Austurvöllur

The energy of being here overtakes whatever ill effects I
am suffering from the challenges of air travel. It´s good to
be on holidays, and even better to be in Iceland again!

It was hot in Reykjavik today, Wednesday, the first day after
the schools let out. Because Disa works in schools, it was also
the first day of her summer vacation. She told me that I must
have brought the sunshine with me. When we dropped in on
her brother, Sverrir, he was in the backyardwith his son Sveppi
and his pal Kolbeinn. Sveppi was up a tree, securing one end
of a hammock. Kolbeinn was playing with a soccer ball, practising
his footwork, as his and Sveppi´s soccer team will fly tomorrow
to the Vestmaneyjar Islands to the southeast of Reykjavik to play
in a summer tournament. Two hammocks were soon hung in the
sunshine, and we drank some fruit punch before Disa´s brother
had to get back to his basement workshop to repair a few wind
instruments left by musicians with deadlines.

We walked along Laugavegur, the main street downtown, and
stopped by the famous hotdog stand. Bill Clinton once visited this
spot, and inside the kiosk there is an old cartoon of the former
President wolfing down his European weiner as a crowd of Icelanders
looks on in bemused joy. There is always a lineup at this place, and
for good reason: the dogs, fully loaded, are delicious.

When we reached Austurvöllur, the central park of old Reykjavik -
bordered on one side by the original Parliament building (still in use)
and on another by the Hotel Borg, where I performed last year - Disa
went off insideone of the cafes to get us something and motioned me
to pick a place on the grass to sit. It was hot and I chose a patch of shade
under one of the trees. She came back wearing a wide smile and said,
"You must be the only non-Icelander here." How could she tell?, I asked.
"You´re in the shade," She laughed with me as I noticed that, indeed, of
the 200 people lounging in shirtsleeves on the park´s greenery, I was the
only one sitting in the shade. When you live near the Arctic Circle, you
soak up every minute of sunlight there is.

What are the distinguishing characteristics of Icelanders? I´ve read a lot
about this country - Waking Up In Iceland and Ring Of Seasons are two of
the non-fiction books - and I´vehad a chance to observe firsthand the
people of this tiny NorthAtlantic nation. Its people are unique. Terry Lacy,
a transplanted American writer now living here, writes of the character of
theIceland people...

"Icelanders are far less prone to play roles than are other Europeans and
westerners... Whomever you talk to - clerk,repairman, physician, tour
guide - you are talking to an individual, a full person, and not just to
someone who isperforming a job." Freedom and individuality are
important here, as is equality, Lacy goes on to write; people do not
sacrifice their standing as a person, no matter the position they hold.
Shaming another is, simply put, not taken lightly. Perhaps this is why,
when I called the airport this morning, introduced myself and said, "You
lost my suitcase," the woman on the other end of the line said, "I did not."
Disa chuckled when I told her this, and it´s not the first time that I have
come upon it. It´s true, of course, what the woman on the phone said.
She didn´t lose my luggage. Someone at Heathrow did. Once we got that
minor detail cleared up, she was friendly and very helpful. My suitcase
arrived not long afterward, delivered to Disa´s apartment on Grettisgata.

Citizens here see themselves as the equal of the President, who is known
by his first name, not by his surname or position. A woman was President
here for 16 years.

These aspects - freedom and individuality - bear upon religion, too, in Iceland.
I mentioned in my previous trip´s notes that an Icelander is more apt to accept
God than believe in her, haha. There are churches, of course, and they are multi-
purpose centers, used as concert halls and such. I would say that the Icelander´s
God is not a personalized one so much as the acknowledgment of a spirit which
is greater than one´s solitary experience. And, it almost goes without saying
that when Icelanders speak of spiritual connectedness, they are most certainly
including healing practices, ghosts, angels and the Hidden People. I told you
before of the roads which suddenly veer sideways and then rejoin their original
line,simply to avoid one of the Hidden People´s settlements. Icelanders have
very strong political opinions, as well, further testament to their individuality,
the value they place on free speech. In her book, Lacy made mention of a tv
meteorologist who, after giving the weather forecast, looked into the camera
and said, "I want to say that for myself I don´t really believe the prediction for
Monday and Tuesday." You´ve got to like that kind of candor!

Það reddast means "it will work out." Given the challenges here with climate,
dark and lengthy winters, and finding a way of life in the north, it is a saying
that suits and defines the Icelandic attitude. They live beside quakes, volcanoes
and geysers with little fear and plenty of competence. As for the fierce cold
and darkness of the winters - and the depression that accompanies them -
Icelanders somehow manage, Það reddast at work again.

If it grows too dark and dreary, residents are quick to holiday south to the
warmer climes. There are few Icelanders who have not lived, studied or
traveled abroad. Disa has done all three, and her worldliness is one of the
things I admire most about her. When the sun does shine, as it did so warmly
today in Reykjavik, it´s obvious how much love people have for it. I saw that
love today while resting alone with a laughing Icelandic woman, she in the
sun´s bright light next to me while I rested in the shade of the spreading trees
of Austurvöllur.

Bless bless,

DL