Weekly Review: Reykjavik, Iceland

One of our Etsy Metal members, Clare Stamp (http://stamp.etsy.com), recently traveled to Reykjavic, Iceland, and loved it:

"In short it's an amazing country. They are super focused on design and handmade. There is so much thought behind everything. Even public bathrooms are stunning!

It is also super expensive.

Even with the collapse of their currency, a pint of beer can set you back $9. For two of us, the meals averaged out to $120 per meal! Alcohol is stupidly expensive and they measure shots, so while prices are comparable to NYC on the surface, you get about half as much.

That said I ate some of the best food I have ever had. As nothing grows there being Vegan is next to impossible, so I swung to the other side and enjoyed Puffin, Hákarl (rotten shark) and whale. They also have dolphin on the menu at many places and in the supermarkets, but I didn't try it.

The seafood there is so amazingly fresh and clean tasting. All the meat is organic and free range. Meat is sheep and horse (which I didn't try). Food sources there are limited, so they eat pretty much anything that can survive (most of the country is considered desert), and they use every part of the animal, so some pretty interesting dishes if you like organ meats, skin etc (which I do).

Another great thing is that there is no tax on art. They really encourage artists and designers there. The main streets which anywhere else would be full of chain stores are full of shops run by artists and designers. I bought a stunning painting and some pottery from here http://listaselid.is/"

Clare also tells of a group of women from all around the country who knit sweaters from handspun yarn, since sheep are one of the only animals that can survice there, and sell them in various shops for about $120-$150.


The highlight of her trip, however, was the 4x4 day trip through Iceland on Track.

"There are no roads there in the Winter (they bulldoze new roads in the Spring) and very few people go there out of season. We hiked a glacier and saw some of the most amazing landscapes."

You can find more photos on Clare's flickr page.

Thank you for sharing, Clare!

You can also find an intriguing post on Iceland design on Design*Sponge.