🇮🇸 Top 15 souvenirs from Iceland

Iceland can hardly claim the title of “country for shopping”: the prices here are quite steep. However, the souvenirs are so tempting! The unique nature and way of life of the inhabitants also give rise to an unusual set of gifts that tourists can take with them to the “mainland”. We'll tell you in our publication what to stop at when your eyes widen in the souvenir shop.

Lopapeysa

Or the Icelandic national sweater. Some may consider it old-fashioned, but Icelanders delicately call it “anti- globalistic,” that is, demonstrating local culture contrary to all modern fashion trends.

The island's sheep farming has been the basis of the Icelandic economy since time immemorial. And lambs not only give peace to the eyes of those looking at them. But also wool for these very warm sweaters. 

Traditionally, they are white or black, but in this matter the locals still succumbed to consumerism: sweaters of different colors appeared at the request of the public. Authentic lopapeys are also free of zippers and buttons.

Like everything made from eco -materials, lopapeys are quite expensive. On average, one sweater will cost $200. But the warmth he gave is priceless.

Lava pieces

Not everything in Iceland costs a lot of money. You can give your friends an unusual, simple and at the same time valuable gift that lies under your feet – frozen pieces of lava. 

Iceland lies between two tectonic plates. Earthquakes, eruptions, faults are the order of the day here. Signs of the island's turbulent youth in the form of fragments of tectonic plates can be found in Thingvellir National Park. And there is plenty of frozen lava near the volcanic lake Kerid. 

If, having admired the beauty, you forgot to collect pebbles on a trip along the Golden Circle (we talked about a trip around the Golden Circle of Iceland here), you can fill the gap in the souvenir shop. There, basalt, granite and lava souvenirs are sold already in processed form.

Tea Bloðberg

Taking into account the fact that the ban on alcohol in Iceland began to be gradually lifted only in 1922, in this harsh country you still need to warm up with something. The banal answer for us is tea. But where is Iceland and where is Ceylon? I had to look for local substitutes. This is how Bloðberg Arctic thyme tea was born.

This drink not only has an excellent taste, but also a healing effect. Icelanders consider it an indispensable remedy in the fight against colds and indigestion. 

Salt Salt 

We continue our gastronomic shopping with unusual sea salt Saltverk. Among the company's assortment you can find such items as smoked birch, lava, licorice, seaweed and arctic thyme salts.

And it’s better to really “annoy” your friends and family and take with you a gift set of different types of salt.

Icelandic literature

As you already learned during your excursions in Iceland, the first settlers here were the Vikings more than a thousand years ago. This makes their culture, language and customs similar to the Norwegians, Danes and Swedes (don’t forget to read about what to bring as a gift from these northern countries). One such common trait is a love of stories or sagas.

It's hard not to fall in love with northern folklore. The sagas tell of brave travelers, invincible warriors and wise kings. A fairy tale for adults, like a time machine, takes us into the darkness of time.

If you are tired of antiquity, then there is a reason to turn to modern literature. Small Iceland, population 400,000, has its own Nobel Prize winner, Halldor Laxness, a highly respected figure among the locals. He was also loved in the Soviet Union: Laxness was a socialist and therefore easily bypassed Soviet censorship.  

There is no need to worry that the books you have purchased will remain dead weight on your shelf due to your lack of knowledge of Icelandic. The English language and literature in it are widespread in the country. You can also find works in other languages. 

Condoms Enjoy Our Nature

Did you not expect such a turn after Icelandic literature? Yes, the islanders are unpredictable. Their creativity and ingenuity erupts like a geyser, in the most unexpected places. 

In this case, students from one of the Icelandic art schools distinguished themselves. Those who took the task of popularizing their native nature very close to their hearts. The result was a series of condoms with an ambiguous image of the wonders of Iceland:

• geyser,
• sea ​​cliffs Reynisdraungar,
• eruption,
• steam from the Hengill geothermal station,
• eruption of Bursaborgir,
• northern lights.

So interesting and informative that you can forget about the main thing. By the way, here we have put together a selection of resorts for adults only.

