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ICELAND-features
In Iceland there are approximately 265.000 people,of which more
than half live in and around the capital Reykjavik. Fishery
stands for 80% of Iceland's export.
Iceland is expensive. A liter of milk soon costs 50 Belgian fr, a
little sandwich 100 fr..
We hadn't expected this, so our holidays changed into a survival
trip... We found the
Icelandic system of namegiving very peculiar:
10% of the Icelanders have a system of first name and family
name,as on the continent.
The others use the following system : to form the family name you
use the first name of the father and you add "son"
or
"dottir" to it.
e.g. : Jonsdottir means the daughter of Jon;
Sigurđur Jonsson means Sigurđur, son of Jon.
It is also possible to use the first name of the mother :
e.g. : Helga is your mother's name, your name could be: Ragnar
Helguson
It is even possible to use both your father's and your mother's
name:
e.g. : Jonsson
Helguson or Helguson Jonsson.
People are addressed with their first name and the telephone book
is ordered according to the first name. Married women don't take
on their husband's name.
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We have been visiting Iceland for a whole month "while we were
still young", with our backpack and little tent.
We toured around the whole island, along the coastal route, and to the
interior, towards the area around Askja.
The things we'll always remember :
the loneliness and the expanded, deserted but beautiful landscapes.
Trying to get a lift when there only passes one car in a day or a week
isn't
easy!
We were really poor overthere, everything was (much) too expensive for
us .
The year before we went to Hungary and overthere we were very rich
with the same budget.
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the glacier is melting gradually
in this small lake
