Impressions of Iceland

I’ve been here for a couple of days now, and so has, by the way, my suitcase; Icelandair delivered it to the port of Stykkisholmur, our first port call, just two days after it somehow got sent back to Frankfurt instead of flying to Reykjavik with me. How fabulous! And apart from being impressed with the friendliness and efficiency with which my lost luggage was handled, I’ve been able to gather a few more impressions of Iceland.

Firstly, it’s beautiful. And bizarre – the ‚lavascapes‘ look otherworldly, so did the black sand beach we visited on my first day here. It had huge, white waves crashing angrily into it, a spectacular sight that my pictures sadly don’t do justice. Secondly, it’s cold, wet and grey. Winds have made it impossible for us to get our kayaks out on most days, we’ve had to skip a port because it would have not been possible to land there due to the wind and swell, and I’m extremely glad my wooly underwear is here and not still travelling the world without me in my lost suitcase. I am definitely getting good wear out of those woolies! Thirdly, it’s the tidiest and cleanest place I’ve ever been to, and that’s impressive as I have also been to Switzerland – which, as of now, is only the second-tidiest and second-cleanest place I’ve ever been to.

But what has impressed me most has been the Icelanders I’ve met – everyone here has been friendly, cheerful and helpful. By ‚Icelanders‘, I don’t necessarily mean Icelandic nationals: Some of the locals I have met have had other nationalities. There was our German tour guide, who moved here out of ‚curiosity‘, then met the mother of his two kids – and stayed. Or the English shopkeeper who runs the quirky second-hand book shop in Akureyri.

Iceland has very few foreigners, but I understand what draws them here despite the weather, high prices for everything, and lack of light in winter. There’s the beauty of the place, the pristine landscapes, the fire and ice that Iceland is famous for. But also, it seems that, being such a small society (the total population of Iceland is something around 400,000 people – so, half the population of Cologne, spread out across an island larger than the UK), Iceland has managed to get the things right that are essential to happiness: There is basically no such thing as unemployment, everyone has (mandatory) health insurance. It is one of the safest societies in the world where there is hardly any crime, it has been the number one country for gender equality for quite some years, Icelandic bakeries sell really good bread, and it has puffins. (I am sure that the puffins are one of the most important contributors to overall happiness in Iceland).

And on this happy note, I’ll end this post and go to bed. That’s where I am going to be happiest right now!