One of the best ways to accelerate your progress when learning a new language is to listen to music in your target language. Here is a list of some songs I've been listening to to help me learn Icelandic.

Hoppípolla - Sigur Rós
You have probably already heard of this world famous band. Hoppípolla (Jumping in puddles) is a beautiful slow song with easy to remember lyrics. The end of the song features some lyrics in 'Hopelandic' though, which is Sigur Rós' made up language. Brits will probably recognise the intro from an old BBC advert.

https://youtu.be/JAYb8ZyjzD0

Fröken Reykjavík - Friðrik Dor
Translating to 'Miss Reykjavík', this is a new take on the original version by Ríó Tríó. This is my favourite Icelandic song and it was playing as I boarded the plane to move here! The video has some stunningly simple graphics of Reykjavík and the lyrics are on screen to follow.

https://youtu.be/zWeYdpoQVVE

Viltu Dick? - Sykur
This song is catchy, explicit and a lot of fun. The chorus is easy to memorise and adaptable to sentences used in everyday life (ég vil ekki.../ég vil bara...). The verse is very fast though and features a few Spanish lyrics. In English the title means 'Do you want dick?', which starts to explain the nature of the song...

https://youtu.be/HTH4_eIR8E0

Reykjavík - Sykur
Another catchy song by Sykur, but near impossible to follow along to! It has a great rhythm that will get stuck in your head. The lyrics are in the description beneath the video. Hats off to any non native speaker who can sing along to this!

https://youtu.be/Q2qAcNTjv3k

Einn dans - Páll Óskar
An icon in the LGBTQ community, Páll Óskar's songs are popular here and easy to dance to. This one is my favourite and has a lyric video which makes it easier to learn the words as you listen.

https://youtu.be/cobIK3jXHHQ

Neinei - Áttan
I have to admit that I hated this song when I first heard it, it was played everywhere and I found it irritating but it's grown on me. The video is funny and the lyrics are shown on the bottom of the screen. It's a useful song for learning a couple of new phrases. You can follow the story line of the song from the video pretty easily.

https://youtu.be/e4FC6cqSmuo

Reykjavík - Emmsjé Gauti
Yes, another one called Reykjavík! You will almost certainly have heard this song if you've spent time in Reykjavík city. I often hear it on the radio, at bars, in cafes and shops. This is not usually the kind of music I like but it's pretty good. The chorus is repetitive and easy to learn.

https://youtu.be/Pzxo66k84Ow

I've been getting a lot of questions lately about my move, so I thought I'd post the answers on here. I'll update this page whenever new questions arise.

Q: Why did you decide to move to Iceland?
A: I came on holiday here and fell in love with the country. It felt like home here and I just knew I wanted to stay.

Q: How long after you're initial visit did it take before you moved?
A: 5 months.

Q: What do you like most about Iceland?
A: The language, the scenery and the slower pace of life. I'm still absolutely in awe of the mountains every time they catch my eye.

Q: What do you dislike most about Iceland?
A: The lack of fresh produce. It's really frustrating when I want to cook something but I can't find some of the ingredients, or I find them but they're rotting on the shelf in the supermarket!

Q: What do you miss most about England?
A: My friends and family. It's hard to keep in contact sometimes and I've missed some celebrations that I wish I could've been apart of. I also miss my Krav Maga and Clubbercise classes - I've not found anything similar to either of them here yet.

Q:What has been the hardest thing to adapt to?
A: How laid-back everything is here. It took me a long time to trust how things operate here as it's so different from home. When I set up my Icelandic bank account it took less than 10 minutes, I thought they must've missed something important!

Q: Do you think you'll stay in Iceland?
A: I'd never rule out moving to a new country but I'd like to think that I'll stay in Iceland. I would not like to return to the UK though.

I'd love to hear your questions, please leave them below!

As I write this I'm sat at my dining table in Iceland, staring out of the window at the mountains and wondering how I got to this point of my life.

It all started around a year ago. I was sitting at work (in my 'dream' job, which wasn't as great as I'd always imagined) and staring out of the window. I saw people walking down the street, people sitting on the roof terrace of the nearby bar drinking, and people running errands for work. I wondered how they ended up not being stuck inside working on a Monday afternoon, and how my life had come to this. I'd left my long term boyfriend a few months before and was now living alone. My rent and bills were high but my wages were low and I was working over 60 hours a week to cover my living costs. I hadn't had a holiday abroad in years despite the fact I loved to travel. I simply hadn't had the time, life had gotten in the way.

