Singer-songwriter-pianist Markéta Irglová celebrates the natural wonders of Rangarping Eystra in southern Iceland, about 95 miles east of Reykjavik.
Sturla Mio Thorisson
Markéta Irglová leapt to fame at age 19 when she and Glen Hansard starred in the movie Once and won a 2008 Oscar for the two musicians’ original song “Falling Slowly.” The duo known as the Swell Season became even more well-known when Once captured a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. Irglová fame, though, is quite a contrast to two towns unknown to nearly all Americans — Valasske Mezirici and Seltjarnarnes — that are the most important places in her life.
Irglová grew up in Valasske Mezirici, located about 214 miles east of Prague in the eastern part of the Czech Republic near Slovakia. The town, which has about 28,000 inhabitants, sits at the confluence of the Vsetinska Becva and Roznovska Becva rivers in the foothills of the Beskydy Mountains.
“There is a vibe there — something invisible, intangible, but palpable,” says Irglová, who will tour with Hansard in Europe in May and in the USA in July. “I love the nature, which I explored on my daily walks with my dog or riding my bike. There are fruit trees that line most of the small country roads, and you can stop and pick some plums or apples. I used to swim in the rivers, too.”
Irglová also treasures the “beautiful architecture” of Valasske Mezirici — two castles, a town square, a house on a corner decorated with the likeness of the apostles and statues of Jesus and angels by a church entrance. A school for deaf children has a bust of Komensky (17th-Century educational and religious reformer Jan Amos Comenius) in the foyer and a private chapel on the top floor.
“My town, which we call Valmez, has never been a tourist town,” says Irglová, who has also released three solo albums. “I don’t expect many Americans to feel inclined to visit, but there is a direct train from Prague. Borrow a bike and cycle along the river cause, because it’s beautiful. Visit the tea room near the church, and play some board games, or have coffee and cake at the cafe called U Tukana on the town square.”
Markéta Irglová and Sturla Mio Thorisson enjoy the outdoors in Zlin, the Czech Republic, about 32 miles southwest of her hometown of Valasske Mezirici.
Sturla Mio Thorisson
Other Irglová suggestions include drinking a glass of wine at a wine store called Petrolejka, eating dinner at Fresca, seeing a movie in a little cinema next door and attending a concert in the M-club.
“The thing I love about going to the local cinema is that they serve wine, which I find amazing, even though I hardly drink,” she says. “It’s just a nice novelty. We also have a wonderful outdoor cinema in the park that is open during summer and a nice woven tapestry factory. Pivni Pristav, by the river, is the most popular pub, as they have cheap beer and live music on weekends. Everything is within a short walk.”
One castle is the town’s cultural center and sits on a hill above the river next to the town square. The other castle, on the other side of the river, is a museum. “Both are very well kept, beautiful historic buildings,” Irglová says.
She looks back fondly at the years spent in her hometown before her sudden rise to international prominence.
“My most cherished memories are connected to our home, my family and nature,” she says. “Running around the garden barefoot, roasting sausages on the campfire, picking fruit, gathering leaves, listening to music, playing games, feeling one with the world.”
Irglová was a classical piano-trained teenager when she first met Hansard when he was performing in Valmez in 2004 with his Irish rock band the Frames. Her father was promoting the group’s shows in the Czech Republic and hosted a welcoming party.
Two years later, Hansard asked Irglová to collaborate on music for a low-budget Irish movie entitled Once being made by John Carney, the Frames’ original bassist. The duo recorded about 20 songs and dubbed their project “the Swell Season,” the title of a book by a Czech author they were reading. Carney offered them the movie’s two lead acting roles, and their acting and singing received critical acclaim after the film was shown at Utah’s Sundance Film Festival.
Hansard and Irglová launched a concert tour as the Swell Season in 2007 and, the following year, won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Falling Slowly.” The 19-year-old Irglová became the first Czech woman to win an Oscar and the youngest person to win an Oscar in a musical category. In 2013, they won a Grammy for Once being named the Best Musical Theater Album.
Markéta Irglová takes in the wonders of Prague.
