This short article from RÚV tells of a window washer who also happens to be an amateur photographer, and as a result of his uncommon work location gets some interesting views of Reykjavík. We learn a bit about his dangerous occupation, as well as the tallest buildings he has been on. The article also includes several photos he’s taken from high above the city.
Óvenjuleg sýn á Reykjavík – Unusual View On Reykjavik
“Áhugaljósmyndarinn Aron Berndsen slær tvær flugur í einu höggi úr háloftum höfuðborgarinnar. Hann þvær glugga háhýsa og tekur ljósmyndir af borginni.”
“Amateur photographer Aron Berndsen kills two birds with one stone from the heights of the capital. He washes windows on high-rise buildings and takes pictures of the city.”
I translated the first sentence as the expression “kill two birds with one stone”, but literally it is “kill/hit two birds with one blow”.
These two sentences alone are interesting in that they contain two verbs with similar (and uncommon) conjugations: slá and þvo
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Both of these verbs exhibit the i-shift (á -> æ) vowel change in the present singular. According to Einarsson [In. VII, 2, 7], þvo used to be þvá.
“„Ætli ég hafi ekki hæst komist í 55 metra,” segir Aron í samtali við fréttastofu RÚV og bætir við að gluggarnir í svörtu blokkunum við Lindargötu séu með þeim hæstu sem hann hefur þrifið. Hann þvertekur fyrir að starfið sé hættulegt og segist njóta sín í vinnunni. Sérstaklega þegar skyggni er gott fyrir ljósmyndatöku en hann notar farsíma sinn mikið við tökurnar.”
“‘I suppose the highest I’ve been is 55 meters,’ says Aron in an interview with news agency RÚV, and adds that the windows in the black apartment buildings near Lindatgata are among the highest he has ever cleaned. He denies that the job is dangerous and says he enjoys himself at work. Especially when visibility is good for photography, and he uses his cell phone quite a bit to take photos.”
ó·venjulegur adj unusual sýn f (-ar,-ir) sight, view högg n (-s,-) blow há·hýsi n (-s,-) high-rise building frétta·stof/a f (-u,-ur) news agency blokk f (-ar,-ir) apartment building þrífa v (acc) clean þvertaka fyrir to deny something skyggni n (-s,-) visibility