 | McLae´s guide to Iceland |  |
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Iceland Internet country code: .is International telephone prefix: +354  I'm holding my breath In wonder - I wonder What happens next? A new world, a new day to see" Bjork Iceland is a stunningly beautiful place if you enjoy strange and desolate landscapes. Lava fields, lava tubes, plains of fractured rock, ice, fire and steam. Because it is so close to the Arctic Circle (a small island to the north of the main island crosses it), the amount of daylight varies dramatically by season. The sun sets briefly each night in June, but it doesn't get fully dark before it comes back up again. In March and September, days and nights are about equal, as elsewhere in the world. If you go in December, forget about sight-seeing; it'll be too dark outside. Summer is definitely the best time to go, and even then the tourist traffic is still mild. People Iceland was settled by Nordic and Celtic people in the 9th century AD - tradition says that the first permanent settler was Ingólfur Arnarson, a Norwegian Viking who made his home where Reykjavik now stands. The Icelanders still basically speak the language of the Vikings. Iceland maintains another Norse tradition: the custom of using patronymics rather than surnames (an Icelander's given name is followed by his or her parent's first name (usually the father's) and the suffix -son or -dóttir, e.g. Guðrún Pétursdóttir (Guðrún, daughter of Pétur). Members of the same family can therefore have many different "surnames", which can sometimes create confusion for visitors! Because of the patronymic last names Icelanders primarily use first names, e.g. phone books are alphabetised by first name rather than last name. This also applies when addressing an individual. Icelanders would never expect to be addressed as Mr. or Ms. Jónsson/-dóttir no matter how important they might be. Climate Despite its name, Iceland is very mild for land at that latitude owing to the warming effect of the Atlantic Gulf Stream. I went there once 10 years ago and the average June temperature was 10C (50F. It has been getting warmer and warmer by every year that passes and last time when i went it got to 23C. However the rapidly changing weather has given rise to the local saying: 'If you don't like the weather, wait fifteen minutes'! - Icelandic people also belive that if the winter is hard and long then the summer will be good and warm. Language: Most Icelanders appear to speak English, but, as is the same everywhere, it doesn't hurt to be aware of your 'please and thank you' to make things go a little more smoothly. Many people have basic knowledge of German, Danish and/or Swedish, and some Spanish and French too. At college level, Icelandic students choose a "second language" to study, often between Spanish, German, French or Italian for example. Many students also opt to study a third language. Danish and English are taught at a elementary school level. History: Iceland was one of the last large islands uninhabited by humans until it was discovered and settled by immigrants from Scandinavia, Gaels from Ireland and Scotland, and Picts during the 9th and 10th centuries. Íslendingabók (Libellus Islandorum or The Book of Icelanders in English), written in 1122-1133 claims that the Norwegian Ingólfur Arnarson was the first man to settle in Iceland (Reykjavík) in 870. The families were accompanied by servants and slaves, some of whom were Celts or Picts from Scotland and Ireland (known as Westmen to the Norse). Some literary evidence suggests that Irish monks may have been living in Iceland before the arrival of Norse settlers, but no archaeological evidence has been found for these claims. Erik the Red, or Eiríkur Þorvaldsson, was exiled from Iceland for manslaughter in 980, and set sail to explore the lands to the west. He established the first settlements in Greenland around this time, naming the land, according to legend, to attract settlers. Eirikur's son, Leifur Eiríksson, finally set foot in the Americas around the year 1000. While some say he was blown off course, it is most likely that he was deliberately seeking the land spotted by Bjarni Herjólfsson several years earlier. He is believed to have established a colony at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, which lasted only a year. Two further attempts at colonization by his brother ended in failure. The Alþingi (general assembly) was founded in 930, marking the beginning of the Icelandic Commonwealth. It was the predecessor to the modern Icelandic legislature. The Althing is the oldest, still-standing, parliament in the world that has written documents to prove its age. Iceland was a free state, without a king, until the end of the Sturlungaöld civil war in 1262, when it joined the Norwegian kingdom as a Norwegian colony. From 1387 Iceland was in practice ruled by Denmark, following the union of the two kingdoms. When that union was dissolved in 1814, through the Treaty of Kiel, which saw Norway entering a union with Sweden, Iceland became a Danish colony. Home rule was granted by the Danish government in 1904, and independence followed in 1918. From 1918 Iceland was in a personal union with Denmark, with foreign relations being carried out by the Danes, as instructed by the Icelandic government until the World War II military occupation of Denmark by Germany in 1940. Subsequently, Iceland was occupied by the Allies. The Danish king remained the de jure sovereign of the nation until 1944, when the current republic was founded after the 1918 treaty had lapsed. The new republic became a charter member of NATO in 1949 and signed a treaty with the United States in 1951 to take responsibility for the defense of Iceland. Today the US is significantly reducing its military forces on the base in Keflavík, while Iceland is trying to find replacement tenants, foreign or indigenous. The economy of Iceland remained dependent on fisheries in the post-war decades and the country has had several clashes with its neighbours over this vital resource, most notably the Cod Wars with the British. The economy has become more diverse recently owing to large investments in heavy industry such as aluminium smelting and deregulation and privatization in the financial sector. Iceland is a member of the Common market of the European Union through the EEA agreement but has never applied for membership of the EU itself. |
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