Delightful Iceland videos that deserve more attention.

Iceland 

RantWoman is charmed by all three of the videos linked here. Enjoy! Like and Subscribe

Readers who just want to gaze at somestunning  scenery: enjoy, whether or not a trip to Iceland is on the horizon.

10 Places in Iceland You Must Visit in 2026 Trave Guide

wonderful narration

Hidden gems

500+ steps to the top of a waterfall sounds daunting, worthwhile but daunting.

Really FUN description of Reykjavik

A Paradise and a Nightmare on Earth: Iceland

"One of the most peaceful places on earth."

The only NATO country that does not have an army.

So much geothermal heat that people can cook meals by burying it in the ground.

Rules include "families must spend time together."

Old tradition of letting babies sleep outside even during the winter.

A knife is never given as a gift because it is believed it can harm relationships.

70% of exports are fish.

Iceland has no mosquitos!

Iceland is not a member of the European Union

The number of books published per person is the highest in Europe

1/3 of the population has guns but the police don't.

Hantavirus on the Hondius

Clearly RantWoman just needed a break from the regular horrific news timeline, something to watch while doing her nightly cardio. 

Lots of comments about ship details and international law

Deadly Andes Hantavirus Outbreak on MV Hondius Cruise Ship: Possible Human to Human Transmission

Hantavirus at sea: Who has a duty of care? | DW News

What is Hantavirus? Doctor reacts to cruise outbreak

FULL BRIEFING: WHO Confirms Possible Human Spread of Hantavirus on Cruise Ship Near Cape Verde |AC14

Good coverage of details of important scientific work.

Passengers isolating on virus-hit cruise ship stranded in the Atlantic | DW News

The Met Gala 2026 and more

#MetGala #MetGala2026 

Actually attending the Met Gala is so far out of the realm of RantWoman's imagination that RantWoman is happy just to WAY overdo YouTube videos.

RantWoman is allowing herself to wonder why, due to timeing, this year's theme is not "May The Fourth be With You."

Anyway, a sampling of what YouTube served up. Don't watch them all of them at once.

Top 20 BEST Dressed at the 2026 Met Gala!

tons of cool vocabulary

2026 Met Gala Fashion: Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, Rihanna, Blake Lively, Lisa & More

New York Live Presents: The Met Gala | Red Carpet, Celebrities & Fashion | NBC New York

2026 MET GALA THEME EXPLAINED (is fashion actually art?)

A Complete History of the Met Gala: Every Theme Unveiled

Top 20 Best Met Gala Themes of All Time

Top 20 Best Met Gala Themes of All Time

2026 Met Gala looks: Beyonce, Heidi Klum, Connor Storrie and more

A whole 2:42 hours

Live at Met Gala 2026 With Vogue

Iceland vicariously

 Iceland Iceland Iceland

Readers who just want reflections, geography, geological history and really cool sounding hikes, please enjoy the videos.

As with advice from multiple creators, don't overdo it. Watch something and come back.

RantWoman HAS OPINIONS on the other side.

Iceland: The Realm of Magic | Full Film | Explorer Albert

ICELAND AND SURREAL LANDSCAPES - Untouched Nature with a Cold, Captivating Beauty | Travel Video

Exploring Iceland’s Highlands: 7 Must-Visit Locations for Summer 2026

Iceland Highlands: Top 5 Places to Visit - YouTube

5 SECRET Locations in ICELAND | Guide to Iceland

The days are getting long in Seattle. The weather forecast promises temperatures in the 80's F, a temperature when many in Seattle begin to moan piteously about the heat. 

The long days make RantWoman think some of a Eurail trip around Europe decades ago after a study abroad in the USSR before it devolved just to Russia. The Eurail trip was a low-budget, grad student let loose expedition. 

RantWoman mostly slept on overnight trains, got off the train in a new city every day, walked the city for hours and then got on a train to go somewhere else. RantWoman chose routes intended to allow a decent night's sleep, without too many border crossings and their attendant need to fish out one's passport and then settle back to sleep. In a few cases, RantWoman visited the same city more than once and a couple times actually spent the night in a hostel to do laundry, drink good coffee, and rest.

RantWoman did not attempt too many museums, shopped in grocery stores away from the priciest tourist zones, ate well on a diet of good cheese, rye crisp, whatever fruit would hold up well, and Nutella.

RantWoman is thinking of all this because RantWoman is bus freak enough to contemplate an Iceland journey getting from one town to another on a bus and choosing towns where there are hiking trails close so that driving would not be necessary at all. This does not seem like a journey one should attempt alone, especially RantWoman. RantWoman can pass as a sighted person--until she can't. In all the videos RantWoman watches basically say "RESPECT NATURE. It can be unpredictable. But right now, with the world in turmoil and with Things to Work through close at hand, RantWoman definitely recommends staring into a volcano or two.

Bolivian Traffic Zebras!

 #JustAddZebras #VisionZero ? #Zebritas

RantWoman REALLY needs this. Watch the link at the bottom, not just John Oliver

Bolivians dress as zebras for traffic duty in congested streets of La Paz

Iceland Iceland and IcelandAir bad Photographer Contest

The daily trees photo

Iceland Iceland

Land of volcanoes that can eat small villages and occasionally disrupt global air travel. Sobering to think of that in this the year of our Lord 2026 when all global energy prices are through the roof. 

