Ask me anything about Iceland, its history, culture, and modern politics

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask me anything about Iceland, its history, culture, and modern politics

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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All right, I am joining the thread now, and since I got married in Iceland I think I know more than some chump who was just born and raised and still lives there :smug:

(I have a tendency to talk too much when Iceland is the topic, I promise I am editing everything I say to be like 25% its original length)

dougie posted:

Two of my favourite things are from Iceland, EvE online and Sigur Ros. Oh, three things, Eidur Gudjohnsen
Not so much a question as a shout out I guess.

No way dude, the best things from Iceland are skyr, puffins, and the Hamborgarafabrikkan. Actually I definitely preferred other places I ate, but none of them were called a hamburger factory.

Deceitful Penguin posted:

Uhh, word of warning about the showers, you're supposed to shower naked in them, but I think we might have added curtains in that one for the muslims.

This was probably the only uncomfortable thing that happened to me in the month or so I have spent in Iceland. The time I was minding my own business changing in the Blue Lagoon lockers when like 30 fully nude teenage boys came running at me to use the showers near where I was standing. My wife had a similar experience, though of course I cannot help but have the sexist belief that her experience was still less traumatizing.

Deceitful Penguin posted:

Gods, that sounds delectable. But nah, 'cause they withdrew during the Crisis, making us part of the elite non-McDonalds club.

Plus you are part of the elite non-Starbucks club as they also withdrew, unless I am misremembering what I learned. Honestly that is the reason Reyjkjav�k can probably not be topped on my "favorite cities in the world" list, because you have to work hard to find an international chain. It helps you stay focused on enjoying the local culture when even the coffee shop chains are local to Iceland. I would basically go into a happiness coma right now if I could walk out of my apartment and find a Te og Kaffi down the street. I want to go back to Iceland

Why do I not have any skills that would be useful for Icelandic employers

Deceitful Penguin posted:

That's actually one of my favourite things to do in foreign countries, see different grocery stores.

MINE TOO!!!! Even in my own country, I get excited when I am going to some region I have not visited frequently, so I can check the grocery stores/gas stations to try to find regional candy or cookies or something, anything to help make the world seem less standardized!

Also I like that your first in-city itinerary basically sounds like the routine we ended up stumbling into for every time we are there on a weekend anyway. Kolaporti� is like my third-favorite shopping place in the world, and second-favorite of places that are actually open on a regular basis!

So, on behalf of basically every one of my friends who reacts in horror and disgust when learning about pre-alcoholic malt being a beverage in Iceland--do people actually drink it? Or is it like h�karl? (I am asked to relate my story of eating h�karl on at least a monthly basis, I was excited to read [on Wikipedia anyway] that most people who try it involuntarily gag; guess I am not most people :usingthesmugemoticonagain: )

# ¿ May 27, 2013 03:30

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:19

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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Once when I was in Iceland one of the people I was eating with ordered whale. I would not have done so myself, but, you know, it was already there and dead and all, so I tried some.

Oh. My. It was so good. SO GOOD. I think there really is something to animals being tastier the cuter they are, because it tasted kind of like an amazingly juicy steak that came from a cow who spent its life underwater, or something. AAAAAAAA+++++ would sample someone else's again!

Also thanks for the heads-up on malt+appelsin. Now I know how to figure out what in the world to do with either of those drinks next time (I generally just exclusively drink Suisse mokka when out in any European country because I am a 9-year-old child apparently).

# ¿ Jun 18, 2013 00:53

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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It is also worth reminding you that "a woman walking around alone at night" in Reykjav�k is a lot more flexible of a concept than other places. I remember my then-girlfriend and I volunteered to escort these two female friends of ours to the club and back if they liked, but upon realizing that it was going to be light outside when they arrived at and left the club, it suddenly seemed less necessary. Similarly I imagine that you have lunch in pitch blackness in December.

Oh, but Iceland really does seem like the safest place I have ever been. All the other places that seem to me to be safe from human-driven problems like crime generally suffer from the "but this is the wilderness so there could be bears or coyotes or something" problem, whereas Iceland is just that awesome.

