Photo by Elías Þórsson

From the beginning of June, tourist busses with a capacity above eight passengers and jeeps specifically kitted out for off road driving will be banned from a large area of the city centre and the old part of Vesturbærinn.

Two years ago, Reykjavík municipal authorities implemented a limited ban on large tourist coaches. The ban was in response to complaints from local residents who were annoyed by busses filling up the narrow old streets of the city centre.

From next month on, tourists will need to drag their bags a distance of up to 300 metres. Which, at the risk of being slightly hyperbolic, is comparable to the 40 years Moses spent in the desert, or the yearly march of the equally majestic emperor penguin.

Grímur “Gimmi” Jón Sigurðsson, a local musician and homeowner at Laugavegur, is ecstatic over the ban, claiming that it is the best news he’s heard since he found his long lost VHS copy of “Ernest in the Army”.

“I thought I’d lost the tape. That I would never be able to relive such a big and important part of my childhood,” explains Gimmi with a smile. “Rediscovering my copy was like finding a long lost relative, or being broke to the point of starvation and finding 1,000 kroner in your pocket.”

In celebration of the ban Gimmi will be hosting a special screening of “Ernest in the Army” at a TBA location in the beginning of June.