Iceland

Like most places on the northern hemisphere Iceland is most visited in late summer when it is the warmest. Apart from the relatively good weather visiting during the summer has a few other advantages such as that outdoors museums (such as Árbæjarsafn), the summer hotels (i.e. Edda Hotels) and the central highland will be open. Due to how close Iceland is to the arctic circle you’ll also have an endless amount of daylight to do your exploring in. ¹

The closeness to the arctic circle also makes the northern lights quite common in Iceland. These you can theoretically see anywhere, the city included, but your chances will be much higher on clear and frosty winter nights, far away from the city’s light pollution. A new and rather pretty source of this light pollution, Yoko Ono’s Peace Tower, can however be seen instead during winter (and on a few other occasions).

The arctic circle does not intersect Iceland proper though. It only intersects the island of Grímsey just north of Iceland. Getting there is relatively painless though, as a ferry goes there every other day from Dalvík just north of Akureyri, “Iceland’s capital of the north”.

Some specific festivities could also be of interest: On the 17th of June Iceland celebrates it’s Independence day, with family oriented festivites all around the country and as with other holidays; downtown Reykjavík becoming totally swamped by people. Those other holidays include amongst others Gay Pride, Women’s Day, May Day, and the excellent Reykjavík Culture Night. In spring there is another excellent festival; the Reykjavík Arts Festival and in winter there are the Airwaves, Jazz, RIFF festivals amongst others. The rather extravagant new-years celebrations are also certainly worth seeing ;-)

The only time which I really can’t recommend for a visit is the first weekend of August. This is a three day weekend called “merchants weekend” or “verslunarmannahelgi” set up by merchants and the service industry as their own “May Day”. All roads, hostels and parking places will fill up on this national exodus towards somewhere unembarrassing to get stone drunk and on the other hand away from the drunks..!

^{1 – Because of this seasonal difference there is no summer and winter time in Iceland and Iceland is in fact always on GMT (Universal Standard) though we’re actually one belt west. Noon and midnight are therefore at 1 o’ clock in most parts of the country and not at 12. The famous midnight sun is therefore the twilight at one}

Having ample hot geothermal water and plenty of long winter nights two of the greatest mainstays in Icelandic culture are the reading and writing of books and bathing and lingering in hot pots (/tubs).

Though a number of other activities have gotten people through the long nights, such as singing and the making of music, the reading and telling of stories and histories (sagas) has had a great place through Icelandic history. This is thankfully still alive and well, with Icelandic literacy at a hundred percent and with Icelanders giving books for any and all imaginable occasions. This for example results in an annual book flood around Christmas and a popular activity during the Christmas holidays is staying in bed reading “the Christmas books”.

Bathing is another popular pasttime and cultural mainstay. As an affirmation of this Saturday is named Laugardagur or Pool-Day in Icelandic. One of the oldest and most notable of pools in Iceland is Snorralaug at Reykholt. Which is also a place to learn about the Sagas, since the lord Snorri Sturluson of Reykholt is likely to have collected and written some of the main ones. Those sagas which are on display however would have to be seen at the Saga exhibition at the national Culture House in Reykjavík.

If you’d like to get involved with this part of Icelandic culture however; whether it is to go to the Blue Lagoon, the swimming pools, gyms or spas, you have to be aware that in all of these places there are shared locker rooms and showers and one is required to strip naked and wash properly before using the facilities. This has, needless to say, created some problems with the cultural descendants of the Victorians..

I can assure you however that the locker rooms are a completely non-sexual environment and that no one will pay the least bit of attention too you in there unless you start doing something strange there such as trying to sneak to the pool without washing or even more ridiculously – try to bathe with your kit on! If anything these are probably the most assured ways to arouse some strange looks and comments.. :P

-If you mange to get to the pools though you shouldn’t be disappointed. Top quality pools with bubbling massage pots, steambaths and saunas are pretty much in every small village and neighborhood these days :-)

There you’ll also find a nice and relaxed atmosphere with locals sitting in the hot pots and chatting, going for their swim, kids playing and even people trying to sunbathe :D

This of course mostly replaces the beach life of warmer places. A small geothermally heated beach with facilities is still available in Nauthólsvík bay in Reykjavik. Reykjavik’s other pools are still more popular :D

Either way a dip in the geothermal waters is a must for the “Icelandic Experience”. Of course for those with less time a single stop at the Blue Lagoon might well do the trick ;-)

I guess you’ve heard of Bjork and Sigur Ros but there is also lot of other cool Icelandic music to check out apart from these must-knows. Also if you like the strings that accompany Sigur Ros you should check out the beautiful music of Amiina, the sister band that’s behind it.

If looking for more Icelandic music you can for example check this new initiative, which is trying to keep track of what is going on :D

Well, they’ll never cover it, and they don’t have any older stuff, but it’s still a really good project.

