Many people want to know as much as possible about the Icelandic culture – reading books about what you have to know about this small and positively peculiar culture. So you may have read about how Icelanders deal with the long, dark winters, or with the little daylight we have here in winter. But what about Icelander‘s connection to ice?
Well, it is not as icy in Reykjavik as you might suspect – with relatively mild winters and heated side walks and bus stations, but what I am talking about is ice cream! For me as a German intern at Extreme Iceland, ice cream is something for the summer, something to cool you off on a hot summer day, something to enjoy when sunbathing at a pool – something for summer, really. What can I say... Icelanders take it to another level; The Icelandic level! It is a very common thing having to wait in a line at one of the well known ice cream places in town – at 10 pm.! This means a line out of the store onto the street so you‘ll probably stand in a blizzard freezing, waiting to get the special Icelandic ice cream. Sounds strange? At least to me it is!
One of the few things that are hard to understand, whenever I see it. But the great thing is, except for the ice cream being not only super delicious but also not melting away when you get outside, that this represents the Icelander‘s attitude towards the climate they have been born into. Why commit suicide because of darkness (Iceland has the lowest suicide rate of all the Arctic States), why bother about the cold, rain and wind if you can be happy, enjoy the nature, the sunny days, the northern lights, the great people and, of course, ice cream?! So if you come here and want to go local, try not only the touristy things like rotten shark, but get yourself some peace of “Ice“land – literally.
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