Around Iceland with Betta

Traveller   Betta Vitali 
Age            24
Country     Italy
Chosen     She chose Iceland so i chose her

Why you choose Iceland?
Because I was in London doing an exchange program and a friend of mine proposed to do this trip during our spring break. Plus the flights from London are pretty cheap


Who did you travel with?
An Italian, a Brazilian and an Australian guy: looks like the beginning of a joke!


Which was your expectation before?
Geyser, waterfalls, volcanoes, trolls and vikings.

How you travelled around?
We took a flight from London to Rejkyavik and then we decided to rent two cars with some other guys we met at the hostel. It is definitly the cheapest and easiest way to travel there.


Where to sleep?
We decided to stay for all the 10 days of our trip in a youth hostel in Rejkyavik. Every day we choose a destination and we were back at the hostel late at night. In this way we could benefit of the nightlife of Rejkyavik: after the financial crisis, a lot of restaurants, shops etc had to close (during the day Rejkyavik looks like a ghost town...there's almost nobody around, except few tourists!), but at night the streets and the bars fill up with people... the contrast day/night is pretty amazing!


Choose a picture that can describe your feelings there.
I believe this one can easily describe the peaceful feeling of driving in the middle of nowhere! 

Northern countries have many legends, what about Trolls? Do you found if at least they are good or not?
Before leaving, I read that an official survey had found that 80 per cent of Icelanders believe in elves, hidden creatures and trolls (or at least do not deny their existance) – malevolent creatures which live underground and do not like the human race. When I got there I understood why this belief is so widespread: Iceland is a hard environment. It is cold, desert and lavic. Every family has lost someone, at some time, to Nature – to the sea, to snow, to storms. For example trolls are night beings, highly susceptible to the sun. In dark winter they have no fear, but the legends say that a troll will turn to stone if caught by a ray of sun. That's why Iceland is full of many strange rock formations rising above lava plains which are said to be those of petrified trolls!




Iceland has many breath taking landscapes, which was the best for you?

Definitly the glacier that we found in the south of the Island (I cannot remember its name...it would surely be something with a lot of K, Y and J, like VERJARKBEYLLEYJKULL). We got there at the sunset and there were two seals swimming and playing in the water: I love seals, I wanted to adopt one of them and keep it in my bath tube.

An experience that traveller can't miss?

Well, the last day of our trip the sun was shining, so I decided to go horse riding with my Italian friend. We found out a quite cheap organized tour and we booked it. I was so excited and I was imaging myself elegantly horse riding in a beautiful sunny day, like a sort of Jane Austen's romantic character.
When we got there the sun desappaered and it started snowing. There were like -10 degrees. I had already paid for my tour. I wanted to die.
Here you can see myself blaming God and myself because I could not feel my feet anymore.
Guys, seriously, if you have circulation problems and you want to avoid hypotermia, DO NOT GO HORSE RIDING IN ICELAND DURING A STORM.

Which is your personal opinion about local people?
Icelanders (at least the few who still live there after the crisis) are pretty open-minded and they like to talk about their country. Turism is essential to their economy so you would difficultly find someone not keen to help you. They also seem very relaxed: close to our hostel there was a heated public pool which are really important in any Icelandic community. All the Icelanders go there after work to take a bath and chill out. The ticket is about 2.5 euro and it gives you access to different heated pools located outside where you can sit in hot water (up to 45 degrees!) with -2 degrees around you and look at local people chatting and relaxing!


Possible problems traveling around?
Volcanoes! When we were there (it was the beginning of april 2010), Eyjafjallajökull had just started erupting. Few days after all the skies were closed for up to a week by the ashes of the Volcano's eruption. But I have to say that driving at night on the side of a volcanic eruption is one of the most powerful and fascinating experience you can ever live!





What about the budget you need?
I think I spent around 700 euro for 10 days, flight included. 

What's the food there? Any particular suggestion?
Icelanders do not have a real typical cuisine. But they like to eat cute animals like puffins and whales. How can you eat a puffin? Puffins are cute. Anyway close to the seaport there is a sort of restaurant called The Sea Baron where you can have amazing lobster or fish soup! 

After you been there what you would say to people are thinking to go there and they are not sure yet?

You should definitely go there and you have to do so during the win

ter: then don't rent a car, get a horse to ride in a storm and you will be fine! 

Thanks Betta