Because there is the purest air and water in the world and the best hot springs. Or is it because Iceland is a mysterious country: compared with other Nordic countries, Iceland looks primitive and people are very close to nature. But in some fields, they are very avant-garde and advanced, such as Icelandic music. Bjork can only be said to be the most famous musician in Iceland. Compared with high-level musicians and groups in Iceland, she is not even the best! Icelanders seem to be very silent, but their celebrations can last at least one day and one night. Everyone has his own unique skills, music, dance, juggling and poetry. Or, if you are tired of any travel on earth, you can also choose Iceland: as the most moon-like terrain on our planet, the central part of Iceland was once the place where Armstrong, the first man to land on the moon, trained.
Generally, you can fly to Reykjavik via Frankfurt and icelandair, because there are many flights in Frankfurt, and there is a great possibility of discount. Some airlines can stop in Iceland on their way from London to new york, which is more suitable for business guests.
When arriving in Reykjavik, the first stop for tourists is often the blue lagoon, which is 20 kilometers away from the airport. It is a hot spring surrounded by sapphires in black volcanic rocks, and the surrounding soil is white. Because the water quality and the soil around the pool are rich in rare minerals, this hot spring in the westernmost part of the earth is not only as beautiful as a fairyland, but also regarded as a sacred spring to restore youth and maintain beauty.
The capital is Reykjavik, but it looks more like a small town. Because the climate is cold most of the year, there are far fewer cafes here than in other European countries. Icelanders regard home as the best place for entertainment and rest, so it is wise to stay in a good hotel in Iceland. Iceland Card, a European castle-style building, is recommended, located in the city center 10 1. Hardwood and bay windows are widely used in the house, decorated with stained glass and paintings, and the price is about 140-200 euros per night. The price of an ordinary hotel in Iceland is 80-90 euros. Reading by the fire in Iceland's living room, drinking coffee with liqueur and chatting with other tourists can make you want to see the real leisure of Iceland's daily life.
Hot spring city near Reykjavik is a place worth visiting. All kinds of flowers, trees and buildings here are simply the reappearance of fairyland in Nordic fairy tales.
Many experienced tourists may not necessarily go to the famous "Golden Ring Tour" when they travel to Iceland, but they must go to Skav tafel National Park. Skeidararsandur near the National Park is one of the largest plains in Iceland, with an area of nearly 1000 square kilometers. This is a vast plain alluvial by the snow water of Vatna Glacier. This endless black plain has a silvery white glacier like a paradise on one side and a steaming geothermal fountain on the other side, which makes people feel the end of the world.
Iceland is famous for its cold climate and less pollution. Necklaces in ancient Norse characters are also souvenirs worth taking back.
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The financial crisis almost bankrupt Iceland. It is strange that an authoritative magazine rated Iceland as "the happiest country in the world", but it is true. Iceland is a country with high welfare, high treatment and high taxes. There is little difference between rich and poor in Iceland, and the crime rate is almost zero. His GMP ranks fourth in the world, far ahead of the United States and Britain. They are quite sincere and enthusiastic. We are guests in local families, and their enthusiasm is no less than that of us in Northeast China. If you eat western food in China, I'm afraid you will stick to it for no reason. Icelanders usually live longer because the environment is pollution-free and their social competitiveness is relatively low. Icelandic women are the oldest women in the world, with an average age of 80. The retirement age of Icelanders is 70 for men and 65 for women. That's why we can see white-haired old people running in the street.
Tourism in Iceland
Flight: Because of the agreement reached between Iceland and other Nordic countries, Icelandic Airlines planes are responsible for picking up and dropping off foreign passengers, which means that planes from other countries are not allowed to land in Iceland except for deicing flights. Therefore, if people from China want to travel to Iceland, they can only transit in countries that have air links with Iceland, such as Britain, France and Northern Europe. For example: Beijing-Copenhagen-Reykjavik, 9 hours+1.5 hours, the price 12000 RMB or so.
Price: Due to geographical reasons, the price in Iceland is the most expensive in the Nordic countries. All the French tourists we met in the local area felt that the consumption was outrageous. Icelandic currency is calculated in Icelandic krona, and generally 1000 Icelandic krona is equivalent to about 100 yuan-1 10 yuan.
Weather: Because Iceland is close to the North Pole, it is usually 10 hour in summer, and the temperature is around 15 degrees, which is cool and pleasant. It is recommended to wear coats and other clothes on rainy or cloudy days. The winter in Iceland is long, snowy and windy, and there are generally few tourists. But for tourists who like the Northern Lights, Iceland in winter is the best choice.
