Anyone Here Been to Iceland?

[livius drusus]

I was reading about how green it is (in the eco-friendly sense) with its vast sources of geothermal energy, and everything I've seen of it bespeaks immense natural beauty, so I'm just curious to hear any first hand accounts y'all might have of the place.

[Dingfod]

I've never been there, but always wanted to visit, just to scope it out for future possibilities. In my global search for places a decent place to live with a climate that suits me, the human furnace, I've narrowed it down to Iceland or The Falklands.

[livius drusus]

I hear ya. I'm more of a warm, fragrant tradewinds sort of person, but as time goes by, my priorities have shifted. Iceland isn't even all that cold, as I understand it. It just doesn't get superhot in the summer. Iceland Climate and Weather (http://www.wordtravels.com/Travelguide/Countries/Iceland/Climate/)

That looks pretty damn good to me, especially when you throw in the cleanest city in Europe and unbelievable natural wonders. The long days and long nights might take some getting used to, though.

[Ex-zombie]

I lived at the Nato Base in Keflavik, Iceland for two years in the mid eighties. The scenery is incredible but barren. There is plenty of grass near the cities but the abundance of lava fields and rocks makes you feel isolated. A buddy said it looked like the moon. We spent lots of time hiking in lava fields and seeing the glaciers. The black sand beaches are another must see.

The weather is mild in the summer with the temperature rarely going above the mid 50's. I learned pretty quickly to always have a coat with me.

[livius drusus]

That's fascinating, Ex-Zombie. I thought the moonscape would be more in the central, sparsely populated interior than down south, but the map tells me Keflavik is right down in the thick of things.

How were the winters? Did you go to Reykjavik at all?

[Ex-zombie]

That's fascinating, Ex-Zombie. I thought the moonscape would be more in the central, sparsely populated interior than down south, but the map tells me Keflavik is right down in the thick of things.

How were the winters? Did you go to Reykjavik at all?


When I found out I was going to be stationed in Iceland I expected to be buried under snow and ice and cold. The winters were surprisely mild. It didn't snow much and only a couple of inches at a time. The winter here is much worse. It is colder and windier here than it was in Iceland, could have been because we were near the ocean.

I visited Reykjavik a couple of times and I know I visited a museum and an art gallery but I don't remember the names. I'll google it and see if I can find out.

[livius drusus]

I understand the Gulf Stream keeps the climate temperate in Iceland, name notwithstanding.

:thankee:, Ex-zombie.

[Dingfod]

Summers are more than just mild, the record high temperature in Reykjavik (http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/08/13/2003198561) is only about 77:degrees:F (24.8:degrees:C).

It does, however, get fairly cold there. The record high in January is 50:degrees:F, the low, 3:degrees:F.

[Ymir's blood]

The record low is only 3:degrees:F? I remember one week in March where the high in Boone was 6:degrees:.

:snow:

[Watser?]

I do remember it being -20:degrees:C here once (that's lower).

But then: when it is really cold in winter the wind comes from the East, from the landmasses all the way to Siberia, not form the sea. Wind from the north is actually a lot warmer.

[Dingfod]

The record low is only 3:degrees:F? I remember one week in March where the high in Boone was 6:degrees:.

:snow:I've seen temperatures as low as -10:degrees:F here in Oklahoma.

I do remember it being -20:degrees:C here once (that's lower).

But then: when it is really cold in winter the wind comes from the East, from the landmasses all the way to Siberia, not form the sea. Wind from the north is actually a lot warmer.Iceland is very much moderated by being surrounded by ocean, even if it's a fairly cold ocean. The temperature doesn't vary much day to night or from season to season. The Falklands are very similar.

[maddog]

You remember the old saw, "Greenland is mostly ice, and Iceland is mostly green," don't you?

My best friend is of Icelandic extraction, and he went with a bunch of relatives to visit old family haunts last year. He had a good time, but he said there was very little to do, esp. out in the country. He has no desire to go back any time soon.

I've never been to Iceland, but I'd like to see the Althing, reputed to be the oldest parliament in the world. Old Icelandic, Old Norse and Old English texts and sagas are all supposed to have similar roots and traces. If I had life to live over again, I don't know that I mightn't have become an expert at reading such ancient texts.

#1208

[Kyuss Apollo]

The local rag has a travel section in the Sunday paper--they had an article on going to Iceland a while back. As I recall from that Reykjavik supposedly has a pretty happening night life if you like clubbing (the crazy daylight/dark ratios probably help), but the high cost of living there makes it the most expensive European city to visit (or live in, one might suppose).