march-2012

FEATURES | REYKJAVIK
REYKJAVIK BASICS
THE CITY BY NUMBERS HAVE A WORD (OR TWO)
119,108
THE CITY’S POPULATION
€29,600
AVERAGE ANNUAL SALARY
OF AN ICELANDER
753,022
NUMBER OF PASSENGERS
THAT PASS THROUGH
KEFLAVIK AIRPORT
EVERY YEAR
21.09
NUMBER OF HOURS OF
SUNLIGHT ON 21 JUNE, THE
LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR
100
BEST-GUESS NUMBER OF
BARS AND CLUBS IN
THE CITY (THEY COME
AND GO)
30,000
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF
PUFFINS ON LUNDEY ISLAND
IN REYKJAVIK BAY DURING
THE SUMMER
330BC
Greek explorer Pytheas
sails in search of the
end of the Earth,
heading up from
Marseilles, and fi nds
an island six days north
of Britain.
54 | TRAVELLER
THE ICELANDIC TIMELINE
874
Norwegian Viking
Ingólfur Arnarson
becomes Iceland’s fi rst
documented settler.
He lands in Reykjavik,
attracted by the steam
from the hot springs.
In Iceland, as is the case in all Nordic countries, English is widely spoken,
though a few words of the native tongue could come in useful. Icelandic is
actually similar to medieval Norse – the language of the Vikings...
HELLO
HIHI OR HÁLLO (HAI HAI OR HA-LOH)
GOODBYE
BLESS (BLEHSS)
YES
JÁ (YA)
NO
NEI (NAY)
PLEASE
(NO WORD IN THE LANGUAGE FOR IT)
THANKS
TAKK (TAHK)
WHERE IS…?
HVER ER…? (KVATH ER)
1000
Some time in the 11th
century, Leifur Heppni
sets sail and discovers
a new land to the west
that he calls Vinland.
It’s now thought he
discovered America.
1262
Iceland comes under
Norwegian rule. In the
next hundred years,
as power struggles
aff ect Scandinavia, the
nation becomes part of
Denmark.
1783-4
The island’s volcanic
eruptions bring a drop
in temperature that
causes crop failure,
drought and famine,
killing over six-million
people worldwide.