Iceland AMA

[Puffinshop]

I'm a naturalised Icelandic citizen, born and raised in England and living in the capital area of Iceland for over a decade. Fluent Icelandic speaker, mother of Icelandic children.

Can't offer a native Icelandic perspective but if you have any questions about Iceland please feel free

How often can you see the northern lights ?

And why are Icelandic people so obsessive about naked showing before swimming?!! I put a fresh, clean from the washing machine costume on and get into the shower - why the need to be naked!!!

Very frequently see the northern lights throughout the months when we get darkness. Not now in June at all as it doesn't get fully dark ever. I don't usually bother staying up or going out specially but if I notice they're out before midnight I'll pop out for a bit and maybe cycle down to a place I know with less light pollution. Obviously the weather has to be clear so it's not every night or anything, but you see them loads of times over the winter.

Is it mainly a grey mountainous country? Any greenery, lakes like in Norway and Sweden?

Just bobbing on to say my 5 day holiday in Reykjavik in January 2016 was the BEST holiday ever! Love, love Iceland. Stunning country and I only saw a tiny bit!

What do you love about it? What do you hate?

what is the most beautiful bird that lives there, Tell us something about the language, what language do your children speak at home and at school, are you afraid of volcanoes

You can't wash properly when you're dressed. You cannot soap your privates or your arsehole when they're in a swimming costume. Hygiene is extremely important for Icelandic pools because it allows the much lower level of chlorine we gave here, which makes everything much nicer all round. It's also just culturally considered disgusting to be anything less than sparkly clean on entering the pool. So you might just have showered at home 10 minutes ago but there is no way to know that.

how do you keep beating England at football?

Are the northern lights really only colourful through a camera lens as we discovered when they were visible here a few weeks ago? They were just a vague greyish streak in the sky to the naked eye!

how old are your children? what is the education system like? are you married to an icelander? do people have cats?

What do you do with your kids - days out etc - must-dos for visiting families (kids under 10)? Many thanks!

what is the parliamentary system like? What is the government like? Is there separate national and local government, or is it all the same? As I think the population of iceland is roughly the same as a single local council area in Uk.

It's more monochrome in the winter, but very dramatic. In summer it is beautiful and green, a very colourful landscape. There are few forests and those that we have are not very impressive by international standards, but there are many stunning lakes. Also right now a lot of purple blue lupins, which many hate because they're a non native flower but you can't deny their beauty.

what is the ethnic mix? Do people know each other? Is there an issue with finding people to date who you are not closely related to? Is there a lot of genetic disease? is this something people are concious of?

How long did it take you to become fluent? And were you able to achieve that before living there, or did you move there before learning the language?
I am 1.5 years into learning, but struggling as have no opportunity to actually speak it except within the lessons.

We are staying in Rejkavik for New Years, I've hears about the community bonfires. As tourists can we turn up at these or are they really just for the local communities?

what temperature is it there now? Thank you for this thread, I am very interested

What time of year would you recommend visiting for someone who wouldn't like it either dark all the time or light all the time - and doesn't like the cold ?

I love the freedom and safety, especially for my children. I love the endless hot water and the wonderful pools. I love the cooler climate, the midnight sun, the relaxed attitude to work and life, seeing the PM in the supermarket and it's completely normal, the amazing landscape, the volcanoes, the birdlife, so much more I can't think of. I love Iceland so much.

I do hate the political corruption, the winter storms, the darkness of November to January.

Is there an ex-Pat community of Brits?

I saw the most amazing NL display in Iceland in November- very bright greens and purples, very bright and clear to the naked eye. Moved around in waves.

Truly Stunning!

@Puffinshop I think I'd find the darkness and being cold the hardest things. I came a couple of years ago and it was unreasonable warm in July. I thought it was beautiful but I don't think I could cope without lots of trees.

I did like the licorice chocolate though!

Did you have to abandon your surname in favour of a patronymic and does it sound odd being based on presumably an English name?

does everybody speak english? Iceland is an English name in itself. Is there another name for the country?