My second trip to Iceland led me to discover what truly makes a country “great”.
It’s not the size of the land, the population or the economy. It’s not even the influence it has or had in history and world events. Nor is it measured by its contributions to art, culture, or science. What makes a country great is the quality of life it maintains for the people who live there. For that, I can say that Iceland is a great country.
With a population of just over 390,000, the country of Iceland has just over half the people of the city where I live, Portland, Oregon (352,000) and covers about a third of the land. It is not crowded. Even though the northern coast brushes the Arctic Circle, ocean currents keep the winters from being exceptionally harsh, but still quite windy. If you visit in the summer, you will likely never see the night sky.
The country arose (literally) from being an area where the slowly separating (roughly 2.5 cm or 0.9 inches per year) and a plume of molten rock pushing through the crack created an island here. It would be more accurate to say, “is creating”, because the activity is still very much going on. More on that in Part 2 when we talk about the Golden Circle tour.
A Civilized Place
It’s hard to explain, but when visiting Iceland, I get the sense that it’s one of the most civilized countries I’ve ever been in. It’s tight grasp of its history and heritage never hold it back from being among the most advanced socially and culturally. It was the first country in the world to elect a woman leader and even now, corporate management ranks and pay scales are split 50/50. Iceland created history’s first parliament, the Alþing around 1,000 A.D. as a convenient way for all the tribes to work out similar laws. The country became a leader in the field of geothermal energy, not only to generate electricity but to move steam long distances so it can be used for heat and hot water in distant Reykjavik.
Driving around, I noticed a few smaller things. Nearly all the major intersections, some even in the city, are roundabouts. They can get backed up during rush hour, but nowhere near as much as stoplights. Like here, many of the speed limit signs report your speed, flashing if you’re going to fast. But if you’re at or below the speed limit, you will likely see a smiley face or a “Tak!” (Thanks!).
The people are friendly, but can come off a little chilly at times, but it’s in a typically Nordic kind of way. New Englanders can be like that, too. They won’t smile a hello at you but will risk their lives to help you if you’re in trouble.
With times of all-day near darkness, the winters must be rough. The temperature isn’t quite Arctic, but with the winter winds, it can feel that way. I don’t know if I could handle living there year-round, but when I visit, I feel good just being there.
About the Links in This Section
I get no compensation from any business that I link to here. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, none of them are even know this site exists.
The sightseeing links all go directly to the source in Iceland and not through any sort of third-party booking agency. Sometimes those direct links were very hard to find. The big travel sites are a lot better at commandeering search results than any of us are.