Insider Tips
Insider Tips
1. Always go up the stairs.
With more and more people from all over the world attending Airwaves every year, the venues keep getting livelier. If you love to rub elbows, it's the place for you. And when you need a break, many Airwaves venues have quieter spaces just a flight of stairs away.
2. Eat a hot dog.
Icelandic hot dogs are like none you've ever tasted. Just because they're the favorite foodstuff to grab after last call doesn't mean they aren't worth savoring. Get one with crunchy onions. In fact, get it with everything. It's the goo that makes it good.
3. Dress in layers.
Sorry to sound like your mum, but it's still a good idea. Reykjavík is a lot warmer than you might think, but it still gets chilly and occasionally a bit damp. If you're dashing from club to club, you'll appreciate being able to strip down and then suit back up. And put on a hat, young lady.
4. Shop in a supermarket.
In addition to being a great way to do Airwaves on a budget, shopping in Icelandic supermarkets is a fascinating experience, especially after a couple of drinks. Wouldn't you like some Skyr með bláberjum? Dried fish snack? Salty licorice? Let's not even get started on the putrefied shark meat. Or you can go to a drive-through and get half a sheep's head. With fries.
5. Have a nice dinner.
For a city its size, Reykjavík has more than its fair share of top-flight restaurants, serving the best and freshest Icelandic cuisine. Have a hot dog for lunch, and then splurge at dinner.
6. Bring CDs from home.
Got a favorite local band? Or are you in your favorite local band? Bring CDs to Airwaves. You'll find lots of music geeks like yourself – domestic and imported – eager to soak up esoteric tunes from the world over, and they'll probably have CDs to trade.
7. Save room for CDs to take home.
You're going to hear a lot of great bands at Airwaves, and you're going to want to buy their CDs. Plan accordingly.
8. Rent a mobile phone.
Unless you have a GSM phone, your mobile probably won't work in Iceland, and you'll be the only one in the country without a phone pressed to the ear 24/7. Besides, how else are you going to call that number you scrawled on your hand the night before? A pay phone, maybe, but there aren't a lot of those around. And it's so 20th Century.
9. Get out of the city.
A half-day tour out of the city can for instance bring you to the astounding Gulfoss waterfall, Geysir (the original geyser – they're all named after this one), Þingvellir (meeting place of Iceland's first Parliament, not to mention the European and North American continental plates) and Kerið, which is, um… a big hole in the ground. But a really nice one.
10. Catch up on sleep before you leave home.
Seriously. Airwaves is not a place for the drowsy. Cool stuff starts happening early and keeps going very late, and you won't want to miss it. And up here near the Arctic Circle, the sun comes up late and goes down early in October. You wouldn't want to go home and tell people you never saw Iceland in daylight, would you? Well, maybe you would.