Shopping: There are many kinds of perfumes and cosmetics in Iceland airport, the prices are at least one-third cheaper than those in China, and some brands are not available in China. Suggest buying more. Souvenirs from Iceland are usually very expensive. You can choose several. It is recommended to buy a well-made key chain with Icelandic national bird and polar bear. Icelandic wool is very famous in northern Europe. You can buy cashmere and wool sweaters, but the domestic price is very expensive and there are few styles. Iceland's main industry is fishing, so deep-processed fish products can also be included in the purchase list, such as fish skin wallets, file bags, hats, gloves and so on. Moreover, there are many kinds of fish skins. I'm afraid your friend has never seen a wallet made of three-striped fish skin. If you are well off, you can buy the PUPPIN specimen mentioned above, the woodcarving made in Iceland and the unique astrological pendant.
Tourist season
June-September and1-March are the most suitable seasons for tourism. The tourist season begins in early June, but bus tours in some highlands will not start until July. After mid-August every year, Iceland's tourism fever will decrease, and hotels, inns and bus lines will be closed. In September, except Reykjavik, almost all Iceland seems to be hibernating. 65438+ 10 to March, Reykjavik can arrange skating, ice fishing, snowmobiling, cross-country hunting trips and other wonderful activities.
How to get there
Plane: International Airport: Kevlar Vikla Baker Airport (about 55km from the city center), KLM and SAS Scandinavian Airlines all have flights to the major capitals of northern Europe. However, starting from Beijing requires a transfer to the third place in northern Europe.
Gourmet guide
Traditionally, Icelanders lack ingredients, so they lack imagination for food. However, there are always some cafes and restaurants that offer various tastes. There is a kind of food called Hákarl, which is rotten shark meat buried in the sand for 3 to 6 months. Its stench can make foreign tourists dare not compliment. Icelanders usually like to wash and dry haddock, turn it into dry strips, and serve it with cream as a snack. Skyr is an Icelandic specialty, which is a delicious mixture of skim milk and yeast, similar to yogurt.
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For most of us, Iceland is a distant country. In many people's imagination, this country should be like her name, an island covered with snow and ice. In the autumn of 2006, I had the honor to visit this country. As the saying goes, seeing is believing. Iceland is not only ice and snow, but also many gentle, vast, magnificent, strange, weird and illusory scenery, which makes people who travel all over the country marvel.
We stayed in Iceland for three days, arrived in the afternoon on the first day and left at noon on the third day. The tour time is almost two whole days. We mainly visited the blue lagoon, the Golden Ring and some buildings and streets in the city. The main attractions are as follows:
Golden Circle: It is the essence of Icelandic tourism, just like the essence of our one-day tour of the West Lake here. It is mainly composed of three scenic spots, scattered like pearls on a circular country road in Iceland. This circular road is called the golden ring.
The three major attractions are:
Former site of parliament (plate fault zone): The so-called former site of parliament is mainly to see the natural scenery. This is where the Eurasian plate and the American plate break. According to Wei Gena's theory of continental plate drift, the two plates are still separating outward at the rate of 2 cm per year. Maybe in tens of thousands of years, Iceland will split into two Iceland. The rocks on both sides of the fault zone are like two black stone Great Walls, stretching for several kilometers. Standing on the mountain overlooking, it is a beautiful parliamentary lake with colorful autumn colors.
Because Icelanders held the annual parliamentary meeting hundreds of years ago, parliamentarians brought tents from all over the island to attend the meeting. After the meeting, the tent was torn down and nothing was left. This is also the place where the President of Iceland declared independence in 1944. The president stood on the hillside and shouted to the people below: Iceland is independent and the Icelandic people have stood up. Then people at the foot of the mountain danced happily, and there was another country in the world. Now there is an Icelandic flag flying where the president once stood. There is a monument under the flag, which is so small that it is almost invisible when buried in the grass. This place has been listed on the World Heritage List.
Geyser: Geyser, the English name of Geyser, is named after the fountain here, but perhaps because of its unbearable reputation, this natural fountain, which once erupted 50 meters in height, has stopped erupting. Not far from her, there is another small geyser, which still erupts every 3 or 5 minutes, with a height of about 20 meters, which makes people feel glad that you have come.
