Gunnar's Farm from Njall's Saga

Gunnar's Farm, made famous by Njall's Saga

Six years ago, I travelled to Iceland and fell in love with the country, its people and its landscape.  Since then, I have returned to the country often and have lead two tours of the country.

Iceland is unique and fascinating for many reasons:

History Alive

History buffs would love to tour the sites mentioned in the Icelandic sagas, the excavated 10th century Viking house, the launching points of the first Viking voyages to North America of Erik the Red,  Thingvellir, the site of the world’s oldest parliament.  It was here that Iceland became Christian in the world’s only bloodless conversion to Christianity.  In typical Icelandic fashion, the old Norse religion was not banned and its followers were free to worship the old gods in their homes.

Ecotourism

Visit volcanoes, lava flows, glaciers. Walk across the rifts where the North American and European tectonic plates meet or across a volcano where the heat in the ground can be felt through your shoes.

Comfort

For a little comfort, relax in a fine restaurant and sample the freshest local fish, lamb or venison or swim in the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal lava formation.

Myth and Story

Listen to the stories of the sagas, the folktales and the Norse myths where they took place.

Ride Icelandic horses beside lava fields, the same breed of small horses that the Vikings rode, cruise through a glacial lagoon where small chunks of glacier float out to the sea, or ride a skidoo over an immense glacier.

Savor, Don’t Scamper

I hate the “if it’s Tuesday, it must be Prague” sort of travel experience, an experience where too many sights are packed into an overly-long day.  If travellers wish to do more than just see a place, if they really wish to have an authentic experience, then they must take the time to hear the stories in the places where they happened as well as see the sights.  Sit down on a grass-covered slope and hear stories from the sagas.  Stand before a lovely country church and hear how the troll who attacked it was turned into the massive boulder in the front yard.

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