Nice weather, music festival and 5-day vacation for Icelanders during Easter in Iceland
Easter is a huge holiday weekend here in Iceland as most regular 9-5 workers get 5 WHOLE DAYS OFF WORK (well if you count the weekend, it really is 3 days off work but with a weekend inside). Naturally, Icelanders have planned their vacation by now and it might include a few things that you, dear traveler, can enjoy as well.
Such as skiing. Many people like to use Easter weekend as the last chance to go skiing before spring. Most skiing areas open during Easter such as Hlíðarfjall by Akureyri in the north, Bláfjöll (Blue mountains) and Skálafell by Reykjavík, Tungudalur by Ísafjörður in the Western Fjords and Oddsskarð in the Eastern Fjords to name a few.
Many Icelanders will attend the FREE music festival Aldrei fór ég suður in Ísafjörður. Then name of the festival literally means I never went south and refers to a popular song by the pop king of Iceland, Bubbi, which is about a man that did not go south (to Reykjavík) but stayed in his small town, worked and had his family. The music festival is a one of a kind for sure. Another extremely popular musician, Mugison, started the festival around 10 years ago with his friends and the help of the good people of Ísafjörður, and it has been a huge success, growing each year. The artists, venue and schedule are all unique; small local bands and international acts that play all kinds of music are thrown together with each band playing the same amount of time, around 30 minutes.
FM Belfast from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.
FM Belfast performing at Aldrei fór ég suður 2011
If you are interested to go to Aldrei fór ég suður you can drive your SADcar to Ísafjörður, but just be aware that the drive takes a few hours and you will need to have a 4x4 car. If you are not going to be in Iceland, or are not able to go to Ísafjörður for some reason (like me), you can still watch the festival LIVE at Inspired by Iceland. I know I am going to be watching. :)
Some practical matters you might want to know during Easter.
- Icelanders enjoy their traditional Easter eggs on Easter Sunday and they are delicious, I suggest you try one!
- Most offices and such are going to be closed during Thursday, Friday and Monday during Easter weekend
- Restaurants, bars, information centers and such are open
- Bars and night clubs are closed from midnight on Thursday until midnight of Friday because of Good Friday
I hope you have a nice and happy Easter!
Signy