Alternatively called Snæland (Snowland) in the Landnámabók and Íslendingabók.
Straddling the continental drift, with glaciers covering more than 10% of the island's exclusively volcanic 🌋 crust, Iceland is a true land of 🔥 Fire & Ice 🧊.
@ a glance essentials:
.
Language:
Icelandic
-
Nearly all Locals can speak excellent English
Icelandic Krona (kr)
Water safety
Safe to Drink - (hot tap may smell eggy - sourced from geothermal springs, but still safe)
Currency:
ISK
Local Transport
There is a bus network in large cities but remote areas will require a car.
......................................... Fjarlægðin gerir fjöllin blá = "Distance makes the ⛰️ mountains blue 🔍;" a proverb directly related to Iceland's flag 🇮🇸 - referencing the reality that from afar rocks of the mountains appear blue, but metaphorically, it means the further away something is, the more beautiful it may appear†
† The phrase originates from a 1911 play, the quote in full is "distance makes the mountains blue and the men great"
Icelandic Idiom:
Europe's western-most country, "Land of Fire 🔥 & 🧊 Ice," was discovered by Vikings in the 860's AD but Iceland was initially thought too harsh for colonization, until a desperate Norwegian chieftain, needed a place to flee from Norway. The 1st settlers were a decentralized, monarch-free commonwealth 🔍 in the Norse tradition (with an Althing to resolve disputes & legislate that still meets today; the world's oldest continuous legislative assembly) but with constant infighting between chiefs, Iceland eventually negotiated the Gamli sáttmáli (Old Covenant) submitting to Norwegian sovereignty for stability in 1262 AD.
a bit of background...
CHECK OUT THE:
...................... Iceland doesn’t have a military and has only fought in one conflict; The Cod 🐟 Wars with Great Britain over fishing 🎣 rights to the water off Iceland’s shoreline. Only 2 people were killed and Iceland won after attacking their enemy’s fishing nets with ✂️ scissors.
FUN FACT:
Norway however, imposed an annual tribute; skatt, (paid in stockfish or woolen cloth, e.g.,) which proved a drain on the island's resources. Following the Kalmar Union in 1397, Norway, and thus Iceland, was brought under Danish rule which, combined with natural disasters like volcanic eruptions killing livestock, fisheries & crops†, further exacerbated the island's poverty. When the union dispersed in 1814 Iceland was left to Danish rule (in exchange for Denmark ceding Norway to Sweden.)
In the 19th century a renewed interest in the medieval sagas, folklore, and distinctive Icelandic language strengthened a growing nationalism. The Althing was revived in 1843, by 1854 Copenhagen's exclusive control over trade was repealed and in 1879 they transition to home rule. Then after a referendum for independence the Kingdom 🔍 of Iceland became a sovereign state 🔍 "in a personal union with Denmark" in 1918.
In 1944, during WWII, the Republic 🔍 of Iceland was formally established, severing ties with Denmark (who was occupied by Germany at the time.) And as Europe's most sparsely populated country, with no standing army, Iceland joined NATO as a founding member for security after the war.
† The Laki volcanic fissure eruption in 1783-84In the ensuing famine, approximately 20% of Iceland's population (~10,000 people) died from starvation, malnutrition, and disease, making it one of the deadliest per capita events in European history.
*** ICELAND CAN'T BE EXPLORED WELL BY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ALONE***
& Both Car Rentals & Guided Tours are Expensive $$$
IF YOU'RE SOLO TRAVELING;
it may be cheaper/ worth doing a guided tour to hit the highlights outside of the city.
TRAVELING WITH A FRIEND(s);
splitting the cost of the car rental & exploring on your own will likely be less expensive
Must Try Local Cuisine:
Graflax - salmon cured in salt, sugar & dill ∞ Harðfiskur - sheets of dried fermented† cod or halibut w/ butter
Pylsur (the Icelandic Hot Dog 🌭) - bread stuffed w/ sausage, chopped onion & Apple Ketchup or...
Remolaði - Icelandic sauce based on mayonnaise, vinegar, onion & pickle
Blóðmör & Lifrarpylsa - blood pudding & liver sausage ∞ Hangikjöt - smoked lamb in béchamel sauce
Kjötsúpa - lamb soup ∞ Súrir Hrútspungar - ram's testicles pickled in fermented whey
Svið - a sheep’s head (fur & brains removed) w/ mashed potatoes.(eyes considered a prime delicacy)
Skyr - a thick condensed-milk yogurt ∞ Licorice Ice-Cream 🍦††
* Using the oldest known preservation technique, exposure to cold & wind on outdoor wooden racks, cured by cold-adapted bacteria (no salt, similar to maturing cheese)
** Ice-Cream is surprising popular for such a cold climate, many Icelanders eat it daily
SEE
DO TRY
&
VISIT
What to Where to Why . . .
