02 November 2005
After almost one month, enjoying it here up north, with all the possible weather changes, I was lucky enough to get the ride all the way to RVK and back, and could join the rest of the volunteer crew for the whole weekend. This 5-hour ride was just a beautiful movie full of colours, running in front of my eyes…. it was full of mountains with all the possible shapes ranging from the huge ones to those small lava ones. There´s only one main road around Iceland…and so the feeling of being on it and knowing exactly where the south and west is, and what fjord you´re passing, even without the map is rather pleasant. Just imagine the road, which is winding a lot due to the mountains, and as you´re watching it all ahead of you, sometimes you get the feeling that the road ends at the bottom of one of those endless mountains and simply won´t let you further. Aside the road, there are quite a few earth cracks scattered to remind of the strength of the mother earth. And inside them, there are small waterfalls, rivers, be it glacier ones or just the regular ones…..and it all that beauty, there are farms houses in the most lonely places possible, elves´ houses, gorgeous Icelandic horses and fjords and the endless feeling of freedom. One could almost feel like a lord of all this around him. But beware, this land full of contrasts and threats can very quickly remind that the Lord in here is also someone(somethink) else. Well, The mother earth, is The mother Earth.
And today, after a poetic beginning, I will share some bits of the way how Icelanders keep themselves entertained. Well, basically I will do my best in order to present the myth about the hectoliters of alcohol sliding down the Icelandic throats. Bearing in mind that almost every weekend I end up at some parties, or pub nights or all the possible variations of the mentioned, I truly hope that the picture I´m just about to paint for you will be very close to the real one.
Well, however, it is all based on the observations of the laiman and expresses a subjective opinion of the writer and thus can not be considered as the opinion of the publisher :))
(I strongly recommend to discuss this issues with the Icelanders by the pint of a good beer).
Using the style a-la lenka, I will describe the whole picture by pointing out all the necessary details and pertinences.
The fact remains, that the Icelanders work their asses off – literally. They do work a lot and it´s not unusual for an Icelander to have 2 or 3 jobs. In some of them working on 75% basis, or 80% and in some being only during the w-ends and in some during the evenings…and so on. The reason is obvious: just the potatoes and lamb are not sufficient anymore, and the import of all the possible goods from all the world is rather expensive. Well, so it´s not a surprise that after the exhausting work, they really need to party and go adequately crazy. However, party time does not come until Friday, as from Monday to Friday it is important to stay sober. So all the accumulated desire for proper party can explode to its full power, both on Friday and Saturday :)
Here in Iceland, the party story begins in one important alcohol store, owned by state. These chain stores all over the country (in major towns and villages) are the key to the successful hunt for alcohol of all the possible tastes and colours and strengths, but of course for the Icelandic=very expensive prices. I had a good laugh, when I saw the specials of this store J e.g. Czech Budvaiser cost 199 instead of 202 Icelandic Kronas – hahahaha, those who´ve been to central Europe know what I´m trying to say :)
So, here it comes, Friday evening, and the above mentioned store called VINBUTH gets filled with the locals aged over 20 (this is the age limit here) and they buy and buy and buy, loads –really loads, you can hardly imagine the amount. Seems that beer is the most favourite here, but the spirited liquids do get their chance too :)
At this point, it is worth mentioning that the alcohol in bars can be 3 or even 4 times more expensive, and considering the prices here, it is extremely important to drink well enough before you get to the pub or bar. As the result of this, Icelanders usually get together in small groups in the houses of friends and have sth like a preparty, in order to get pissed as much as possible. The more pissed you´re before coming to the pub, the less you´re going to spend there …
And so it happens, that streets and bars get filled around half past twelve or one after midnight. Reminds you of the Spanish style? Correct, but the reasons for getting out so late are very different here, from the ones in Spain.
So, all those who are successfully reaching the streets and bars are pretty much full as eggs already and many of them are watching the ant racesJ Music inside the bars is in its full power and the same goes for my little Dalvik. At the beginning I´d thought it was just some special nights with DJs, but no-no. I was confirmed that Friday and Saturday are simply the loud and crazy days and thus the idea of me having a good chat in the pub like I´m used to had to change quite a bit. Exaggerating a bit, for me it means to repeat the phrase ‘I´m from Slovakia’ in Icelandic at least 30 times, so that the one asking could nod his head in the end and full of surprise say: Ahaaaaaaaa, Slovenia…..
But apparently, there are some special days when even Icelanders can talk to one another in the pub with the relaxing music in the background (let´s see).
The nights out here, usually finish around 4 or 5 in the morning and this is the time, when the crowds head to their homes and finish it all off with the after-party….and…well, you know how it all usually ends.