I took a break from working for a few minutes and started browsing the holiday app I often checked on my phone -  https://www.holidaypirates.com/. So many cheap deals. It was so tempting but I knew I couldn't afford a holiday right now, and I couldn't miss out on the extra money from working overtime! A new deal pinged onto my screen, the deals sometimes only last a few hours before they expire so it's best to book them quickly. This one was for a 'chance to see the Northern Lights in the Land of Fire and Ice'. I was intrigued, it was always on my bucket list to see the Aurora. I clicked the link and read the details; a 3 night stay in Iceland for 2 people. I didn't really know anything about Iceland; it was usually in Eurovision so it must be a European country, and there was that volcano with the long name beginning with the letter 'E' that erupted a few years ago. I wasn't really interested in learning anything else about Iceland either, it didn't sound like an appealing country to me. However, before I knew it I'd confirmed the booking and £500 had been taken from my credit card.

Hallgrimskirkja

I had a friend who was visiting Iceland a few weeks before my holiday. When she came back she had so much to tell me about the culture and the things she'd seen. She'd done all of the usual touristy things; a northern lights trip, the blue lagoon and the golden circle. I had only booked the Northern Lights trip and was disheartened when she told me she didn't really see them properly, despite going on the tour 3 nights in a row. Even though she told me how beautiful the country was, I still couldn't get excited about visiting Iceland. She also told me the flight was only 3 hours (I hadn't bothered checking), and that Iceland probably wasn't where I expected it to be. In my mind it was north of Finland, in reality it is north west of the UK - quite close really.

Look at that view!
Esja overlooks Reykjavik

At the end of November I found myself at Luton airport with my mother, about to board a plane for the first time in years. I was always scared of flying, and this time I was worried a volcano would erupt underneath the plane before it landed. Although I didn't say anything to anyone, I slightly regretted booking the deal.

Reykjavik in Twilight

A few hours later we arrived in Reykjavik, it was raining. Not as cold as I expected it would be, but not warm either. I wasn't expecting much, but unexpectedly, I fell in love! The locals seemed to whisper their strange language out loud, everyone seemed so happy, and no one was in a rush to go anywhere.

Thingvellir

Before I knew it I was happily embracing this culture and missed it when I returned home. It prompted me to book more trips to countries I wanted to visit, but nothing could top Iceland. Within 6 months of that holiday I flew out to Iceland another 3 times (alone!), the final time being a 3 month volunteering trip that I quit my job for. I never thought I'd be happy to be 'unemployed' but I'd never felt more alive.

Black Sand Beach, Vik

I now have a job in Reykjavik - just hotel housekeeping, and an apartment just outside of the city. I fell in love with an Icelander while I was volunteering and my life has never felt more complete. I am 1,000 miles away from home and 1,000 times happier - even without my dream job!

And my saga's only just begun...

Bathing in Reykjadalur hot river!

*This post was not sponsored, all opinions and recommendations are my own.

Loppy x

In the autumn and winter I crave warming, comforting soups, stews and curries most evenings. As I am from Birmingham, I really enjoy Indian food which is widely available back home, but not so much in Iceland! This soup is one of my favourite recipes, and results in something similar to Indian dahl.

Serves 6

Prep time - 5 minutes
Cook time -25 minutes

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
• 1 red chili, finely chopped (optional)
• 500g bag of lentils
• 1 medium potato
• Vegetable stock cube
• 2 tablespoons of garam masala
• Cumin (optional)
• Turmeric (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of paprika
• Cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

• Heat the oil in a saucepan. Finely dice the onion, garlic and chili and fry until soft (not browned).
• Add a full kettle of boiled water to the pan with a crushed stock cube.
• Add the bag of lentils
• Peel and cube the potato into small cubes and add to the pan.
• Add the spices. For the optional spices, start with a teaspoon full and adjust to taste.
• Turn the heat down to medium and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir the soup, when the lentils start to break down and the potato is mashable the soup is ready.
• Mash any visible potato cubes into the soup.
• Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve with bread or rice and enjoy!

This makes quite a thick soup, similar in texture to dhal. Add more water after cooking if a thinner consistency is required.

This soup freezes well. I usually make a large batch and freeze in individual portions for a quick dinner on weeknights.