Surprising Finds:
📍 Geothermal Baking at Laugarvatn Spa - pots of rye 🍞 bread are baked by being buried in warm black sands & steam
from the heat of a geyser, for 24 hours @ this natural mineral bath spa
📍 Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft | Hólmavík & Bjarnarfjörður - like much of Europe, Iceland had a period
of witch hunts from 1654 to 1690, but unusually men were the primary targets of accusation, (only one woman was
ever prosecuted as a witch!) The museum and attached turf-roofed Sorcerer´s Cottage, collaborates on research about
about the witch-hunts, heritage, folklore, publishing of Icelandic grimoires & hosts storytelling sessions
📍 Phallological Museum | Reykjavík - collection of actual phallus samples from all kinds of animals & all things phallic
📍 Huldufólk (hidden people) - over 50% of the country believes in the existence of huldufólk, in the countryside like
trolls & elves (+ many more report being 'open to the possibility'). Small wooden álfhól (elf houses) built for
elves to live in can be found in the countryside & Reykjavík even has an Elf School
📍 The Raven's Nest & Recycled House | Reykjavík - an ocean-side property covered in collected shiny things and
discarded scrap metal with a makeshift sculpture garden. It includes a rusted-out buoy eyeball and rebar cross e.g.
📍 Fischersund | Reykjavík - an aromatherapy shop / mini-museum documenting Icelandic history through scents
📍 Hákarl - notorious, noxious, ammonia-scented, fermented Greenlandic 🦈 Shark meat, buried underground for 4-6
months. (The process neutralizes the trimethylamine oxide in the shark's flesh, which would otherwise be toxic.) often
served with Brennivín, Iceland's traditional unsweetened alcoholic schnapps; called
"The Black Death" - many restaurants offer tastings.
There is also a Shark Museum in Bjarnarhöfn, on the Snælfellsnes Peninsula
(see "Highlights" below)
📍 Babies Alone on the Street - Iceland is such a high trust society it's common to see babies
left outside stores etc. in strollers, even when the temperature's as low as 20-30ªF.
(Common in Greenland as well)
[Interestedly Iceland is one of a handful of countries (with Hungary & Portugal) where babies can
only be christened with a name off a government-approved list and surnames are not passed on,
they're derived from a father or mother’s 1st name. I.E. Björk Guðmundsdottir is from her dad's 1st
1st name, Guðmundur + dottir = daughter.
This makes relations tricky, as an extended family might include 100's of different last names! With
population so small, anyone could be unknowingly related. It's such a problem in the local dating
scene there’s a smartphone app, Íslendinga, specifically for Icelanders to check if they're cousins.
[The company’s slogan is “Bump the app before you bump in bed.”]
My Favorite Spots:
📍 Hot Springs - outdoor geothermal pools, spa's like the 🔎 Blue Lagoon with milky-blue
water in a black lava field, and the Sky Lagoon, outside Reykjavíkk, with it's infinity
pool are most well known / easiest to access, but springs in the wild are also amazing†
like: Lake Mývatn's Nature Baths (near Pseudocraters & Dimmuborgir lava formations) &
the surreal Víti Crater Lake @ 1,100m in Askja caldera (a remote active volcano) OR
Kerlingarfjöll (the 'Old Woman Mountains') & the Landmannalaugar region; in addition to hot springs,
both are known for hiking in alien rainbow-colored rhyolite mountains (Kerlingarfjöll, which has
rentable mountain huts, served as a Mars simulation site) AND
Snorralaug, the personal hot spring of Snorri Sturluson's (author of the Prose Edda), possibly the oldest used by
humans in Iceland, built c. ~1200 @ Reykholt (he even had a private tunnel from his home directly to the hot spring)
📍 Icelandic 🐎 Horses - a small, ancient pure breed brought to the island by the vikings and isolated ever since,
(foreign horses are forbidden from being imported, and any Icelandic horse that leaves is never permitted to return to protect
the breed.) They have two additional unique gaits: the smooth Tölt & the flying pace, Skeið, .a synchronized gait
where right & left sides move together.
📍 Snæfellsnes Peninsula (called “Iceland in Miniature”) with Kirkjufell & arrowhead peak (Iceland's most photographed
mountain), black pebble beaches, coastal basalt formations, waterfalls, remote lighthouses, dramatic coastal cliffs,
Stykkishólmur (glacier-capped stratovolcano, famously used as the entrance to the center of the earth in the eponymous 🔍
Jules Verne's novel), fishing village & Breiðafjörður bay - a colorful harbor town with boat tours to visit
puffins etc and wooden 19c Búðir black church standing alone on a lava field overlooking the ocean
📍 Whale 🐳 Watching in Húsavík (“Whale Watching Capital of Europe”) or from whale-watching boats in Reykjavík
(The largest whale museum in Europe is also in the city.)
