"This isn't You Tube. This isn't Facebook. This is real life". That was one of the first things that a local said to us when roaming the streets of Reykjavik on our first night in Iceland. The comment came from a young man dancing on a patch of grass with the sun setting behind a row of buildings, casting a warm glow over the park. A stereo system had been set up and on the grass and on the sidewalks people danced and drank...and they laughed and talked...and drank some more. It was a sea of fair skinned modern day vikings...swaths of every color of clothing possible and one pink guitar.I had two assignments for myself during my stay in Iceland. The first being how to pronounce the name of the recent volcano that erupted...the second was to listen to as much Icelandic music as I could. On the flight in... street musicians...live music (Uncle Tom's Cabin was awesome!), and I listened to local radio. I can say with some certainty that Icelandic people have fantastic taste in music. Understanding the influence that vast open spaces have had on my own musical development, I was curious to hear the landscape in the music being created in such a vast and beautiful place. Tone and craft and space in the notes........lush and with an edge.
We strolled and watched people watch people. I admired the great sense of style that the women had..think French meets Dutch with an organic thrift store twist. Women wore tights or leggings of any color under skirts, shorts or pants. All that color must be cheery on long winter days.... So smart they are! Keeping warm and working with the pale skin instead of trying to fake bake those white legs into submission. We paint houses cheery colors to brave long dark days of winter, so why not ourselves.
But mostly, I admired the appreciation for beauty and creativity. It was everywhere and for a country of less than 400,000 people...this is amazing when you think about it. The country must be made up of artists and dreamers and poets and all the creative souls that seek to create beauty around them. And all around it was. Raw, imperfect and organic with that perfect golden light that you have to travel to the far north to fully appreciate. Truly though, you should travel to Iceland to appreciate that they party till 5 am but don't fight, don't seem to own cell phones so everyone has real conversations, and live with a boldness that prevents them from passing up the opportunity to enjoy anything that life has to offer. Now if I can just find a few skirts to go with my new blue leggings to embrace these pale legs.
