Iceland: Arctic, Fire, Ice and Elves
In the Arctic of Northern Europe lies the „Land of Fire and Ice“. Less than half a million people live in Iceland, most of them in the Reykjavik area.
Founded by Vikings, it is one of the last places to be settled by humans, and in geological terms the youngest country in the world.
Surrounded by 5,000 kilometers of coastline, it offers a breathtaking scenery, spectacular Northern Lights, 1km thick glaciers, geysers, icy waterfalls, refreshing hot springs, mud pools and geothermal vents, where the heat of the Earth leaves the surface, and can heat up 85% of Iceland’s households.
Popular are the many active volcanoes, whale-watching, playing golf during the 24 hours of sunlight in Summer, the Skaftafell National Park, the Blue Lagoon with water as hot as 100° Celsius and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, mainly an underwater border where the North American and Eurasian plate are slowly moving apart.
You want to have a chat with a local. They speak English as a second language but study many more. However, Icelandic is their no. 1 and remains unchanged from the ancient Norse that was spoken over 1,000 years ago.
Iceland is peaceful. There is no army, navy or air force. Policemen don’t carry guns and crime is very low, close to nonexistent.
Iceland is one the most women-friendly countries in the world. The world’s first democratically elected female president was an Icelander. Iceland’s government is almost half female at this point.
In terms of food you find lamb, seafood, dairy products and rye bread. A popular snack is Skyr, a kind of yogurt with much protein and almost no fat.
People here tell and believe in elves and folk tales, like the Yule Lands, the Icelandic Santa Claus. 10% of the people publish a book in their life and nowhere else do people publish more books and magazines - per capita. Maybe because all education is free of charge? Hm.
In short: Meet Icelanders!
The weather is moderate, the people are warm, super welcoming and even more outstanding than its nature. Almost everyone here has an Internet connection. So you can ping them from any place in the world or visit them in person. Icelandair even encourages you to take a longer stop with your plane. And we do so as well.
Don’t believe it? See it yourself.
http://beonboard.org/iceland
Credits (music, images): https://gist.github.com/Naii/855386d2...