09 January 2009

107.107

I'd like to take a moment to mention how stupendously great my neighborhood is, since I have been enjoying the experience a lot lately. Here's why:
  • Walkably close to a good cinema and the home of the Icelandic Symphony.
  • A great grocery store, that while expensive, doesn't suffer from the same expiration date tragedy as my other store and contains all sorts of hidden delights in its tiny aisles. Good for running into people you know as well as the Famous Locals. Also has ridiculously friendly checkout people- even when it was the only store open for kilometers on new years eve and was completely jammed, they still greeted everyone and maintained good humor in the chaos. I'll pay for that.
  • The best hamburgers in Iceland. I don't care what you Búllan fans say- I was there one day last year and Tommi himself was patronizing my favorite place. If HE's getting in on the action, there's definitely something there.
  • The best steam room in Reykjavík, by all accounts. It's a circle, it's got a whole wall of window, and the best acoustics in town. Yes, I sing in the steam when solitary.
  • A whole stretch of good seafront, that doesn't suffer from having a near-highway zipping along right next to it. I go there for my peace-n-quiet runs, particularly nice at sunset in the winter.
  • Close enough that downtown is a pleasant stroll through various cute parts of town.
  • Old enough for there to be plenty of tall trees all around the houses.
  • Not fabulous enough to suffer from the noisy weekend crowds that I heard frequently when living in 101.
  • Plenty of parking for you and for your visitors, on a carefully orchestrated network of one-way streets so that there is almost no street traffic at night going past my house.
  • Close to where I sing- early morning practices are not so uncomfortable when I have such a short walk to get there.
  • Reverse commute! After spending about 15 minutes trying to get from my office to Kringlan at 5:15 the other day, a stretch of road that would normally take a minute, I appreciate this. If I were a Garðabær dweller that would be a daily experience. Misery! Instead I get to sail along the bay with Esja beside me.
  • oh, and I'm told that the Select mini-mart at the gas station nearby has some secretly excellent coffee. Do I really need anything else in my 'hood?
And that, my friends, is why 107 is where it's AT.

6 comments:

Lisa said...

Reading your posts always makes my day a little better. Thanks! :)

Agricola said...

I stumbled across your blog while trying to confirm the meaning of hlaup. Wonderful stuff -- I cruised back to 05 to see the genesis.

We visited Iceland on May '01 (loved your post from May 05 I think about the light in May) and the country has somewhat haunted me since. It's an amazing place, and I'm saddened to see things getting testy in the wake of the economic fallout.

My wife and I had discussed, once upon a time, moving there for the heck of it. We moved back to Boston instead. Good for you for taking the step. It's very brave. Please have a soak in a hot pot for me!

Paul said...

great post.

Unknown said...

Are you talking about Melabuthin, the cool little store? And what burgers are better than tommi's ?

Leif Hagen said...

I would be fun to see some PHOTOS from Iceland. A picture says a thousand words. Do you have a camera?

ECS said...

I'm So late to the comment game on this post but I thought I'd throw one up since leif just added:

lisa- weren't you writing your own blog? I think I was reading it when you were posting.

agricola: not sure anyone wants to move here now but it still is a gorgeous place and wherever I end up in the world I will definitely never forget the landscape here

paul: yeah, that's the store, and yeah, there are burgers better than tommi's.

leif: there are photo links all over my posts. I just don't like having them on the blog itself but the links go to my flickr page that is full of pictures of Iceland and other places too!