Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Introduction to
Iceland
Resting on the edge of the Arctic Circle and sitting atop one of the world's most
volcanically active hot spots, Iceland is an inspiring mix of magisterial glaciers,
bubbling hot springs and rugged fjords, where activities such as hiking under
the Midnight Sun are complemented by healthy doses of history and literature.
Iceland is a place where nature reigns supreme. Aside from the modern and cosmopolitan
capital,
Reykjavík
, population centres are small, with diminutive towns, fishing villages,
farms and minute hamlets clustered along the coastal fringes. The
Interior
, meanwhile,
remains totally uninhabited and unmarked by humanity: a starkly beautiful wilderness of
ice fields, windswept upland plateaux, infertile lava and ash deserts and the frigid vastness
of Vatnajökull, Europe's largest glacier. Iceland's location on the Mid-Atlantic ridge also
gives it one of the most volcanically active landscapes on Earth, peppered with everything
from naturally occurring hot springs, scaldingly hot bubbling mud pools and noisy steam
vents to a string of unpredictably violent
volcanoes
, which have regularly devastated
huge parts of the country. It's something that Icelanders have learned to live with: in
2010, when Eyjafjallajökull erupted and caused havoc across Europe, people here just
shrugged and smiled.
Historically, the
Icelanders
have a mix of Nordic and Celtic blood, a heritage often
held responsible for their characteristically laid-back approach to life. The battle for
GETTING LEGLESS FOR AN ARM AND A LEG
It's one of Iceland's greatest paradoxes: how can a country that charges some of the highest
prices for alcohol in Europe also support such an eclectic scene of
bars and clubs
? Put
simply, spending vast amounts of money on everyday items is a fact of life in Iceland, a country
where import taxes and inflation have caused prices to soar; and even though alcohol prices
in real terms have fallen in recent years, a half-litre of beer in Reykjavík will still cost at least
double what you're used to paying at home. Icelanders get round the astronomical cost of
booze by drinking at home before hitting the town. Buying beer and wine in the state-run
alcohol store, the
vínbúð
, is the home-grown way of cutting costs.
ABOVE
GULLFOSS WATERFALL
OPPOSITE
HIKERS, GREATER REYKJAVÍK