For a taste of what is going on, you can check;

Independent artists such as Daniel Agust (some of the music on his “myspace” is also available here in it’s beautiful original form (it was originally composed as accompaniment to a really cool ballet called Stingray))((Daniel is formerly of Gus Gus which had club hits such as “David” and “Purple” and now “Moss”, which again features Daniel)), Mugison, Emiliana Torrini, Lay Low, Thorir “My Summer As A Salvation Soldier” Jonsson, Helgi Valur, Eliza , Petur Ben, Hildur I.G., Mr. Silla & Mongoose, Olafur Arnalds, Ben Frost (adopted), and the trip-hopper Hermigervill

Bands such as Mum, Apparat Organ Quartet, Trabant, Bang Gang , Sometime, Motion Boys, Hairdoctor, Bloodgroup & FM Belfast as examples of the electric/elpop front and perhaps Jeff Who?, SkakkaManage,
Wulfgang, Mammut, Jan Mayen, Dikta, Leaves, Benny Crespo’s Gang, Minus, Future Future, Brain Police, Dr. Spock & Singapore Sling on the rock front and perhaps Maus, Frae, Rokkurro, Royal Fortune, Skatar, Seabear, Runk, Ruxpin, Hraun and/or the movie-makers of Slowblow if you like indie and other soft stuff..

I also like these hits: Delusions , The world is place for kids going far

-uhmm.. but I guess this should be enough for now! :D

So to top it; here’s one to make fun of us in the glorious Silvia Night tradition :)

In light of recent events I feel it is proper to go over some basic wilderness safety issues.

First off I’d like point out that it’s there.

After you’ve realized this, don’t go into it or through it without thinking a little about some basic safety.

In short “be prepared”

1. Never go alone.

2. Know where you are going and what you’ll be facing.

3. Be sure to let someone know where you’re going. If they do not hear from you they can call out at search party through the emergency number: 112. You can also turn in your travel plans to ICE-SAR, Skógarhlíð 14, 105, Reykjavík. P: (+354)-570-5900.

4. Be prepared. The weather can change, your car could brake down or someone might get hurt. So carry protective clothing, bandages and other emergency supplies. If driving keep a spare tire, a first aid kit and the usual stuff in the car. You might also seriously consider bringing a shovel, a rope, some tape, some string and a warm blanket…

4. Bring a phone and/or other communications equipment. If relying on GSM check the coverage. The coverage will also increase the 15th of july (for Síminn, the former national service) and the 1st of December for Vodafone. If going outside GSM range consider bringing an NMT phone or a radio. GPS equipment can be very helpful too. Here are some GPS links and a conversion tool.

5. Be aware of conditions where you are and where you’ll be going. Check the weather forcast (P: 902-0600) and the road conditions in the area. Have a good map and a compass at hand (/+GPS). Be prepared for what kind of roads you’ll be encountering (gray:gravel,black&red:paved), whether there will be river crossings on your path, the condition of those and account for the distances. Call 1777 / 1779(3) for info on roads.

7. Don’t do things you are not prepared for, and try to show some good sense. Stay clear off glaciers and caves. Stay on the roads. Avoid boiling water, rock-falls and avalanche areas. Check for seismic activity if in danger-zones. If you want to expand your experience of the country hire a guide!

8. If an accident happens do not stray away from your location or chosen path unless you can be absolutely sure that you can reach safety and contact people. Otherwise: Wait, they will find you.

9. Remember the emergency number: 112.

Following the National Broadcasting Service’s weather and safety news is a good habit and they are available in English during summer-time.

If you’ll be driving in Iceland you can check this video and review these notes.

Check the safety web safety.is for some more tips.

Show respect. Better yet, be in awe.

Stories of elves, trolls and monsters in the sea don’t come from nowhere. The land takes, and it might take you.

Be prepared. Be in awe.

-Teitur

I would like to point it out that Iceland is 103,000 km² (39,770 sq mi) and that if users do not sort their destinations into quarters then this page will get quite disorderly quickly. Before adding a place to the country page, please check if it already exists.

The quarters are:

North Iceland

South Iceland

West Iceland

& East Iceland

Vestfirðir (the Westfjords)

Reykjavík

Reykjanes (the Reykjanes peninsula)

& the central highland (miðhálendið)

are usually referred to separately, since they are somewhat between lines, being in the north west, south west and in the center respectively.

For each of these I have also added the respective official tourist board page so that you may find where you have been and what you would like to see. You can access it with the “view website” link. You can also navigate to the quarters’ pages from the Icelandic Tourist Boards’ page.

I don’t know if you know about the Tolkien – Iceland connection, but did you for example know that:

The modern fantasy mythology created by Tolkien in his works is heavily inspired by the Nordic mythology as detailed in Snorra Edda and other sagas?

That Tolkien studied old Icelandic, read the sagas in their original language and used his language knowledge in structuring the languages of his fantasy races. Icelandic was for example used for elves (which use a lot of “þ”) and in the language of their corrupted brothers the orcs. Other things such as names taken from these studies of his are also countless. The names of the dwarves in the Hobbit are for example copied straight out of Edda as detailed among other things in this article

I just thought of this again as I saw this article about the traditional Icelandic earth-bound houses..

Just wanted to recommend this funny little blog:
How do you like Iceland?

I also have to recommend the Amiina video there (and their music in general)(not there any more now but can be found on here on YouTube)