What do you know about Iceland? Most people only know that it's a fairly big island in the North Atlantic, and that Björk comes from there. But Iceland is much more!
Iceland is a volcanic island, with little trees and vegetation. 85% of the land is uninhabitable, and the Central Highlands are the largest untouched natural area in Europe. The land is very mountainous, and lava fields are very common. As are glaciers and hot water springs. This means you have an incredible amount of opportunities for outdoor activities - camping, biking, hiking, rafting, snowsledding...
Iceland is a republic, a former colony of Denmark. We got our independence in 1918 and the republic was declared in 1944, in the middle of World War II. Iceland also has the world's oldest parliament, Alþingi, founded in the year 930.
280.000 people live in Iceland, and a great majority in a relatively small area in the southwest. Reykjavik, the capital, has 170.000 inhabitants including suburbs. Icelanders speak Icelandic, a Germanic language closely related to Old Norse, but modern languages similar to Icelandic are f.ex. Norwegian, Swedish and Danish. Icelanders are descendants of Norwegians and Celts, who settled the island some 1100 years ago.
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