We had a speedy, 6.5 hour flight, from Denver to Reykjavik. As usual, I didn’t sleep on the flight but watched some extraordinarily good Icelandic TV. A six episode comedic drama, My Funeral, it was a fascinating glimpse of the culture, generational issues and life in Iceland.
The ride in from the international airport took us through a tundra littered with rocks and patches of vibrant purple Nootka. It’s very similar to lupine. The plant was introduced to the lowlands in 1945 as a way of adding nitrogen to the soil and to assist in anchoring organic matter. The plant is a contentious issue as many local view the nootka as an invasive species.
Our driver was a delightful Turk who had fallen in love with an Icelander. He is now a citizen of Iceland and fluent in the language and culture. Icelandic is similar to Danish and closely related to Old Norse. A local can read the Icelandic Sagas, written in the 13th century, with ease. Students are taught English and Danish in school. With a population of just under 350,000, many students go abroad for university.
Icelanders are an adventurous group. Many travel and work internationally and return to Iceland for retirement.
Andrea and I checked in early to our hotel, had a refreshing nap, and then headed to the city center for a walking food tour. Our guide, Bardi, was friendly and informative. He introduced us to
both local cuisine and history.
Iceland was settled by Vikings in the late 800’s. Many contend it was the last landmass settled. The Vikings went to Iceland via the Irish coast, where they raided coastal villages in order to obtain slaves for labor. Iceland was the site of a slave rebellion in 875. The slaves killed their owner and fled to Vestmannaeyjar, an island in the archipelago south of Iceland.
An early Viking settler, Ingólfur Arnarson, named the area Reykjavik after the smoke rising from the hot springs and the local bay. Many towns in the area have the last syllable of ‘avik’ which means bay.
Ingólfur’s and Hallveig’s descendants were clan leaders with both political and religious power. The descendants established the Kjalarnes Assembly, which was a meeting of the clan chieftains of the southeast and used to negotiate issues.
Though the assembly was successful, clans from other regions of Iceland sought representation.
In 930, the Alþingi was created (the anglicized version is Althingi) It established the Icelandic Commonwealth and the world’s longest running parliament. Though, as a footnote, annual meeting sessions were discontinued in 1800 and not resumed until 1843, at this time, the location was moved to Reykjavik. Parliament House is the picture on the right.
Reykjavik wasn’t officially a town until 1786, when the city father, Skúli Magnússon, established a wool house and the town became a trading center. This was the beginning of the urbanization of Iceland. Today 216,000 of Iceland’s 346,000 inhabitants live in the greater Reykjavik area.
In addition to wool, Iceland lamb is a mainstay of local cuisine. During our food walk, we had lamb soup, lamb hot dogs and smoked lamb.
All alcohol was banned in Iceland in 1915. However, alcohol was gradually and legally reintroduced as an economic necessity. Iceland traded fish with Spain. Spain threatened to halt trading unless Iceland imported wine.
Hence, wine was imported and became a legal drink in 1922. Spirits and beer with an alcohol content below 2.5% was legalized in 1935. This was done as a sop to the temperance league.
The pubs created a “Pilsner” which
was a blend of nonalcoholic beer with spirits. When the Pilsner blend was prohibited in 1985, beer prohibition lost more support. Finally, in 1989, the legalization of beer was addressed by parliament and legalized. This auspicious event is celebrated each year on March 1st with pub crawls lasting til 4 am. Now there are several local beers, stouts, lagers, and wheat beers. We enjoyed a wheat beer with our lamb soup.
The walk to our last stop, Café Loki, took us up a rainbow painted street. The LGBTQ rainbow was painted 2015. Iceland recognized same sex unions in 1996. In 2015, the church allowed same sex marriages. Gay pride is celebrated in August with up to 100,000 attendees.
The iconic local church, Hallgrimskirkja, is at the top of the street. Designed in 1937, the façade is meant to capture the Icelandic style, with the steeple and wings representing basalt rock formations. I found the style reminiscent of Art Deco meets Modernism with stark lines and a cold feel.
We arrived at Café Loki, situated caddy corner from the church. The appetizers at the café featured fish potato salad, smoked char and marinated shark. The flavor of the shark is quite intense so it’s paired with a local spirit, nick named the Black Death. It’s a potato based alcohol, very similar to vodka, with a bit of caraway seed.
The café also served rye bread ice cream with a rolled crepe. The ice cream was topped with whip cream and a root beer sauce.
As a whole, Icelandic cuisine, is typical of what you might expect in a cold northern climate. Despite the Gulf Stream moderating temperature swings, the growing season is quite short. Tomatoes and cucumbers are grown in green houses. Potatoes are a common, year round vegetable. A typical meal is protein, frequently fish or lamb, with potatoes. Vegetable side dishes are often canned veggies, such as peas. Foods are simply seasoned with salt and pepper. The local yogurt, Skyr, and other milk products are delicious. Hardy Icelandic milk cows produce a high fat milk.
There are a few Thai and Vietnamese restaurants in the capital, as well as pizzerias and a sushi bar. Several restaurants and tourist shops closed down during the last year. Pre Covid, Iceland had 2.4 million tourists in a 12 month period. Almost too many to handle.
July would typically be extremely crowded, but fortunately for us, the crowds haven’t returned. It’s been easy to book tours and navigate through town.
More geological information next time.