With all those dramatic volcanoes and glaciers, Iceland has become known as the Land of Fire and Ice. But we like to think of it as the Land of Legends and Poetry, a place to go adventuring with your extrovert pals, then curl up with a great book and a cozy sweater for some epic introverting. Literature is baked into Icelandic culture, starting with the Sagas and carrying through medieval warrior poets to today: The capital city of Reykjavík is a designated UNESCO City of Literature and home to both the Iceland Writers Retreat and the Iceland Noir Festival. When you're ready to explore the island, start in the capital for fancy cocktails, the vibrant food scene, and friendly locals. Then hit the road — the Ring Road — to circumnavigate the island and see fantastical sites along the way: volcanoes and lava fields, waterfalls and glaciers, puffins and horses with emo bangs, the black church and dramatic sea cliffs — plus northern lights, turquoise-colored hot springs, a troll or two, and wee elf houses. In this episode, we dig into the charming idiosyncrasies of the Icelandic language, get real about Vikings, and celebrate powerful Icelandic women. We also recommend five great books that transported us there on the page: The Island by Ragnar Jónasson How Iceland Changed the World by Egill Bjarnason The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea The Almost Nearly Perfect People by Michael Booth The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes at http://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/2022-04-25-iceland Do you enjoy our show? Do you want access to awesome bonus content? Please support our work on Patreon! Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside - https://www.patreon.com/strongsenseofplace As always, you can follow us at: Our web site at Strong Sense of Place Patreon Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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