A Southerner In Iceland

As the South gets its first taste of winter and the end of daylight savings time this week, I feel that it is appropriate time to discuss my recent trip to ICELAND!

Tennessee, Georgia and even Florida was subjected to brisk winds, dropping temperatures, snow and fewer hours of sunlight during the first days of November.

The usual stereotypical vision of Iceland is just that ---only all-year round.

During the summer light fills the Icelandic sky sometimes for 21 hours a day, the temperatures warm up, the brisk winds die down and the rains come interminably.

Most importantly, Icelanders flock to enjoy natural hot springs, mountains, glaciers, and to participate in anything outdoors encircled by wonderful fresh air, which in turn is fueled by island’s North Atlantic oceanic climate and steady winds.

Once outdoors, most people who reside this northernmost country to the Arctic Circle, stay outdoors for as much time as possible.

“Icelanders have long enjoyed one of the highest life expectancies in the world,” according to one Icelandic guide, the explanation for this seems to be a clean environment, healthy diet, and exceptionally good drinking water (due to the fresh water rivers that stream down from the mountains and glaciers).

In the last several years, since the Great Recession ended, Iceland has been slowly building an increased tourism market.

And this market is no longer geared to just younger outdoor enthusiasts who partake of all the extreme sports offered by country.

Yes, geothermal lagoons, such as the famous Blue Lagoon and volcano and glacier viewing and hiking still draw visitors from the United States and Europe, but now the incentives to visit this island, with a total population of just over 327,000, have been expanded.

There are now busloads of tourists from as far away as Asia, touring the countryside viewing waterfalls, volcanoes and museums.

Still are others are coming during the fall to view the Northern Lights and in the winter to partake of indoor venues and happenings.

The tourist board is focusing on special needs travel, the viewing of exotic tundra and places to visit where English is spoken widely. And no visa is needed to visit Iceland which lies just three hours airtime from Europe and five hours from the U.S.

“Meet in the Middle,’’ is part of that campaign according to the Reykjavik Convention Bureau.

In Reykjavik, the Iceland’s capital and the northernmost capital to the Arctic Circle, the Harpa concert and conference center has added to the country’s ability to host large events of different kinds, including orchestral concerts and conventions, said Helga Lara Gudmundsdottir, the manager of conferences and meetings for Iceland Travel.

When singer/entertainer Justin Timberlake brought his sold-out show to Reykjavik this past August, it was not held at Harpa, but rather another venue. Its live stream provided a look for people in Iceland who couldn’t get tickets, as well as for us here in the U.S.

Seemingly everywhere we looked this past year; Iceland’s name crept into vision.

Haftor Julius Bjornsson, winner of the World’s Strongest Man competition, possibly is more quickly recognized at Thor, the mountain man in HBO’s television series, “Game of Thrones” which is filmed in Iceland. Many fans of this show have come to Iceland to see up close and personal the settings for this popular series.

Jakabol, the name means Nest of Giants, is the gym in Reykjavik, where Bjornsson trains.

The New York Times magazine featured a full-page color picture of a 3-and-half-year-old at breakfast in Reykjavik in an article focused on what children all over the world eat for breakfast.

This past August, an Icelandic musical had established a good run at one of New York’s Off-Broadway larger theatres. According to Howard Sherman, a New York theatre critic “I am fairly (but not absolutely) certain that there have not been major productions of Icelandic musicals before in New York, or even the United States.” The title of that said musical is “The Revolution in the Elbow of Ragnar Agnarsson Furniture Painter.”

But, the mention about Iceland that really caught my attention was still another newspaper article in the New York Times with the following heading, “Rare Arctic Land for Sale’”

It seems that the Chinese have taken a great interest in Iceland. One of their country’s tycoons, Huang Nubo, wanted to purchase a vast wilderness tract to obtain a foothold in “the North.””

Tycoons aren’t the only individuals looking for real estate in Iceland, many Americans living in the northeast part of our country and Northern Europeans are shopping for pied-a-terries in Reykjavik for their own vacations, as well as to use for income producing rentals.

Once you learn all of the above you can see that Iceland has other attributes other than ice.

What are those “other things” attracting the million plus visitors a year to the country?

The fact that you can experience both fire and ice in Iceland makes it country of vast contrasts. There are numerous rock sculptures, lava formations from prior volcanoes and mountains and waterfalls of all shapes and sizes.

In the West fjords are high table-top mountains with narrow fjords in between, but in the eastern part of the country the mountains by the fjords are more harsh and rugged.

Iceland is situated on top of two tectonic plates, making it one of the hot spots on earth because of intense volcanic activity.

