What the Oz paper states as fact about Iceland...

Agree - it's the first article I've ever seen about Iceland that talks about anything more than steaming water, and actually made the place sound terrific. He came away loving it.

The set-up of the "stereotype" para is a great device to remind you what the usual stereotypes are and then to demolish them by the end. He even manages to make you realise that there must bhe an active gay pride movement in about 3 words - that's brilliant economy of words (wish I could do that - lol)

Marr is a fabulous writer imho.

Agree - he's a superb writer.

Anyone panning this hasn't read it IN CONTEXT. It's the first travel piece I've ever read that made we want to visit Iceland.

Only 1.5 gen Oz Ian (dad's a scot, mum born in Aus).

Don't confuse an airhead with facts dj - not appropriate.

I also thought it was an entertaining travel piece and a good example of pushing the genre (the question arises as to what the normally dour David Marr was doing gallivanting around the lava flows and ice floes, but what does it matter?)

Yet what would a crim know? And I am actually descended from crims Smeds - sent down at the Lincoln Assizes in 1785 - and proud of it. We had to keep our sense of humour through such adversity ...

BTW - is this a record for Australian Crims concurrently on a Euro-Scando thread?

The population is less than of Tasmania - correct
The women are beautiful - correct
and ever thing is expensive - close enough
the roads are dodgy - I found the 2wd gravel roads to be generally pretty good. A good thing considering a lot of Icelanders drive like selfish idiots. Besides that they are generally very friendly and helpfull.
no forests - not true
no weeds?

That's not fair rosstralia - comments from someone who's actually been there.

obviously it is.

Obviously sarcasm is lost on someone...

I've never been to the Scando Branch before. I have been to Finland, but according to purists, that's not Scandinavia. Is it included in this branch?

Let me know when I return from the sauna.

Hope you have the birch branch ready for self-flagellation - plus some snow to roll in.

+Obviously sarcasm is lost on someone...+ Does this mean anything to you?