Something that we’ve come to realise after three visits to Iceland over the years (at time of writing; we’re hoping for many more) is that it has some of the best museums in the world. I’ve already mentioned in this Sky Princess Norway and Iceland cruise travelogue series that the country actually has what we consider to be the actual best museum in the world, but it’s got loads of others that are near the top too, and in the capital of Reykjavík there is another one: the Icelandic Punk Museum.
We’d passed by the Punk Museum on visits that included time in Reyjavík in 2015 and 2018, and on both occasions we’d said “Ooh! A museum of punk music! Icelandic punk music! We have got to go in there!” but on both occasions we hadn’t. I think we needed to catch a bus back to our hotel the first time when we were staying outside the main part of the city, and we got distracted looking at other museums (and bars; let’s not kid ourselves that there weren’t bars when we were exploring the capital) on the second occasion when we were more central.
For our third visit to Iceland and our first time cruising there we’d already walked from the cruise port at Sundahofn, taking in the sights of the art sculptures in Laugarnes, then the incredible Recycled House public artwork, before enjoying more abstract artwork along Reykjavík’s north shore, but the day’s flexible plan did have something else in mind next. That’s the purpose of this post, and you’ve already guessed correctly that we had made our minds up that – so long as it was open – we would finally pay a visit to the Punk Museum.
The Icelandic Punk Museum was open.
You’re not imagining things from the photo above. The punk museum is really located in a former public toilets space underground and down some concrete steps. To be fair, if you’re reading this after searching for the museum online then there’s a good chance you already knew that.
Something else you probably already knew, or at least suspected, is that this isn’t the sort of place to visit if you’re offended by bad language. Consider that before turning up.
And finally, one last thing to weigh up before you head to the punk museum in Reykjavík is how you feel about claustrophobia. The public toilets weren’t big in the first place, and what space there was is now partitioned off so that you’re left to follow a tight squeeze through a mostly one-way labyrinth of walls decorated with punk memorabilia and a history of the punk scene in Iceland. You’ll be up close and personal with other visitors if it’s busy, and even if it’s not very busy.
So, with all that out of the way, here’s what you can expect from a visit to the Icelandic Punk Museum. Firstly, an entertaining host at the door to greet you and take your payment. Secondly, a path through the small space that encourages you to read everything to learn about Iceland’s music history in a humorous style; you and everyone else will move slowly in here. There are posters to enjoy, stuck on the walls and the ceiling, and often both at the same time; there are photographs; there are prints from newspapers and magazines; there are screens showing punk performances.
The Icelandic Punk Museum in Reykjavík has a few interactive elements. If you used to be a punk and want to relive the experience, or you’ve ever wondered whether the punk look would suit you then there are some jackets dotted around for you to model in photographs. You know you want to. There are also some instruments around if you fancy playing something raw and anti-establishment.
My favourite part of the museum was right at the end of our winding tour through Icelandic punk history. Attached to the ceiling were vinyl album covers of punk bands with chains through them from which hung headphones. You’ve likely guessed that this was a listening booth with a difference. Moving from hanging headphones to hanging headphones, listening to the album above your head playing, this is a great way to finish off by treating your ears to some of what your brain has learnt. It was fun to see other visitors gathering in this spot and us all performing a short listening dance as we’d listen for a while then shift around one another to take up a vacant set of headphones from somewhere else. Brilliant stuff.
The Icelandic Punk Museum in Reykjavík is small but thoroughly engrossing. If you like music, if you like punk music especially, if you like history, or if you just like quirky things – and in Iceland almost everything is a quirky thing – then this is just a fantastic place to visit in the country’s capital city. If you’ve got phobias about closed-in spaces and the possibilities of germ-transfer then you probably would have been eaten alive in the real heyday of the punk scene and maybe this little venue won’t be for you, but for anyone else: go, it’s great.
In the next post in this cruise travelogue series we’ll conclude our time in Reykjavík with a walk back to the ship that may or may not require us to stop in a craft ale bar on the way.