Iceland is a cute little island in the North-Atlantic that is shaped like a sheep jumping over a fence.

     
As sheep used to be (and maybe still is) the most important thing to Icelanders this is thought very appropriate. In recent days there has been some talk though of changing the jumping sheep into a swimming fish or a running tourist.

The capital is located on the lower front leg of the sheep. It is fondly called Reykjavík or Smoky Bay, deriving its name from the steam that the first settlers saw rising from the hot springs. More than half of the nation lives in Reykjavík or the surrounding areas.

There are 285.000 Icelanders, most of whom are located in Iceland but several thousand are scattered over the rest of the world. Icelanders speak Icelandic as it is the simplest and most beautiful language in the whole wide world. Icelanders have never understood why the rest of the world will not acknowledge this and make Icelandic a universal language.

In Iceland, no matter where you are, there´s always great view in all directions. This is what we say when we really mean that in Iceland there are no trees to block your line of sight. To make up for this, most Icelanders above the age of fifty, become obsessed with creating trees. Family trees, to be exact. Most Icelandic families can trace their origin so many centuries back that you´re bound to hit a king or two on the way. Also thiefs and beggers, but they don´t get mentioned as often.

Icelanders don´t have family names. A family consisting of a husband, wife, son and daughter will have four different last names. For further information I recommend that you read Hrefna´s comments on Icelandic names.