The first three days were a whirlwind of activity in the countries' capital and largest city, Reykjavik, filled with new experiences. I have seen the Northern Lights, with people I just met. I watched someone get deported. I went bar-hopping with strangers (which included visiting a Big Lebowski themed bar), saw the site of the Viking Parliament and really got to dive into a country brand new to me, to learn about their history and get a glimpse into the worldview of a people who endured a difficult settlement and started new lives in a country that was not hospitable to people 1100 years ago.
A couple of general observations:
1. There are no trees here. Or very few. Around 1% of the country is forested, and pretty much all of that is what people have planted, around cities and towns. When the first settlers arrived, it was close to 25% but the wood was cut down to make houses, tools, etc.
2. People are very tied to their cultural heritage here. This is very evident in talking to the natives. I was told that every Icelander could trace their lineage back to the original settlers.
3. A percentage of the population believe in elves, or Huldufólk, and a handful of people still keep the old Norse gods.
4. There is definitely a penis museum in Reykjavik, but somehow I missed it. I may have to go back, I'm not sure I can pass up the opportunity to say I've been to the only one in the world.
5. Icelandic is a strange, strange language in which any sound can happen at any time, for no reason (seemingly).
6. The sun is not directly overhead at noon. Not even close.
I arrived at the Keflavik airport at 7:00 a.m., watching the sun rise from the air. Contrary to the thought behind Douglas Adams' axiom "it is no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase 'as pretty as an airport' appear," Keflavik's airport is nice, and it was easy to get through passport control, exchange money, and get a bus to Reykjavik. The bus dropped me off in front of the Reykjavik Backpacker Hostel on Laugavegur, one of the bigger streets in downtown. It's a big shopping street with everything you might need: grocery store, hardware store across the street, lots of restaurants with a wide variety of food, and at least fifteen bars within a five-minute walk, the closest being about 100 yards down the street. Living (though briefly) in the middle of a city was a new experience, and I have to say I enjoyed it a lot, even though Reykjavik nightlife does not stop until three or four (or five or six, or never in the summers) in the morning.
The first day was given over to walking around, taking in my surroundings: icy blue mountains in the distance, lots of corrugated iron houses mixed with buildings with that sort of futuristic Nordic design; the new opera house is a blocky glass building that lights up at night. Hallgrímskirkja church towers over almost everything else, and is clearly visible from a good 12-15km outside the city. Reykjavik is along the edge of a large bay, founded by Ingólfur Arnarson around 870 AD, as I learned at the national museum. He sailed to Iceland and had his servants fling wooden pillars with the Norse gods carved on them into the water, and swore he would build his farm wherever they washed ashore. After some searching, he founded Reykjavik.
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| Reykjavik from the top of Perlan |
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| Hallgrímskirkja |
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| Leif Erikson (or Leif the Lucky) outside the church |
The second day was my museum day. I walked to Perlan, a hill on which sits a building with a restaurant in the top, storage facilities for the geothermally heated water serving the city, and the Saga Museum: a short audio-guided exhibit highlighting key moments from Icelandic history, each moment reconstructed with lifelike statues and sets. Next I walked to the National Museum, a more in-depth exhibit on Icelandic history with great displays of Viking weapons, art, tools, grave goods, and lots of information about the founding of Iceland. No pictures, they didn't allow me to take my camera inside.
The third day was by far the best. I took a day tour of the Golden Circle, a series of stops that includes geothermal powered greenhouses where they grow crops, even through the winters and long nights; Gullfoss (or the Golden Waterfall); Geysir, where steam rises out of the Earth; and þingvellir (pronounced Thing-vat-leer, with a trilled 'r'), the site of the Viking Parliament founded in 930 AD. There the decision was made that the country should become Christian (though pagans were still allowed to practice in private), officially converting the entire country overnight as opposed to the bloody reformations taking place in other countries. Driving between the stops was a pleasure in itself, looking at gorgeous, unreal scenery and landscapes: sudden mountains and soil filled with volcanic rock that abruptly gave way to sweeping plains.
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| Gullfoss |
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| Also Gullfoss |
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| þingvellir |
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| þingvellir part 2, with þingvellirvatn (lake) on the right |
After I got back I sat in the common room, and got to talking with a Kiwi girl. We watched an Italian guy who had been living in Canada get deported by two huge, armed lögreglumenn (police officers). Someone working at the hostel told us there was a problem with his papers. A new experience for me. We were joined by a guy from Spain and went bar-hopping. After a few stops we headed back to Perlan, having spied movement in the sky from a bar balcony. Sure enough, there it was: the Aurora Borealis. It is a strange and beautiful sight. It wasn't too strong, but still fairly clear. I am sad to say I got no photos of this one, but rest assured I will get some soon.
Thus far it has already been an amazing journey and I am sure that it will continue to be so in Akureyri (where I currently am, more on that to come) and Ólafsfjörður.
P.S. I will include one final, shameless plug for my crowdfunding page, which is apparently still going, and then leave it alone.
http://www.gofundme.com/icelandresidency
http://www.gofundme.com/icelandresidency
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