This used to be a volcano. Now it's a tourist trap.

This is where salmon without hops used to get stuck swimming upstream. Now all Salmon can take the stairs to the left.

This is what we came 3000 miles for?

No,

I shall call this land: Hebronia.

Hebronian Lass.

Hebronian people are known for their big noses, dark eyes, and glasses that they stole from Jeff Goldblum.

You can put this where the sun don't shine: Iceland during winter.

This horse has the same hair as Jackie.

"Did Chinese people do your highlights as well?"

"Hey, horse, stop stealing the spotlight!"

Meanwhile, not far away...

Thingvellir or "Assembly Field." This is where the old viking Parliment was held. It is a natural formation created by the conjoining of two continental plates.

Clear water.

Iceland actually looks a lot like New Mexico, except green and black instead of tan.

This is where they used to drown witches.

The earth is ripping apart!

Nice street art in Reykjavik

Icelandic people are actually quite fashionable. Actually, because the population is so small, it's possible to recognize the people on billboards working around town. For example, a model for 66 degrees North, the local coat company, served us coffee at a bookstore.

Reykjavik's finest supermarket. Bonus: Bid Better!

Iceland Part 1

All the Iceland Air airplanes are named after volcanos. This particular airplane, Eyjafjallajökull, is in some parts of the world (not Iceland) known as the Iceland volcano.

Yes, they have products in Iceland. VAT is 25%. The products pictured here are all duty-free, isn't that delicious?

At present, one dollar buys 115 Icelandic Kroners (ISK). According to google, however, one dollar buys 180 ISK. Which is to say that when we first got to Iceland we thought everything was really cheap here.

Some may wonder why we're posting a picture of a statue in a parking lot. However, parking lots play in important role in Icelandic culture. The Icelandic people are descended from Norwegian Vikings, as well as the women that they kidnapped from across northern Europe. The word Viking comes from the old Norwegian word for bay (Vik). For the Vikings, bays were essentially parking lots for their boats. Hence, Viking may be properly translated "Ones Who Live in the Parking Lot."

We were told that Iceland is a very young land, still ironing out the kinks in its landscape. The airport we landed in is on the edge of an enormous lava field. This is because the Icelandic Tourism board thought it was important to correct misconceptions that Iceland is made of ice. In actuality, it is mostly composed of unforgiving, baren rock.

We stayed at an Air BnB run by a film professor at U of I's Reykjavik campus.

Kleinur - Everything in Iceland is healthier, and less colorful. Even their donuts. In fact, this is one of the only white breads to be found in Iceland. Most people here like to eat dried cod with butter instead of toast.

Inimitable.

A church that vaguely looks like something a Imperial Wizard would wear dominates the cityscape. Here is a view from our street corner on Baldur's Gate (wonder if that's where the Computer Game name comes from).

Leif Erikson!

Most people assume that billboards such as these indicate an insensitivity in Iceland to the offensive racial stereotypes. But in actuality, this is the way all non-Icelandic peoples look to people from Iceland.

Reykjavik's coast.

Now who's outsourced! To a strip mall no less.

Please, take me anywhere! Get me off this rock!

Jetskis.

This is the largest piece of furniture Ikea ever sold. It is called Öpera, and cost over 1 billion Icelandic Kroner.

For Iceland's American visitors.

Exterior staircases are very common in Iceland. Which must be fun in winter.

City center.

Whimsical statue