I was stationed at Keflavik Naval Air Station, with the 57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (the Black Knights), from Nov. '89 - Dec. '90.
While I'm glad to have had the experience of having been there, I have no desire to return. My parents told me that they were thinking of vacationing there, and asked me what I thought about that. I talked them out of it.
The most interesting thing I saw while there was the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights. A truly spectacular display...impossible to adequately describe. A friend and I almost froze to death standing in a field while wearing our parkas, staring straight up at the sky, mesmerized by the shifting lights and colors (no, we weren't high). However...as the sun only dips below the horizon for about 30 minutes a day during the summer, the Northern Lights would only be worth seeing in the dead of winter. I don't believe most would care to visit Iceland in the dead of winter...beyond the obvious cold weather (although winter temps avg around 28-37 degrees...the wind speeds can average from 40 to over 100 MPH, with the resultant bone-chilling wind chill) there is also the utter lack of sunlight during the winter months, which would make other "touristy" endeavors rather difficult.
So if you go during the summer when the weather is tolerable (summer temps average around 45-60 degrees) you'll not be able to see the Northern Lights, and it will be light all day, which can make sleeping difficult. But what can you see with all of those hours of daylight? Lots of geysers (it's an Icelandic word), hot springs, bubbling mud pools, and waterfalls. While interesting...I don't personally care to spend an entire vacation looking at them. The most fascinating thing, to me, is that all of these features...bubbling mud pools (which, not surprisingly, are boiling hot) and powerful waterfalls...have absolutely no fences or other obstructions preventing you from getting as close as you like, or from falling in! I have some photos of a friend standing mere inches from a raging waterfall, while standing on slick, moss-covered rocks. Fun!!! A squadron-mate of mine slipped while walking near a bubbling mud pool, and his tennis shoe-clad foot plunged into the scalding mud. He suffered severe burns to his foot, and was on crutches for quite a few weeks.
Yes...they do have many gorgeous blond women there. As far as "diversifying the gene pool"...it's funny you should mention that, because the Icelanders have very strong feelings about that...they don't like it. They're rather xenophobic...they prefer to keep their bloodlines "pure". I encountered a few very nice, friendly Icelanders...but most were rather stand-offish, if not downright unfriendly. Of course, tourists (and their $$$) are usually greeted more enthusiastically than are military personnel.
Yes, family names are unusual. For example, a man named Jon Einarsson has a son named Olafur. Olafur's last name will not be Einarsson like his father's; it will become Jonsson, literally indicating that Olafur is the son of Jon. The same practice is used for daughters. Jon Einarsson's daughter Sigridur would not have the last name Einarsson; she would have the name Jonsdottir. Again, the name literally meaning "Jon's daughter". So, 4 family members living in the same house would all have different last names. Their phone books must be insane!
The capital of Iceland is Reykjavík, and is a nice, modern European city. The economy was doing okay when I was there...I imagine things are worse now (as is most everywhere). Even so, prices were outrageous when I was there, I can only guess that prices are quite high right now. I could only afford to go downtown for a burger and coke at the Hard Rock Cafe about once a month. I believe a burger and coke ran about $13, and a Pizza Hut single-topping pizza was about $22...quite a bit in 1990.
Anyway...as you might have guessed, I don't work for the Icelandic Tourism Center. IMO, there's not much to see there, beyond Reykjavík, the Northern Lights and the geysers, waterfalls, etc, and if you can see the N.L., you can't see much else ('cuz it's DARK). If I recall correctly, something like 90% of their roads are unpaved, and they recommend 4WD. And no, they don't like guns. I don't believe they enjoy private gun ownership. I'm not sure how they feel about knives, but considering their fishing heritage, they surely view them as tools, and as a necessary evil, at the worst. Still, I don't think I'd expect to find any "deals" on knives there.
So...that's my take on Iceland. About the best thing to say about being there...is that you can say that you've been there! Since not too many others have been, they're always impressed with someone who has been. After Iceland, I was stationed in Germany. While there, I also visited Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria and Luxembourg. Since my discharge, I've also traveled to Italy and Sicily, Australia and New Zealand, and Thailand. Personally, I'd rather return to any of those places (especially Australia) or visit the U.K., rather than see Iceland again. One thing I do remember...upon arrival in Iceland, every enlisted AF member who was unaccompanied (one year, as opposed to 2 year for accompanied) received a little cartoon (usually obscene) divided into 365 numbered partitions, which you could color in every day to count down how many days until you left. Every single person on that base knew, to the day, exactly how much time they had left on that island. I voluntarily extended my tour by one month, so that my leave between Iceland and Germany would encompass Christmas, otherwise they had me reporting to my new station in GE on Dec. 24th. It was worth it to me, but most of the guys I knew thought I was insane for staying one day longer than necessary...especially since it was winter. On the day I left, when our wheels left the ground, I cheered out loud...and a moment later the rest of the plane broke out in a loud cheer as well.
Tim
