Iceland is a beautiful, fascinating country, full of interesting people, gorgeous vistas, and delicious food. I went there, my toddler in tow, to conduct research for the book I was writing. As I mentioned in this post about going to Iceland, Mr. Visa paid for the plane tickets.
Here are 9 things about Iceland you may not already know…
1. The prime minister, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, is openly lesbian.
2. They did not have a television station until September 1966.
3. Like in other northern climates, one tends not to smile at strangers in Iceland.
4. Though Icelanders are often reserved, even shy, once you get to know them better and the small talk is over, they have two favorite subjects: 1) Politics and 2) The afterlife.
5. The animals graze on the mountains in the summertime in the interior of the country where few, if any, people live. In the fall the animals are herded off the mountains and fresh meat is plentiful.
6. They make a delicacy called slatur from sheep blood, rye, and fat. In the bleak winter months they sometimes eat pickled rams balls. At a fast food drive through you can buy cooked sheep head, eyeballs and all.
7. They have one of the lowest infant mortality rates of any country in the industrialized world.
8. The population is only an estimated 311,000 people. That’s roughly the number of visitors we get in our small tourist town in southern Oregon each year!
9. American chess champion, Bobby Fischer, became a citizen of Iceland in 2005. Bobby Fischer lived there for three years, until he died in 2008.
Have you ever been to Iceland? Ever had an inkling to go? Did anything on this list surprise you?
Published: July 26, 2011
Updated: January 19, 2020
Alisa Bowman says
The president is seriously hot, too. Gosh this comment makes me seem so shallow. But she is one good looking woman.
Love the two main topics of conversation. Sounds like such an interesting place!
Alexandra says
I’ve never been to Iceland, but it sounds like quite a place. You did not mention that they are big on genealogy and keep serious records of everyone and have done so for an amazing number of years, decades, centuries?
Kerry says
several distinct music tradtions in Iceland, in folk, pop, jazz,and classical, influenced by its isolation, in part. big festival celebrating all sorts of Icelandic music take place in Rekjavik each year in October.
Susan says
I have only been to the airport in Iceland, but I’m fascinated by some of these tidbits. Had no idea the population was so small! When is your trip? Hope you’ll blog more about it!
Kristen says
I didn’t realize their population was so low either. So refresh my memory, Iceland’s most recent claim to fame is their volcano’s erratic, airline interrupting, eruptions, right?
Jennifer Margulis says
Right Kristen. That and a really debilitating economic collapse.
More on the volcanic eruptions:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/world/europe/23volcano.html
More on their recovery from economic collapse (links to an article in the NYT Magazine): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/magazine/icelands-big-economic-thaw.html?pagewanted=all
ruth pennebaker says
I’ve been dying to go to Iceland for years, but still haven’t made it. I’ll live vicariously through your travels, though.
sarah henry says
Love this post on a country that many of us are seriously ignorant about. Your #1 point is a great one and I agree with Alisa. The PM is one put together woman, I’m assuming she’s got the goods for the job too.
Jen says
We truly loved our time there and hope yours is equally spectacular (and informative).