You know how much I enjoyed my stay in Iceland, and you saw the photos. Whoever visits Iceland will be impressed by the landscape, the incredible nature, and the Northern Lights if he’s lucky.
But for me, there were other maybe small things, or not relevant to someone else, that really made me feel extra comfortable and love the place even more. I wrote a list, and came up with 15 extra reasons why Iceland is so great for me.
- It’s gay friendly.
If you know me, you know that I am a huge advocate for gay rights, and that I get very mad whenever I witness episodes of homophobia (yes I often have a hard time in Egypt). No, I’m not gay (rolls eyes) but does it even matter?
Iceland is an openly gay friendly place. Being gay in Iceland is not even something that people notice. It’s just what it’s supposed to be. And I was so happy to see this!
Iceland had the first openly lesbian prime minister, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, and gay marriage was legalized in 2010. So yeah, this country is thatcool!
Laugavegur, the main street of Reykjavik, with the rainbow flags
- Icelandic wool.
I told you these were random reasons!
In Iceland, one of the typical things you can buy is the über warm woolen clothes with their typical colors and decorations. I was almost buying some, but I reminded myself I live in Egypt, where I will never need them. But I had to give myself a souvenir, so I bought the coolest gloves you will ever find! I hate wearing gloves but these ones are great for photography and basically anything, as fingers remain free to move. And warm.
All the knitwear I saw in Iceland made me feel like start knitting again.
My super cool, camera friendly Icelandic gloves
- The Icelandic accent, with hidden letters.
Man, I love the Icelandic accent. I can’t say I learned a lot of the language, but I listened enough to realize there are “hidden sounds” when you don’t expect them. Example: remember the volcano that erupted in 2010 and flights were stopped all over the world? Its name is Eyjafjallajökull. Now you don’t have to try and read it, but let’s just take the “fjalla” part. Well, as if the word was not long enough, the double “l” has to be pronounced as something like “tl”. So it will be “fjatla”.
Now apply this concept to the Icelandic people’s pronunciation, and you will have some very cute and funny effects. I remember the guy who hosted me once said he’s “a lu(kh)cky guy”. Aw!
Me and the Icelandic language (photo Ronni Hauksson)
- The weather.
No, seriously. There’s a saying in Iceland that goes like “If you don’t like the weather, just wait 5 minutes”. I remember the first day I woke up in Reykjavik, I looked outside of the window and it was snowing so much. I was disappointed! I went to the car hire to get my car and had to drive in the snow… that was not a good start. Then I went home, took a shower and by the time I got dressed a beautiful sun was shining in the blue sky. And I was ready to start my exploration!
The weather in Reykjavik: stormy and sunny at the same time!
- No need for cash.
I honestly have no idea what the Icelandic money looks like. I never had to take money from an ATM, and I kept paying everything with my credit card. For coffee, supermarkets, souvenirs or gas, I never needed anything else than my credit card, and for transportation etc I booked everything online. I love this! It makes traveling so much easier.
I never needed cash to put gas, and the northern lights show was for free :)
- The relationship between humans and nature.
In Iceland, the relationship between humans and nature goes beyond simple respect. Here, nature comes first. If you are so stupid to challenge nature, nobody will be sorry for you if you hurt yourself. As simple as that!
In Icelandic nature, you feel so small and humble. You wonder if humans are supposed to live in such wild conditions… or maybe this is exactly what we are supposed to do.
Iceland: big nature, small men
- The typical colorful houses.
I love colorful houses! I guess it’s because of my background. In Iceland and in Reykjavik especially, I was so fascinated by the modern, simple houses that come in so many different colors. To me, they all looked very new, but I found out that some of these houses are more than 50 years old. I wish houses were so colorful all around the world.
Reykjavik from above. I especially like the green house!
- A comfortable kind of cultural shock.
