Hot Dog!

The Icelandic hot dog, or pýlsur, is like the kind you find at a 7-11 (or 10-11 in Iceland). Not terribly good or good for you, but cheap and available anywhere, all the time. Two rather sad looking pýlsur constitute lunch today, sprinkled with the traditional fried onion bits.

Then it's time to herd all the children back on board the bus, and off to our next destination. More interesting cultural facts enroute:

Icelanders start English language studies from age 11, and Danish from age 12. This explains the proficiency in English of most residents, and why Microsoft once considered withdrawing Icelandic translation/localization for Windows.

There are nine public universities and colleges in Iceland, where tuition is free. The two private universities charge about $3000 per year. Many Icelanders then go abroad, mostly to Scandinavia, for more specialised study and research.

The only native animal of Iceland is the Arctic Fox. All others were imported, with varying degrees of catastrophe (mink, squirrels, raccoons). The many, many (over one million) sheep which roam the countryside are atypically individualistic, and certainly act that way. The Icelandic horse (of which there are 70 thousand) is another unique animal, shorter and stockier than other breeds, with a distinctive gait.

Icelandic horses

Due to the short growing season, farms in Iceland are heavily subsidized.

Icelandic farm