Iceland

I’m going to start with the literature because that’s what I do, but please hang in there for the crazy dune buggies, the hysterical comedian, the food that most of us wouldn’t touch, and the game that is sweeping the universe. I had a fun week in Iceland (while staying at home)!

My deepest dive into Iceland was reading Independent People by Halldor Laxness. I chose it because it won the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature. It took me a week of vacation to get through it. When I talked about it, my daughter Kristen asked, “The book that you kept falling asleep over?” But I liked it. The long, descriptive sentences with difficult names were challenging, but where else would I discover Icelandic attitudes toward poetry and what it means to be independent? Halldor Laxness deserves the Nobel Prize. Just don't expect it to be a quick read.

Do you want an example of the crazy long sentences? In that case, read the rest of this paragraph. If not, skip to the next paragraph. I found this sentence by opening the book to a random page: “To keep the oblivion of the snow at bay it was his custom to recite or, preferably, sing at the top of his voice all the obscene verse he had picked up since childhood, but such surroundings were never very conducive to song and on this occasion his voice persisted in breaking; and the drowsiness continued to envelop his consciousness in its mists, till now there swam before his inner eye pictures of men and events, both from life and from the Ballads - horse-meat steaming on a great platter, flocks of sheep bleating in the fold, Bernotus Borneyarkappi in disguise, clergymen's wanton daughters wearing real silk stockings; and finally, by unsensed degrees, he assumed another personality and discovered himself in the character of Grimur the Noble, brother of Ulfar the Strong, when the visit was paid to his bedchamber.” That’s a sentence, right!?!

Iceland has plenty of literature that is easier to read. I enjoyed The Island by Ragnar Jonasson, a murder mystery with lots of twists in a uniquely Icelandic setting. Among many other ways to read it, Hoopla has it online. Also Words Without Borders has more than thirty short stories and poems translated from Icelandic. Check here to pick one or two that catch your attention: https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/find/languages/icelandic

Having read all this literature, I was seeing Iceland as a really serious place where everyone writes poetry. No! I had that wrong! Check out this clip from Top Gear of some crazy drivers racing a dune buggy against a snowmobile across a lake (and not a frozen one!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oeJjzdlTuI. If you want more rolling dune buggies and how they came to Iceland, Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld has an episode on that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKvL7eNWK0c

Another really fun event is to watch Pardon My Icelandic on Netflix. Here is a clip from YouTube to give you an idea of comedian Ari Eldjárn’s personality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgLiPr99skU

Hello World, a series on technology and where to find it, has an episode on Iceland. Okay, I admit that doesn’t sound exciting, but it was really good: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-06-22/hello-world-iceland. If after watching that episode, you are inspired to play Eve, an online game created by Icelanders about populating the universe, it’s here: https://www.eveonline.com/

Don't watch Under the Tree on Hulu unless you want to watch Icelandic people doing horrible things, but it kept me enthralled.

There are many more books and movies from Iceland. There is also plenty of music, and this collection of Icelandic music was my favorite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAhPTUd6XwI

What I didn’t expect to enjoy was Icelandic food – I’ve heard scary things about it! This webpage put my mind to rest because the recipes seem pretty normal: https://guidetoiceland.is/best-of-iceland/delicious-icelandic-recipes. But if you wanted to confirm that there are some highly odd Icelandic dishes, check here: https://thereykjavikfoodwalk.com/top-10-strange-icelandic-foods/

Iceland is truly unique as shown in the nine galleries TheCrazyTourist devotes to it. Here is the main gallery: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/25-best-things-iceland/#more-30887. Your local travel advisor will know more. Shout out to my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive. May we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in Iceland and throughout the world.

Photo credit: Landon Arnold https://unsplash.com/photos/PMdiRXbAbhY