A\u00f0 loknum pr\u00f3fum \u00ed vi\u00f0skipta- og rekstrarfr\u00e6\u00f0um h\u00e9r heima og fr\u00e1 Verslunarh\u00e1sk\u00f3lanum \u00ed Kaupmannah\u00f6fn ger\u00f0ist \u00c1rni \u00fatr\u00e1sarma\u00f0ur, eins og \u00fea\u00f0 heitir n\u00fa til dags. Hann var Hafskipsma\u00f0ur og var alla \u00e6vi stoltur af \u00fev\u00ed. \u00dev\u00ed n\u00e6st vann hann a\u00f0 \u00fatflutningi og marka\u00f0s\u00f6flun fyrir lagmetisi\u00f0na\u00f0inn, \u00c1lafoss og \u00datflutningsr\u00e1\u00f0. \u00deegar kjarkmiklir menn t\u00f3ku h\u00f6ndum saman um a\u00f0 stofna h\u00e1t\u00e6knilyfjaverksmi\u00f0ju \u00ed Lith\u00e1en, f\u00e1einum \u00e1rum eftir a\u00f0 Lith\u00e1ar endurheimtu sj\u00e1lfst\u00e6\u00f0i sitt, var\u00f0 \u00c1rni fyrir valinu til a\u00f0 veita henni forst\u00f6\u00f0u. \u00deetta var brautry\u00f0jendastarf, en eins og oft \u00e1 vi\u00f0 um brautry\u00f0jendur, voru \u00feeir \u00fearna of snemma \u00e1 fer\u00f0inni til \u00feess a\u00f0 \u00feetta m\u00e6tti takast. H\u00e1lfum \u00e1ratug s\u00ed\u00f0ar, e\u00f0a svo, hef\u00f0i \u00feetta geta\u00f0 or\u00f0i\u00f0 bl\u00f3mlegur bissniss, en eigendur Ilsanta haf\u00f0i \u00feroti\u00f0 \u00f6rendi\u00f0, \u00e1\u00f0ur en \u00e1 \u00fea\u00f0 reyndi. \u00deessi d\u00e6mi s\u00fdna, a\u00f0 \u00c1rni var nokkrum skrefum \u00e1 undan sinni samt\u00ed\u00f0; hann var \u00ed \u00fatr\u00e1sarsveitinni \u00e1\u00f0ur en r\u00e1sbrautin var or\u00f0in bein og brei\u00f0. \u00deeir sem s\u00ed\u00f0ar fetu\u00f0u \u00ed \u00feessi f\u00f3tspor, g\u00e1tu \u00fdmislegt l\u00e6rt af reynslunni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
En fyrir \u00c1rna var\u00f0 ekki aftur sn\u00fai\u00f0. Hann haf\u00f0i bundist \u00e1stf\u00f3stri vi\u00f0 Viln\u00edus og undi hvergi betur s\u00ednum hag. Og satt er \u00fea\u00f0: Viln\u00edus er perla me\u00f0al mi\u00f0aldaborga Mi\u00f0-Evr\u00f3pu. H\u00fan er h\u00f3gv\u00e6r og l\u00e1tlaus, en leynir \u00e1 s\u00e9r vi\u00f0 n\u00e1nast hvert f\u00f3tm\u00e1l. Andi menningar og mennta sv\u00edfur \u00fear enn yfir v\u00f6tnum, og \u00feungur \u00f3mur \u00f3tal kirkjuklukkna minnir \u00edb\u00faana \u00e1, a\u00f0 \u00fea\u00f0 eru hin andlegu ver\u00f0m\u00e6ti, sem gefa l\u00edfinu gildi, fremur en hinn veraldlegi au\u00f0ur, sem m\u00f6lur og ry\u00f0 f\u00e1 granda\u00f0. Ekki svo a\u00f0 skilja, a\u00f0 Vilnub\u00faar hafi sn\u00fai\u00f0 baki vi\u00f0 ver\u00f6ldinni, e\u00f0a hafi gengi\u00f0 \u00ed klaustur (\u00fe\u00f3tt \u00feau s\u00e9u m\u00f6rg). Mi\u00f0aldaborgin fagra bl\u00f3mstrar sem aldrei fyrr og skartar s\u00ednu fegursta me\u00f0 brosi \u00e1 v\u00f6r, en allt er \u00fea\u00f0 gert af smekkv\u00edsi og h\u00f3gv\u00e6r\u00f0, sem heldur einhvern veginn aftur af \u00e6\u00f0ibunugangi \u00feeirra, sem fara offari \u00ed eftirs\u00f3kn eftir vindi. Mig undra\u00f0i ekki, a\u00f0 \u00fatlaginn \u00edslenski undi vel s\u00ednum hag \u00ed fa\u00f0mi Vilnu.<\/p>\n