Sturla Mio Thorisson
Irglová lived in Ireland for two years during her partnership with Hansard. She later moved to Bleecker Street in New York’s Greenwich Village and then to Brooklyn. Her next home was Reykjavik, Iceland, where she went to record an album and met her future husband, native Icelander Sturla Mio Thorisson, a producer and recording engineer. They lived in Reykjavik for nine years. Then, in 2021, they moved with their three children and Thorisson’s teenage daughter, to neighboring Seltjarnarnes, a five-minute drive, and built a recording studio in their home.
Moving to Reykjavik was not an easy adjustment for Irglová.
“At first, Iceland felt like such a relief after the big city life,” she recalls. “I cherished the fresh air and clean water, low-rise buildings and views of what seemed like an ever expanding horizon of ocean and mountains. The quiet was a much needed respite from all the noise of a bustling city and I felt like I could finally hear my own thoughts and be still. But, on the whole, Iceland has been a place of endurance in isolation for me.”
Irglová felt far away from everyone she knew, and her husband was her only friend and companion.
“I found great difficulty making new friends or becoming a part of the musical community here while being on triple maternity leave and having close to no support network,” she explains. “My and my husband’s parents lived abroad. It is only now, in my 13th year in Iceland, that I feel a shift happening, and I am grateful for it.”
Seltjarnarnes, which sits on a peninsula and has a population of about 4,600, is a small, closely knit community that’s very safe, Irglová says. “All the children know each other and can walk from house to house without putting themselves in harm’s way.”
The town has “a fantastic music school,” a sports center, “a wonderful outdoor swimming pool open all year” and “a path along the sea that leads to a nice beach with a lighthouse,” she says. “It is a very nice place to live, and we are blessed.”
The negative aspects of Seltjarnarnes, Irglová says, are lack of a nice coffee shop, a movie theater and a music venue and “the constant wind,” caused by the ocean on the town’s north, west and south sides. The town, however, “has less light pollution than in Reykjavík,” so the northern lights are more visible.
Irglová recommends visitors dine at Radagerdi, a “nice restaurant by the beach.” The menu includes such entrees as mascarpone meatballs, duck confit and shrimp and lemon pizza.
In Reykjavik, Irglová and Thorisson often eat at Dill or a fusion restaurant, Sushi Social. Dill describes its cuisine as “unorthodox” and “dedicated to fresh ingredients, foraging and sustainability.”
Other favorites, Irglová says, are Mokka for hot chocolate and waffles, a pub called Kaffibarinn, the Edition hotel for cocktails and the Harpa concert hall for music.
Thorisson, who grew up in Reykjavik’s old town with its narrow streets and colorful little houses, has other suggestions.
“The city is best experienced by not having any plan,” he says. “Just walk around. Start in the old town center. Work your way through the main street of Laugarvegur, then up and down all the side streets. Get some bread and a cinnamon roll at Braud & Co., then just keep walking around. Stroll down to the seaside, and walk toward the old harbor area. Look in some of those cool, little shops that have popped up in the long row of houses where fishermen used to keep their boats and work their nets.”
Markéta Irglová enjoys the coastline at Gjograbot Bay in Iceland’s Westfjords region.
Sturla Mio Thorisson
Thorisson says the city has grown and changed drastically during his lifetime but has always been a place of comfort and warmth.
“What I find special about Reykjavík has a lot to do with its small-town charm and splash of cosmopolitan energy,” he says. “There is this creative, eccentric vibe flowing in the people, on the streets, in the air. You might walk from a world-class music venue like Harpa to a cozy cafe in a tiny 100-year-old timber house or a geothermal pool in minutes.
“From it’s humble roots, the city is still shaped by its natural surroundings,” Thorisson adds. “The Atlantic Ocean is ever present, and the mountains of Esja, Akrafjall and Skarosheidi are integral features of the mystical view from almost every part of the city. Volcanoes built this land, and you feel it in the ground — the energy, the power, all there under our feet, dormant but omnipresent.”
Irglová agrees that Iceland is a special place because of the energy of nature and the elements.
“It is very raw, untamed, not trampled on and powerful,” she explains. “You feel it and can tap into it, but you must also respect it. The weather changes constantly and keeps you in the present. The pristine water, the warm springs coming from the ground and the moss that covers the volcanic landscape are unbelievable!
“The white quality of the light and the clean air make the colors of everything look as if you are looking through polarized glasses,” Irglová adds. “The spectacular sunrises and sunsets paint the sky in beautiful colors. We have 24 hours of daylight in summer and nice hiking trails. It is quite a special place indeed.”