The Icelandic Phonebook Surprise

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Look up a phonebook in Iceland and a surprise awaits you. It is listed in first name order followed by surnames, occupations and addresses.

This makes good sense when you realise that everybody in Iceland is known by his or her first name and nobody uses Mr. or Ms. in any situation. Young children call their teachers and friend’s parents by their first name and Icelanders even reference their president by her first name. Unlike virtually all countries, Icelanders do not have surnames in the traditional sense. A surname in Iceland is simply their father’s name suffixed with either son for boys or dóttir for girls, based on the same patronymic system from the time of the Vikings.

This can be confusing when you consider that it means that a typical family of four will almost certainly have multiple different “surnames”. For example, if Jón Helgason (his father’s name is Helgi) and Margrét Magnúsdóttir (her father’s name is Magnús) have a son, then his surname will be Jónsson while his daughter would take the name Jónsdóttir – four different surnames in the same family!

In a strange way, I believe that this approach to names gives Iceland a greater sense of equality and respect in how they approach their lives with excellent gender and age balances in most walks of Icelandic life.

The well-known eclectic Icelandic singer Björk simply uses her first name as is the Icelandic tradition. According to Wikipedia being the daughter of Guðmundur, her full name is Björk Guðmundsdóttir of which there are a few in the phonebook.

Moreover, when choosing a name for a newly born, the parents must select a name already approved by the Icelandic naming board which would screw up some of those Hollywood types with a penchant for choosing weird names (like Dweezil, Moon Zappa, Diezel and Pilot Inspektor to nominate just a few). New names can be added by special application but they need to be Icelandic in nature.

Similar in motive to the names, a special group designs new Icelandic words to maintain the purity of the language from the Viking age. So rather than take modified English words for modern terms as many languages do (what is the word for computer or television in most languages?), the Icelanders create their own suitable words to maintain their language. So the word for telephone is sími (Viking word for thread) and computer is tölva (by combining Icelandic words for number and soothsayer).

With such a potpourri of surnames, it is little wonder that the Icelandic phone book is sorted by first names. Try the online version in Icelandic or English if you want to test it. Mind you, if the population were 300 million rather than 300,000, I suspect the system may not work as well.

Other Icelandic Posts
Lake of Dancing Icebergs
Astride the Continents
Nature’s Wonderland
Remote Sign

The Twenty Dollar View (Lake Louise, Canada)

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With familiar glittering scenes that grace Canadian brochures, the travel wonder of Lake Louise is sublime beauty on a large scale. Though tremendously popular in the warmer months overwhelming the tiny village, the three main natural sights of Lake Louise should be on any Rockies agenda.

With the grandiose Lake Louise Château perches on its shoreline, the emerald Lake Louise offers perfect reflections of the giant amphitheatre of surrounding mountains and tumbling Victoria Glacier. With a path that circumnavigates the lake, this deep brooding lake rarely reaches more than a few degrees above freezing point.

Even more scenically stunning is nearby Moraine Lake (top photo). The rich turquoise blue of the shimmering waters, caused by rock particles ground into dust over the years by glaciers and washed into the lake, reflect a grand range of ten jagged snow-capped peaks (all over 3000 metres). Trails run around the edge of the lake and through forests of pine trees but the best view is just left of the car park. Some seek the solitude of colourful canoes to help soak the immense beauty of this wonderful landscape while others just sit on the shoreline in silent admiration. Arrays of wildflowers add colour to the lush grassy fields.

The outlook has been nicknamed The Twenty Dollar View in a claim that greatly undervalues its beauty. A green and white picture that does the scene little justice graced the back of the Canadian twenty dollar bill for many years.

To get some appreciation of the entire Rockies vista around Lake Louise, a chairlift climbs Mount Whitehorn to a height of around 2000 metres. Lake Louise and its oversized hotel hide in one corner of this superb panorama enjoyable from various vantage points including the sun-soaked deck of a small café and display area. Various paths and trails crisscross this winter ski area offering views across the conifer-covered valley and to the splendid mountains, including Mt Quadra whose four peaks have the rough appearance of teeth jutting from a jaw.

Occasional bears are reported around the Lake Louise area, as are chipmunks, squirrels and boisterous birds.

