In the summer of 2002, I spent two months living in Iceland, conducting a school project. During my stay, I have visited a lot of places in the country and met many interesting people — some of whom I still keep it touch.
One of the most remarkable features of Iceland is its high latitude. This makes for extreme differences in daytime throughout the year. Around spring equinox in March, you get 7 extra minutes of daylight every day; likewise, night time lengthens by 7 minute per day around autumn equinox in September. During the months of June and July, the daylight is so long and the twilight so bright that you practically do not see any darkness in the sky for two months. Winters, on the other hand, can be quite depressing, with only a couple of hours of daylight per day.
The living standards in Iceland are quite high. Income per capita in 2000 was USD 30,575. Because of its geographical location, many types of food and other daily items have to be imported. This inevitably raised the consumer price of the country. Also, Iceland is famous for high taxation. In 2002, the sales tax (embedded in price tags) was 24.5% and income tax was 38%. That said, they also provide many basic services to its citizens for free, including medicine, education and pension. It also subsidizes many public services such as transportation and swimming pools.
Speaking of swimming pools, they are an essential part of the Icelandic life. School children are required to learn how to swim before they can receive their school diploma. Many people get up early for a relaxing morning dip before work, yet many more people swim after work. It is one of the few places where you frequently see people lining up outside a swimming pool in the morning, waiting for its open. To the Icelanders, the swimming pool is the equivalent to a pub, where one can relax and socialize with friends. Because of its functions, many swimming pools are very well maintained, with heated pools at temperatures ranging from 25°C to 46°C. Jacuzzis, bubble baths, and water-slides are commonplace. Admission to the pool costs about ISK 200. If you plan on using the pools more frequently, a carnet of 10 pool tickets only costs ISK 1,500. Don't be surprised if you happen to run into Björk in Vesturbæjarlaug.
Icelanders care much about the environment, and try their best to keep their air and water clean. Geothermal heat is used to provide district heating for over 85% of the nation. Hydropower is used to generated 90% of the country's electricity, with the remaining 10% generated by geothermal power. In fact, Iceland is actively researching the manufacturing and usage of hydrogen fuel cells for use in vehicles. The country's goal is to eliminate the use of fossil fuel completely in the next 30 years.
Here are a few more interesting facts about Iceland:
Reykjavík is the capital city of Iceland, and the most northerly capital city in the world. The name Reykjavík literally means "smoky bay," so called because of the steam coming from geothermal hot springs. Despite being a relatively small city, with a total population of 170,000, Reykjavík gives a cosmopolitan flair.
The main street in Reykjavík is Laugavegur. When night falls, the street starts to get packed. Young people go up and down. Teenagers cruise in their cars. Perhaps it is the odd hours of day and night, Icelanders tend to go out quite late. It is not unusual for people to start hitting the bars at 1am, and many stay out until 6am or 7am. Reykjavík has a nice nightlife to offer. Kaffibarinn, a bar co-owned by Blur frontman Damon Albarn, is always very popular, so is Pravda (formerly known as Astró). After the mainstream bars close down for the night, youngsters of all persuasion rush to Spotlight, a local gay disco, for late-night dancing. If you get hungry while barhopping, take a seat at Hlöllabátar for a late-night sandwich, or hit the hot dog stand at the end of Laugavegur for a fresh pylsur — Icelandic for hot dog.
One can get around the city of Reykjavík fairly easily. Strætó, the local bus service, runs virtually everywhere in the city, and in a few areas on the outskirts of Reykjavík. The buses are very punctual. Most lines dispatch buses every 20 minutes from 7am to 7pm on weekdays, and every 30 minutes from 7pm till midnight on weekdays and all day on weekends. Each ride costs ISK 220. If you are staying in Reykjavík for an extended period of time, you may want to consider buying bus passes that allows unlimited travels within a certain period of time — just ask for the gula kortið (valid for two weeks), græna kortið (valid for one month) or the rauða kortið (valid for three months) at a Strætó office.
The largest swimming pool in Reykjavík is Laugardalslaug. If you feel like visiting somewhere even bigger and nicer, give the Blue Lagoon a shot. It started off as the pool of exhaust hot water coming out from a nearby geothermal power plant in Svartsengi. After locals discover its healing effects on psoriasis, the fame of Blue Lagoon spread across the world. It remains Iceland's most famous hot spa since.
If you have a weekend to spare in Iceland, pay a visit to Vestmannæyjar — also known as Westman Islands — a cluster of 15 isles to the southwest of mainland Iceland. There are excellent camp sites and hiking trails that provide gorgeous natural scenery. You have never seen anything quite so beautiful as the sights on Vestmannæyjar.
The biggest fishing port in Iceland is Heimæy, the only town in Vestmannæyjar. The town of 5,000 people brings in 12% of Iceland's fish catch. On January 23, 1973, a volcano that laid dormant for over 5,000 years erupted. In one night, the entire town of Heimæy was evacuated to the mainland. The lava from the volcano buried one-third of the town, but some civilians stopped the lava flow by pumping cold seawater onto the molten rocks, and salvaged the superior natural harbor. The resultant heat from the lava from this eruption was later used to produce geothermal district heating for the town of Heimæy for 15 years before it was exhausted.