Iceland 101 (or 101 Reykjavik)

Perhaps before I launch into the finer details of this trip of mine, I should give a quick introduction to the country that is Iceland.

Iceland is closer to Scotland than I would have thought, as it is less than a two-hour flight from Glasgow. With a population of only 280,000 (over 50% live within greater Reykjavik), only one real highway outside of Reykjavik that circles the island, and a large portion of the interior of the country completely uninhabited (and uninhabitable), Iceland is certainly not a busy place. But what a place it is. How best to describe it in a nutshell? I felt like I was vacationing on the moon. But this isn't a bad thing.

Icelandic people and their culture also appears to have originated from a different world. I don't think there is an official index on this, but I reckon there are more cool people per capita than anywhere else in the world. Everybody seems to be attractive, have a good wardrobe and haircut, and good music is played at every coffeeshop and pub we went to. Yes, you will hear Sigur Ros at least once a day.

An Icelandic surname consists of your father's first name suffixed with "son" or "dottir" depending on your gender. Therefore, members of the same family will not have the same surname. Best real-life example seen in the newspaper - a lady with the surname of Frododottir.

Iceland is bloody expensive. A modest meal of two pizzas and two pints cost us 5000 kronurs, the equivalent of £40. Alcohol is so expensive that I could not afford more than a pint or two on a given day. A pint could run you about £6-8. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Iceland has only had legal access to beer since 1989? Imagine that...

Despite a small population, there is an Icelandic music festival (on during our time there too - yay!) that took place over 4 days and 10 venues. There is even an Icelandic Idol, complete with the Icelandic equivalent of Simon Cowell. Almost every Icelandic person can speak English and German on top of their own language. Icelandic is a language that is wonderful to listen to, and despite the fact that you can't really understand it, certain words sound English with a Scandinavianan edge. My favourite example was the "Bloodbanken" outside the local hospital.

Iceland also is a geologist's wet dream with more volcanoes, geysers, earthquakes, and continental drift fissures than you could shake a stick at. In 1963, the island of Surtsey was literally born from the ocean after a massive underwater volcanic eruption. There is so much geothermal activity going on that the entire population of Reykjavik gets their hot water from hotsprings, and it isn't uncommon to come across bubbling pools of mud while walking around in the country. Surreal.

And yes it is cold - but not nearly as bad as you might have thought. A simple winter jacket sufficed.