Posted on 05/11/2016 4:57:31 PM PDT by cornfedcowboy
Several years back, I visited Iceland in the dead of winter. I was researching a book on global happiness, and the small Nordic nation intrigued me. What was this country, adrift in the freezing North Atlantic, doing perched atop the world’s happiness rankings? In pursuit of answers, I buttonholed anyone willing to talk, dined on harkl (rotten shark), drank excessively, and, of course, took a dip in the Blue Lagoon, the otherworldly geothermal waters that have become synonymous with Icelandic bliss. Shortly after I left, Iceland’s largest banks went belly up and the nation’s economy teetered on the verge of collapse, collateral damage from the global financial meltdown of 2008. The unemployment rate spiked eightfold. Trust in institutions, like the banks and parliament, plummeted.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
How about their diversity?
My wife went a few years back and she loved it. She came back wanting to move there. I told her I loved trees.
That’s a mouthful of a name.
I went there a couple of years ago. Didn’t meet anyone who didn’t speak English. Don’t know if that helps or hurts.
I’ve never been to Iceland and doubt I’ll ever get there, but the country is not “adrift”.
Keep up the good work!
I don't know offhand but I'm assuming the state plays the daddy role.
Not impressed. Voting to make your neighbors fund your motherhood never ranked high in my book.
You should go to London if you like diversity. London is no longer in England.
Similar to Japan, I’d posit that a lack of diversity is their strength.
Oh sorry, a “commonality of culture and shared values”.
So yeah, a lack of diversity.
I don't know why, but the "Eloy" from the movie The Time Machine just popped into my head.
I’ve been to Iceland. Spent a few days there. Went a few years ago on a tour of Denmark, the Faroes, Iceland, Scotland, etc. Northern Atlantic tour is what it was. Also saw Ireland (Cork), northern France (Le Havre, Bayeux, and Normandy) and southern England (Portsmouth, London, Harwich, Cornwall). Missed Stonehenge and Highclere Castle from Downton Abbey. We sailed home to the USA from Reykjavik to Boston on a cruise ship.
Went on the Golden Circle Tour in Iceland and saw the original Geysir that all geysers are named after (it only blows up once or twice a year), the little geyser next to it that erupts every ten or so minutes, the enormous waterfall from the opening of the Prometheus movie by Ridley Scott, the Althing location, the above ground break between the American and European continental plates, and the big glacier they have. Also went to the capital of Reykjavik and had Viking food for lunch, saw their museum, House of Parliament, and had Italian food for dinner. Kind of hard not to see most of Iceland in a day, but I’m sure some will disagree.
Everyone who’d never seen anything like Iceland oohed and ahhed at each stop, but I thought Iceland looked just like Northern Nevada only with moss, lichen, constant sunshiny rain showers, and soggy fen bogs. Iceland also looks kind of like the dry side of the big island of Hawaii if you’ve ever been to Hawaii in the off-season when it’s constantly raining. The Faroes were more striking in appearance by far. I’ve been through the Arctic Circle before. Also been all over Western and Central Europe over the years, and the North Atlantic didn’t really stand out by comparison.
All I really remember of the Icelandic people was that they wore a lot of quality rain gear and pretty much only ate fish and vegetables that will grow in a soggy climate with little sunshine. Like leeks and cabbage and stuff. If you don’t like yogurt and raw herring or cooked cod for breakfast and lamb stew for lunch, you’re going to have a hard time. Exotic food to Icelanders is the New York style hot dog, believe it or not. They have sort of a fascination with hot dogs. Eating a jalapeño pepper would probably send a typical Icelander to the hospital. They all seem like healthy people but they have a huge cigarette smoking habit. They also have an appalling auto fatality figure because they drive like pre-adolescent children who’ve been given a car and no driving instructions. Their knitted sweater achievements are the world’s finest, I’ll say that. Bought one. I can’t remember how many kronor it cost but it wasn’t a lot. They have a lot of sheep in Iceland. You’ll smell them immediately and that goes triple for the Faroe Islands.
Coolest thing about Iceland is that they’re pretty far from everyone else on the planet. If they lost communication with the outside world somehow, they could go the rest of their days not knowing or caring and just being Icelandic. It kinda surprised me that the other Scandanavians countries don’t really regard Iceland as fully Scandanavian. I sure couldn’t tell the difference.
I didn’t think Iceland was some magical experience by any means but I’m not a rock climber or kayaker. Ireland makes Iceland look like a nickel. I much prefer European destinations like Paris, London, or Amsterdam.
You didn’t detect my sarcasm I see.
My daughter has been in England the last nine months. She’s stopping for two days in Iceland on her was back the the colonies next month.
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