My thoughts on Iceland

Like many, growing up I had known practically nothing about the country of Iceland.  The only memory I recall was learning in school, "why is Iceland called Iceland?"  answer: because the settlers liked it there so much that they called it Iceland, and the giant mass of glacial land next door Greenland so that people will think Greenland is better and move there instead.
Other than that I never gave the country much thought.

Fast forward a decade or so, I met my first and only Icelandic friend while attending graduate school at the University of Maryland.  I, along with my fellow classmates were very curious to meet someone from this Nordic country and bombarded him with odd questions the first few weeks.  Through this friendship, I for the first time wanted to visit Iceland, but I never really thought that would be possible in the near future.

Since I am currently based in Paris for a while, it is only a 2 hour plane ride away from Iceland.  And with bargain airlines like Icelandic Express, I took my opportunity.

June is an interesting time to go to Iceland.  The sun pretty much never sets; while it's setting, it's also getting ready to rise again.  On the car ride into the city, I remember being amazed by the formations of the cloud.  Maybe it's because there are hardly any trees around, but I have never seen clouds like that before. 

I have had many "first times" in Iceland.  Below are some thoughts and interesting facts.

1. Q. What do you do when you get lost in a forest in Iceland? A. stand up!
2. Iceland only has one national highway... highway number 1 that circles around the island with one lane in each direction.
3. The water quality of this country is probably the best in the world; you're an idiot if you're buying bottled water there.
   

    
4. Because of its many glaciers, Iceland has many waterfalls.  In the summer time they are the perfect sight at around 10pm.
   
    
5. The Blue Lagoon was probably the biggest disappointment.  It's pretty no doubt, but it's become too commercialized and hyped, not to mention the expensive entrance AND transportation fee.
   
    
6. It's best to travel in Iceland by renting a car.  There is no train system, and the buses have very limited schedules and high ticket prices.
7. Sadly, only low percentage alcoholic drinks can be sold in supermarkets, the rest has to be purchased from a state owned store, where they are heavily taxed (and I thought Utah was bad!).
8. Which is why at the duty free store in the airport, Icelanders were literally stocking up big time on their alcohol.  I even asked, is it really that much cheaper?  Answer: yes and almost by half!
9. There are a lot of sheep in Iceland.  And they roam everywhere (careful when driving on the highway) eating fresh grass and breath in fresh air!  Because of this, they taste very very yummy.
10. Horses are another common sight while driving on the highway.  And these are a breed specific only to Iceland.
11. Despite their "icy" look, Icelanders are actually very nice and humorous.
12. Some food specialities:

• Skyr, a thick yogurt like dairy product.  I was addicted!
• Dried fish
• Smoked fish (including smoked whale)
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• lots and lots of lamb (smoked, roasted, liver, testicles, hot dogs, its head, you name it!)
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• Type of flat bread made with rye flour, very good with smoked lamb meat or lamb pate
• Fermented shark meat (which I just realized that I brought a packet back with me but haven't yet tried it)
• Icelandic Schnapps a.k.a. black death.  Apparently this is what you wash down fermented shark with.

First time experiences:

• Eating whale meat.  People have asked me what it tastes like, but it's really hard to describe.  It's probably like an in between of tuna and good lean red meat.
• hitch-hiking: when the bus driver informed me that my connection bus would arrive in 3 hours, I decided to take my chances in one of the safest countries in the world.  A semi-truck transporting trash picked me up!
• Seeing a dead whale (our guide insisted on showing this to us on our trip to Snaefellsness.
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• Holding a 2 month old baby, yes I have never ever held a baby that small!
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• Going to bed when it's still light outside, trust me it's not easy.

Iceland is definitely worth another trip back!  This small country has much more to offer than what I have seen!