In Iceland, the language is obscure, the currency is different, some (many) areas are inaccessible during the winter, the people have a totally unique mood, they eat some really weird stuff (rotten shark anyone?), etc. But even with all these differences, it’s a very comfortable cultural shock. Everything works, the place is clean, transportation is on time, there are no safety issues. You will still feel like you’re visiting a very differentplace, but with all comforts!
You will always have a cozy and clean room waiting for you
- It’s safe.
It’s incredible how safe Iceland is. I remember one night I was on the way to Reykjavik with a group of photographers, and we stopped on the way to have dinner. They all left their very expensive camera equipment in the car, without even bothering to hide it in the trunk or below the seats. This is something I normally do whenever I have to leave something in the car here in Italy! I didn’t feel comfortable doing that, and took my heavy backpack with me to the restaurant. I was the only one.
It’s great to travel and feel safe. I think I had this same feeling only in Japan. You can walk around with your bag open and your wallet will still be there at the end of the day. What a great feeling!
Our car on the way to Reykjavik
- Efficient, eco-friendly heating.
In Iceland, heating comes from geothermal energy, and is therefore eco-friendly and renewable. Which is really cool! But practically speaking what I enjoyed was the incredibly nicely heated houses and the constant, unlimited hot water. It felt so good. Oh and tap water is so good! No need for bottled water.
The entrance of the Hellisheidavirkjun Geothermal Power Plant
- The frankness of people.
I was very surprised at how people are frank and direct when talking about some subjects. In the Mediterranean culture (I am Italian and spend most of my time in the Middle East) there are some subjects you don’t openly talk about, at least if you don’t know the other person well enough: death, illness, problems in general, sex and sexual orientation, etc.
In Iceland I found people had no problems telling me they were not feeling okay (while I will always say I’m fine if someone I don’t really know asks, unless something really bad happened).
Another thing that almost puzzled me was how the guide on my excursions was warning us “be careful if you want to walk behind the waterfall, last week a person died attempting”, but I am pretty sure somewhere else she would have said “be careful (…), it’s dangerous”, or “don’t do it because it’s dangerous”. Got what I mean? It felt a bit uncomfortable, but it’s good to know a person is being 100% honest.
The Gullfoss waterfalls. Want to walk down that path in the winter? At your own risk!
- Iceland has no army.
Standing ovation to this! Iceland is the only NATO country without an army. They only have a Coast Guard.
The Icelandic Coast Guard, the closest thing to an army you will find in Iceland
- The “hidden people”.
Huldufólk are elves in the Icelandic folklore. Most people in Iceland believe in elves, and respect them to the point that houses won’t be built if the area is believed to be inhabited by elves, one should never throw rocks in order not to hit them, and so on. Some people claim they can talk to the so called “hidden people” and give advice according to their conversations. I don’t know what I feel about this, but when in doubt, I would do what the elf says! I find this extremely fascinating.
If I were an elf, I would totally live here
- Icelandic pride.
I didn’t meet anyone in Iceland that was not proud of his country and its beauties.
Micheal, my host for the first two nights, studied abroad and sometimes still travels for work, but he told me he will always go back to Iceland because there’s no place like it.
I found it beautiful that people who live there are still fascinated and humbled by the Icelandic nature. For instance, you may think people are used to the Northern Lights, but many of them still go out at night to look at them.
Geothermal energy is another main reason for pride – some people even get married at the Hellisheidavirkjun Power Plant!
Even Balto the dog looks proud of his country.
- It’s internet friendly.
Ok, let’s talk about Reykjavik here because I am not sure about the other cities. But I absolutely loved the fact that everywhere I was I could easily find a wifi network, and most of the times without a password too (and free of charge, of course). For a digital nomad and/or a blogger this definitely makes all the difference!
I also bought an Icelandic simcard (the carrier is called Síminn) and activated a data plan. I didn’t expect it, but I had a very good 3g coverage everywhere I went.
The Kerið Volcano. I remember I sent a Tweet from here!
So these are some of the reasons why I really, really liked Iceland, besides the “obvious” Northern Lights and natural beauties. Would you add something?
