Well, You Asked: Problematic Bugs and Unfortunate Dating

Even if you ask reasonable questions, we are under no obligation to give you reasonable answers. Cry about it.

What are your mosquito populations like?
The universe knows that Icelanders have to put up with enough climatic and environmental hell, so it decided to give us the gift of no mosquitos. The blood-sucking bugs of dismay are clearly not as cut out for Icelandic winters as us Icelanders are, so Mosquitos: 0, Icelanders: 1. Don’t fret though! If you are visiting Iceland and you’re homesick you can get a reminder of home sweet mosquito-ridden home by visiting the midges at Lake Myvatn. The midges are so similar to mosquitos that tourists often claim to have found mosquitos in Iceland. Don’t be like them, you now know better.

What is dating life like in Iceland?
This question brought about lots of discussion in the office, as many of us have not personally experienced the Icelandic dating scene. The most conclusive answer we got is that dating in Iceland involves drunkenly hooking up with someone enough times that it is more convenient to move in with each other than not. If you’re trying to find your rom-com-esque love story, Iceland is not the place for you. However, if you’re done with the back and forth of normal dating and you just want to settle down with the first person you meet, Iceland is perfect for you.

What do Icelanders do in a (rare) heatwave?
If you can consider 15°C (disregarding wind chill of course) a “heatwave,” then Icelanders do the same exact thing as every other day, except with maybe one less jacket. In fact, while the rest of the world has been melting in puddles of their own sweat for the last few weeks, we in the north Atlantic have actually been able to enjoy a nice stroll outside in short-sleeves on a few occasions. Thanks for your sacrifice everyone else, finally a weather win for Icelanders!

Got a burning question that needs answering? We give absolutely terrible advice, but since you keep asking, we’ll keep answering. Email ’em in to grapevine@grapevine.is