My friend Judy and I flew into Keflavik at 6:30 a.m. Iceland time, Sunday morning, after having left Minneapolis at 7:20 p.m. Saturday. The flight was 5 1/2 hours, but we crossed 6 time zones. It took about 20 minutes from the airport into Reykjavik on a new Mercedes-Benz bus. After resting for a few hours at the Höfdi Hotel, we went out to explore Reykjavik. We hadn't walked more than a couple of block down Laugavegur, the main shopping street in the old part of the city, before I spotted this curious display window (photo on right) at a trendy clothing store.

   Iceland didn't come out of the Middle Ages until the 1980s, but when they did, they did it with a vengeance. These people are gadget crazy, all 286,725 (Dec. 2001) of them! Everyone, even the kids, have at least one cell 'phone, and the Internet is everywhere. And I've never seen so many new cars and trucks in one place. It seems like the mode of transportation of choice are wide-fendered Toyota 4-Runners and Nissan Pathfinders -- preferably Diesel powered. Gasoline costs close to two bucks per liter ($7 - 8 /gal), so that's understandable. As for the rest of the cars, you see every conceivable European make, but very few American models. Anything from a car that looks like it should be electric (small Diesel), Smart, by Chrysler-Mecedes-Benz, to Fiats, Alfa-Romeos, Renaults, Citroens, Peugeots, Skodas (Czech), Opels, Mercedes-Benzs, BMWs (some Z3s), even Ladas (Russian). Then there was the usual plethora of Japanese and Korean cars, although some of the model were not the same, nor carried the same names as in the U.S. We rented a tiny Toyota, called "Yaris" (?), from Hertz Bílaleiga, for seven days. Noticeable by their absence were British cars. There still might be some lingering animosity against the Brits over the Cod Wars, who knows. What about Volvos, or SAAB-Scanias, you ask? You'd think these cars would be a natural choice, with both countries being part of the Nordic Trade Union. Maybe the Icelanders were boycotting Sweden, too, for some reason. My suspicion is the labor cost in Sweden is maybe even higher than in Iceland! However, at least some police cars were Volvos, with "LÖGREGLAN" written on them. 

Roadwork is an ongoing battle in Iceland, because glaciers and volcanoes don't make a very good mix. There is so much geothermal energy under the ice caps that it causes major flooding in the coastal regions where most of the roads are, especially in the south. Here is where Mother Volvo shines, by providing a lot of the road working equipment. Big Scania trucks are also very popular, as are Mercedes-Benz and MAN haulers. Outside Reykjavik, and the towns, there is almost no traffic, except tour busses and other rental cars. The brand of busses seem to follow the trucks: Scania, Mercedes-Benz, and MAN.

   As far as classic Volvos, I only saw one, in Akureyri, which is the second largest city (pop. 15,635) after greater Reykjavik (pop.156,733), located at the base of a long fjord in the north. We just came into town, looking for our hotel, driving way past it. In the process of looking to make a U-turn, I spotted what looked like a completely restored, red, 122 in a gas station on the opposite side of the street. We finally got turned around and made our way back, but the Volvo was gone.