Original subtitles

Geysers, volcanoes, waterfalls.

The nature in Iceland is immense.

Here the four elements of nature

can be experienced as raw and close up

as in practically no other place on Earth.

Iceland's first settlers were bold from the offset.

They emancipated themselves from old Europe

in the 10th century by introducing a new form of government.

A millennium later, Iceland becomes the first country

to elect a female Head of State in 1980.

Three years later, the first ever

exclusively female party wins seats in parliament.

Based on population, Iceland is the most frequent winner

of Miss World and Mr. Universe,

while it's crime, unemployment, and child mortality rates

are the lowest worldwide.

Iceland also comes out on top for life expectancy,

income, and level of education,

and it's considered the world's most peaceful country.

And to top it off,

they're said to be the happiest people in the world.

But why? What's the North Sea island's secret?

Why are Icelanders so successful,

and supposedly happy to boot?

Iceland: island of sagas and legends.

"Voluspá, Prophecy of the Seeress,"

is considered to be the most important poem

from the Nordic region in the medieval period,

and tells a story of the imminent apocalypse.

The prophecy was proved to be right,

yet everything began so full of hope.

The name "Iceland," can be traced back

to one of the first settlers,

Norwegian, Ingólfr Arnarson, gave the island it's name

upon first seeing its icy landscape.

During the last ice age,

Iceland was still entirely covered by a sheet of ice.

The first life only started to develop on the island

once ice began to melt towards the end of the ice age,

a mere 10,000 years ago.

There are two elements that have always characterized

Iceland's landscape: fire and ice.

Huge volcanic eruptions

still frequently occur beneath the layer of ice,

up to one kilometer thick in parts.

Take the 1996 eruption of Gjálp, for example.

The melted glacial ice triggered a deluge;

50 million litters of meltwater

gushed into the valley per second.

Anything in its way didn't stand a chance.

How would someone living

in such volatile, natural surroundings feel?

Would they live in constant fear,

or would the opposite be case?

Would they perhaps get used to the ever present danger?

From a geological perspective, Iceland,

at just 10 to 15 million years of age

is one of the youngest regions on earth.

The island has a so-called hotspot

to thank for its existence.

A huge magma bubble rose from the Earth's upper mantle,

creating a dome in the Earth's crust.

Iceland also happens to be located

on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

New oceanic crusts are constantly being formed,

resulting in the American and European continental plates

sliding two centimeters further apart each year.

The gaping Almannagjá Gorge, in Thingvellir National Park,

runs right through this rift valley.

Is it a coincidence that the first settlers

over 1000 years ago chose this of all places,

for their annual Althing assemblies?

Or did they have a sixth sense

for the hidden events deep below the Earth's surface.

Besides a handful of Irish monks,

the island was first settled

in the ninth century by Vikings from Norway.

Although there was no group of people named as such,

if a Norseman went plundering, he was called a Viking.

Viking was therefore just a temporary professional title,

but it caught on,

despite the majority being peaceful peasants and craftsman.

The Vikings lived on farms like these with their clan

that often contained many Celtic slaves.

Their traditional longhouses,

built from wood, peat, and turf,

provided protection from the wind and cold.

The Icelanders belong to a Viking culture

that stretched from Northern Germany, across Scandinavia,

and as far as Canada.

But what compelled them to settle

on this cold and isolated island at the end of the world?

Water, and crystal clear drinking water at that,

is still available in abundance in Iceland,

but it's only in coastal and protected areas

that vegetation has a chance of survival.

Put the two together, and you have decent conditions

for successful pasture farming.

Three quarters of the country

is made up of glaciers and wild rivers

all in fertile barren land or tundra,

with a stony, underlying surface,

meaning agriculture is not possible.

Living conditions in the Viking's old homeland of Norway

were not much better however.

Despite only just over 100,000 people

living in medieval Norway, it was seen as overpopulated.

The arid land simply had nothing left to give,

resulting in a mass exodus.

The settlers didn't have a bad time of it to begin with.

A warming of the climate granted them

relatively pleasant living conditions,

as Iceland began to show its more attractive side.

But settling on the island was no mean feat.

Mountains could be crossed,

but the raging torrents with their colossal waterfalls

provided insurmountable obstacles in many places.

The Dettifoss in Northern Iceland: larger volumes of water

crashed down here more than else in Europe.

Why did the settlers choose this wet country

at the end of the world of all places?

