So I found myself in Reykjavik, Iceland. I’m heading over to Sweden to take a few summer classes, and I stopped in Reykjavik because it just so happened to be on the way.

Iceland is a fairly good sized island with very few people on it. There are a total of about 300,000 Icelanders total on the island, and over a third of them live in and around Reykyavik. Nonetheless, that is still only about 100,000 people in the city, so it was necessarily small and not too dense or busy. Indeed, it did feel like a city, but it lacks the hustle and bustle of other capitals I’ve been too.

In terms of cars, Reykjavik had the most American feel of any European city I’ve been in yet. I’d say half the cars were the typical, small European econoboxes you’d expect in Europe, while the other half were a whole variety of American cars, larger cars, and vicious off road vehicles. And when I say vicious, I mean vicious. Check out these bad boys:

Unlike in the US, off road vehicles actually have a legitimate, utilitarian purpose in Iceland. The interior of the country is very harsh, and has no paved road traversing it. The only means through is via these off road vehicles on raised dirt “roads”. Suffice it to say, I’d definitely want to have tires that big on my car if I was countless miles from the nearest person, as the interior is not a good place to become stuck (outlaws were traditionally pardoned if they could survive in the interior for 20 years). Even around the perimeter, roads shift between pavement and dirt, seemingly at random. One road I was on actually was dirt for a while, then paved for a vicious corner, then immediately back to dirt. Fair enough, I guess.

Because of the heavy mix of paved roads and vicious dirt roads, Iceland is actually a place where I could see something like this Porsche Cayenne making some sense:

There was also a bunch of familiar car names, but on some completely different body. Check out this Toyota Corolla, for example:

And this Hyundai Elantra “Nordic Style.” I saw no difference from a normal Elantra, and I’m sure this version is just as bad:

I was also surprised to see a 3000gt, as they are a big and heavy car for the tastes of most Europeans:

Most interesting to me is that virtually everyone is Iceland has there own car, as it is the primary means of transportation, like in the US. In fact, there is no train on the entire island of Iceland. That is UNHEARD OF for a European country. Nonetheless, parking was extremely easy just about anywhere in the city, mostly because there were so few people there to begin with.

I was also surprised by the copious use of corrugated metal for constructing houses. Yes, that is the same corrugated metal that lines that Uhaul truck you rented, or that storage room you got. It is used because it apparently can handle their harsh weather better than other materials (at least for the price). Only unlike in the US, they actually managed to make the resulting structure look both elegant and quaint. Who would have thought that could be done with corrugated metal! Check out this house, for example. Everything is corrugated metal, including the roof and walls:

Reykjavik also gets the award for the goofiest fire hydrant I’ve seen yet:

I rented a car for my second day, which was definitely an adventure. Check back soon to hear how it turned out!