Today is Iceland's day of independance. Many in other countries such as Ukraine, Madagascar or United States might think it is uninhabitable, it is not. Quite on the contrary, I have never seen an igloo with my own eyes although some while ago I did try to build one.
Iceland's history, or sagas are old, but that stuff is relative, that is to say it depends on your viewpoint. Us Icelanders have a nice folklore tale about the first (recognised) settlers on this remote island. Back in the middle of the eigth century AD or so a Norwegians ruler named Haraldur had decided to unite all of Norway under himself. he wouldn't under any circumstances cut his hair until this goal of his had been reached and therefore by 874 AD had earned the nickname "harfagri" (rough translated "prettyhair"). A bunch of Norwegians were unhappy with Haraldur's conquer and divide policy and set sail for a better future. They found Iceland and as folklore has it, Ingólfur Arnarson, when approaching the shores set adrift a couple of wooden poles. Where these poles would wash ashore, Reykjavík was founded.
Christianity caught up with us in 1000 AD (not 999 or 1001 heheh) and so did the Norwegians in 1262. Sometime in the middle ages intermarriages between Scandinavian roaylty shuffles us over to the Danes and around 1541 (if my memory serves me) we convert to protestantism.
In 1905 Iceland regains autonomy from Denmark. Alþingi is no more a voice that can be muted. Come the second world war and occupancy of Denmark, we become independent sixy years ago.
It's not especially small (just over 100.000 square kilometers) but it's landscape is young, relatively speaking it wasn't formed so long ago. With a population around 290.000 mostly concentrated around the capital in the south west corner. Tectonically speaking, we are on America's side of the Atlantic, just like Greenland. Our culture, like so many others, has unfortunately become saturated with American filth from Hollywood. Today the Icelandic flag was flying everywhere, but when people came home from listening to our chubby prime minister address they watched The King of Queens or Malcolm in the middle. What waste of Icelandic time.
I just don't think those shows are funny. I went walking through our downtown area. Usually it is rather empty, Icelanders just don't have the critical mass population needed to sustain a thronged city center. Today on the other hand it was about as filled as...well my imagination fails me. It was a joyous sunny afternoon. People smiled and bought hot dogs or those foamy sugary sticks for their children. Vendors were everywhere because there was demand. Entertainers did poetry with chalks on the streets, bands were playing on multiple stages, street artists pretended this and that and some original minds had the idea to let people draw pictures so they could be computer drawn later and made into a cartoon. I did one of a woman shopping in a super market.