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133 Comments
I was fortunate to travel to Iceland in October 2011 with a group of teachers who lead student tours abroad. It was the most amazing trip I’ve ever taken! We rode the horses (small but sturdy, and feisty), snowmobiled on a glacier, saw the famous Geysir, toured the countryside, had dinner at the Perlan, went to the Blue Lagoon, walked around through Reykjavik, and ate amazing seafood everyday! The Icelandic people were very welcoming to us Americans, and I would go back in a heartbeat. Definitely best trip ever.
Hi
I am in awe of your perfect spelling of the Icelandic words.
Never saw that from a foreigner before. :-)
Thank you for the very observant article.
Best regards
Gunnhildur
Oh, thanks a lot Gunnhildur :) I am a bit of a grammar nazi so I guess this affects my spelling too hehe :)
You didnt love the water??! :O
I said the opposite:)
Loved the article/blog about Iceland! The photos are really good/ Enjoyed the entire report. I wish you had expounded on the food and local delicacies a bit more. Guess I am a foodie at heart and an architectural freak! Really like the olored houses! Thanks!
If you are interested in Icelandic food then here is a link to recipes both Icelandic and other. You will just have to Google translate:)
http://www.eldhus.is/
I’m sorry to disappoint but very few Icelanders belive in Huldufólk…Nd those who do are considered by most to be quite strange. Also shark and sheep testicles are an extremely rare meal here…only eaten on Þorri and few young Icelanders eat it. I don’t know why we pretend to do these things when tourists come along. Again sorry for the bubble bursting. I don’t eat sheep schrotum.
Well actually…
The thing about Icelander’s belief in elves is a bit strange. A few years ago an American anthropologist came to Iceland to study exactly that. He concluded that very few Icelander’s will openly admit to believing in elves but… nobody dares to piss them off!
I dooo love sheep testicles. They are delicious, though quite expensive. Shark is nice with Icelandic snaps. So, Berglind not everybody shares your taste :)
Huldufolk: you really mean you haven´t met them yet?? Come to our summerhouse!
sabine marth; does the trip to the summerhouse include free Icelandic magic-mushrooms?
It is true we only eat shark on Þorri (which is the month februar in viking times) and sheep texticles but a lot of people do so…most everyone I know at least.
I belive in the hidden people. They sometimes borrow my things. Please, speak for your self Ms. Berglind.
Space, space and more space! There is no place like this in Europe. It can be a bit overwhelming sometimes, but always awe inspiring. Once you have seen it, you always want to come back.
Hey! Fantastic pictures, Giulia. Looking at your previous posts, I don’t believe I will ever get tired of looking at pictures of my country. Though, I must admit that most Icelanders (myself included) take nature for granted. Which is most likely, in my case, caused by being borne here and having lived here all my life. While I know traveling in Iceland will rarely be called cheap, except hitchhiking, I would like to make a suggestion, if I may? The Vestfirðir peninsula is a place you should most assuredly consider, if you are serious about coming back to Iceland. It’s landscape is unique. Towering mountains, though not that tall, they´re pretty impressive non the less. Also, the small seaside villages that dot the peninsula can give you a pretty good insight into daily life outside Reykjavík.
Hi.
Nice Article, and nice pictures.
I don’t know if you went to the east side of Iceland
I highly recomend it to go visit Seyðisfjörður and Egilsstaðir and other places around there.
I love this and I’m really glad you had a good time in my country. I would just like to address your point on huldufólk, the elves. There are some people who believe in them but not that many. On the other hand Icelanders have much respect for their history and part of that history is the belief in mystical creatures like trolls, elves and giants. There are some boulders by the roads around our country where you can see they made the effort to take the road around the stone instead of moving it. In many cases it is because people used to believe that elves lived in them and that they should not be disturbed. Modern Icelanders however don’t want to disturb the history and the fact that we can point to the stone mentioned in a ancient script or story.