Brennivin

Walk like that. And after the piquant souvenir number six, we suggest you get a bottle of the national strong drink – brennivina. In appearance, it is not only unattractive, but even ascetic due to its black colors. They appeared in the design with a certain intent. After the abolition of the Prohibition Law on strong drinks in 1935, so that the population would not immediately fall into the arms of the green serpent, bottles of strong alcohol were marked with a black label to scare them away. The persecuted brennivin was even nicknamed “the black death” for its gloomy design.

But enough anti-advertising. Brennivin is a classic Nordic aquavit, that is, a drink made most often from potato alcohol, with the aroma of dill or caraway. The drink is smelly for a reason. Icelanders often use it in winter, during the pagan holiday of Torrablout. No, not for keeping warm. And to beat the aftertaste of haukarl, dried Greenland shark meat. And, perhaps, to forget this terrible gastronomic mistake. 

Brennivin has its own special consumption culture. It is drunk very cold, left in the refrigerator until it thickens. Icelanders are accustomed to drinking the drink clean and enjoy the cumin-dill notes with pleasure. But you can also mix aquavit with carbonated drinks or even coffee (in a one to two ratio this forms the famous hreppstjórakaffi cocktail). 

This drink, like any alcohol in general, has a very limited sales area in Iceland. The country has a state monopoly on the sale of alcohol. Therefore, you can buy brennivin and even just beer only in a few Vínbúðin stores, as well as in Duty Free at the airport.  

Licorice sweets

Where would we be without them in Northern Europe? The shelves of Icelandic supermarkets clearly testify to the locals' licorice addiction. A rare confectionery product is offered without its inclusions. I even got to try the jet black licorice ice cream.

Iceland definitely taught me to love this strange substance. And she made me carry pockets full of licorice sweets back home. Not least because they were the most affordable gifts. If you're looking for ways to save money while traveling, be sure to read our helpful tips.

Haukarl

A gift option for the most daring. Many people have heard about surströmming, the Swedish national rotten herring, which has an unbearable stink, which attracts a lot of curious people to it (we wrote about the most unusual dishes from Candidate cuisine here ). The Icelanders also decided to keep up with their ancestors and transformed the dish into the national style: rotten herring is banal. Long live the rotten shark!

Anyway, okay. It is not always called rotten. Sometimes pickled, or even very diplomatically – dried. But rest assured, the smell will be stunning. It’s not for nothing that this delicacy is usually washed down with brennivine. To somehow get rid of the smell left by the fragrant shark. 

“Appetite” appears after reading the haukarl recipe:

… The shark is decapitated. Then, in order to get rid of toxic substances, which in normal gastronomic practice make the shark inedible, a shallow hole is dug in the sand, and the carcass of the fish is placed there, covered with stones. Due to the pressure of the stones, specific substances are released from the meat. Over the course of several weeks, the shark officially ferments and unofficially goes rotten.

At the end of the period, the fermented shark is removed from the ground, cut into long pieces and hung to dry for several months. The dish is ready, welcome to the table!…

It is unlikely that you will become a connoisseur of haukarl; it is a hearty delicacy, feasible only for the harsh descendants of the Vikings. But hakarl brought from Iceland will definitely attract attention and become a welcome guest at any party… until the jar is opened. 

And also…

A rare visitor to the legendary Blue Lagoon mud resort will leave empty-handed. Having experienced the cosmetic and healing effects of mud, tourists willingly buy branded masks, creams and balms there. You can familiarize yourself with the assortment in advance on the website.

Not the most humane, but very impressive purchase – animal skins. The ancient Vikings covered tables with such “tablecloths” during feasts. Therefore, such a souvenir will be a wonderful decoration for a room decorated in a chalet style. Deer and elk skins are especially prized.

Just like the Norwegians, Icelanders dote on their folklore characters, trolls. This is not to say that trolls in fairy tales are kind creatures. But the Icelandic ones turned out to be very nice. With their sly grins from your shelf, they will more than once reproduce pleasant hours spent on a distant island.

And, of course, countless standard souvenirs with national flavor. Magnets, postcards, mittens and scarves, whiskey stones and coasters, Viking ships and snow globes – all this will perfectly complement your vivid memories of the trip.