Just a few weeks before we arrived Barbarbonga threatened to erupt, but luckily for us she decided to wait until a couple of weeks after we left to spew lava down its slopes. This volcano didn’t disrupt any airline travel as did the volcanic eruption in 2010 of Eyjafjallajokullf. The northern airline routes to and from Iceland from Europe and the U.S. were closed for five days.

This latest eruption took place in more isolated region of the country.

There are volcanoes and the glaciers created by them nearer to Reykjavik, in the southern part of the country where you can hike or take a snowmobile tour in the summer and early fall.

We did a glacier walk on Solheimajokull, walking for part of the journey on a sheep path and then donning helmets, crampons and ice axes (walking sticks) to explore the crevasses, ridges and caves at the top of the glacier.

It was by far one of the best highlights of the many trips we have taken.

Volcanoes have many different types of lava, resulting in different types of mountains, stones and rock formations. Needless to say Iceland is a paradise when it comes to seeing all these varied formations in such a relatively small country.

Swimming in the Blue Lagoon is another highlight for most visitors.

The lagoon and Nyvatin Nature Baths with their high levels of silicates and other minerals have a rejuvenating effect on skin.

But you can also take a dip in the North Atlantic at a geothermal beach near Oskjuhlio.

You can even enjoy the Northern Lights (if you are lucky enough to catch them) from Reykjavik’s Sundhollin indoor swimming pool and outdoor hot tubs. Star-gazing has never been better!

Seeing up close and personal the geothermal energy that Iceland produces to heat more than 90% of the country’s buildings and most of their swimming pools are amazing. You can easily view these renewable and highly visible energy sources as you drive along the roads outside of the capital.

All the outdoor activities and viewing make you hungry and the local restaurants and hotels feature an Icelandic diet based on farmed, bred and caught seafood produced in super quality fashion. The fish, lamb, steak and veal are delicious, but are not inexpensive.

Skyr, a low-fat high protein daily product similar to yogurt is an Iceland unique specialty. Most Icelandic’s eat some Skyr every day. Fish stew is a popular menu item in restaurants and homes. 

The agricultural farming is done in the south coastal area which doesn’t get much snow.

In fact, possibly due to global warming, shopkeepers in downtown Reykjavik said that they really only got three to four days of snow last year!

Speaking of shopkeepers Icelandic fashion has come a long way. Check out the “Fishpacking District”” somewhat akin to the “Meatpacking District” in New York City, where designers Steinunn Sigurd, who studied in NYC, is now the creative director and owner of her own fashion line and Laufey Jonsdottir, a fashion designer and illustrator. Sari Peltonen is the communications manager of Iceland Design Centre and she looks and dresses like a model. This area is a budding industry for fashionistas.

The clothing produced in Iceland is no longer just the traditional Icelandic wool sweaters and the outdoor clothing know for its durability

Even the men’s clothing is so fashionable that it looks like it would be at home on the most fashionable streets in London and Europe. JOR by fashion designer Gudmundur Jorundsson and the company’s co-founder Gunnar Om Petersen present a very mod approach to menswear.

The best ways to visit Iceland is by Icelandair, the nation’s own airline which is well-run, on time, comfortable and offers well-priced flights from several U.S. destinations, including Orlando. You can also get a great package for a stop-over on your way to Europe.

More tourists to Iceland are arriving by cruise ship. More than 80 ships have sailed to Reykjavik and other destinations in island country.

Hotel capacity is growing within the country, but most of the ones appealing to Americans can be found in and around the capital.

They, like the Hilton Reykjavik Nordica where we stayed are modern, very comfortable (complete with a fabulous Health Club and Spa) and an elegant restaurant.

Rates for hotels, cabs, dining and excursions are expensive.

It is much better to purchase a package. Downtown Reykjavik, with its bars and cafes, pubs and is known for its busy weekend nightlife and club scene.

You can walk up and down the streets of Iceland, even very late at night, deciding which restaurant, club or café you want to visit without fear. No major city can rival the safety of Reykjavik which averaged less than two murders per year in a city of more than 200,000 people

So Southerners can easily visit Iceland without fear of being greeted with freezing weather and an unsophisticated environment.

For Your Information:

Hilton Reykjavik Nordica: info.reykjavik@hilton.com

Arcanum Glacier Tours: info@arcanum.is. Web page: www.arcanum.is

Reykjavik Convention Bureau: www.meetinreykjavik.is

Icelandair: Flies into Keflavik International Airport about an hour and 15 minutes from Reykjavik

By Diane Siskin

dsiskin123@gmail.com