How's It Going Phone Booth

The How's It Going Phone Booth is not a restaurant, a bar, or a cafe. It is a public art installation on the shore of Seydisfjordur in East Iceland, and it is included here because enough people search for it that it deserves a proper explanation. What it is, in fact, is one of the most atmospheric and historically significant pieces of public art in Iceland.

The Artwork

Created in 2006 by Icelandic artist Gudjon Ketilsson, the sculpture marks a specific and important spot: the exact point where Iceland's first international telegraph cable came ashore. In 1906, a submarine cable was laid between Scotland and Iceland, landing at Seydisfjordur and connecting this remote island nation to the rest of the world for the first time via direct telecommunications.

The artwork takes the form of a telephone booth made of rusted iron, incorporated into the coastal terrain at the cable's landing point. The floor of the booth is illuminated, displaying the first message sent via the cable in both Morse code and Roman letters. Inside, a moss-covered plaque reads "Hvernig gengur?" -- Icelandic for "How's it going?" -- a warmly informal greeting that feels both touching and slightly absurd in this windswept setting.

The Working Phone

In a detail that delights visitors, the phone booth has a genuine working phone number: +354 566 1906 (the year of the cable's installation cleverly embedded in the number). You can call it from anywhere in the world and hear the phone ring inside the rusted booth on the shore of an Icelandic fjord. Whether anyone answers depends on who happens to be standing nearby.

Seydisfjordur

The phone booth gives you an excuse to visit Seydisfjordur, though the town needs no such excuse. It is one of the most beautiful settlements in East Iceland, set at the head of a stunning fjord and reached via a dramatic mountain pass from Egilsstadir. The town is known for its colourful wooden houses, its rainbow-painted street leading to the blue church, and its thriving artistic community.

Practical Tips

The phone booth is freely accessible at all hours. It is a short walk from the town centre along Hafnargata, on the right side of the road before Nord Marina Guesthouse. Allow time to explore Seydisfjordur itself -- the town deserves more than a quick photo stop. The drive over the mountain pass from Egilsstadir is spectacular and should not be rushed.