I have been to Iceland four times in the past two years on work-related trips to report on food fairs, night clubs, sheep round ups and fancy hotels. I knew my way around Reykjavik. Actually, most people know their way around Reykjavik after an hour or two--it's small, manageable, sweet, and friendly. During the day there's very little to do except stroll around and look in shop windows or drink a coffee or have a beer. At night the place rocks until the next morning and you can dance with complete strangers innocently or dangerously depending on how much you value your current relationship. Icelanders tend to be somewhat aloof with one another, but are intrigued by foreigners until they get bored with them too. But by then it's time to go to sleep.
The trick is to get outside of the small and sleepy capital into the countryside that is so spectacular it makes your brain numb. On earlier trips, I had not managed to get very far. This time was different--we had a free and decent car through the exchange.
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