Erasmus Experience in Reykjavík, Iceland by Maud

Why did you choose to go to Reykjavík, Iceland?

For me personally, it was the landscape. I study Geology and, for those longing to see some undaunted nature, Iceland is definitely the place to be. This is honestly the first destination that I've visited that is truly as astonishing as the Google pictures make you believe. Apart from the amazing views I also went for the people and mindset. Icelanders are very open-minded in my experience and there's not much that is taboo. This can be very different from what you are used to back home and is very surprising in the beginning in many unexpected ways. On the other hand, Icelanders can seem very harsh in their way of speaking. They are pretty direct and don't go around about their opinions. Though it must be said they're always polite, so don't feel offended by this even though their humor often has a harsh tone to it as well. Eventually, Icelanders are incredibly creative and enjoy good company. This is well reflected in their culture and lifestyle.

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What is the food like?

Many foods presented as typical Icelandic are tourist attractions. In the Faroes, they do actually eat whale blubber, sheepsheads, and fermented shark but Icelanders will probably react just as disgusted as you will be after having a taste. Nevertheless, definitely worth a try to bring a bag home as a souvenir and have your relatives taste some rotten shark! Fish-industry has long been the main Icelandic economical drive and is therefore also a specialty of Icelandic kitchen. The Icelandic hotdog is also very different from the American but I honestly like it better. Veggies are of less quality than in the Netherlands but not necessarily bad. There's many varieties of Vegan food available and some nice vegan restaurants as well. Meat is crazy expensive anyway... I love a nice piece of meat on my plate but mostly eat vegan here because of the prices. Cheese is the same. They have 1 factory where they mix all the milk regardless of the type of cattle that produced it and make different shapes of cheese which all taste exactly the same. Icelandic cheese is expensive and not good... Furthermore, they have everything. Bonus is the cheapest though prices may vary from store to store. I personally like Hagkaup. They have more different brands and a wider product range overall.

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Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Reykjavík?

You must be really well aware of living costs in Reykjavík before you decide to come here and make a well educated monthly calculation of your costs to make sure you can provide yourself. Regular accommodation will easily cost you 650, - to 850, - euros per month. Note that it takes some effort to find yourself accommodation, even outside the city center, so make sure you start looking way in advance of your departure.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

There are language courses available at University as well as in the city or online but don't underestimate! Icelandic is an incredibly hard language which is probably most related to Old Norse. To people with a Germanic language background it might be possible to grasp some words which relate to the Scandinavian languages but don't think they are the same. Anyone who is NOT used to Germanic language forms is going to have an even harder time. If you are doing an exchange for just half a semester I would recommend spending your time on other things because it's just not going to get you anything and almost all Icelanders speak perfect English so I won't even bother trying unless you are planning to stay for at least a year. I speak Dutch, German and some Swedish (All Germanic languages) but Icelandic sounds nothing like anything that I've ever heard before. Also, it's hard to practice because natives switch to English as soon as they notice you are foreign and amongst each other Icelandic doesn't sound anything like the language they teach in the 'Icelandic' courses. Don't expect to master the basics within 1 year unless you study language full-time and don't even bother if you are doing a short stay.

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What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Reykjavík from your city?

I'm from Utrecht (The Netherlands) and WOWair is definitely the cheapest option flying from Amsterdam. Beware! The quality matches the price. It's a good thing that it is just a 3-hour flight because you have no leg-space and the chairs are hard and uncomfortable and WOWair is almost never on time. (30 min - 1-hour delay on average) If you have little more to spare consider Icelandair. Major difference! If you have a car and want to take it, drive up to Denmark and take a 3-day ferry from there. Nice extra: A free 1-week stop over at the Faroes is included in your ticket-fee.

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Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Reykjavík in the future?

Bus connection in the capital region is amazingly good! Going out of the capital area can be difficult by public transport but car rental doesn't have to be expensive. Hertz and RED are definitely the cheapest. Be aware that everything goes by credit card so make sure you have one.

Did you know that Reykjavík was one of the locations in which the Games of Thrones was filmed? For more info, check out our full list of locations where this legendary TV series was filled!