"Iceland" a Iceland Travel Page by Anthony_Bourdain

Iceland is out there on its own, a volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic. It sits just below the Arctic Circle. Steam rising from its hot springs and geysers. Less than 300,000 people live here. It feels extraterrestrial. Hit it in wintertime with only four hours of sunlight a day, and you feel like you’re walking on a frozen planet.

What may seem like a dark, dank, suicidal time of year for most people, is in fact for Icelanders anything but. I’ve come down with a severe case of the winter doldrums myself. And instead of sitting in front of the sunlamp or chugging down fish liver oil smoothies, I head to Iceland to see what their secret is. I’m told they manage to turn the extended hard day’s night into a rollicking good time, eating, drinking and pumping iron?

Athletic facilities in general fill me with terror and dread. Look. I can’t even make it to the gym when it’s sunny and the cab drops me off at the front door. I need a little more than the promise of sweaty, ripped abs and better health if I’m going to drag myself out of bed on a cold, dark morning.

But exercise just happens to be one of the ways Icelanders preserve their health and sanity during the winter. No wonder the world’s strongest man for many years was from this country. You’d expect the locals to be walking around pale thin and bleary eyed. Yet oddly, Icelanders are among the healthiest people on Earth. With a long life expectancy that ranks second only to the Japanese. Apparently this country’s Viking roots remain close to the surface, and a little darkness doesn’t turn them soft.

Iceland is out there on its own, a volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic. Hit it in wintertime with only four hours of sunlight a day, and you feel like you’re walking on a frozen planet. What may seem like a dark, dank, suicidal time of year for most people, is in fact for Icelanders anything but. I’m told they manage to turn the extended hard day’s night into a rollicking good time, eating, drinking and pumping iron?

Exercise is one of the ways Icelanders preserve their health and sanity during the winter. No wonder the world’s strongest man for many years was from this country. Athletic facilities in general fill me with terror and dread. Look. I can’t even make it to the gym when it’s sunny and the cab drops me off at the front door. I need a little more than the promise of sweaty ripped abs and better health if I’m going to drag myself out of bed on a cold, dark morning. But I’m with some of Iceland’s elite strongmen and they have just the thing for me.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Greta, the gym’s resident mom and chef, is making up some kjotsupa for the muscle dudes. A traditional lamb soup made of fatty lamb, rutabaga, onion, carrot, celery, cabbage, leek and a fistful of rice to thicken. It’s a kind of hearty peasanty food I really like. This heaping bowl of protein is the feed of choice for the strong guys in training. They eat it before and after exercise. Before and after. Yeah. Me, I’d eat two bowls of this then I’d need a nice, long nap. I wouldn’t feel like lifting heavy objects. They say the soup makes you bulky and strong. I’ve had three bowls and I’m getting nowhere.

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Special VT Contributor Anthony Bourdain
Author and chef Anthony Bourdain travels the world seeking the authentic experiences and food that flavor the world’s cultures. Join him on his journey, on No Reservations, his new series on the Travel Channel. Meet Anthony, talk about the show, and view Anthony’s photo journals. Visit travelchannel.com/AnthonyBourdain