When I first came to Iceland, I was in awe of its beauty, unique geology, and its culture. I had really wanted to see more but was forced cut my trip short because it was so expensive - the kroner was worth double its value today, and had just graduated. On the flight back, I vowed my "revenge", and 9 years later, here I am again!
Since my last visit, Iceland had changed significantly - due to its banks failing, kroner's value was cut in half and tourism rose - it is now responsible for 15% of GDP. As a result, Reykjavik is unrecognisable - it has become far more cosmopolitan and developed in support of the tremendous influx of tourists from the around the world, yet has not sacrificed quality and its culture in exchange for a 'quick buck'.
I was thoroughly impressed how such a sparsely populated country could do so much - with only ~350,000 people nationwide, they had significant domestic manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries, tourism support, and services - not to mention international giants in literature and music.
The biggest surprise to me was the food - every single meal we had was good or great, ranging from the fine dining by the harbour to a random hot dog in a remote gas station 4 hours north of the capital. Part of this is due to the 'free range' livestock, importation of high quality ingredients, and significant domestic vegetable and fruit production (in massive greenhouses), and the other part, excellent training matched with passion and pride.
There is so much more to be said about this place, but won't bore you with the details - suffice it to say, it's a place we would love to spend a lot more time, and we didn't expect this from the outset.
Reykjavik
The Food
The Beautiful Scenery
From Above...
...and Below
Aurora Hunting
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