðraveldi hvíl í friði" (= "May the Patriarchy rest in peace") and "skilum skömminni" (= "Let's return the shame") to many different variations of "Ég er drusla".

The march led down the Skólavörðustígur, over the Laugarvegur and finally ended at Austurvöllur.

However, we were no longer present at the closing ceremony there.

[Translated from here.]

Gönguferð að eldfjallinu

Hike to the volcano (July 22nd, 2024)

Since last Wednesday (July 16th), the volcano on Reykjanes has been erupting again, the 12th volcanic eruption in the area since March 2021.

On Tuesday, we had a friend over for dinner, who showed us photos of a colleague who had hiked to the volcano the day before... oh, the pictures were great! And the wind was (relatively) favorable.

Ultimately, it happened as it had to, and my husband and child no. 4 (who's actually not a child anymore, but is now bigger than me!) left by car around 8:30 in the evening, as they also wanted to see the eruption and the lava. I didn't go with them; after my fall on the terrace, I'm not yet fit enough to tackle a hike of more than an hour over uneven terrain, and then back again...

You can now park at the paid parking lot P1 at Fagradalsfjall and then hike along a more or less good jeep track to the lava, to the fresh lava.

At 9:46 p.m. my husband announced: "Let's march!"

And at 9:55 p.m. he sent the first photo, full of enthusiasm: "We can already see him!"

Here is another section of the picture, with the active volcanic crater at the end of the path.

This trail to the volcano is currently not closed, but visitors are encouraged to closely monitor air quality and gas pollution forecasts on the Icelandic Meteorological Office's website. Veður, and to abort a hike if conditions change. Masks have been distributed to emergency personnel on site.

Police repeatedly post signs explicitly warning that you are now entering the hættusvæði, the danger zone. Everyone enters at their own risk.

It took my husband and child about 75 minutes to walk from the parking lot to the fresh lava. Around 11 p.m., my men finally reached the fresh lava.

When you stand there, pleasantly warm, maybe four meters away from the glowing, clinking lava, it's still something very special, even if it's not the first time! But it's always amazing!

But you have to be careful - the lava is really red-hot and even though it looks dark from above, inside it is still liquid and moving.

And you never know where something might burst open, and fresh lava will flow, setting the grass at the edge of the lava field ablaze again and again. At least it's wet enough right now that there's no need to issue wildfire warnings.

Child no. 4 had to do his daily Duolingo lesson before midnight to keep his streak going - and what better place to do that than sitting comfortably in the grass with good internet somewhere in the middle of nowhere on the edge of a fresh, still fiery lava field with a view of an erupting volcanic crater...?!?

My husband raves about it - he's experienced something like this a few times before. But it's still amazing every time. The hot wind. The clinking sounds the lava makes. The billowing air over the hot lava. The smell of burnt moss at the edge of the lava. The erupting volcanic cone in the background. And all the people happily sitting in the moss, fascinated by this natural spectacle...

At 11:26 p.m. my husband reported that they were on their way back, and at 12:42 a.m. he wrote that they were in the car and about to leave.

[Translated from here.]