by Akim Reinhardt
It was my first time visiting, and before arriving, I didn't know much about this nearly arctic island other than some vagaries about vikings and banking scandals. So I had very little in the way of preconceived notions about the cuisine, and didn't expect anything in particular.
It turns out the food was quite good. There's lots of soup, and I'm a whore for soup, so that was a good match. Also tons of seafood, which is another favorite of mine, although it doesn't quite drive me to walk the streets with a handkerchief dangling behind my shoulder. And then there's also various treats, ranging from liquor to throat lozenges, that feature harshly medicinal herbal flavors. Cheers to that, I say.
Oh, and the chocolate. Far better than I would've guessed. No nonsense. Dark, chalky and delicious.
I don't eat meat, so all that mutton was lost on me, but overall I found Iceland to be a wonderful culinary experience. However, there were also elements of the surreal, which is often the case when one ventures into a new land for the first time. And that is what I would like to share in this photo essay.
What follows are images of and brief comments about things that are neither right or wrong, but rather just make me smile and remind me that we are all very strange.
Wait. Okay, some of them are actually quite wrong and don't make me smile at all, but we can't turn away. So let the menagerie begin.
Can't we just agree that if puffins and whales are to be paired, it should be on an inspirational poster hanging in that one person's cubicle at work?
I ordered the punch. It was strong.
When regular old pig. won't do . . . pig!
Extra corn flakes, hold the bullshit.
Nothing says sexy women's wear like a roasted mutton head.
Who knew a bread bowl could be so shockingly racist?
If the bread bowl racism was a surprise, then the chocolate racism was de rigueur. Oh, those whacky Europeans!
It's like a taste of honey, but drier. And sharkier.
It's kropp, I tell you. Pure kropp!
Personally, I prefer lazy bread, but when in Rome . . .
krydd. It's what's for dinner.
Submitted without comment.
Horses and Whales. They go together like shoobop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom.
Sol Gryn. For when you're all out of kropp and krydd.
Akim Reinhardt's website is ThePublicProfessor.com