The weather is getting much hotter in Texas. I take a morning walk now at 7 a.m. when the temperature is 70 degrees and an evening walk at 7 p.m. when it’s usually 85 degrees but feels cooler because the sun is going down. If there is a breeze, it makes a big difference. The hot weather makes me yearn for cooler climates, so I took a trip down memory lane to my June 2018 vacation in Iceland. The photo above is Gullfoss (Golden Falls).
According to Wikipedia, Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic, with a population of 364,134 and an area of 40,000 square miles, making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Reykjavik and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the country are home to over two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior consists of a plateau characterized by sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands.
According to the ancient manuscript Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first permanent settler on the island. In the wake of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Iceland's struggle for independence took form and culminated in independence in 1918 and the founding of a republic in 1944. Although its parliament was suspended from 1799 to 1845, the island republic has been credited with sustaining the world's oldest and longest-running parliament.
Iceland ranks high in economic, democratic, social stability, and equality, currently ranking third in the world by median wealth per adult. Iceland runs almost completely on renewable energy. Icelandic culture is founded upon the nation's Scandinavian heritage. Most Icelanders are descendants of Norse and Gaelic settlers. Icelandic, a North Germanic language, is descended from Old West Norse and is closely related to Faroese.
The Sagas of Icelanders say that a Norwegian named Naddodd (or Naddador) was the first Norseman to reach Iceland, and in the 9th century he named it Snæland or "snow land" because it was snowing. Then came a Viking named Flóki Vilgerðarson; his daughter drowned en route, then his livestock starved to death. The sagas say that the rather despondent Flóki climbed a mountain and saw a fjord (Arnarfjörður) full of icebergs, which led him to give the island its new and present name. The notion that Iceland's Viking settlers chose that name to discourage
over-settlement of their verdant isle is a myth.
Iceland hosted a summit in Reykjavík in 1986 between United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, during which they took significant steps toward nuclear disarmament. A few years later, Iceland became the first country to recognize the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as they broke away from the USSR.
Until the 20th century, Iceland was a fairly poor country. Currently, it remains one of the most developed countries in the world. Icelanders are among the world's healthiest people, with 81% reporting they are in good health. The average life expectancy is 81.8, the 4th highest in the world. Iceland has a very low level of pollution, thanks to an overwhelming reliance on cleaner geothermal energy, a low population density and a high level of environmental consciousness among citizens.
Egalitarianism is highly valued among the people of Iceland, with income inequality being among the lowest in the world. The constitution explicitly prohibits the enactment of noble privileges, titles, and ranks. Everyone is addressed by their first name. As in other Nordic countries, equality between the sexes is very high; Iceland is consistently ranked among the top three countries in the world for women to live in. In 1980, Icelanders elected Vigdís Finnbogadóttir as president, the world's first directly elected female head of state. She retired from office in 1996. In 2009, Iceland became the first country with an openly gay head of government when Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir became prime minister.
My Iceland tour took the Ring Road around Iceland. The map shows the following cities: 1. Reykjavík, 2. Borgarnes, 3. Blönduós, 4. Akureyri, 5. Egilsstaðir, 6. Höfn and 7. Selfoss. Below are some of my favorite photos.
Loved the pics!