IDEAS
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ICELAND
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WIZZ MAGAZINE
“Thisplace isreallyraw; itfits
perfectlywith
Fortitude
”
M
uchof the scene settingof Sky
Atlantic’shit series
Fortitude
takes
place in the small townofReyðarfjörður,
east Iceland.The starklybeautiful views
of loomingmountains,Nordic-style
rooftopsandoceanall stand in for
Svalbardon screen.Die-hard fansof
the seriescanactuallyvisit theoutside
of the show’sBlueFoxbar.Although
interior scenesare filmed ina studio in
London, thebuilding isa real boozer.
“Thecrewhavehada lotofnightsout in
here,”explains
Fortitude
producerKidda
Thorisdottir. “TheBlueFox isa fun,
cheesybar in real life.”
WhyReyðarfjörðuroverother
Icelandic towns?“Wewent all around
Iceland to find the right atmosphereand
image,” saysThorisdottir.
“Thisplace is really raw, it fitsper-
fectlywith
Fortitude
.”TheSnowand
Ice shop from the series sitsopposite
theBlueFox, andvisitorscanalso find
anew series location in town–Michael
Lennox’shouse,whereDennisQuaid’s
character lives. “Thewholeexperience
workingon this show isamazing,”
Thorisdottir says. “Thecast felt like they
werecominghome to shoot thenew
series.”Visit
Fortitude
locationsona
tourwith IcelandTravel this summer.
icelandtravel.is
.
EAST
Jökulsárlón
Reyðarfjörður
Naturalicesculptures
Jökulsárlón,translatedas ‘lagoonoftheglacialriver’,isaspectacularlocation(belowright),recognisable
fromthefirstsceneofFortitude,inwhichMichaelGambon’scharacterHenryTysonfindsoutabouta
murderouspolarbear.Inthisghostlylocation,aglaciallakeontheedgeoftheVatnajökullNationalPark
meetstheocean,resultingingiant,other-worldlyiceblocksinweirdandwonderfulshapes,whichare
washeduponthevolcanicblacksandybeach.
Reykjavik
677
KM
