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The Atlas Obscura Podcast

The Last Big Mac in Iceland

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

SiriusXM Podcasts & Atlas Obscura

Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.61.6K Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2022

⏱️ 13 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Take a trip to a hostel in Iceland to visit the country’s last Big Mac, where the burger’s existence unfolds a story about economics and national identity. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/iceland-mcdonalds

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

In 2017, Alexandra Yingsd had a problem.

0:05.0

I needed to get to Reykjavik and I was up here in the West Fjords.

0:10.0

Normally, the drive takes around six hours,

0:13.0

but this particular day, there was a massive snowstorm.

0:20.0

I didn't feel comfortable driving in the snow,

0:22.0

and so a friend drove me all the way down to Reykjavik

0:26.0

and what normally takes six hours took many more

0:29.0

because we got stuck on a mountain pass in the snow

0:32.0

and had to wait for a plot to come, data's out.

0:37.0

After about 10 hours in the car, they finally made it,

0:40.0

and they checked into a hostel,

0:42.0

and exhausted, she plopped herself down at the bar.

0:46.0

And there next to her, on the bar, was a cheeseburger and fries.

0:53.0

But not a cheeseburger and fries that she could eat.

0:57.0

This cheeseburger and fries, they were on display,

1:01.0

in a glass case, like a guest of honor.

1:06.0

With a little sign that said,

1:08.0

hello, I am Mr. Burger,

1:10.0

and it had been such an awful day,

1:12.0

and I just sat at the bar next to this cheeseburger,

1:16.0

and it actually made me feel better.

1:19.0

It was just like a quirky thing, it's so Iceland.

...

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