Reykjavik, April 19We had a late breakfast this morning as we chatted to an American couple recently arrived and sipped some soupy coffee while planning our day. Reykjavik has a rich history of arts and culture and we managed to see quite a bit before meeting up with Pete! I was so excited to see him I had to keep reminding myself we had almost a full day to go.
We did a big circle, beginning with the unique, starkly beautiful Hallsgrimskirkja. The entire church is minimalist but dotted with modern art depictions of scenes from the Bible, including the Passion of Christ.
We then walked along Lake Tjornin beside City Hall to reach the National Art Gallery of Iceland, an ultramodern building with three rather mystifying exhibits by two Icelanders and one Swiss artist. It was interesting, although a bit obscure.
Closer to the harbourfront, we found a flea market and wandered for a bit before heading to the Culture House, a museum about Icelandic history with an exhibit on Surtsey, a volcanic island created in 1963 when a volcano erupted and spewed lava for four years. The island is now protected by the country because of its unique status as a brand-new ecosystem-- it's an incredible opportunity for scientists to study how new life begins and develops. It seemed like we were the only ones in the museum, too, so we took our time and enjoyed all of it.
But now, the time had come to meet up with Pete! Unfortunately, it was stressful business because we had no idea where he was getting dropped off. In the end, Ellen stayed at the hostel and I headed to our own drop-off point from yesterday. I waited for half an hour before giving up and going back, but who do I see right as I reach our intersection? Pete, tiredly lugging a backpack and consulting a map! He made it! My big sisterly worries could be put to rest at last :).
After Pete got settled and caught his breath we went out to grab kebabs and later, found a great bar with live music. The bar was full of young professionals and students, so it was a cool way to see the social/youth aspect of Reykjavik. It was great as well to be able to toast Pete's 19th birthday as the clock turned to 12!
April 20
Pete's birthday dawned sunny and cold as we hurried to catch the tour bus for the Golden Circle Tour, an 8 hour trek into the Icelandic countryside to see some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.
After a quick first stop at the Garden of Eden in the village of Hveragerði, where they grow fruit like peaches, bananas, and mangos to avoid importing, we headed to see Iceland's second-largest waterfall, Gullfoss.
The Golden Falls rival Niagara Falls as one of the world's most picturesque but as it's still blanketed in snow, it has an Arctic quality that's quite different. We scrambled up and down the cliffs to get close and take some scary pictures!
Our next stop was lunch and a walk around Geysir, a huge geyser that explodes six times a year. Thankfully, its "grandson", Strokkur, goes off every five minutes, so we watched it go kaboom a few times before exploring the surrounding tundra and standing pools and grabbing some lunch.
15 minutes later we saw Kerið, a massive volcanic crater filled with ice-blue... well, ice, and lined with the tiny figures of tourists snapping pictures. The sun had disappeared for a few minutes though, so it was freezing as we walk-jogged back to the bus.
Our last disembarking was at the most well-known of our stops: Þingvellir, a national park and the original site of the Viking parliament, Alþingi. First begun in 930, the Icelandic people continued to hold their annual political and social gathering in the valley for 800 years.
The area is stunning: kilometres of rocky landscape uninterrupted by trees or hills. Moss, one of the only forms of vegetation to grow naturally in the environment, covers every rock for miles, giving the scenery a yellowish colour that glows when the slowly shifting sun hits it. Low ranges of mountains keep watch over the iced lake in the park's centre as well as the famous North American-European tectonic rift, one of only two places in the world where the plates are pulling apart instead of together. We even got to walk in it--literally between the two geological continents!
Visiting the countryside reveals just how difficult it was for the Icelandic people to survive. It's unforgiving and unyielding, requiring hard work to eke out any form of life in the desolate, open wilderness. The population reflects this today as well; only 300,000 people live permanently in Iceland, and one third of them are in Reykjavik. We rarely saw houses on the route we took through the countryside and the guide spoke often about the effect of Iceland's remoteness throughout its history. It's so remote that there are no dialects and the language has been so little influenced that modern Icelanders can read Old Norse the way we read 18th century writing. Even the Icelandic horse is still a pure breed because of the zero interference from the outside world. Although, it was a tough bargain: the Danish monarchy kept forgetting about them, even neglecting to send food some winters!
The Blue Lagoon, April 21
Ah. Just how do Icelanders relax after a hard day of deep-sea fishing or snowmobiling through the tundra? They head to one of many natural hot springs for some silica exfoliation and low-energy swimming... just like we did today!
We spent about seven hours total at the Blue Lagoon today, soaking in the natural goodness of the world-famous spa. Pete, Ellen and I, along with our new friends Simon and Hannah from New York, absolutely loved the hot springs...we floated around enjoying the warm geothermal currents for quite a few hours, stopping only for a healthy lunch and a pint of Viking before plunging back in. I personally could have stayed forever, between the steam rooms, waterfall, and free silica facemasks, but we eventually headed back to Reykjavik, where I fell asleep almost instantly from pure relaxation.
It was great meeting Simon and Hannah as well, who were both experienced travellers and really friendly. We were all fast friends within a matter of minutes when we first met them the day before.
As for tomorrow...I really don't want to leave! Out of all the places I've been, here is the one most calling my name. Anyone want to visit Iceland? I'll go with you in a heartbeat :).
1 comment:
Gulfoss is gorgeous in the snow! I must have gone shortly after it all melted. I took audio recordings and looped them in one of my songs! I liked Niagara Falls, but something about Gulfoss really got under my skin because you could get up close and cup the water in your hands. I went to Skogafoss in the south too!
Oh yeah, and if you need someone to go with you to Iceland, I'm there! That is, if you can put up with me ;)
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