In the North Atlantic, roughly between Greenland and the United Kingdom, lies the small island nation of Iceland. And no, it does not mean that his name was icy. Iceland was named by something else by every foreigner who landed on its coast, but Iceland is written in the Norwegian language “Island”.
Although Iceland was blessed with all the hot water and geothermal energy that the country could use, resources were never their forte. However, for several reasons, tourism has become a large economic cash cow for Iceland, alongside fish and sheep. There are mountains to climb, snow to ski, horses to ride, food to grab, glaciers to dog sleds, you get a picture. And, of course, tourists must have a place to stay.
Hotels abound in almost every city and town in Iceland. In fact, if there is a gas station, there is a hotel with a half mile. Fresynes does this on a map, although the entire city consists of a gas station, a guest house, and a hotel. Okay, this is not a city. This is a stop.
Now everyone is angry. In the United States, people start to engage in Internet business as a full-time job or earn some money on the side. In Iceland, people open guest houses. Farmers, gas station managers, graphic designers, everyone has a place to rent. These are usually the ones that are also the most pleasant.
Hospital rooms may seem small when they are full of equipment, but when the building is repaired in a dormitory, bedrooms become spacious. An endless nursing home turns into a fantastically homely guest house.
The construction of new buildings, especially after the severe economic traumas of 2008, is prohibitively expensive, and therefore Icelanders take full advantage of the phrase “Use it, wear it, do it or make do with it”. In fact, they perform the first three so well that “do without” never comes into play. As you can see, real estate investments in Iceland are very creative.
Take, for example, Hotel Natur. New guest house across the Eyjafjordur fjord from the northern city of Akureyri. Originally a barn, it now boasts twenty-four luxuriously furnished rooms with private bathrooms, a dining room that will give most small restaurants for their money, conference rooms and a hot tub. Not bad for a long, low building used for storing hay until 2005.
With all this housing ready, Iceland just needs more visitors. Southern Europeans, such as the Spaniards and Italians, come in the winter. Summer for Germans, British and Americans and several Dutch tourists. Each group largely follows its season. However, Iceland is fantastic all year round. Rides change, as does daylight - in the winter darkness becomes 4:00 pm, and in summer it never gets dark, but the beauty of the country and people is always constant. Iceland is the world's best secret for a decent saga holiday.
