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Before you travel to Iceland, read Family Travel Forum's visitior's guide. Brush up on your history and learn how to get the most out of your trip.

In 1783 the Laki volcano in this glacier-covered country erupted in a violent and prolonged paroxysm, killing a fifth of the country's population. For 10 months, 30 billion tons of lava and sulfuric acid belched forth, creating a noxious haze that killed crops and livestock in Europe as it wound its deadly way west. Some experts say it was this eruption that led to crop failures in distant France, setting the stage for the French Revolution.

In 1996, Icelanders held their breaths, as did much of the world, while a volcano under the vast glacier Vatnajokull (vat-na-ya-schkul) erupted, melting the ice and creating a powerful underground lake desperate to break free. When it finally burst through the surface, it was violent and awesome, washing away bridges and roads, leaving a menacing sight of quicksand formed by suddenly saturated earth, which twisted like ribbons.

There are still active volcanoes in Iceland. The spring 2000 eruption of Mount Hekla has generated a lot of media attention, and tourist interest has followed suit. Four-wheel-drive Jeep tours are currently running to the volcano, offering stunning views of the eruption area, free of risk from the fumes.

Icelanders Live On The Edge

And yet, in what is surely a testimony to the wondrous ironies of life, Icelanders voted themselves the happiest people on the earth! They are fiercely loyal to this "Land of Ice and Fire," however unsettling it may be to live here. In part, I suppose, such devotion has to do with the stunning physical beauty and purity of the land, and a deep if homogeneous culture that ties and binds the Icelanders into a tight community of survivors.

Steam rises eerily from the ground, a sign of the vast geothermal energy trapped in the earth. In 1930, Icelanders cleverly piped this energy to nearby towns to heat their homes and water. Today, Iceland burns no fossil fuel (there is virtually no pollution) and many cities are heated by these geothermal springs.

Then there are the vast, white-blue glaciers that cover the entire country, except for the coast where most of the country's 302,000 people live. 50 percent of the population lives in or around the capital, Reykjavík ("Smoky Bay" in English).

Iceland seems forever misty and moody, with fast-moving clouds, wheeling gulls and a silence that is almost unsettling. It's a nature lover's paradise. The land is hauntingly beautiful and, in the classic Western sense of beauty, so are the people. Taller than the average European, they are strikingly blonde with very blue eyes and finely chiseled features - befitting their Viking heritage. Honest to a fault, reserved and very taciturn, Icelanders still use the patronymic name system. The surname is the father's name with son or dóttir (daughter) added to it. Thus the former Icelandic president (the first woman elected president in a Democratic society) is Vigdis Finnbogadóttir, or Vigdis, daughter of Finnbogi.