Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.03.2019, Síða 6

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6 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • March 15 2019
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ONE REFRESHING TRAVEL GUIDE
Kai Oidtmann; translated by
John Sykes
Cologne, Germany: Emons Verlag, 2017,
240 pages
Reviewed by Stefan Jonasson
I long ago stopped buying travel guides to
Iceland. It’s not that they’re without value;
it’s simply that I had acquired several of the
major guides as an armchair traveller and, having
done so, there seemed little reason to acquire the
updates. Occasionally, I’d see a new travel guide
but flipping through the pages I’d find little new
information. Besides, when I finally got around
to visiting Iceland myself – again and again and
again – my own familiarity with the country
came to surpass any advice I might get from
travel writers. And then there’s the abundant
information available online.
So I wasn’t expecting to add a travel guide to
my library last month when I noticed 111 Places
in Iceland That You Shouldn’t Miss at McNally
Robinson Booksellers. Hesitantly, I picked the
book off the shelf and began flipping through
the pages, expecting to find the usual places that
are already overrun by tourists. What I actually
found were several familiar but thoughtfully
selected places that struck me as good choices to
recommend to visitors who wish to see more than
the usual tourist haunts. Then I started noticing
several places that were not familiar to me –
some I’d never even heard about. By the third
or fourth time I found myself thinking, “I didn’t
know about that,” I decided to buy the book.
Naturally enough, the 111 places identified
by Kai Oidtmann represent subjective choices,
but they all have merit – and most are places
that are easily missed by visitors. I would come
up with quite a different list and there’s no risk
that I’ll join the Wall of Champions of the “111
Places Challenge” by visiting all 111 places
– some of them simply don’t interest me – but
I’ve already crossed the 50 Places threshold and
might conceivably reach 75 or more. And I’ve
started making a list of the new places I plan to
visit on my next trip to Iceland.
The format of the book presents the 111 places
on a series of two-page spreads with a photograph
on the right showing some aspect of the place
with a caption giving the address, opening hours,
and the roads that take you there (including the
bus routes for sites in Greater Reykjavík), along
with a personal tip from the author. Unlike many
travel guides, the photos aren’t over-processed to
make each place look better than it really is –
they look like the kind of images that reasonably
accomplished amateur photographers might take
on their own vacations. On the left-hand page,
there is about a 600-word description of each
place explaining what makes it interesting while
adding background information to expand on
why it’s important. The writing style is concise,
informative, elegant, and sometimes whimsical.
The author, Kai Oidtmann, lives in Cologne,
Germany, where he writes primarily for radio
and television. According to the biographical
sketch about him, “Iceland immediately cast a
spell over him, despite his fondness for warmer
climates. Spectacular natural beauty in the
countryside, cultural diversity in the city, and
people who don’t easily get worked up – these
qualities awaken his wanderlust for Iceland.”
Kai Oidtmann’s enthusiasm for Iceland shines
through the pages of 111 Places in Iceland That
You Shouldn’t Miss and the places he picked
would add up to a memorable experience for any
visitor to Iceland, whether they’re drawn by the
country’s natural beauty, its cultural diversity, or
the unflappable people who live there.
111 Places in Iceland That You Shouldn’t Miss
PHOTOS: STEFAN JONASSON
Viðey. Einar Jónsson sculpture museum in Reykjavík.
Above right: Ylströnd at Nauthólsvík.
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