Iceland has always been on my bucket list of places to visit – and now it is checked! However with a visit to this awesome country – is a check on other items too such as

Seeing the Northern Lights – check!                                                                                                    Seeing a real-life whale in the sea – check!

So you will please excuse me , if I sound excited to talk about this place.

Iceland is rich in folklore and have been steeped in generations of belief in the “hidden People” , elves, trolls, ghosts and also wights. Some accounts are documented in great detail and Some people do believe in it, so do not laugh it off too quickly.

 

Icelanders

People are so laidback and yet so efficient here. That is a combination I rarely come across. The people on the street look kinda grumpy but they are actually really friendly and helpful. Talk about not judging books by the cover! If you visit this place in winter like we did, you can understand why people don’t look so cheerful – its Bloody Cold!

Iceland has a population of about 330,000 (source: July 2017) –  very small considering the vastness of the country itself – I had the feeling it was rather like a small town rather than a big country – where people are friendly and willing to lend a helping hand – at least those we came across so far.

With the small population  – if you were to look up somebody in the phone book – you would check their given names rather than the family name.  An example is the son of  Jon Magnusson is then Albert Jonsson  and the daughter would be Greta Jonsdottir.  In some cases, they could also overtake their mother’s name as the family name. It is uncommon to use Mr. or Miss – just the given names are used by adult and children alike.

When to go to Iceland ?

My visit to Iceland was in March 2018. I had layers and layers of clothings and still felt cold. Therefore choose carefully when you visit Iceland.

Winter offers the possibility of viewing the Northern Lights and to catch the icy beauty of frozen waterfalls in all its splendor.  Accomodations are cheaper this time of the year. In winter it is not so great for example to rent a car and drive around. They have icy roads that would be hard to maneuver if you aren’t used to it.  Leave that for summer time. So I would say use the very friendly and plentiful tour agencies for getting around in winter.

For doing road trips , summer is really good for it, as I have heard from people who did it. I would be game for it, who wants to join ?

 

Do you need to know Icelandic when in Iceland ? 

Icelandic is spoken throughout the island. What I have learnt is that the people speak the language in its pure form – meaning no dialects. But: don’t beat yourself up if you can’t pronounce the Icelandic words and places. They are a mouthful – just point at the word, they’ll get it. Most Icelanders seem to understand and speak at least some English, so its pretty easy to get around without knowing the language. Thank God!!!

Þingvellir for example is anglicised as Thingvellir but the pronunciation is still different. We are all hoping that no other volcanoes in Iceland erupt and cause havoc, Eyjafjallajökull was a challenge for newscasters all over the world.

Some useful tips if you decide wisely to visit Iceland:

1. Tap water is very drinkable in Iceland. You really don’t have to buy any bottled water. In fact in the eateries we were in, we could get tap water easily for free to drink with the meal. Thank god for that because things in Iceland are very pricey.
2. It is the law to buckle up when you are in a vehicle, be it a car or a bus. The bus driver announced this that the bus could sway and swerve when it is windy. It was not a joke!
3. It is mandatory to shower naked before getting into the geo thermal pools (*gasp, *shocked silence…)
4. The currency for Iceland is the Icelandic Krona (ISK). Lots of people think that it is the Euro but Iceland is not part of the European Union.
5. Iceland prefers payment with debit or credit cards rather than cash. I managed without having any ISK throughout my trip. I heard an unconfirmed story that even the beggars have this little card swiping machines for when you feel generous that day.
6. Do check your mobile phone packages if Iceland is included in the roaming and calls package before running up exorbitant bills on your phone viewing youtube videos in Iceland.
7. You cannot buy alcohol in just any shops. Alcohol is only sold in the government owned alcohol shop called Vinbudin. Here is the link for locations and opening times.
8. Don’t underestimate the weather in Iceland. I was there for 4 wonderful days and was subjected to the torturous cold wind that made it unbearable to be outside for a minute longer. And then to have calm wonderful breeze the following day.
9. I found 2 very useful links for the Northern Lights – they pretty much helped me plan which day to take the tour for it.                                                                        Northern Lights indices 3 and above is good .. https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/27-day-outlook-107-cm-radio-flux-and-geomagnetic-indices                                            http://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/
10. I relied also on the Elding whale diary for the sightings.                        https://elding.is/whale-diary

 

Icelandic Specialties  

Icelandic sweater

You find this in most tourist shops. I have to admit I didnt buy any but I feel warmer looking at it!

If its too expensive to buy for people, you can also buy it for keeping your wine bottles warm. Awwww….

 

Specialty Icelandic food.

I saw Puffin and Whale on the menu – but for me, they are both too cute to eat. There are also some awful sounding ones – I would have been curious enough to look for the places that offer them, but I didn’t have time. Here are a few: fermented shark (yum….) , Sour Ram testicles (hmmm really ? ram testicles is bad enough and sour ???) ,  Dried Fish ( I would try this, as a Malaysian – I don’t think it will be problematic for me),   Sheep Head (I draw the line at eating food which reminds me of it having life before someone slaughtered it, fish included)

 

 

Seeing Iceland:

I have not seen all of Iceland – but what I did see was spectacular and left me eager to explore the rest. Here are the links to the individual places in more detail.

1. Reykjavik
2. Golden Circle
3. South Shore
4. Diamond Circle
5. East Iceland
6. West Iceland

 

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-Happy Travels-