But, here in Iceland, there is one more specialty worth knowing. It is very usual here that the day after you partied, you simply forget and don´t recognize folks you were going really crazy with the day before. Some told me that the reason is the shame for all that they were doing and how much in their cups they were the past night. Well, thanks to the prep seminar we had at the beginning, once I came here, this phenomenon does not surprise me anymore and I get nicely amused watching this in practice.
As far as the amount of alcohol is concerned, the Icelanders do drink loads. On top of this, they´re really well trained and thus despite being beaten down to ankles, they keep on ‘fighting’ and do carry on, and get some more coffee and get some nap on the table and go on…..of course, it´s Saturday…and it is only once in the week.
And today, after a poetic beginning, I will share some bits of the way how Icelanders keep themselves entertained. Well, basically I will do my best in order to present the myth about the hectoliters of alcohol sliding down the Icelandic throats. Bearing in mind that almost every weekend I end up at some parties, or pub nights or all the possible variations of the mentioned, I truly hope that the picture I´m just about to paint for you will be very close to the real one.
Well, however, it is all based on the observations of the laiman and expresses a subjective opinion of the writer and thus can not be considered as the opinion of the publisher :))
(I strongly recommend to discuss this issues with the Icelanders by the pint of a good beer).
Using the style a-la lenka, I will describe the whole picture by pointing out all the necessary details and pertinences.
The fact remains, that the Icelanders work their asses off – literally. They do work a lot and it´s not unusual for an Icelander to have 2 or 3 jobs. In some of them working on 75% basis, or 80% and in some being only during the w-ends and in some during the evenings…and so on. The reason is obvious: just the potatoes and lamb are not sufficient anymore, and the import of all the possible goods from all the world is rather expensive. Well, so it´s not a surprise that after the exhausting work, they really need to party and go adequately crazy. However, party time does not come until Friday, as from Monday to Friday it is important to stay sober. So all the accumulated desire for proper party can explode to its full power, both on Friday and Saturday :)
Here in Iceland, the party story begins in one important alcohol store, owned by state. These chain stores all over the country (in major towns and villages) are the key to the successful hunt for alcohol of all the possible tastes and colours and strengths, but of course for the Icelandic=very expensive prices. I had a good laugh, when I saw the specials of this store J e.g. Czech Budvaiser cost 199 instead of 202 Icelandic Kronas – hahahaha, those who´ve been to central Europe know what I´m trying to say :)
So, here it comes, Friday evening, and the above mentioned store called VINBUTH gets filled with the locals aged over 20 (this is the age limit here) and they buy and buy and buy, loads –really loads, you can hardly imagine the amount. Seems that beer is the most favourite here, but the spirited liquids do get their chance too :)
At this point, it is worth mentioning that the alcohol in bars can be 3 or even 4 times more expensive, and considering the prices here, it is extremely important to drink well enough before you get to the pub or bar. As the result of this, Icelanders usually get together in small groups in the houses of friends and have sth like a preparty, in order to get pissed as much as possible. The more pissed you´re before coming to the pub, the less you´re going to spend there …
And so it happens, that streets and bars get filled around half past twelve or one after midnight. Reminds you of the Spanish style? Correct, but the reasons for getting out so late are very different here, from the ones in Spain.
So, all those who are successfully reaching the streets and bars are pretty much full as eggs already and many of them are watching the ant racesJ Music inside the bars is in its full power and the same goes for my little Dalvik. At the beginning I´d thought it was just some special nights with DJs, but no-no. I was confirmed that Friday and Saturday are simply the loud and crazy days and thus the idea of me having a good chat in the pub like I´m used to had to change quite a bit. Exaggerating a bit, for me it means to repeat the phrase ‘I´m from Slovakia’ in Icelandic at least 30 times, so that the one asking could nod his head in the end and full of surprise say: Ahaaaaaaaa, Slovenia…..
But apparently, there are some special days when even Icelanders can talk to one another in the pub with the relaxing music in the background (let´s see).
The nights out here, usually finish around 4 or 5 in the morning and this is the time, when the crowds head to their homes and finish it all off with the after-party….and…well, you know how it all usually ends.
But, here in Iceland, there is one more specialty worth knowing. It is very usual here that the day after you partied, you simply forget and don´t recognize folks you were going really crazy with the day before. Some told me that the reason is the shame for all that they were doing and how much in their cups they were the past night. Well, thanks to the prep seminar we had at the beginning, once I came here, this phenomenon does not surprise me anymore and I get nicely amused watching this in practice.
As far as the amount of alcohol is concerned, the Icelanders do drink loads. On top of this, they´re really well trained and thus despite being beaten down to ankles, they keep on ‘fighting’ and do carry on, and get some more coffee and get some nap on the table and go on…..of course, it´s Saturday…and it is only once in the week.
# posted by GO local in Iceland @ 2:45 pm 