About the northern lights… Personally I think it’s impossible to get used to northern lights. Some winters we see them very frequently and others not at all. But having seen them so many times they still fascinate me. They are mostly visible in calm weathers and there is no feeling like putting on winter clothing, sitting in the snow on a cold peaceful night and watching them “dance” in the sky. It’s always unique, whether it’s the first or 100th time.
ps. your photos are beautiful :)
My favorite thing about Iceland Is my husband born in Keflavik, he is certainly my favorite Icelandic treat. When we visit, which with the economy is far between now but visiting his family. They have always made me feel welcome.
Funny thing that you applaud our frankness. The thing I found most refreshing about living in Spain was indeed the frankness and the honesty of my spanish friends, who always voiced their opinions quite frankly, in situations where icelanders would have been aloof and evasive. Icelanders don’t know how to debate, and as one of our writers said: “When Icelanders get close to the core of the matter, they go quiet.”
I am so curious how the Icelandic accent might sound, that would be something interesting to hear :). Never been there and hope to make it there one day :), maybe not in the winter time though:)
Some foreigners I have met say it sounds very much alike to the dutch accent, without the dutch “g” sound. And that Icelandic doesn’t clearly distinguish between words.
Every summer I travel to a different country. I have seen much of the world. Last summer I toured Iceland all around. Icelanders have thouands of reasons to be proud of their country and of themselves. For the first time, this summer I am repeating my holidays to the same country. Of course, Iceland. I am taking my son, because I just can’t let someone I love miss this place. My frioends say I am obsessed, but they haven’t been there.If only I could get winter holidays to see the Northern Lights…I’m counting the days for the 15 August.
Great job Giulia!
Joseph (from Spain)
I liked reading your post a lot. I’m a huge fan and have been there several times but never long enough. :-) keep on travelling!
I really enjoyed reading your post and thank you for beautiful words. Have a good day :-) Kveðja, Sigga
I love that the coffee is always good, even at the airport. The food is always delicious, and I was sad not to have those thin pancakes with meat and cheese on my last visit. I love that the history is always at my fingertips. The young lava fields are black, but the green lava fields are a thousand years old (it takes that long for the moss to take hold). I love the sheep, and I plan to make sure that there is a sheep in every picture I take on my next visit.
I like the fact that the language is so ancient and that native Icelandic speakers can still read the medieval texts. The language doesn’t sound very melodic but seems beautiful written. I started learning it but found it daunting really quickly !
“Geothermal energy is another main reason for pride” this is true but I am afraid it’s the “deadly sin” kind of pride. I am sorry to say that it’s absloutly not in our (Icelanders) right to be proud. We did not make this, nor did you. This fasinating island which I happened to be born on should owe it’s exitance to the planet Earth with it’s sweet geology and plate-tectonins.
That how ever is not the case, power-plants are and have been rising destroying the most of landscape, drowning it in mud, turning off those gigantic natural geysers and waterfalls off.
People who are in awe confronting Icelandic nature should be aware of this (not just the hippies ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtjpZz8kQ0s
[…] besides the "obvious" Northern Lights and natural beauties. Would you add something? Read more at travel to Iceland – Google Blog Search Related […]
1 response to your 15 Reasons why you should love Iceland
1: It’s gay friendly.
Yep and sorry you’re not gay, the girls here are unbelievable. Oh, wait, us guys aren’t that bad either, but I thing personally that by not being a gay girl you go amiss a lot of an adventure.
2: Icelandic wool
Keeps you warm in the cold and cold (or at least temeratured) in heat. A friend of mine wore wool through 27°c and kept from overheating that way. Apart from that, I’m pretty sure Egypt gets pretty cold in the desert after the sun sets, eh?
3: Icelandic accent – hidden letters
Well, you don’t really get hidden letters except for a non-silent h now and then. We may fudge up words here and there, but who doesn’t?
4: Ever-changing weather
Well, that’s one true. Just wait 5 minutes. How do you know a person abroad is from Iceland? He expects a snowstorm in the middle of summer and dresses accordingly (or has a backpack full of appropriate clothes).