If you are flying to Canada and the spectacular Rockies, include Lake Louise on your itinerary. However you choose to explore the travel wonder of Lake Louise, it is a place to take time to soak and admire the stunning panoramic alpine views and the vivid blue glacial lakes, and to walk and commune with nature on a grand scale.

Photo of the Week: Cathedral (La Paz, Bolivia)

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The cathedral, built in 1835, stands majestically in Plaza Murillo, in the world's highest capital city of La Paz. At 3800 metres above sea level (12,000 feet), the more affluent people live below the city where there is more oxygen rather than above La Paz with its panoramic views.

Peering from the Eagle's Nest (Berchtesgaden, Germany)

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Combining infamy and stunning natural beauty, the tiny town of Berchtesgaden is a German travel wonder. Surrounded by dazzling turquoise lakes, towering snow-capped mountains, brooding dark green forests, cute steep-sided churches and tumbling falls, Berchtesgaden seems unsuited to its sinister past.

Perched on the appropriately named Eagle’s Nest (Kehlstein), one of Hitler’s most faithful generals built a remote and highly secure meeting place for Hitler during World War II. Only accessible via a twisty mountain road and a final lift deeply embedded into the bedrock, the Kehlsteinhaus now serves as a tea-room with tasty, calorie-rich snacks. With staggering panoramic views of the Bavarian Alps, Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest House is more suitably sited as a fancy hotel or tea-room than a location to hatch battle plans and invasions.

Off the mountain is an outstanding and detailed museum called the Dokumentation Obersalzberg, rich in documents, photos and video footage of the Nazi war regime along with a section of the underground bunkers designed to protect the elite German senior officers.

A local salt mine can be entertainingly toured dressing in old mining gear and sliding down a wooden chute polished by thousands of slithering backsides into the mine area into a salty underworld. Travelling via a small mining train and riding a raft across a briny lake, the valuable salt was dug from these pits for over 500 years. Strange salt formations have been carved and lit a misty orange colour to add to the overall mining mood.

A highlight of the area is to ride a small silent electric boat that cruises along the deep emerald waters of Königssee in an amphitheatre of snow-capped alpine majesty towards the onion-domed church of St Bartholomä. Looking more Russian Orthodox than traditional church, the red domed whitewashed house of worship reflects across the gentle ripples of this glacial waterway. A short walk leads to the tumbling Röthbach Falls and another emerald lake.

Combined with the natural beauty of the Berchtesgaden National Park, the small town of Berchtesgaden is often a visitor’s last glimpse of Germany before rolling into the heartland of Austria. As a final taste of Germany, Berchtesgaden represents a superb last course, combining a major element of twentieth century history with an area of intense and lasting natural wonder.

Other Germany Posts
A Timeless Promise (Oberammergau Passion Play)
Bacon Beer and Bishops (Bamberg)
The World's Largest Advent Calendar (Gengenbach)

Win a Night in a Luxury Hotel

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The friendly folks at Priority Club Rewards has kindly offered a lucky Travel Wonders reader one night in a five star hotel available across over 4,300 IHG hotels in over 100 countries (**). The IHG hotels are household names with some of the best hotels in the world in their portfolio including InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites. IHG offer accommodation in all the major cities in the world, along with numerous smaller towns and off-the-beaten-path locations (a Holiday Inn recently opened on the Dead Sea in Jordan).

Anybody is eligible to join the program and members (there are over 44 million of them) immediately start to accrue points with eligible stays at the range of IHG hotels. To join, simply register at any IHG hotel or online at www.priorityclub.com. Additionally, air miles can be redeemed with over 40 airline partners including British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France and KLM.

Anyway, if you’d like to win a night of luxurious comfort, you simply need to complete the following two steps:

1. Add a comment on your select IHG Hotel in the world for a special stay and the reason why. Ensure that I can track you down if you win by leaving an email address or contact details within your URL.

2. Subscribe to Travel Wonders via email using the panel in the top right of the sidebar.


Entries will close on Friday, 9th October with the winner judged on the reasons for the special night. The winner will be announced on this blog and via email to the winner.

Note that the winner will be required to register an account with Priority Club Rewards and email me with their membership number. Priority Club Rewards will transfer the points directly into the account.

** Please note that the prize is for 25,000 points and will not cover a stay in an Intercontinental Hotel.