📍 Viking Sites like Þjóðveldisbærinn (Commonwealth Farm) a full-scale reconstruction of turf-roofed Stöng longhouse
buried by a volcanic eruption, Eiríksstaðir; Erik the Red’s Homestead, Keldur Turf House with underground passage
that legend says was used by outlaws in saga times, Hofstemple: full-scale replica of a Norse pagan temple (hof) &
the Viking World Museum with the Íslendingur: a replica Viking ship that sailed to New York in 2000 or the
Hvolsvöllur Saga Centre dedicated to Njáls Saga (the most famous Icelandic saga).
📍 Þórsmörk Glacial Valley - camp site with dramatic mountain scenery surrounded by three glaciers:
Tindfjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull, & Mýrdalsjökull. accessible only by 4WD vehicles or specially modified buses
📍 Sheep-herding 🐑 for Tourists: the Réttir / Sheep Roundup Festival | Highlands (Sept) - where guests participate††
in one of Europe's most authentic agricultural festivals; for over 1,100 years, hardy Icelandic sheep, virtually
unchanged since the settlement era, with a double-layered fleece protecting them, have roamed freely across
the highlands during highlands during summer to graze. But before the winter turns deadly, farmers must
gather their flocks from areas spanning hundreds of sq.kms.
It requires vast coordination between neighboring farms; farmers on horseback & foot spread across the highland,
systematically driving 2,000+ sheep, over 3 intense days, towards temporary holding areas called fjárhús, circular stone
corrals, (many dating back centuries,) at strategic locations like valleys or narrow mountain passes so farmers then
identify their livestock by distinctive ear markings.
The largest sorting corrals then become campsites with básar (temporary shelters.) Families arrive with thermos
flasks of coffee, home-made kleinur (twisted doughnuts), and lamb soup e.g., turning the chore into joyous celebration.
† Temperatures of natural hot springs fluctuate drastically, and often are too hot to bath in, so be cautious when bathing in the wild.
†† Tour operators offer Réttir experiences; multi-day packages including accommodation, home-cooked meals, and participation in actual roundup work & travelers can often join local celebrations by
contacting regional tourist information centers or approaching farms directly. Be prepared for physically demanding work that starts at dawn & considerable walking across rough terrain in
unpredictable weather, and book early as there is limited capacity.
Most Known For:
♦️ Volcanoes 🌋 - ~30 active volcanic systems are on the island like Fagradalsfjall, which
erupted in 2021-23, or the 2023-25 eruptions near Grindavík (Tours are available, by
helicopter 🚁 & 👣 foot, but it's not always safe/ possible to visit an actual volcano, but there's
a virtual Volcano 'Ride' @ Harpa & live Lava Show in Reykjavík & Vík)
🔸 The Ring Road - circling the entire country & the shorter Golden 〇 Circle with:
• Þingvellir National Park: Site of world’s oldest still-extant parliament, the Alþingi
and the tectonic rift / Mid-Atlantic Ridge, boundary where the North American & Eurasian
plates separate at a rate of 1-2 cm per year
• Geysir Strokkur (the erupting hot spring) & • Gullfoss (the “Golden Waterfall”)
♦️ Black Sands Beaches like Reynisfjara with basalt sea stacks, (part of the Katla Global Geopark) & Stokksnes with
it's black dunes beneath Vestrahorn Mt
Waterfalls like Skógafoss famous for rainbow photos, Seljalandsfoss were you can walk behind the fall, the tiered
Dynjandi waterfall, AND Canyons like Stuðlagil full of basalt columns & a turquoise river, or Fjaðrárgljúfur a
mossy, winding canyon (made famous by Justin Bieber’s “I’ll Show You” video)
🔸 Reykjavík - the capitol city with rocket-shaped Hallgrímskirkja church 🔍 whose steeple offers views across the city’s
colorful rooftops and out to sea plus the Grotta Lighthouse on the Seltjarnarnes Peninsula.
♦️ Vatnajökull Glacier & National Park - Iceland's largest (& Europe's 2nd largest) national park, encompassing Skaftafell,
Jökulsárgljúfur, and Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon plus Diamond 💎 Beach (where iceberg calves land and look like diamonds)
& natural 🔎 blue ice🧊 caves
🔸 Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis (Sept–April)
👀 NOTABLE ICELANDERS:
⚔️ Leifur Eiríksson (Leif the Lucky) & Thorfinn Karlsefni | Viking Explorers 🎤 Bjork | Singer
𓂃🪶 Snorri Sturluson | Historian, Poet, & Politician
👣
🌀 Secret Solstice | Reykjavík (June) – 24H music festival famous for the Midnight Sun Stage's "never-setting"
moment, midnight of midsummer. Concerts are held on a lagoon and inside a 500 yr old man-made
ice cave within Europe's 2nd largest glacier Langjökull, and in lava tunnels within the dormant magma chamber
of Þríhnúkagígur Volcano (large enough to fit the Statue of Liberty.) The festival also offers midnight glacier hiking
tours to Sólheimajökull
🌀 Merchants' Weekend† / Verslunarmannahelgi | (1st weekend in Aug) - 4 day holiday weekend; the nation
shuts down as everyone migrates to campsites & summer houses, etc. (leaving Reykjavík virtually deserted.)
Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) hosts Iceland’s biggest outdoor festival this weekend:
Þjóðhátíð | Island of Heimaey - massive camping party††; bonfires, concerts & fireworks in Herjólfsdalur, a
natural amphitheatre in an ancient volcanic crater 200m high. Known for it's 'valley walk,' with panoramic
views over the festival site & Atlantic Ocean and for the sprengisandur (tent crawling) tradition of visiting
other campers' tents, to share drinks & stories,
🌀 (Return of the) Sun ☀️ Festival (Jan.) (in Siglufjörður & Westfjords) celebrating the return of the sun rising over the
mountains, celebrated with pancakes
🌀 Þorrablót*; Midwinter Feasts | (Feb.) - community centers, restaurants, & private homes host gatherings, where
Icelanders don traditional woolen lopapeysur sweaters for þorramatur, a spread of all the 'crazy' strong
fermented foods that Iceland is infamous for followed by rímur (epic poems) & group folk songs.
The most authentic experiences often occur in smaller rural communities like Borgarnes that combines the feast with
storytelling about Iceland's settlement or Akureyri, drawing families from across North Iceland. But Café Loki | Reykjavik,
also serves authentic þorramatur platters year-round. The festival overlaps with the
Winter Lights Festival | Reykjavík - 4 days of light sculptures & installations (Even Vesturbæjarlaug features
underwater LED installations that turn it's geothermal pool into a glowing gem)
🌀 Great 🐟 Fish Day / Fiskidagurinn Mikli | Dalvík (2nd wk of Aug) - Iceland's largest seafood celebration in a small
town on Eyjafjörður fjord. Local fishing boats, decorated with flags & bunting, bring in the daily catch; the
whole haul is prepped and served free to anyone who turns up with a plate, with boiled potatoes, rúgbrauð
(rye bread) folk dancing, ballads, sea shanty competitions, & maritime crafts likes net mending AND the
Langoustine 🦞 (Lobster) Festival | Höfn í Hornafirði (July) 3 day celebration of langoustines (or humar)**
in the quiet fishing town, with a Great Langoustine Feast @ the harbor seafood market. Chefs demonstrate
preparation technique with tastings, folk musicians celebrate the sea & fishing heritage, plus langoustine-
themed crafts, marine biology exhibits & fishing demonstrations.
🌀 Seamen's Day / Sjómannadagurinn | ( 1st Sunday of June) - national holiday celebrating Maritime Heritage
(fishermen, Coast Guard & seafarers who face some of the world's most challenging waters.) originated in 1938.
In the Westman Islands, (Iceland's Fishing Capital where ~60% of residents work in fishing) there is a memorial for local
fishermen lost at sea, then the harbor becomes an outdoor museum w/ vintage fishing vessels from the 1920s & spontaneous
singing, of traditional sea shanties like "Á sjávarsíðunni"
In Akureyri, (HQ for Iceland's deep-sea fishing fleet) the tradition includes "Skipakveðja," a ceremonial farewell to vessels
departing for month-long fishing expeditions to Greenlandic waters, (+ the Maritime Museum is open free to the public)
In Reykjavík there's a ceremonial blessing of the fleet at Ægisgarður pier, followed by street food and swimming competitions
🌀 Bjórdagur (“Beer 🍺 Day”) | (March 1st) - Celebrating the day in 1989 when Iceland's beer ban was lifted,
[All alcohol had been banned since 1915, but wine was legalized in 1922, then spirits, except beer in 1935. Beer was
considered unpatriotic, because it was associated it with Denmark, from whom they were struggling to gain independence.]
† In 1894 Iceland's merchants successfully lobbied for an official a 4 day long holiday weekend to get away from urban life.
†† Tracing back to 1874, when mainlanders couldn't reach Reykjavík for Iceland's first constitution day celebrations due to poor weather, they created their own party on
* Named for Þorri, the 4th month of the old Icelandic winter calendar, + "blót" the ancient Norse sacrificial feasts held to honor the gods and ensure survival through winter. There is
archaeological evidence from sites like Stöng in Þjórsárdalur valley of medieval Icelanders fermentation, smoking, and curing meat/ fish so it could last through the winter
months without refrigeration
** I.E. Nephrops norvegicus, locally called humar. Unlike the Mediterranean version, the Icelandic ones develop a distinct sweet flavor & firm texture due to the frigid, mineral-rich environment
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