Thanks to RantWoman's volcano video habit, YouTube has previously sent RantWoman assorted tourism themed videos. Based on these videos, RantWoman has formed the impression that Iceland is very interesting geologically and if one wants to chase the aurora borealis. Also, nature is gorgeous but experiencing it can be challenging.  The weather is to put it diplomatically unpredictable. And travel is EXPENSIVE. 

Part of RantWoman's fun has been elaborating and adjusting that impression as well, repeatedly, as asking Google / Gemini questions and coming back with answers that keep RantWoman coming back for more and even thinking about how travel to Iceland can be affordable for many categories of travelers. More in a moment, in a few cases just RantWoman's queries replicated for readers to do their own next steps.

Land of many summits of world leaders. RantWoman is the kind of nerd tourist who might go to and even enthusiastically participate in a half day or even a full day opportunity to replay one of the summits held in Rekjavik. RantWoman has not gone looking to see for sure whether such a tourist attraction might exist but would seriously consider participating in it if it existed.

Land of many churches interesting to photograph, not just the famous tall one in Rekjavik.

what churches can one visit in iceland - Google Search

 Land of lots of hot springs and geothermal energy. Lots of the videos talk about people renting cars to travel independently. If RantWoman is travelling alone, renting a car or even a camper is not really an option. Global fuel prices are forecast to stay high for quite a while so RantWoman has wondered about but not researched, what is the electric vehicle scene like in Iceland. Is there geothermal electricity generation? Is that ubiquitous enough that people could simply plug cars in at every stop and charge without needing special charging stations? Is this whole paragraph just a dream that might need to be more fully realized

Land where one can't name their child Harriet? The short answer: a concept near to RantWoman's language nerd hear, to wit noun declension.

why can t you name your child harriet in iceland - Google Search

Icelandic girls can't be called Harriet, government tells family | Iceland | The Guardian

Iceland parents told children cannot be called Harriet or Duncan because they are not government approved names | The Independent | The Independent

Icelandic Naming Committee - Wikipedia

RantWoman did it. RantWoman submitted a VERY barebones video entry saying basically, RantWoman has a lot to say and cramming it all into a one-minute video is not happening so please check out this blog. RantWoman is having fun thinking about this contest. That is the main thing.

PS. There is a question in the application form about how comfortable one is being on camera. RantWoman can manage. RantWoman has other thoughts about whether one is supposed to be good or bad at social media in general, but the application does not ask that.

Stay tuned for some of RantWoman's favorite YouTube channels.

Some Useful Iceland-themed YouTube channels

Iceland Iceland

Whether one is abstractly planning a trip to Iceland or just massaging the idea for the IcelandAir Bad Photographer contest, here are some YouTube channel suggestions, sometimes based on one example from the channel.

RantWoman is amused by a few points:

--All the videos with the word "Mistakes" in the title.

--Advice from everyone not to buy expensive bottled water and shopping at the regular grocery chains, not the big tourist-oriented store in Reykjavik. Also comments about using the city bus from the airport and saving money over lagoon prices by going to the many public pools.

--Very adamant safety culture: no speeding. No drunk driving. No stopping except in designated lookout points to take photos. Park only where authorized. No walkiing on hot lava. Avoid sneaker waves. Do not get too near all kinds of edges of things. TAKE WEATHER WARNINGS SERIOUSLY.  Only 4x4 vehicles are allowed on the F roads, roads not on the ring road.

--Equally consistent culture about cleanliness: NO pooping out of doors. Shower completely nude before entering the various pools. Take shoes off when asked

--Contradictory advice about the Blue Lagoon, staying in Reykjavik...

Rick Steves Iceland

Learn Icelandic in 10 minutes 🇮🇸 Essential Phrases for Tourists Visiting Iceland

or at least an introduction before checking out the next video

Stop Using Google Maps in Iceland. Use This Instead

Info about weather and alerts specific to Iceland.

Note: other videos say use Google Maps to check location of Air BnB

How to Explore Iceland Like a Local (Avoid These 5 Mistakes!)

Skip the Blue lagoon because there are other cool hot springs near by

Visiting Iceland Summer 2026: Travel Guide & Best Local Tips! 🇮🇸

Base in Reykjavik and do day trips

What NOT to Do When Traveling To Iceland | 15 Mistakes To Avoid!

Don't base in Reykjavik.

Waterproof gear

5 Proven Ways to Avoid Crowds in Iceland (Like a Local)

travel in winter

Hidden Gems of Iceland: Avoid the Crowds & See the REAL Iceland!

Iceland Travel Tips: 10 Things You Need to Know (From a Local) 🇮🇸 

5 Mistakes You Make When You Arrive in Iceland    

Car rental, the "Flybus, and PUBLIC TRANSIT. RantWoman loves public transit and does not care that it will take longer. Maybe the Flybus for the first day, but public transit at some point.

The Blue lagoon is on the way from Keplavik airport to downtown Reykjavik but ...

20 Things Tourists in Iceland Learn Too Late

Weather can be even more fearsome than RantWoman previously imagined.

20 Things Tourists in Iceland Learn Too Late

VERY limited public transportation outside Reykjavik. No trains. Only intercity buses. RantWoman is a bus / slow travel nerd and might really enjoy some travel by bus

3 Iceland Itinerary Mistakes That Will Cost You Days

Don't spend too much of your trip at Reykjavik at the beginning.

Don't rush the South Coast islands

The Westman(?) Islands and The PUFFINS.

What will make Ideland unique to Me?

Iceland Itinerary Mistakes 90% of People Don’t Know About

10 Things You Should Never Do in Iceland (Locals Hate It!)

15 Ways to Insult Icelanders (A Guide for Travelers)