The Country
A small island country that is isolated geographically from the rest of the world. Culturally a Nordic country and is a part of Europe. Spelt Ísland in Icelandic.
The size of the country with it's maritime border included is smaller than the US state of Virginia. Currency is Icelandic Krona, and the Euro and US Dollar is not accepted as currency. Either use plastic or Icelandic Kronur. Iceland uses a comma for decimal separation and period for thousand separation. So don't be fooled when you read prices as 15.000. It is fifteen thousand kronur and not fifteen.
The population is a mere 300,000 with two-thirds living in greater Reykjavik, the capital area. Even the capital city is not large enough to be called a metropolis. The second biggest town in Iceland after Reykjavik area, is Akureyri in the north of Iceland with a population of 17,000!
History
The establishment of Iceland was on similar principle as United States. The original settlers had fled the tyranny of the monarchy in their homelands. Of course, they had no indigenous people to fight against, nor they had to gain freedom from their colonizers. Instead they were colonized twice by Norway and Denmark until the second World War, when they finally became independent again.
The people
Most people are Scandinavian descendants, and are thus mostly blonde haired and blue eyed. As other immigrant population is few, there are few people of mixed color. The people are very friendly. It is not difficult for them to know you are a tourist, and they will be more than happy to offer you assistance when you ask for some. They tend to talk freely and will try to answer your question as much as they can, as against a cursory treatment given to strangers all across the world. Xenophobia: None. The country seems to be not affected by any violence and mistrust around the world.
Language
Icelandic is the primary language, that covers street names, road signs and all major shops and building names. Although spotting English signs and billboards is not uncommon. English is part of their mandatory curriculum since kindergarten. Hence, even though the accent varies from mild to thick and fluency varying from cautious to super fluent, all Icelanders are extremely comfortable talking to anyone in English. If you happen to talk to someone in Iceland who absolutely struggles to communicate in English, the person is definitely a non-anglophone immigrant there. Icelanders speak three languages: Icelandic, English and Danish.
Food
Sea food is the biggest food category. Go figure! Contrary to outside view, whaling in Iceland is frowned upon but not banned. Icelanders are trying to put an end to it, but mostly hold, curious travelers seeking exotic whale meat, responsible for it's continued presence.
Lamb is the second most common meat.
Interestingly, Iceland has a thriving vegeterian population and even more interestingly not vegan. Local Icelandic vegeterian restaurants offer food which is highly inspired by Indian food.
Economy
Fishing accounts for 40% of the economy. Due to abundance of steam due to geothermal activity, electricity is obtained from it at will. Electricity is thus cheap and from Iceland's point of view: a renewable, non-exhausting source of energy. As a result, they are attracting energy consuming industries to Iceland. Aluminum smelting factories is a success story for Iceland in this regard.
Tourism is surprisingly only picking up. The industry has sprawled around the country, but huge potential is yet to be tapped. The industry is very courteous, hassle-free and trusting of foreigners.
Farming
Why is farming separate from the economy? Iceland has zero, absolutely zero farming as is known traditionally. Due to super short winters, the only thing that grows on their limited layer of topsoil is grass. Horses, cows, sheep, goats and pigs feed on it. Primary output of farming is thus, Icelandic sheep wool, lamb meat, milk and pork. Beef production is nil as it is not viable. Except for some greenhouse produce like tomatoes and cucumbers, everything else is imported.
Landscape
Very rugged terrain. Volcanic rocks make the whole country. Sand and/or soil is very little. There are no sandy beaches. Since there is not enough soil, there are hardly any naturally occurring trees. Even spotting shrubs in the wilderness is difficult. The most abundant vegetation is the moss that grows on rocks. The second most common tree species is the birches. They can grow to a maxim of 10 feet. No trees that soar in the sky. Not even the pine trees or it's like common to arctic regions. Yes, there are those trees in Iceland, but all, all have been planted artificially and they are unable to survive.
Attractions and other specifics........... to be continued.......
Language
Icelandic is the primary language, that covers street names, road signs and all major shops and building names. Although spotting English signs and billboards is not uncommon. English is part of their mandatory curriculum since kindergarten. Hence, even though the accent varies from mild to thick and fluency varying from cautious to super fluent, all Icelanders are extremely comfortable talking to anyone in English. If you happen to talk to someone in Iceland who absolutely struggles to communicate in English, the person is definitely a non-anglophone immigrant there. Icelanders speak three languages: Icelandic, English and Danish.
Food
Sea food is the biggest food category. Go figure! Contrary to outside view, whaling in Iceland is frowned upon but not banned. Icelanders are trying to put an end to it, but mostly hold, curious travelers seeking exotic whale meat, responsible for it's continued presence.
Lamb is the second most common meat.
Interestingly, Iceland has a thriving vegeterian population and even more interestingly not vegan. Local Icelandic vegeterian restaurants offer food which is highly inspired by Indian food.
Economy
Fishing accounts for 40% of the economy. Due to abundance of steam due to geothermal activity, electricity is obtained from it at will. Electricity is thus cheap and from Iceland's point of view: a renewable, non-exhausting source of energy. As a result, they are attracting energy consuming industries to Iceland. Aluminum smelting factories is a success story for Iceland in this regard.
Tourism is surprisingly only picking up. The industry has sprawled around the country, but huge potential is yet to be tapped. The industry is very courteous, hassle-free and trusting of foreigners.
Farming
Why is farming separate from the economy? Iceland has zero, absolutely zero farming as is known traditionally. Due to super short winters, the only thing that grows on their limited layer of topsoil is grass. Horses, cows, sheep, goats and pigs feed on it. Primary output of farming is thus, Icelandic sheep wool, lamb meat, milk and pork. Beef production is nil as it is not viable. Except for some greenhouse produce like tomatoes and cucumbers, everything else is imported.
Very rugged terrain. Volcanic rocks make the whole country. Sand and/or soil is very little. There are no sandy beaches. Since there is not enough soil, there are hardly any naturally occurring trees. Even spotting shrubs in the wilderness is difficult. The most abundant vegetation is the moss that grows on rocks. The second most common tree species is the birches. They can grow to a maxim of 10 feet. No trees that soar in the sky. Not even the pine trees or it's like common to arctic regions. Yes, there are those trees in Iceland, but all, all have been planted artificially and they are unable to survive.
Attractions and other specifics........... to be continued.......
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