than wisdom
a traveller cannot carry.
The poor man's strength
in a strange place,
worth more than wealth."
Iceland and it's people's are the cat's meow! We have loved the scenery and the culture. Our driver, Olaf, from the Netherlands was an unexpected treasure of humor. Our guide, Steingrimur, Icelandic through and through, is justifiedly proud of a country, who little more than a hundred years ago, was still medieval, and in that time has jumped with both feet into modernity. We were accompanied by Chair of Scandanavian Studies at the UW, Teirje Leiren. Steve hung on every word as his described the Icelandic culture from the time of the Vikings. It was great travel and great learning. The people of Iceland are intelligent, educated, and unfailingly courteous. The had a bad period and a MAJOR hit to their economy and culture when the world banks failed in 2008. They dug in deep, found what was important to them as a nation, and hit the ground running is pulling themselves back up. The crime in this country is almost non exsistant. I never saw police person, althoug Steve "thinks he saw one!". They do not spend their hard earned money on endless wars, but education, health, and taking care of one another. There are no railroads in Iceland, no snakes, reptiles, or frogs, and no pollution. There are few guns, and few trees. What they do have is abundant geothermal energy that heats almost every home for pennies. They don't burn polluting fires, they don't pay for healthcare, college, denistry up until 16, retirement, or nursing homes. It is a very stunning beautiful country and the peolple are also beautiful. They have simplified their life to use what they make and make what they use. We are definetly coming back! Anyone know where we can buy "Skyr" in the US? We are addicted!
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