For those of you who don’t speak Icelandic, the kind people at the Icelandic Tourist Board translated it for me 🙂 (Thanks to Mr Addison for arraning this)

The whole of Europe by 30
For the last 5 years the Englisman Ian Bearder has been working hard to win a bet that he made with his friend that he would be able to visit all the countries in Europe before his 30th birthday. That he has now accomplished. Next week Ian will be 30 years old and is going to celebrate his birthday in Iceland, this weekend and finish the Europe tour.

In the last 5 years Ian has been travelling to 46 countries within Europe and his adventure ends in Iceland. “This all started in 2003 with a bet that I made with my friend for 20₤ I said to my friend that I was sure that I could visit all the countries in Europe before I turned 30 and he challenged me to do just that.”

When he was asked why he chose to end his adventure in Iceland Ian said Iceland was the perfect place to celebrate his 30th birthday, he had heard many fun stories about the Reykjavik night life.

“I have only been here for two days and it is clear that Iceland makes the list over the top 5 countries in Europe. This morning we went swimming and it was great. It is a very special feeling to stand outside in your swim suit in -10°C.”

Ian said that he chose to travel around Europe because the continent is big and versitile and has a lot more to offer than people think. “Most of the places that I visited had something uniqe to offer but I really enjoy visiting placed that are not the most popular. There you usually experience something special and have the most fun.” Ian said.

“Slovenia was my favourite place” Ian said when asked about what place affected him the most. “There I lived for 7 months. In Slovenia you get a mixture of all the good that Europe has to offer. You have the Alps, the shores of the Adriatic sea and the food has an Italian influence.”

Ian came to Iceland with 12 of his friends and is going to spend a few days here and celebrate his birthday and the fact the he won the bet.

Happy birthday 🙂 and congratulations on winning the bet.

All the best from Iceland,
The Icelandic Tourist Board

Posted from: www.bearder.com