The many rivers here are primarily supplied

by the notorious Icelandic lows.

Warm air masses from the south

are confronted with polar air over Iceland.

Clouds form, and often empty, there and then.

As a minor compensation for the/their tough climate,

the Vikings had the hot springs

that are to be found all over the island.

If you had the chance, you settled close to one of them.

Famous Edda poet, Snorri Sturluson,

had an underground passage leading from his house

to the nearest hot spring.

If you didn't have your own spring,

you met others to bathe.

These hot pots were popular meeting points.

Even in medieval Iceland,

people would meet to converse, relax, or do business,

and that has remained the case to this day.

Instead of heading to a bar,

you meet up at the heitir pottar, the "hot pot."

It appears that it was this thousand year old institution

that promoted the coming together of Icelandic society,

even if it can't be factually proven.

In addition to the countless hot springs,

there are around 170

primarily geothermally heated outdoor pools in Iceland.

The most famous is Blaa Lonid, the "blue lagoon."

Geyser is derived from the Icelandic "geysir"

which means to gush, to erupt.

There are records of the great geyser

as early as the 13th century

and it gave its name to all the world's geysers.

Unlike the smaller Strokkur, however,

it rarely erupts.

Strokkur sprayed a 30 meter jet of boiling water

into the air every seven minutes.

The Mývatn, meaning "mid-lake,"

is surrounded by volcanic craters, lava fields,

and what are known as active high temperature areas.

Hverarond, at the foot of Namafjall, is one such area.

Here rumbles can be heard below

in the hot underlying surface

while all kinds of mud pools,

fumaroles, and sulfur powders, stir up sulfurous mischief.

How would the first settlers have reacted

when they first saw such eerie places

for which they had no explanation; with humility?

What forces did they imagine

were behind such devilish phenomena?

In the beginning,

"God created the heaven and the earth,

and the earth was without form, and void."

The Christian story of creation from the book of Genesis

is palpable here in Iceland.

Yet the people who settled here,

knew nothing of the Christian faith.

Their creation myth is derived from Germanic mythology,

like in "Voluspa,"

where the history of the world is related in 57 verses.

It ends with Ragnarök, the battle of the gods,

culminating in the end of the world.

The "Voluspa" was proven to be right,

but how did the people know this back then?

Could they see into the future?

The settlers from Norway

brought their Germanic myths with them.

They feared Odin and Thor,

whose kingdom was connected to the world of mortals

via Bifrost, a rainbow-like bridge.

The name Godafoss, "waterfall of the gods,"

is proof that Icelanders remain faithful

to their Nordic gods for a long time.

The last remaining pagan idols

were sunk here around the year 1000.

70 years earlier,

something happened in the Southwest of Iceland

that for the time was quite unbelievable.

The Iceland settlers founded their Althingi,

a parliament in Thingvellir.

It is the oldest existing parliament in the world,

and the oldest democracy in Europe.

German historian, Adam von Bremen, wrote in disbelief,

"They don't have kings, only laws."

But how did the Icelanders come up with an idea

that only filtered through to the Western world

many centuries later?

Because only together could they master

the tough living conditions here at the end of the world?

Because social cohesion was more important than dominion?

Not far from Thingvellir, the Gullfoss, "golden waterfall,"

plunges into the depths.

Icelanders see the first approximately 250 years

following the establishment of the Althingi,

as their godord, or "golden age."

People enjoy relatively good living conditions

for those times, as they had everything they needed in life,

even firewood,

as Iceland was still covered in trees back then.

Skógafoss, meaning "forest waterfall."

The forest here has long since disappeared however,

only around 1% of the island is tree covered today.

At the time of settlement, this figure was around 40%.

Ásbyrgi, in the north of the island.

Many parts of Iceland must have looked similar to this

around 1200 years ago.

The cause of the gorge's horseshoe shape

was allegedly Odin's horse, Sleipnir,

which sunk its hooves into the ground here.

A somewhat less disputed claim

is that Vikings were handy with an axe.

Countless trees were felled

for the construction of houses and ships.

The land was cleared;

the wood, all used up.

Soon there were barely any trees left on the island.

It was the settlers themselves who suffered.

How was a seafaring nation supposed to live without wood?

The construction material

for their elaborate vessels was irreplaceable.

The wild sheep in the highlands

then became an additional problem,

as they ate any tree seedling they set their eyes upon.

All vegetation periods

in these Northern latitudes are very short.

Young trees, barely stood a chance.

