My first trip to Iceland was in May of 2007. I travelled there as an advisor to a US Venture Capital firm considering an investment in data centers. As a data center guru, I was tasked to evaluate the significance of the opportunity. I delve into that in my other blog, but here I want to focus on the truly amazing experience that I had with Iceland as a country and its people.
When you think of Iceland or read about it there is a theme of isolation and homogeneity. I guess that is what I expected, but what I found was quite different. Start with the weather...it changes faster than New England and our saying is "if you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes." The landscape and countryside is highly variable from lava fields that look like the moon, to ancient farm fields like any in Scotland to mountains, glaciers, and highlands.
At the time of my visit, Iceland was near its economic peak and the wealth was apparent everywhere. Luxury cars were the standard, new apartments, hotels, office buildings, restaurants, and even an opera house were under construction. People were flocking from eastern (and even western) Europe to take advantage of open migration and capture some of the wealth.
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