Author Archives: Annie
After that first blissful night in an Icelandic nightclub, the next thing you’ll want to do is have an Icelandic baby. This is perfectly understandable, but be warned: you’ll have to give it an Icelandic name. It’s the law.
You might frown at a rule dictating what you may or may not name your child, muttering something about […]
Want to avoid feeling out-of-place in Reykjavik? Never mind eating sheep testicles in an attempt to fit in — here are the important everyday customs you’ll really need to become a true Friend of Iceland.
Take off your shoes
If you’re lucky enough to get invited into the home of a genuine Icelandic person (yes, it has been […]
Restricted Icelandic daylight hours could make the whole of our winter pretty depressing if we let it, but the 21st of January has been and gone — and your editors are still alive to tell the tale.
According to alleged university professor Dr Cliff Arnall, Monday the 21st of January is officially the most depressing day […]
45 different ways to say the word “green,” but if you want a beer just say “I want beer.”
As one Icelandic language teacher told her foreign students: “F#%& the grammar! You’ll never get it right, so let’s just talk.” Hmm, encouraging. But when you consider that there are 45 different ways just to say the […]
Oh dear. Exotic, good-looking, and notoriously aloof — dating an Icelander can be a traumatic experience. Our best advice is to…
You won’t find any apples in it. You won’t find any oranges in it either, for that matter. Just lots of chemicals and a healthy helping of national pride.
Most nations have their own version of Fanta; Britain has Tango, France has Orangina, and Iceland’s Appelsín is our version of a sticky orange drink. However, because it’s Icelandic it […]
Driving around Iceland’s famous Ring Road might be like flicking through the pages of a geography book, but it’s not all wild and remote — along the way you’ll have to pass through a handful of towns. We’ll just call them “cities” for fun, ok?
Reykjavík, City of Fear
Population 190,000
Your starting point, and the only real […]
There’s no point in wearing a traditional Icelandic jumper unless you can say, “What, this old thing? Oh, my genuine Icelandic grandmother knitted it for me years ago. Of course, I’ve had it since before they were in fashion.”
It may look like an unwanted Christmas gift to your foreign eye, but here in Iceland the […]
Making the most of the city’s abundant piping hot water, Reykjavik’s swimming pools are well worth a visit. Even if it means conquering your fear of nudity first.
Low levels of chlorine at all 16 of Reykjavik’s pools means there’s no nasty bleach-like smell while you bathe, but high levels of hygiene mean you have to […]
The original geyser is not all it’s cracked up to be.
The rotten egg smell that steams out of geothermal Icelandic water is just something you get used to after a while. In fact, you may even begin to enjoy it. If so, head over to Geysir, where Strokkur erupts every eight minutes, impeccably timed with […]
Part 2: Kókómjólk.
After years of research, your humble editors have concluded that Kókómjólk is probably the best nonprescription hangover cure with a picture of a striped, muscular cat on it.
What’s this Kókómjólk, you ask? Well, it’s Iceland’s premier chocolatey milky drink. In fact, it’s Iceland’s only chocolately milky drink.
Which is probably why, having nothing else […]