\u00c1rni hasla\u00f0i s\u00e9r v\u00f6ll \u00ed vi\u00f0skiptal\u00edfi borgarinnar. Hann \u00e1tti hlut a\u00f0 uppbyggingu n\u00fdrra \u00edb\u00fa\u00f0ahverfa, sem \u00e1ttu a\u00f0 leysa af h\u00f3lmi kumbaldana fr\u00e1 Kruschev og Br\u00e9snev t\u00edmanum, sem voru l\u00fdti \u00e1 landslaginu. Hann var farinn a\u00f0 n\u00e1 \u00e1rangri \u00ed \u00fatflutningi \u00e1 lith\u00e1iskri framlei\u00f0slu til \u00feeirra sv\u00e6\u00f0a \u00ed Bandar\u00edkjunum, \u00fear sem l\u00edh\u00e1iskir \u00fatlagar eru fj\u00f6lmennir. Brag\u00f0laukar \u00feessa f\u00f3lks muna enn, a\u00f0 lith\u00e1iskur mj\u00f6\u00f0ur \u00e1 ekki sinn l\u00edka, og ostarnir bera keim \u00e6ttlandsins g\u00f3\u00f0a. \u00deetta f\u00f3r h\u00e6gt af sta\u00f0, en f\u00f3r sm\u00e1m saman vaxandi, s\u00e9rstaklega \u00ed borg vindanna, Chicago, sem telst vera n\u00e6stst\u00e6rsta borg Lith\u00e1ens. \u00cd \u00feessum vi\u00f0skiptum var \u00c1rni \u00ed samstarfi vi\u00f0 \u00deorstein \u00deorsteinsson \u00ed Boston, sem var tengili\u00f0ur milli Eystrasaltsins og vatnanna miklu \u00ed Mi\u00f0-Vestrinu.<\/p>\n
\u00deessi \u00ferj\u00fa \u00e1r, sem \u00e9g gegndi emb\u00e6tti sendiherra \u00cdslands \u00ed Lith\u00e1en var okkur Brynd\u00edsi t\u00ed\u00f0f\u00f6rult \u00e1 fornar sl\u00f3\u00f0ir, \u00fdmist til a\u00f0 reka \u00fear erindi fyrir \u00edslensk stj\u00f3rnv\u00f6ld e\u00f0a til fyrirlestra- og r\u00e1\u00f0stefnuhalds. \u00dea\u00f0 br\u00e1st ekki, a\u00f0 \u00e6vinlega var r\u00e6\u00f0isma\u00f0ur vor m\u00e6ttur \u00e1 flugvellinum og til \u00fej\u00f3nustu rei\u00f0ub\u00fainn. Vi\u00f0 \u00e1ttum saman margar g\u00f3\u00f0ar stundir. Hann lag\u00f0i sig fram um s\u00fdna okkur helstu breytingar \u00e1 byggingum og borgarl\u00edfi, sem or\u00f0i\u00f0 h\u00f6f\u00f0u milli fer\u00f0a. S\u00e9rstaklega er m\u00e9r minnisst\u00e6\u00f0 \u00fej\u00f3\u00f0h\u00e1t\u00ed\u00f0arstemningin 1. ma\u00ed, 2004, \u00feegar lith\u00e1iska \u00fej\u00f3\u00f0in fagna\u00f0i \u00fev\u00ed me\u00f0 s\u00f6ng og dansi \u00e1 str\u00e6tum g\u00f6mlu Vilnu, a\u00f0 Lith\u00e1ar voru or\u00f0nir fullgildir a\u00f0ilar a\u00f0 Evr\u00f3pusambandinu; a\u00f0 \u00feeir h\u00f6f\u00f0u \u00e1 n\u00fd sameinast fj\u00f6lskyldu evr\u00f3pskra l\u00fd\u00f0r\u00e6\u00f0isr\u00edkja eftir langa og har\u00f0a \u00fatleg\u00f0. \u00c6ska borgarinnar vaf\u00f0i sig Evr\u00f3puf\u00e1nanum og gekk \u00ed fr\u00ed\u00f0um fylkingum um str\u00e6ti og torg me\u00f0 Evr\u00f3pulofs\u00f6ng Beethovens \u00e1 v\u00f6rum. \u00dea\u00f0 var ekki lei\u00f0inlegt a\u00f0 vera \u00cdslendingur \u00ed Viln\u00edus \u00e1 \u00feeim degi.<\/p>\n
