For a small country, there’s a lot to talk about and the A-Z of Iceland covers everything. Well, it covers a subject per letter, which means that it occasionally covers the obscure. Speaking of A to Z, why don’t you ever see the letter Z in Icelandic? What’s all this about bananas? Who will rescue me if I get into trouble on a mountain?
Welcome to the A-Z of Iceland, everything it never occurred to you to want to know.
At long, long last, we come to the end of the A-Z of Iceland! Some of these letters have been really hard (you may have noticed I’ve cheated a bit on a few) but some of them – far more of them than the hard ones – have been sitting in my imagination since late… More The A-Z of Iceland: Z, the deleted letter
This is possibly the hardest entry in the A-Z of Iceland series. There are very few things in or about Iceland beginning with Y. There’s a river called Ytri-Rangá but I don’t know anything about it and there’s a beach called Ytri-Tunga but I don’t know anything about that either. There’s yoghurt, in which I… More The A-Z of Iceland: Y for Yrsa Sigurðardóttir & other authors
I’ve never been in Iceland over Christmas but I’ve been there in December, in the run-up, and there’s nothing more Christmassy than a cold dark snowy place that loves warmth and light. Because there isn’t much daylight in the winter, people put up Christmas lights and then leave them up far longer than would be… More The A-Z of Iceland: X for Xmas
This is another of those subjects I’ve been looking forward to writing since I started this series in January. W for Westman Islands. The Westman Islands are a ragged little archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. They’re the tops of submarine volcanoes that have somehow exploded above the surface. The youngest is Surtsey which… More The A-Z of Iceland: W for Westman Islands
B for Bananas, Z for (you’ll find out!) and V for Volsungs were, to be honest, the reason I started the A-Z of Iceland series. I’ve been looking forward to this one. It’s time to introduce you to the Volsungs Saga! Icelanders are prolific writers. Always have been. I suspect that’s got something to do… More The A-Z of Iceland: V for Volsungs Saga
I can’t believe we’re so close to the end of the A-Z of Iceland. We’re at U already and today we’re going for one of my favourite subjects: the underground. In its way, there isn’t a lot underneath Iceland. It was formed less than sixteen million years ago when two tectonic plates tore apart and… More The A-Z of Iceland: U for Underground
I’ve been going to Iceland for quite a few years now and I think one of the major characteristics of Icelandic people is storytelling. This is a country where 10% of the population will have something published in their lifetime (many statistics will tell you this is a book. It’s not. “Something” covers “letters written… More The A-Z of Iceland: T for Troll Rocks
It’s already S and there are only seven more editions of the A-Z of Iceland left after this. S is for Skaftafell. Today, Skaftafell is part of the Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður, the Vatnajökull National Park, although the first time I went there Skaftafell was a National Park in its own right. Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður covers pretty much the entire… More The A-Z of Iceland: S for Skaftafell
Iceland is a small country in the North Atlantic, where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge peeks out from above the waves. It’s a constructive plate boundary, which means it’s where two tectonic plates (the North American plate and the Eurasian plate) are pulling apart from each other. This leaves a big hole in the Earth’s crust and… More The A-Z of Iceland: R for Renewable Energy
“Quakes” was boring and while “quality of life” had some promise, I’ve spent two or three weeks failing to write it so “quick guide to Iceland” it is. It feels a bit like cheating, so I’m sorry about that, but I guess it works as an “Iceland 101” primer? Before you go Iceland is on… More The A-Z of Iceland: Quick guide