Words by

Noemi Ehrat

Photo by

Art Bicnick

You might remember the sweet, promising sound of the approaching ice cream truck from blissful childhood days, when you would jump up and run outside as fast as possible to get your favourite ice cream. It would inevitably melt faster than you could eat, resulting in a creamy mess, but it would also mean that summer was here.

You might be surprised to read then, that ice cream trucks are a regular feature of daily Icelandic life. In fact, not even the disappointingly rare appearances of the sun here in Reykjavík can reduce Icelanders cravings for some creamy deliciousness. Indeed, as Fréttablaðið recently reported, this summer’s ice cream sales from ice cream trucks are flourishing as usual.

No sun, no problem

Daníel Heide Sævarsson, who is lucky enough to have the fantastic job of an ice cream truck driver–just imagine how popular he must be–told Fréttablaðið that the weather doesn’t influence Icelanders’ ice cream buying habits. “Reykjavík-ers might be tired of the bad weather, but they simply bring the summer into their living rooms,” he said.

Let them eat ice cream

Even companies ring up the ice cream trucks. “They call us regularly and ask us to come. One day in July, six companies called at the same time as soon as the sun came out.” When Daníel stopped in a Reykjavík neighbourhood yesterday, an ice cream thirsty mass surrounded the truck immediately, Fréttablaðið reports.

More than your regular brain freeze

Moreover, Icelanders’ crave for ice cream isn’t limited to the summer months. “We go on trips shortly before Christmas,” Daníel says. “Actually, sales are best on those Christmas trips.” Makes totally sense to eat tons of ice cream when there’s literally ice everywhere and you’re internally freezing to death, right?

There are twelve ice cream trucks on their way around Iceland to bring joy and happiness to Icelanders everywhere at any given time. One truck carries up to a ton of ice cream and stops at 50 to 100 places per day. They have a wide range of ice creams, including family packs, so don’t forget to stop by the next ice cream truck you spot and treat yourself to some liquorice tastiness, no matter the season.