Fregnin um, a\u00f0 \u00c1rni vinur minn hef\u00f0i or\u00f0i\u00f0 br\u00e1\u00f0kvaddur a\u00f0 heimili s\u00ednu hinn 12. jan\u00faar s\u00ed\u00f0astli\u00f0inn, kom yfir mig eins og rei\u00f0arslag. \u00c1 dau\u00f0a m\u00ednum \u00e1tti \u00e9g von en ekki hans, sem st\u00f3\u00f0 \u00ed bl\u00f3ma l\u00edfs. \u00c1 andl\u00e1tsd\u00e6gri \u00c1rna, 12. jan\u00faar 2006, eru 15 \u00e1r li\u00f0in, \u00fev\u00ed sem n\u00e6st upp \u00e1 dag, fr\u00e1 \u00fev\u00ed a\u00f0 p\u00edslarvottar lith\u00e1iskrar sj\u00e1lfst\u00e6\u00f0isbar\u00e1ttu l\u00e9tu l\u00edfi\u00f0 \u00ed \u00e1t\u00f6kum vi\u00f0 sov\u00e9ska hern\u00e1msli\u00f0i\u00f0 vi\u00f0 sj\u00f3nvarpsturninn \u00ed borginni \u00e1ri\u00f0 1991. Alla vikuna var Viln\u00edus \u00ed sv\u00f6rtum sorgarkl\u00e6\u00f0um og \u00fej\u00f3\u00f0f\u00e1ninn blakti vi\u00f0 h\u00fan \u00ed h\u00e1lfa st\u00f6ng. \u00dea\u00f0 ver\u00f0ur ekki anna\u00f0 sagt en a\u00f0 stj\u00fapborg \u00c1rna hafi kvatt f\u00f3sturson sinn me\u00f0 vi\u00f0h\u00f6fn og eftirsj\u00e1.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00c1rni, vinur minn, \u00c1rnason naut \u00feess hei\u00f0urs a\u00f0 vera r\u00e6\u00f0isma\u00f0ur \u00cdslands \u00ed \u00feeirri borg \u00e1 jar\u00f0arkringlunni, \u00fear sem \u00cdslendingar eru \u00ed mestum h\u00e1vegum haf\u00f0ir, Viln\u00edus, h\u00f6fu\u00f0borg Lith\u00e1ens. Ekki saka\u00f0i, a\u00f0 \u00c1rni var h\u00f6f\u00f0i h\u00e6rri en annar l\u00fd\u00f0ur – n\u00e1nast tveggja metra ma\u00f0ur – en \u00fea\u00f0 \u00feykir kj\u00f6rst\u00e6r\u00f0 fyrir \u00fej\u00f3\u00f0ar\u00ed\u00fer\u00f3tt Lith\u00e1a, sem er k\u00f6rfuknattleikur. \u00deegar saman fer a\u00f0 hafa alla bur\u00f0i til a\u00f0 n\u00e1 landsli\u00f0inu \u00ed k\u00f6rfubolta og a\u00f0 vera \u00edslenskur \u00ed \u00feokkab\u00f3t, ver\u00f0ur ekki lengra komist \u00ed \u00feessu l\u00edfi \u00ed \u00fev\u00edsa landi. \u00c1rni r\u00e6\u00f0isma\u00f0ur var \u00fev\u00ed \u00ed h\u00e1vegum haf\u00f0ur, og honum st\u00f3\u00f0u allar dyr opnar \u00ed Viln\u00edus. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allar_greinar","category-minningagreinar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jbh.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jbh.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jbh.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbh.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbh.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1136"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jbh.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2954,"href":"https:\/\/jbh.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1136\/revisions\/2954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jbh.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbh.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbh.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}