“It doesn’t take long to appreciate that Iceland’s creation is not yet over. A few miles outside Reykjavík, the Earth starts to pant. Great clumps of steam rise from the lava fields and then roll off up the valley. It’s all a sign that, not far down, more beauty is being planned: new mountains, fresh desert and perhaps even an additional island.”
– John Gimlette, The Daily Telegraph, Aug. 26
“My weeklong trip to Reykjavik and the southern coast of Iceland offered some amazing experiences, nearly all of which could be paid for with a credit card. From my initial bus ride from Keflavik Airport into the city of Reykjavik to a relaxing Blue Lagoon excursion to a delicious lamb hot dog (with ketchup, mustard, onions and remoulade sauce) at Bæjarins Beztu, plastic proved to be the payment method of choice. The only time cold, hard kronur was required was when paying for a parking meter on Laugavegur, the main shopping street in downtown Reykjavik.”
– Jeremy Simon, Taking Charge, Aug. 25
“You might not think that there is anything romantic about rounding up animals; but, in Iceland the annual round-up of sheep and horses, known as the rettir, is becoming so popular that it’s sometimes felt that there are more people than animals. The rettir is a time to fall in love, tell stories about elves, and reconnect with your roots. It’s a tradition which goes back a thousand years, to when Iceland was first settled by the Vikings. Farmers and helpers – many of them city dwellers who remember the rettirfrom their childhood – spend several days in some of the wildest landscapes of Europe, bringing in livestock which has spent the summer roaming free on the vast highlands.”
–Nick Haslam, Outlook, The BBC World Service
Tags: countryside, They Said It, tradition