5: No need for cash
What’s cash?
6: The relationship between humans and nature
This one’s easy. Disrepect nature and you die. Dress inappropriatly and you die. Don’t buy enough of extremely expensive tourist clothing? Then you die! Joking aside, you die if you go against nature and miscalculate. People die because the don’t prepare or dress according to weather. All the time. It’s not respect, it’s common sense and survival of the fittest, baby.
7: Colorful houses
I’m glad you like it. You should come inside if you like the multi colour. We tend to have each room a different colour.
8: Cultural shock
You only get ram’s testicles and sour food around Þorri. Sheep’s heads (mmmm… the eye balls), dried fish and the other stuff is available most of the year. So you can come visit at any time.
9: It’s safe.
No, it’s not. Not if you’re a thief. Everybody knows everybody and we know who stole your stuff. So we tend to get it back anyway. So why bother stealing? Unless you’re a foreigner who doesn’t know anyone….
10: Eco-firendly.
Heck, sure. Hot water on tap. Smells like rotten eggs – or Hell. The cold water, though, is to die for. Best water in the world.
11: Frankness
You don’t want to know, you don’t ask. But be careful, last week, someone died from not asking….
12: No army
And almost no coast guard. But we got more guns per capita than any other country. So you just try your luck!
13: Hidden people
Who else is going to notice the hidden letters (see point #3). Oh, and when bad things happen when you mess with the hidden people, you just leave ’em alone. Even though they don’t exist. Then everything works again just fine.
14: Pride
I don’t know about this point, (actually, it’s probably spelled Mikael) and those guys getting married at a power station – definitly foreigners. We’re to proud to do silly stuff like that.
15: Internet firendly
You mean there are places where you can’t get online? Why?
[…] besides the "obvious" Northern Lights and natural beauties. Would you add something? Read more at travel to Iceland – Google Blog Search Related […]
I also love the Icelandic language and also the accent in English. I’m a particular fan of what it sounds like when Icelander’s say “car” or “far” or “bar”….it’s something like ca-hh-rr with the lovely frosty h sound in the middle…I kept walking around practicing this…everything you said rang true for me- I just got back from there last week and now am heading out to a Björk concert back home in California….
I visited Iceland for the New Year for 2013. I have traveled quite a bit and I have NEVER been anywhere like it before. I would love to go back.. On the flight back to the states on Iceland Air I chatted with a man next to me stating that he caught the “Iceland bug” and that’s what makes him keep coming back. I believe that I have caught it as well. From the people I met, the atmosphere, how everyone knows everyone, and the pure beauty of the place was truly magnificent. I even had a crush on one of my tour guides when I was there as well.. I’d go back for that reason alone!
[…] besides the "obvious" Northern Lights and natural beauties. Would you add something? Read more at travel to Iceland – Google Blog Search Related […]
You resumed perfectly the reasons why I love Iceland and will be back this summer…for the third time: people, nature and soul of the country!Thanks!
Perfect reasons for why you, and us, come back time and time again. We are in the West Fjords next week (June 4) and again in October. I’m very jealous of you seeing the aurora. We’ve been coming 12-years and not seen anything like that!
Coming from Germany, I will make my 7th trip to Iceland next summer, and this for family reasons. As a consequence of globalization my son met his wife at a University in Sweden. She was an Icelander. To keep a wonderful love story short: they are happily married, live and work in Iceland and meanwhile have two wonderful daughters who are grown up bilingually by their parents. I never had thought that I frequently travelled to Iceland instead of spending vacation in Spain or Italy or, say, sunshine states. But Iceland taught me a lesson. I found another sun, the midnight sun, glorious sunshine at midnight. Sunshine in the hearts of the people, love and friendship. And this holds on up to now.
But there is a little drop of bitterness hindering me from living there: Iceland is so incredibly expensive, but nevertheless attracts so much that I am saving my pension money all year through for Iceland flights. I can`t wait arrivng at Reykjavík airport next summer, going through kind of moon landscape to the capital were a young German-Icelandic generation of our family willl welcome me.