# ¿ Aug 10, 2013 17:20

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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Speaking as an American who kind of wants to be Icelandic, the culture in Reykjav�k is basically a fantastic mix of some of my favorite things about living in different parts of the USA. Reykjav�k is full of people who are at least as cool, if not cooler, than all the hipsters (said lovingly) that fill my adopted home of Seattle. This is also clearly a culture that loves good food, and the fact that you can get great-quality food from dozens of different types of cuisine reminds me of the best parts of city life generally, perhaps specifically of the ease of hopping from cuisine to cuisine in Washington D.C. (though I will say the Mexican food we had in Reykjav�k was terrible).

And speaking of how to counteract what I hate about city life (the impersonal nature), there is also a friendly-to-the-point-of-eeriness, reminiscent of my time spent in the rural upper peninsula of Michigan, that pervades the interactions I had with nearly everyone I met, from business owners to strangers in restaurants to the locals I knew through friends-of-friends-of-friends. I mean, we booked an apartment complex for our wedding guests and after a couple of days of being there the landlady gave us the keys to her beach house an hour away and told us to go spend a day or two there for our honeymoon. What? No, that is not a thing that happens in real life. Neither is our wedding photographer giving us all of our photographs after taking them and telling us to pay him whenever we wanted.

I do imagine that the rest of Iceland that is not Reykjav�k has a completely different culture, though. Kind of like how people in the rural parts of the USA sometimes think that all big cities are full of evil and should be destroyed.

Also Ultima VII avatars are perfect for the Faroe Islands.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2014 20:36

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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Deceitful Penguin posted:

How did you take the whole "let's all shower naked" thing in swimming pools btw? I know a lot of yanks have problems getting used to that.

I know this is old but for the most part, while I found that particularly confusing at first, I totally understood the purpose behind it--"no really, please do not contaminate our pools."

But then when I was in the showers at Blue Lagoon when some sort of secondary school group arrived for the day and hundreds of teenage boys came pouring into the changing rooms, I was like "no. This is not cool anymore." Though that would have been awful even if they were clothed, I suppose.

Deceitful Penguin posted:

Why do y'all suckas never visit? drat yo, I'm always up for a lil "Show the tourists poo poo and feed them".

My wife and I are definitely coming back again for our 5th anniversary in 2016. If the Forums still exist then, you watch out! We have already been there for about a month in the """warm""" season though, and we are gunning for some perpetual blackness and Northern Lights this time around.

Laughing Zealot posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E0BhQm27RA4

This is the first bad thing I have ever seen about Icelandic scenery, haha. But also amazing.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2014 19:44

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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I think we did it wrong in Reykjav�k as no matter how many times we tried to find affordable housing we kept landing on apartments for short-term rent as the most economical solution. Though thinking back it is entirely possible we ruled out anything that had online comments like "I NEVER FELT SAFE" so it could be that was why we ignored hostels. But we normally love hostels. I DO NOT KNOW. I do know our apartment-stay experience was the best though.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2014 04:00

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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ookuwagata posted:

Things I have eaten:
Hakarl: Quite good, all those television people that say it's the worst food in the world are babies. It's rather like a hundred year old egg with delicious fish flavor.

Pylsur: The sauces and crunchy onions were good, and the hot dog tasted good too. Good, but not as amazing as I was expecting. Really fast though. You pay your money and it's in your hand in less than 10 seconds. I have never had food this fast, and stood around like a moron for half a minute after it's done.

These two opinions side-by-side are awesome and you are fascinating for holding them. I remember thinking those drat hot dogs were the food of the gods and, well, to say that I did not enjoy h�karl is a mild understatement. I actually just felt awesome about the fact that it was not actually the worst thing I have tasted (that honor goes to some too-old Munster [not Muenster] I had in Paris) AND that I never even came close to gagging or anything; it was just an unpleasant experience eating literal garbage. Plus I do not drink so I washed it down with my mocha instead of the vodka shot :hellyeah:

which incidentally does not actually get rid of the flavor :hellyeah:

Also the Grapevine sucks, huh? drat. I have loved that newspaper since I was doing research for my master's thesis in 2006 and came upon it and instantly decided I wanted to visit Iceland.

Wait, hold on, your parenthetical seems to mean something--oh. Morgunbla�i�. I have never even heard of/read this newspaper; apparently I am not missing much?

# ¿ Aug 24, 2014 05:37

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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ookuwagata posted:

Tyrkisk Peber,
bitter, salty, sour and chemical
like Indian mango pickle, except
with a poo poo-ton of anise and
it burns like bathroom cleaner on your tongue.

