Dealing With a Psycho in Iceland

We will never travel with another couple we casually know again.

A picture of Eric and me at one of the many waterfalls in Iceland.

Back in 2016, my friend Zinda wanted Eric and me to go on a trip to Iceland with her and her husband, Bjorn. She said that another couple, Tammy and Fred (not their real names), were also invited. I knew both of them vaguely from hiking groups.

In the months leading up to the adventure, we had shirts made with our name and an emblem, “The Great Northern Expedition including a picture of Iceland in its center. We had dinners to plan the trip, and we were all psyched for this adventure.

News came two days before the trip that Zinda and Bjorn might not be able to go. It seemed that Zinda’s mother in India was sick, and they had to go there to make sure she was okay.

So the remaining four of us flew to Reykjavik, rented a car, and headed to Akureyri, a city in northern Iceland, about a 3-hour drive. Fred drove most of the way, and when we arrived in Akureyi, we couldn’t find our first destination. Fred was getting more upset than he should have. We even stopped at a map on the side of the road. We all got out to look at it. Fred acted like a jerk, shouting at us to get back in the car. We found the place within the next fifteen minutes.