When I first visted Iceland I was intimidated by the long words and strange letters that surrounded me. Slowly I started to work some out and understand the meanings. I visited Iceland a few times before I moved here. These are the some of the words I picked up in my visits and first few weeks of living here.

Takk - Thanks
Jú/Já - Yes
Nei - No
Kaffi - Coffee
Te - Te
Eldur og Ís - Fire and Ice
Ís - Ice cream
Skyr - Type of Icelandic cheese that is eaten as a thick yoghurt
Lopapeysa - Icelandic wool sweater
Góðan daginn - Good morning/good day
Bjór - Beer
Hæ - Hi
Bæ - Bye
Bless - Bye
Jæja - Well (can also be used with lots of different meanings)
Ég er frá Englandi - I am from England
Mamma - Mom
Pabbi - Dad
Fram - Out/leave
Ísbjörn - Polar bear
Kónguló - Spider
Köngulóarvefur - Spider's web
Kisa - Kitty
Mjólk - Milk
Smjör - Butter
Súrmjólk - Sour milk (natural yoghurt)
Kex - Biscuits
Ostur - Cheese
Brauð - Bread
Paprika - Bell Pepper
Lauk - Onion
Hvítlauk - Garlic
Sveppir - Mushrooms
Varuð - Caution
Ananas - Pineapple
Api - Monkey
Afi - Grandfather
Amma - Grandmother

Áfram - Go

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In Pest, outside the houses of parliament is a rather beautiful, unassuming monument along the riverbank. From a distance you'd be forgiven for thinking people have left shoes there but they're actually bronze castings of war era shoes. 60 pairs in total.

On January 8th 1945, members of the Jewish community were forced out of a nearby building, made to strip naked and lined up along the riverbank; where they were shot with arrows into the Danube river by Arrow Cross military men. The shoes were installed in remembrance of those who lost their lives.

Standing in front of these shoes, I noticed that everyone around me was silent. The power this sculpture has is truly remarkable. It really makes you stop and reflect on what people went through and the terror they must have felt. I'll admit that I found it hard to hold back tears when I saw a pair of baby shoes in the mix.

This beautiful, thought invoking monument was erected in 2005 and was created by Gyula Pauer.

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With shaking hands I clicked the 'confirm purchase' button on my phone screen. I was sitting in a geothermal swimming pool in Reykjavik with my mother and had impulsively decided that I would be returning, alone, for the New Year.

One month later I found myself in a hostel dorm in Downtown with several foreigners whose accents I struggled to understand and names I could hardly pronounce. Although I was still very ill from a viral infection I was determined to see the new year in in Reykjavik. I borrowed some make up from the Swiss girl in my dorm room, pulled on my snow boots and ventured out into the night. I walked past a little pub where a few drunk men were lighting fireworks, one at a time, and screaming “Hell yeah!” after Every. Single. One.

As I ventured deeper into Downtown people were pouring out of the bars and into the streets, fireworks were lit in the middle of the road, exploding next to people every few feet. The Icelanders were roaring with excitement after each loud bang, I was terrified. A firework launched sideways and burst into the wall I was about to walk in front of, narrowly missing a man. I felt as though I were in a war zone.

I started my ascent to the Hallgrimskirkja, thinking the top of the hill would give me the best, and safest, view of the fireworks. Little did I know that that was where the city's firework display was, as I soon found out when I was suddenly in a crowd of what appeared to contain Iceland's entire population! Instead of feeling scared, I suddenly felt exhilarated! The community spirit emanating from the crowd was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. Everyone was cheering, hugging and laughing with friends and strangers alike.

Looking up to a balcony on a nearby building, I saw an old man lighting tiny fireworks above the crowd, enjoying the evening with his family. As I looked around I noticed a lot of families gathering together to watch the display and smiled, New Year in Iceland was very different from home. There were no girls crying because they'd lost their crush, no rowdy drunkards, no police patrolling the streets. Everyone here was family, regardless of whether they'd met before or not.  I felt like a part of something greater.

There was no countdown, but as midnight struck the fireworks got bigger, the crowd got louder and the fun was just beginning. The display lasted for another 45 minutes and when it was finished we all marched back down the hill together, the crowd filtering down as people walked into bars and found their friends. On the way back to the hostel I noticed lots of small groups of Icelanders, only about 5 or 6 people together, lighting tiny bonfires in milk crates and standing around with beers in their hands. Spending quality time together, that is what the New Year should be about.