Although I have never been to Iceland, I totally agree with your comments in the 15 points. I have been reading a good deal of sources of information on Iceland and the Icelanders (tour guides, Laxness, Indridhason, internet stuff, …) since my daughter began to prepare herself to embark in an 11-month experience as an exchage student in Austurland. I was also very lucky to have a chance of hosting a student for a couple of weeks who was about to end her high school period in my country and return to her beloved home town, Reykjavík. Anyway, reading your ‘declaration of love’ reassured my feelings and added to my good expectations. Thank you.
[…] been an interesting blog post recently that invited readers to share their reasons for loving Iceland, and quite a few people have. When […]
Hello Gulia,
I also travelled to Iceland and have some Icelandic friends and I must say I really love every single thing that you mentioned here. I would add one more, which is maybe not some random, but I had a chance to experience it a lot while in Iceland: swimming pools. They are awesome, they are everywhere, always warm or even hot and it is an unforgettable sensation when you sit in the pool or a bath tub and it is snowing or raining on your head but you feel so warm and relaxed at the same time. I really have a lot of nostalgia about this country! I loved the pictures too.
Lovely blog. I visit once or twice each year from England. The three other things I love are the bookshops, swimming pools and wonderful meringue cakes.
Angela
I was a sailor in the USNavy, stationed in Iceland in the early ’80s. I have never visited a country in which I felt so at home, in so many ways. The natural surroundings were awe inspiring, the food was excellent, and the people were lovely. I have longed to return these 30 years now; this desire is the sum total of my personal “bucket list.”
Skyr, enough said. :-)
great post! I’d add to this the toilets at the airport. First ones I’ve come across where a girl can get ALL her luggage comfortably in the cubicle – and a dyson tap and dryer in with you – that’s luxury;). I’ve only been here 6 hours so I’m sure there’ll be more to impress us.
Your post has inspired me to write about more Icelandic cultural stuff on our blog, http://www.herecomestheplanet.com
Love your photos too:).
A very interesting blog about Iceland and if I may here you can check out more: http://icelandhotspots.weebly.com/
Great article! I totally get what you mean by Icelandic pride, I went to see the Northern Lights
Awesome & very inspiring posts by all!
Looking forward to my Faroe Island & Iceland trip in July 2014.
shall post when I am back :)
atul
I loved this post, and in my opinion I find these random reasons to be very good ones. Especially since it lends to the likelihood that they’re a pretty progressive sort of people. Which is a great trait in my book. I was referred to this post by an acquaintance who happens to live in Iceland. I think he’s either hinting to us that we should move there, or that we should just travel there, soak up the culture, and meet him in the process. I really wouldn’t mind travelling there considering it doesn’t seem too terribly far away the Faroe Islands (and I’ve wanted to go there for many years now.) When I’m able I also plan to post some of my travels on my own blog that I just started a couple weeks ago. Oh, and I love your photo’s, they’re absolutely stunning.
This may be an old post, but I found it in just the right time as we prepare to fly to Europe this spring and have a layover of 3 nights in Iceland. All your reasons are going to be filed away, especially that about the elves that you have to look out for, lol.
Well..I was searching for iceland scenic pics on google and landed on your blog. The views are breathtaking. Loved the pic of dog in front of lake. Absolutely stunning!
Thanks Maggy, glad you liked the photos! :)
nice post thanks for sharing.
I Loved the blog about Iceland! The photos are really good/ Enjoyed the entire report. I wish you had expounded on the food and local delicacies a bit more. Guess I am a foodie at heart.
As a vegetarian & budget traveller I rarely have the chance of exploring the world of food, but I would love to :)
Great article! I like this Iceland very much, such places are very happy.
Thanks for sharing your journey & tips. Very helpful! Sounds like a wonderful
There’s definately a great deal to know about this issue. I like all the points you have made.
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