Golden Waterfall: It is one of the famous waterfalls in Europe. It is divided into two levels, the first level falls 1 1m, the next level falls 2 1m, and the width 100m. I can't see that the waterfall is golden, but the rushing river seems a little gray, like the color of limewater. The water droplets splashed by the pouring waterfall fill the sky and form a rainbow under the sunlight. The scenery is quite spectacular and gorgeous. In memory of a civilian woman, a monument was built beside the waterfall. In 1930s, the local government took a fancy to this waterfall and planned to sell its resources to foreign investors to build a hydropower station here. This incident alarmed a woman who lived nearby. She insisted that this would destroy the natural landscape and that she would take legal action against the government. As a result, the lawsuit was won and this spectacular waterfall was left to future generations.
The three small scenic spots are:
Pony Waterfall: The fall and width are smaller than those of Golden Waterfall, but the water in the waterfall is blue and quivers like silk.
Crater: A circular pit with water in it.
Garden of Eden in Wenquan Town: Geothermal resources are abundant, local people use greenhouses to grow vegetables and fruits, and some tropical plants can be seen here.
In addition to the scenic spots recommended by these travel agencies, the scenery on the road is also worth seeing. Volcanic lava, blue lakes, tenacious grass and moss on both sides of the road, and the steam emitted by the local unique geothermal heat rose into the sky and connected with the clouds. As well as glaciers and mountains in the distance, the ever-changing scenery will make you stop to take pictures from time to time. We stopped three times just to see the scenery on the road, which led to the end of the day's trip two hours later than scheduled.
Blue lagoon: It is an artificial lake and the largest open-air hot spring in the world. 1976, in order to build a power plant, workers injected seawater into the surrounding low-lying volcanic rocks, but mistakenly dissolved the minerals on the rock surface. Experts found that these mineral springs are helpful to treat skin diseases, so they developed hot spring centers. There is a saying that if you don't go to the Blue Lagoon, you have never been to Iceland.
The light blue lake is shrouded in fog, just like a fairyland. The best way to enter the fairyland is to jump into the hot springs and blend in with the beautiful scenery. The white mud at the bottom of the blue lagoon is the best natural mask, and the skin feels smooth after use. After taking a hot spring bath, I feel refreshed and all my troubles are gone.
Sightseeing in the city: Presidential Palace, the site of the US-Soviet 1986 Summit, City Hall, Prime Minister's Office, Parliament Building, Cathedral and Pearl Building (overlooking Reykjavik). The overall architectural style is similar to other cities in northern Europe. Reykjavik is only two blocks from here, and it doesn't take an hour to visit there. Because few people are friendly, all kinds of animals live happily. We stayed by the lake in front of the city hall for a long time, feeding swans and seagulls, and realized the harmony between man and animals.
Other tourism projects: Because this is a group tour, there is no chance to experience other tourism projects. According to the introduction of local tourists in Iceland, there are generally the following kinds of tourism contents in Iceland: horseback riding, northern lights, glacier travel, winter (skiing) travel, yacht harbor tour (including whale watching), which are all worth visiting from the pictures introduced. There is only one self-help travel book of China people that can be found online:. tw/spot/diary_country.asp？ cgrfnbr=69 .
Visa: Iceland is a Schengen country and anyone with a Schengen visa can enter the country. Therefore, if you have a visa from some countries in northern Europe or western Europe, you don't need to re-visa.
Transportation: There is no direct flight from Iceland to China, but it usually transits from London, Frankfurt and Copenhagen. It is said that because there are more tourists in China now, direct flights from China to Iceland are being negotiated. We flew from Helsinki, Finland to Iceland, and then left Iceland for Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes about 3 hours one way.
Time difference: The time difference between Iceland and China is 8 hours, and daylight saving time is not used.
Guide: Domestic travel agencies usually arrange Nordic tours to Iceland, usually for one or two days. Suggest that they must go to the Blue Lagoon and the Golden Ring. The blue lagoon is generally a self-funded project, and the cost of soaking in a hot spring is about 150 RMB. You'd better bring your own swimsuit.
Shopping: Most local things are imported. The local specialty is wool products, and the consumption level is very high. If you can't buy it, don't buy it. Our guide didn't take us to the shopping spot. Many small souvenirs are made in China, so don't buy them.
Other precautions: the local socket is round, and the improved connector should be prepared; The local hotel only provides direct drinking water, not boiled water. If you need to make tea, you need to bring your own electric kettle.
Iceland, living in the northwest corner of Europe, never flatters the outside world. Being in this land seems to be hidden in the world. Iceland has only 300,000 people. Icelanders have no pressure of GDP, no overtime work and a quiet and peaceful life. The tourist seasons in Iceland are usually June, July and August. In September, tourists from Iceland are all Chinese-speaking compatriots. This year, 3,000 people from China visited Iceland, more than double that of last year, and this growth trend will continue for several years. I hope that the arrival of a large number of China people will not destroy peace and harmony.