And the Icelanders were

quickly made to feel the consequences of their actions.

The concept of reforesting was yet to be thought of.

It was pure luck

that the Icelanders didn't run out of wood altogether.

This could have been one of the first reasons for their,

what occasionally seems like, unfounded optimism.

It was a freak of nature that brought salvation.

Along some of the country's coastlines,

it wasn't just the whales and seals

splashing about in the water.

A vast number of trees

that could be used to build houses and ships

washed up on the shores.

This source of wood is yet to be exhausted to this day.

The wood is chiefly larch, pine, birch, and spruce,

that winds and ocean currents have washed over

from the vast Siberian forests via the Arctic Ocean.

Interestingly, the number of trees washing up

decreased significantly after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Iceland is still suffering the consequences of logging.

The state has been investing heavily

in reforestation since 1974 however.

But it's not quite that simple.

To plant trees, you first need top soil.

Pioneer plants,

including the lupines, that have been sown all over Iceland,

grow even where nothing else grows.

They enrich the soil with nitrogen,

and over the years form a top soil,

upon which entire forests will hopefully thrive someday.

However, tree coverage in Iceland is now so sparse

that some people make jokes about it.

What do you do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest?

Stand up.

Up until the time the Vikings settled here,

there were no mammals in Iceland apart from Arctic foxes.

Just like Noah with his ark,

they brought pretty much everything with four legs: dogs,

cats, pigs, goats, cows, and especially horses, and sheep.

There are still more sheep than people in Iceland today.

However, at the time there were no streets,

which is one reason for the vast number of horses.

They are now also bred for export, or slaughtered for meat.

Until they're slaughtered,

the horses can live in freedom all year round.

The island provides enough space for everyone

and it was a given norm for the first settlers

that the horses and sheep

would be sent off to the Highlands over summer.

Not much has changed to this day;

a spectacle in which the whole family helps.

The circumstances were comparable to the wild west.

Icelandic sociologists found character traits

in their countrymen that are in line with those of

Scandinavians, and the American pioneers,

such as their strong work ethic, for example.

Authorities, on the other hand,

are not so important to Icelanders.

People live more in the here and now

and look less to the past.

Their optimism is another trait

that Icelanders share with Americans,

who also immigrated from mainland Europe.

Coincidence?

The Vikings' pasture farming

completely exhausted the country's agricultural potential.

The land had nothing more to a give,

but they still had the sea.

Sure,

it was fierce and unpredictable,

but the great number of sea birds

was a sign to the Vikings

that there were ripe pickings to be had out at sea.

Seagulls, terns, eiders, razorbills, oyster catchers;

the list of seabirds native to Iceland is a long one.

There are 377 species of birds here in total.

With a population of three to four million,

there are more puffins here than anywhere else in the world.

This exotic bird, whose species is endangered,

is an excellent swimmer

that has been seen at depths of up to 50 meters,

although the puffins seldom have to dive

too deep from Iceland's cliffs,

as the sea here is abundant, abundant in fish.

Fish, in addition to lamb and horse meat,

therefore commonly featured on Viking dinner tables,

as did bird's eggs,

if the family happened to have a fearless climber.

A few chieftains who inherited their positions,

led the Gothis.

Over time,

this created a concentration of power within a few clans

who fought against one another and soon plunged the country

into something resembling civil war.

Blood feuds were soon raging throughout the country.

There was no executive authority to maintain law and order.

And the Norwegians shrewdly took advantage of this.

The country was brought under the crown of Norway in 1262,

signaling an end to independence

after approximately 300 years.

The people longed for peace,

even if it had to be under Norwegian rule,

but they had no idea

that everything was going to get a whole lot worse.

In 1397, Danish monarchs took control of the country.

A trade monopoly, high taxes, and frequent pirate attacks

made people's lives hell.

The Danish King, Christian III,

rejected proposals to build houses for the poor

and homeless, on the grounds that the poor should trust

in the helpfulness of their fellow people.

This era of repression

has been etched into the collective memory of Icelanders,

which can still be seen today,

for example, in Icelanders restraint towards the EU.

There are two seasons in Iceland: summer and winter.

Winter lasts from September to May.

Don't they get depressed

and unhappy during these long winters?

If scientific research is to be believed,

the opposite could in fact be true.

According to the "get along or die" theory,

survival is very easy in warm regions.

To exaggerate,

fruit falls from the trees straight into people's mouths.

