Icelandic is such a shit language, you either say something so fast you don't bother to pronounce it all or you just say something completely different.
Imagine if this had happened in Poland, we'd have Poles coming on here saying "I KNOW YOU WILL FLAME US, BUT THIS IS VERY SAD DAY FOR ALL OF POLAND AND WORLD DONT UNRESPECT US, SILLY CHILDREN" or something.
Or the Spaniards would be saying how it was a really nice volcano and that smoke could've come from anywhere it might have been Morocco trying to frame them.
Man, cant wait to see if Katla erupts to. Fuck you world ! In 2004 some Icelandic guy predicted that Katla was going to erupt in about 2-5 years, bout time I guess :x
Heard somewhere that it would be 20x more powerful than the current eruption ? Gonne be crazy if it happens.
Yes, a large military base in the center. It's the reason why Greenland was hit with a giant freeze cannon in the mid-70s. It was covered up by saying the ice had always been there. On Greenland, lol.
I rofl'd when the story first broke, the reporters were going
"this is (name) reporting from...uh, *looks at the paper with the name of the volcano written on it... unhealthy pause... nervous glance around....* Iceland, back to you."
Me and my g/f wanted to do our upcoming holidays (one week in june) in either Denmark, Norway or Sweden. But now I'm seriously considering flying to Iceland. Any things I MUST see? (apart from vulcanos)
Hmm, depends what you're into, if you wanna travel to the country side or just stay around reykjavik. The usual tourist stuff I think is visit geysir, gullfoss, blue lagoon, glacier tours, whale watching. the nightlife in reykjavik can also be quite interesting believe it or not ;)
I think getting two bicycles and go around Raykjavik would be one of the things we'd like to do. Gullfoss and some geysirs are pretty much amongst our must-do list, too. What about the weather? How's it in mid june? Keep in mind I'm a german pussy!
It's wonderful, really. Beautiful country, nice people and a rich history, waiting to be explored.
There are a couple of things you should remember though. Both in the cities and the villages, you'll have little kids running after you. Do NOT, under NO circumstance, give them money. You won't be able to move once they know you're willing to give them money. If you want to be nice, bring one or two bars of chocolate to pass around. Make absolutely sure to show them your empty backpack afterwards, or you'll have the same problem as above.
On Tipping: Tipping in general is ok, but remember, your money will be a lot, and i mean a lot, for the natives. It's best to tip in hard currency, such as Euro's or Dollars. Around 10-15 cent (depending on currency) for a cab ride (horses) or 20 cent (motorized bus) should be plenty. Remember, about 18 Euros can feed a family for a month.
It's absolutely ok, and encouraged, to have a social conscience and act on it when traveling to iceland. Just don't hand out money to anyone who begs. Chances are he'll blow it on alcohol, crack or derivatives. There are plenty of sanctioned projects that you can support, both on location and from home. For example, volunteers build financial schools for the underprivileged all across iceland.
Most important: Have fun! Iceland won't stay the way it is right now for long. Soon, they'll be a fully functioning member of the global community. And while that is a noble goal, one can't but feel a bit of regret for much of the local flavor that will be lost in the process.
The problem comes because whenever people try to explain how to pronounce Icelandic words/sound they decide the most helpful way to do it is to say it faster than the speed of comprehensible speech.
Why do they feel the need to pronounce it? "The Icelandic volcano" would do, I mean I think we can just fucking assume it's the one THAT'S SPITTING OUT ASH OVER THE CONTINENT.