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rIdING highAfter seriously testing times the only wAy is up for icelAnd. fAmed for its extrAordinAry scenery, An AbundAnce of nAturAl energy And A resilient community of resourceful individuAls, the country is now on the roAd to reinvention. we set off in the full hybrid rx 450h to gAuge the mood And meet A few of the Architects of chAngeB y A M A r pAt E L A N d d o U G k N o X

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They’re rehearsing The rachmaninov Piano concerTo no 3. sPellbinding

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>> hAllgrimskirkjAour first day in iceland includes a visit to the hallgrimskirkja church in reykjavik named after the poet hallgrímur pétursson and 40 years in the making. inspired by basalt rock formations, it has a sparse elegance that creates a sense of instant calm. we head to the top of the 75m-tall tower for great all-round views of the city and the landscape beyond.

>> the fishmArketAt the fishmarket restaurant in reykyavik, we tuck in to a seemingly never-ending tasting menu offering the likes of minke whale, salmon teriyaki and king crab. here, owner and celebrated chef hrefna rósa sætran and musician Ólöf Arnalds share their hopes for the future (see page 40). hrefna tells us how her business rode out the crash by being resourceful – they even made their own restaurant tables. >> thingvellir nAtionAl pArk just 20 minutes’ drive east out of the compact capital – population of around 200,000 in a country of 320,000 – and we’re already deep in hiking and horse-riding country, as we traverse the mosfellsbær valley. After passing vast ruptures in the earth, created by an ancient tectonic shift, the rx 450h takes us across a rough black road to lake sandkluttavatn,

which is almost dried up. the high altitude here in thingvellir national park (left) gives the landscape a bleak, moonscape beauty. near this spot, the icelandic parliament – a two-week annual gathering of viking chiefs – was founded in 930Ad. the soundproofing in the rx 450h, with its three-layer flush-mounted acoustic glass windscreen, has little work to do here. the silence is complete.

>> hArpA concert hAllyou can’t miss the harpa, a glittering cultural landmark. we visit the 28,000 square-metre concert hall and conference centre two weeks after its opening. on reykyavik’s waterfront, it features a kaleidoscopic red, green and blue led-lit glass facade by artist Ólafur elíasson and four concert halls incorporating masterful acoustic design by Artec. the site is impressive, but it was conceived in boom time and the build cost (about €110 million) divides opinion. we’re given a tour by kristín einarsdóttir mäntylä and tiptoe in to the 1,600-seat eldborg hall. it’s empty except for the renowned conductor vladimir Ashkenazy and the icelandic symphony orchestra. they’re rehearsing the formidable rachmaninov piano concerto no 3 – aka the rach 3. spellbinding. inspired, we return that night to shoot the rx, with its glassy, water-polished paintwork, against the hypnotic, translucent structure.

Left page (clockwise from left): the elegant Hallgrimskirkja church; locally sourced puffin, smoked and impeccably presented at Hotel ranga in Hella; the bubbling lands of Geysir; designer Sruli recht at work in his reykjavik studio. Main: the Lexus rX 450h shines in front of the Harpa. right (top to bottom): musician olöf Arnalds; Hrefna rosa Sætran, chef and owner of the Fishmarket; organic food cultivation at Solheimar

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>> solheimArheading south-west for about 50 kilometres from the thunderous gullfoss waterfall takes us to a small but globally influential example of sustainable living and community spirit. this is the solheimar (‘home of the sun’) eco-village. it began life as a home for 10 children in 1930 and is now a model of organic farming and thermal and solar energy in action. it’s also a permanent residence for around 40 adults with special needs, provides a platform for model prisoners to reconnect with the world on positive terms and helps the long-term unemployed get back on their feet. visitors are welcome to stay in simple, affordable and exquisitely peaceful accommodation. you can also buy handcrafted products – from wooden instruments to candles – made from recycled material on site in solheimar workshops. proceeds go to the village’s upkeep. —DK

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ONE OF THE FIRST BITS OF ADVICE that Icelanders will give you is this: wear layers. And no, that’s not a fashion tip – it’s more a fact of unpredictable life on an island that flows, glows, rumbles, roars and erupts with energy.

The more cautious may quiver at the prospect, especially in a country that has recently been rocked by both the collapse of its financial system and the destructive forces that come with being perched on a knife edge between two tectonic plates. In 2010 it was Eyjafjallajokull; this year Katla is ‘due’. But here’s the rub: life in Iceland is thrilling because of this open-air theatre.

Nature is impossible to ignore here, even indoors, as Australian fashion designer Sruli Recht explained at his Reykjavik studio-cum-laboratory, The Armoury. ‘Many grew up on farms or spent summers on one,’ he said. ‘That kind of experience shapes you. Iceland has influenced me in every way. It’s been very grounding. For me, it’s the easiest place to live in the modern world.’

As our well-travelled guide Dui told us over breakfast at Hotel Ranga, a country resort overlooking Mount Hekla, ‘Icelanders take time to live’. And they live long and well: life expectancy is one of the highest in the world (79.5 for men and 83.5 for women

in 2010) and more books and newspapers are published per capita than in any other country. I could go on…

We spent four days in the south-west of Europe’s most sparsely populated country, starting in Reykjavik – and overnighting in the elegant Hotel Borg – before tracing the Golden Triangle route in our RX 450h. This took us east into the Pingvellir National Park and on to Geysir, with its tower blasts of water and steam, and then to the Gullfoss waterfall. Along with the stark beauty of the land and ever-changing skies, we discovered a nation that’s respectful of its traditions and keen to revolutionise.

There’s no finer example of this than the ‘people’s constitution’ where 25 Icelanders were elected by their peers to write the future online. The aim? To stamp out the corruption that brought the country to its knees in 2008.

Then there’s the backlash against the sale of HS Orka, a major geothermal power company, to Canadian firm Magma Energy. There are fears that, rather than driving recovery, the brokering of such deals and the luring of energy-intensive businesses such as aluminium smelters and data centres will benefit foreign investors more than the nation itself. To protect or profit?

The public review of the government's Energy Master Plan will be rigorous…

The arts scene continues to produce mavericks and vociferous musician Olöf Arnalds is no exception. ‘I love nature but I do separate my nationality from my art,’ she told us. ‘I wouldn’t say that being where I’m from hasn’t helped my career but an Icelandic musician’s identity quickly becomes clichéd. As an artist you are constantly reinventing yourself. But that’s difficult when you’re surrounded by people you’ve known since playschool.’

Nature has shaped this island, which in turn has shaped its people. Where they go from here is up to them. But after several eye-opening days in Iceland, we’re sure that great things lie ahead. —AP

S o U r c E N ot E S

> hotelborg.is> harpa.is> srulirecht.com> fishmarket.is> myspace.com/olofarnalds> solheimar.is> hotelranga.is> icelandair.com> lexus.eu/rx450h

Making our way through the green moss-covered lava fields of Grindavík en route to the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa

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