In colder climes,

people have to pull together to survive the winter.

That gives them a sense of community;

happiness is a social thing after all.

The weather is still

an inexhaustible topic of conversation in Iceland.

One thing that can be said with certainty

is that there are no certainties.

Icelanders carry weather trauma in their bones.

This could be the root of their reluctance

to make long term plans or far-reaching decisions.

At the time of settlement,

it was still possible to cultivate cereal crops in Iceland,

but the country froze over

towards the end of the medieval period.

This spelled disaster for the already cold island.

The glaciers advanced

even deeper into the valleys and fjords

which until that point had been fertile.

Unlike their counterparts in heavily populated Germany,

where the long term planning

and farming of fields was key to survival,

Icelandic farmers had only their sheep left to farm,

which were left alone during the summer anyway.

A rich person was someone who had lots of sheep.

Even today, the Iceland word,

means both sheep and money.

And the old word for shepherd, "theodor,"

is still used to mean treasurer.

So does this disprove the "get along or die" theory,

which can have racist overtones,

or are the Icelanders just a special case?

Everyday life did not get any easier for the Icelanders

who, already feeling the effects of climate change,

suffered constant volcanic eruptions

as well as plague and smallpox epidemics,

resulting in famine and widespread death

with less than half of the population surviving.

Barely a family or farm was not affected.

What expectations would the people have held future?

When the Laki craters erupted again in 1783,

decimating the population by another third,

and the number of sheep by 80%,

the Danish government considered

evacuating the entire country,

but the plan was deemed impractical.

The survivors continued to suffer.

Many sailors and fishermen

lost their lives out on the stormy seas.

The once proud republic had become an oppressed poor house.

Up until the 19th century,

only one in two Icelanders reached confirmation age.

If the head of a household was to die,

the property would be cleared out

and the land auctioned off.

The women stood at the end of the chain.

They were left with nothing but their children.

Sheep were everywhere.

They were available even for maidservants.

In Iceland, it is still common

for children to look after the motherless lambs.

Everyone had their own heimaalið,

meaning "brought up at home."

That was the name they would give to their little adoptee.

And what about the adults?

What else could they do

other than find solace in the hope for a better future?

There were also the daily kvöldvaka,

literally meaning "evening wake,"

where people would tell each other old sagas,

which, as historians know now,

reflect a 13th century Iceland

that was plagued by blood feuds.

The hero usually dies by the end of these gruesome tales,

but not before he has restored balance in society.

What impact did the sagas have on listeners?

Was their effect similar to today's antidepressants?

Although most of the sagas give little cause for optimism,

they do provide a sense

that the hero had died for a noble cause.

Just like the predicted end of the world in

"Voluspa: the Prophecy of the Seeress,"

is anything but optimistic.

After centuries of exploitation,

resistance began stir in the first half of the 19th century.

Icelanders studying in Copenhagen

returned to the country with new ideas

and founded an independence movement.

Around 1000 years after the establishment of the Althingi,

a Republic was again proclaimed in Thingvellir.

One year later, construction began on the Hallgrímskirkja,

which would soon become a landmark in Iceland,

taken to represent this new confidence.

The population finally

began to reap the fruits of their labor.

The country became more affluent,

thanks to its fishing and whaling industry,

and an EU ruling in 1977, that gave Iceland

exclusive use of a 200 nautical mile fishing zone.

The concert hall is the latest emblem of a country

that is still swimming in money, despite the banking crisis.

However, conversations with foreign business partners

were difficult at first.

"Þetta reddast," "it will all be okay,"

This common phrase was enough to drive

entire management teams of foreign companies insane.

Icelanders are always prepared for anything

and try to make the best out of every situation.

Does this perhaps explain the high birth rate,

one of the highest in Europe,

or the number of children born out of wedlock?

At 60%, it's the highest worldwide.

Having children out of wedlock

has always received very lax punishment in Iceland.

After the fourth child,

you have the choice between being flogged or,

no joke, getting married.

The Icelanders also have a relaxed attitude towards failure.

In a country where roads and bridges simply wash away,

this forced optimism is perhaps the only option.

Success is boring, but when you fail,

people applaud, and encourage you to start afresh.

According to psychologists,

this has an incredibly liberating effect

on the human spirit,

which is what Iceland has infectiously demonstrated

at the European Football Championships in 2016.

When it comes to female emancipation,

no country tops Iceland.

The island has been undisputed world leader

in this respect for years.

