Wow, this sucks so much. I've seen a few anecdotes here and there recently about jewelry theft and since it's so unheard of people are getting cynical comments e.g. "Are you sure you didn't lose it?"
If it was something small like jewelry or my phone I probably wouldn't have believed it was stolen even if it had been, and would have assumed that I must have lost it somehow. It is only because it was a large item in a large bag, taken from the pile that held all our belongings that it was apparent that it must have been stolen.
This is mostly very good advice. Definitely never put a toddler in the trunk of your car. However, I would only put a toddler in a safe if they were throwing a nonstop tantrum. ;)
I'm sorry this happened to you. It just happened to me in a train in Amsterdam. They took my bag from over my head during a stop. The bag has all my most important valuables and personal items. It hits your sense of safety and trust really hard!
Sorry that happened to you. Reykjavik does have a non-trivial population of mentally ill/drug-addicted/homeless folks and I’d say it’s much more likely it was someone from that community stole it for much the same reasons as someone would in NYC, rather than another tourist on holiday just stealing it for kicks.
While I suppose that is possible, it seems doubtful. Our hotel was on the outskirts of the city and was located in lot surrounded by industrial buildings; it was not visible from a major road and we had a little trouble finding it. It also snowed a lot on Christmas Eve. We actually stayed in our hotel and ditched our plans that day because of the snow, and we went out in the night a couple times to dig out our car. We were concerned we were going to be stuck there Christmas Day as well due to snow, but we were able to get out okay.
That sucks, sorry to hear this. I travel a lot (spent 20 years living and working in 17 countries) and 4 things that never leave my person in public are 1) passport 2) wallet 3) camera bag and 4) laptop…which is usually in my camera bag.
What's confusing to me is that someone who can afford to be in Iceland on Christmas stole a laptop?! What the actual fuck. That means they stole it just to be an asshole. They don't even need the money.
Theft is largely a crime of opportunity and not always necessity. People steal all kinds of shit just because they can. This was some probably a tourist checking out for an early flight, saw it, and said “mine.”
I do not wish to vindicate either laptop thieves or disrespectful tourists, but unless you have some evidence, these are two unrelated groups of people. No need to bring environment and wildlife into this.
That's true, I agree these aren't necessarily the same kinds of people, I really just meant that even if Iceland (or any location, really) itself has a very low crime rate, it isn't like they are screening people at customs with a mind reading machine to ensure only moral and respectful people enter the country.
Funny that the police didn't have the same reaction and said that while Iceland has an extremely low crime rate, theft is by far the most common crime (unless you count traffic offenses or failing to obey police orders). There are thousands of thefts every year in Iceland, but the police told me that the vast majority are crimes of opportunity like mine. Pickpocketing is extremely rare, but other kinds of thefts do happen. Breaking and entering of either homes or vehicles do occur (about a thousand a year) but most thefts are like mine - a spontaneous crime of opportunity when someone is not being careful and have valuables in the open they are not keeping a close eye on. Like having what is obviously a laptop case on a cart your back is turned to. Also, interestingly, employees stealing items from stores is actually a significantly bigger issue than shoplifting.
Wow, this sucks so much. I've seen a few anecdotes here and there recently about jewelry theft and since it's so unheard of people are getting cynical comments e.g. "Are you sure you didn't lose it?"
If it was something small like jewelry or my phone I probably wouldn't have believed it was stolen even if it had been, and would have assumed that I must have lost it somehow. It is only because it was a large item in a large bag, taken from the pile that held all our belongings that it was apparent that it must have been stolen.
So sad to hear of your loss during a vacation. Almost certainly another tourist. Glad your employer took your side and all is as well as it gets.
This is mostly very good advice. Definitely never put a toddler in the trunk of your car. However, I would only put a toddler in a safe if they were throwing a nonstop tantrum. ;)
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats!
I feel sorry for you, kinda ironic to have your laptop get stolen in the least crime ridden country in the world.
Yup. I told my boss I was probably on the front page news that night with the breaking headline: "Crime occured!"
No matter how safe a country is, criminal activity is always possible.
I'm sorry this happened to you. It just happened to me in a train in Amsterdam. They took my bag from over my head during a stop. The bag has all my most important valuables and personal items. It hits your sense of safety and trust really hard!
Sorry that happened to you. Reykjavik does have a non-trivial population of mentally ill/drug-addicted/homeless folks and I’d say it’s much more likely it was someone from that community stole it for much the same reasons as someone would in NYC, rather than another tourist on holiday just stealing it for kicks.
While I suppose that is possible, it seems doubtful. Our hotel was on the outskirts of the city and was located in lot surrounded by industrial buildings; it was not visible from a major road and we had a little trouble finding it. It also snowed a lot on Christmas Eve. We actually stayed in our hotel and ditched our plans that day because of the snow, and we went out in the night a couple times to dig out our car. We were concerned we were going to be stuck there Christmas Day as well due to snow, but we were able to get out okay.
That sucks, sorry to hear this. I travel a lot (spent 20 years living and working in 17 countries) and 4 things that never leave my person in public are 1) passport 2) wallet 3) camera bag and 4) laptop…which is usually in my camera bag.
What's confusing to me is that someone who can afford to be in Iceland on Christmas stole a laptop?! What the actual fuck. That means they stole it just to be an asshole. They don't even need the money.
Theft is largely a crime of opportunity and not always necessity. People steal all kinds of shit just because they can. This was some probably a tourist checking out for an early flight, saw it, and said “mine.”
I do not wish to vindicate either laptop thieves or disrespectful tourists, but unless you have some evidence, these are two unrelated groups of people. No need to bring environment and wildlife into this.
That's true, I agree these aren't necessarily the same kinds of people, I really just meant that even if Iceland (or any location, really) itself has a very low crime rate, it isn't like they are screening people at customs with a mind reading machine to ensure only moral and respectful people enter the country.
Odd and misplaced concern if you read that whole post. Have a little compassion for the OP who didn’t deserve this no matter who did it.
So are you a thief caring about nature or someone who destroys nature for insta but would never steal?
After living in Iceland for some time, I HIGHLY doubt the credibility of this entire post. 🤣🤣🤣
Funny that the police didn't have the same reaction and said that while Iceland has an extremely low crime rate, theft is by far the most common crime (unless you count traffic offenses or failing to obey police orders). There are thousands of thefts every year in Iceland, but the police told me that the vast majority are crimes of opportunity like mine. Pickpocketing is extremely rare, but other kinds of thefts do happen. Breaking and entering of either homes or vehicles do occur (about a thousand a year) but most thefts are like mine - a spontaneous crime of opportunity when someone is not being careful and have valuables in the open they are not keeping a close eye on. Like having what is obviously a laptop case on a cart your back is turned to. Also, interestingly, employees stealing items from stores is actually a significantly bigger issue than shoplifting.