I've eaten about a quarter of the bag by myself.

Oh I dig that, I bought this on a similar note https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_Piller

And ... oh my dear lord. I already knew I hated licorice, and this was like President Licorice of the United States of Licorice. Somehow I figured since it was called DRACULA and said "caramellur" or whatever that surely it would be, like, I dunno, spicy caramel or something weird. Whoops! Teehee. Ugh. And yet, we do agree with the "still ate quite a few by myself despite hating them because it was SO FASCINATING" point.

# ¿ Aug 25, 2014 23:44

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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I am glad to not be the only person who kept a BÃ³nus bag because oh my god that pig. I love it. Baenus bag. Why does my phone not play nice with the forums :mad:

# ¿ Sep 10, 2014 22:08

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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Deceitful Penguin posted:

I've sometimes considered getting that smug mug as an avatar, but could never think of a good enough text with it.

Surely there is some way to make the Bonus slogan into a sexual joke. Or maybe it already is.

# ¿ Sep 11, 2014 02:47

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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My wife's complete beer snob friend who came to Iceland for our wedding said that the only beer worth drinking was Lava, but he did say it was not bad at all. Though I swear I just saw some other drink called Lava posted in this thread that definitely was not the dark ale he was drinking.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2014 03:10

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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Yeah that is kind of mind-blowing actually. Like, we have a system like that in the USA... But it requires $500,000 invested. Maybe they liked the number more than the value. Must be time to invest in Icelandic Lamb Futures!

# ¿ Oct 14, 2014 21:32

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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Noctis Horrendae posted:

Thanks for the extensive response. Very interesting - I always thought of Iceland as being a lot more open to foreigners than what you just described.

If you have been there, this can be easy to understand, given that the people who love foreigners seem to self-select into the occupations where you encounter them. I mean, you would be hard-pressed to convince any of the dozens of Americans I have been in Iceland with (really, I came with a choir of ~30 the first time, and had a dozen come for my wedding) that Icelanders have any negative feelings whatsoever towards Americans. I have had some of the most amazingly friendly experiences with strangers of my entire life while in Iceland, and while yes I have only been there for about a month total, I think the "shine" comes off being in a foreign country on about day three in most places and you start to see people's real feelings ... but drat, man, that just never happened to me there. THEY ARE SO GOOD AT TOURISM

# ¿ Oct 17, 2014 04:03

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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Oh hey, the Dead gallery. I remember that place. That was where my now-wife started talking to the dude running it (presumably this Dead Skeletons guy) and asked when he opened the gallery, and he was like "very recently" and she asked what led him to do it and he said "well it beats having a job." Good times. I wanted to buy a skull shirt but we forgot about it on our second shopping pass through the area

# ¿ Nov 21, 2014 16:19

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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Yeah I am kind of sad this did not exist when I got married there, as I would have been 1000% onboard with being married by a High Priest of Thor or something.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2015 01:28

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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That "multicultural room" story is pretty amazing. Here is what happens when someone even farther down the "religion taken seriously" ladder tries to express his beliefs!

I have worn Thor's Hammer pendants on and off in my life, and the only non-abstract one I ever wore led, within the span of the first week I wore it, to a cashier at a grocery store giving me a knowing look and saying something like "people like us have to keep America clean." Super-creepy enough that I stopped wearing that particular necklace forever. Sad, but apparently hardly uncommon here. I mean, I can see how it makes sense to draw the idiocy line directly from "NORDIC-BORN RELIGION = WHITE DUDES WOOO" but it is still too bad.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2015 01:31

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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Deceitful Penguin posted:

To this day people often ask me where I'm from though, and if I answer them politely, where my parents are from. After which I usually go with some mockery or whatever, because clearly this swarthy fellow can't be a pure-bred Icelander. Then if I mention the east they nod sagely, he was from the Congo after all and not a furrner at all.

This seems very hard for some folks to grasp. And is part of the reason my lovely red text is as it is. Because while I might count as "white" in the US and even the mainland, I sure as poo poo ain't in the Nordics.

Thanks for this explanation, as I had always wondered what was going on in your red text, and this explains much of the most confusing part.