No country in the world

has a higher percentage of females in leadership positions.

For decades, Iceland's economy has relied on fish exports.

In recent years however, tourism has overtaken it

as the most important export industry.

To meet the needs of the ever increasing influx of visitors,

new buildings are being constructed everywhere,

with fatal consequences.

"Elf Lobby Blocks Road Project."

This news headline achieved worldwide fame

referring to a non-existent elf commissioner

who allegedly halted construction work,

but the Icelanders are more than happy to play along.

Tourism in the country is reaping the rewards of elf fever.

The number of overnight stays

by foreign nationals in Iceland

has increased almost 20 fold since 1980,

which is why many people are now

calling for tourism to be contained.

Icelanders are more than capable

of taking quick action if necessary.

The small country,

where almost everyone seems to be related

or to know each other,

often appears to be one, large, extended family.

In their pragmatism,

they never shy away from taking drastic action.

Iceland was the first industrialized country

to introduce a flat tax of 36% in 2007.

Tax declarations? Not in Iceland.

Economically speaking, Icelanders are still in good health

despite the banking crisis.

But is this why they're happy?

If recent surveys are to be believed,

one thing has little to do with the other.

Calling Icelanders "the Italians of the North,"

does seem a little over the top however,

despite their legendary tardiness,

there is a certain sadness and gravity

to be sensed from these people

from the edge of the Arctic circle.

It makes them enjoy the warm days even more.

Iceland produces more energy than it can consume.

Geothermal power plants

use the warmth of the earth to generate electricity.

Low temperature geothermal areas are used to heat

apartments, outdoor pools, or greenhouses,

via district heating pipes.

The number of tomatoes grown in greenhouses

has increased tenfold since the 60s, from 200 to 2000 tons.

Thanks to geothermal energy,

greenhouses do not contribute to the greenhouse effect,

and are far better for the environment

than the recently built aluminum smelters,

according to conservationists.

Despite generally having an ecological approach,

Iceland is more wasteful

than almost every other country on earth.

Per capita, only the USA consumes more electricity

and owns more cars than Iceland.

Is this what makes them the happiest people in the world?

Not according to studies.

Iceland: the land of extremes.

While the capital, Reykjavík, is bursting at the seams,

rural areas are becoming increasingly desolate.

All that remains are the abandoned farms

that have been passed down from generation to generation:

rural exodus.

In some places, like here in Ellidaar,

resourceful farmers have at least set up

an open air museum with the relics of the past,

sadly in vain, as practically no one

embarks on the long journey to visit it.

Djúpavík, in the far north of Iceland.

80 years ago, this was the largest

and most modern herring factory in Europe.

Today, it's industrial wasteland; deserted, ghostly.

Growth and decay, rise and fall, beginning and end.

It all somehow becomes intertwined here

on this rugged island in the north Atlantic,

a country in which misfortune is only one step away,

and the next volcano eruption could spell disaster.

In "Voluspa: The Prophecy of the Seeress,"

it led to the end of the world, the battle of the gods.

Iceland, in the year 1000, one part of the population

has already converted to Christianity.

The other still believes in Thor and Odin.

The two groups are irreconcilable.

To avert disaster,

They gather at Thingvellir.

The situation escalates

and an armed conflict seems unavoidable.

Suddenly the sky darkens: there are crashes of thunder,

a column of smoke rises upwards.

The world is on the brink of destruction.

The cause is yet another volcanic eruption, one of many.

That's why, even well into the modern era,

people in old Europe and even the Vatican

believed that hell is a real place on Earth

and it's here, in Iceland.

But we cannot say how strongly

this natural phenomenon ultimately influenced Icelanders.

In any case, they didn't turn their weapons on each other.

They showed their pragmatic side once again

and opted to preserve unity within the country

and to introduce Christianity.

A millennium after the founding of the Republic,

Iceland has now entered its second golden age.

The country is rich, and even so close to the Arctic circle,

the many technological advances now allow them

to enjoy an almost hazard free life, in the comfort zone.

And their previously so inhospitable natural environment,

which only survived into the present

because of its indomitability,

is now giving back where it once took.

It provides a clean environment.

It's a source of energy,

and attracts stressed out city dwellers

in need of relaxation.

Icelanders have had

no other option throughout their history.

They lived here

and they had to fight for survival for a thousand years,

a test they passed with flying colors.

It's what made them strong.

Just one question remains to be answered.

How do we explain their happiness, their contentedness?