It is actually pretty ignorant to assume that because someone would be called "white" in the USA that it means that person is part of the privileged sector in some other primarily-European-ancestry country. People laughed off the stories the Italian dude I went to Iceland with told about not feeling like he fit in, but as someone who has spent years living in Southeast Asia I promise that your feelings of white privilege start to disappear (or at the very least develop a lot more nuance) the moment literally every person you encounter stares at you and makes it clear you do not really belong (even if they are friendly about it). I would challenge any racially intolerant person from the USA to live in a non-white country for a year and not have that bullshit wiped out of their mind posthaste (I suppose it could just make that person double-down and start to hate everyone though).

It goes both ways, too, of course--the Argentinian in my doctoral program was confused that he was not seen as white in the USA given that he was Italian-descended and therefore "white" back home. Though given the scary racist stuff I just found after wondering how prevalent his views are I hope I never have to talk to him about this again.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2015 20:42

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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# ¿ Jul 9, 2015 00:46

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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Demiurge4 posted:

Grindavik is kind of a shithole. Nothing to do but hit the gym and go swimming and I don't have Internet yet. We're going bowling with the company on Friday though so here's hoping the bar scene is ok.

I know the Blue Lagoon is tourist-trap of all tourist-traps but calling that "going swimming" is like living next door to the White House and saying there is an "old government building" nearby.

That metaphor is probably stretched way too far and is too Americentric but dude I love the Blue Lagoon SO HARD

# ¿ Aug 13, 2015 05:38

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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Alternately: If you go at a time when the Blue Lagoon not completely full (not sure when that is precisely...definitely during the day before the schoolchildren show up) it is basically the most-worth-visiting tourist trap I have ever seen in my many years of elitist globehopping. It is an experience unlike any you are likely to find anywhere else in the world besides Iceland--even if I would also have no problem believing there are as-good/better hot springs elsewhere. I have just for various reasons not been able to really get far from Reykjav�k in any of my three visits, so I was quite thankful for its existence.

Of course I have basically liked every single place I have been and thing I have seen in Iceland, so my taste is questionable. Actually no, Priki�'s breakfast was not that great :colbert:

Lunch, though...oh drat.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2016 09:35

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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CherryCola posted:

How hard is it to move to Iceland? (not sure if this was already asked, sorry if it was) I'm only half serious, but I'm from Minnesota originally and the atmosphere felt really familiar and appealing to me when I went in January. Also I want to hug all the ponies forever.

I feel your pain, I had decided within about an hour of landing in Iceland the first time that I had never wanted to move somewhere so badly. And that feeling has never dissipated in the month or so I have spent there over the following years. I mean, I understand it would not be exciting anymore if I somehow did manage to move there, but I dunno. It helps that I rarely feel at home even in my own country, and in Iceland everyone spoke to me in Icelandic assuming I was one of THEM and it made me instantly like "awww I wish I were ;("

I also have plans to frame my B�nus pig bag

# ¿ Sep 7, 2016 21:35

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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Deceitful Penguin posted:

I vaguely remembered them making framed pics with their logo but on further googling that was a misremembered article on Baggal�tur where they were making a joke about them selling 'euroshopper' brand paintings

That would have been so amazing. I love that pig more than I can ever truly understand.

Zahgaegun posted:

While my girlfriend (German and Norwegian) and I (trace amounts of Scandinavian) were in Iceland I found that I always got an English greeting from people we interacted with while she got Icelandic.

I probably unconsciously exude America (no, not *that* way) too, Minnesota midwestern born and raised.

Didn't care, had a wonderful time.

Yeah they definitely do not treat everyone as locals; in a story I may have already told in this very thread, we were in Iceland with an Italian-American and I swear he got stares like he was the least white person a lot of people had ever seen. Though he said he never felt unwelcome, just, you know... noticed.

Meanwhile it was nice for me to NOT get stares for a change. They are accustomed to seeing Vikings on the street there, obvz.

# ¿ Sep 14, 2016 06:03

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:19

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

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clawed monet posted:

Also the hotdogs from B�jarins Beztu are the greatest thing ever.

I miss those sometimes. Along with basically everything else I experienced in Iceland. Except maybe the time I thought I bought a little carton of milk and it ended up being cream, but since I drank it anyway I guess I cannot really complain.

# ¿ Oct 23, 2016 02:40

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask me anything about Iceland, its history, culture, and modern politics