The Long Awaited Adventure

Finally, I made it to Iceland! I can't believe that trip is behind me now. I've been wanting to visit Iceland since spring of 2008, and I've been holding on to these plane tickets since the beginning of March, making this the first trip I planned, as well as my last big trip until I travel with my Aunt Kye at the end of my semester. And what an amazing trip to such a beautiful country!

My first glimpse of Iceland!

I arrived in Reykjavik around 11pm on Thursday the 16th. Sigríður, who is only a few months younger than me and was an exchange student at West for the spring semester of our senior year, was there at the airport to pick me up. I met her roommates, Elín and Heiðrún, and we all spent Thursday evening chatting, telling stories, and enjoying refreshments at Sigríður's parent's house, where her older sister was having friends over for a birthday party. As we were sitting in her living room it felt like no time was passing, because the sky only dimmed a little. We left around 2am to take Sigríður's friends downtown and then Sigríður and I went to her new apartment to sleep. There's a two hour difference between Berlin and Reykjavik so I was ready to sleep, and Sigríður had work the next day.

Friday happened to be Iceland's Independence Day, which made walking around town that day a blast. Sigríður had to work from 11a-11p, but I managed to entertain myself. I went downtown with her and then spent the next six hours wandering around, occasionally checking in at her restaurant to let her know how I was doing. I loved walking through the streets and seeing so many people out, and there were all sorts of festive decorations, Icelandic flags everywhere, kids with balloons of every cartoon character imaginable, and even two small marching bands playing Lady Gaga and other popular songs. I spent a reflective half an hour in the Catholic church and enjoyed watching an Australian street performer. I stumbled across the famous hot dog stand Bæjarins beztu pylsur, which means the best hotdog in town, where after eating a delicious pylsur I joined the ranks of Bill Clinton and almost every Icelander.

"The best hot dog in town"

I also, of course, found a place where  I could get a view: Halgrimmskirkja. Halgrimmskirkja is a fairly new Protestant church, finished in 1986 and built on a hill, where you can go up into the tower and look out across Reykjavik. Very windy at the top but also very cool!

Looking out at the Reykjavik downtown area

Around dinner time or so Elín came in to town to pick me up. We walked through the streets a little more and grabbed some food and chatted for a while as we watched a live band. After an hour or so we headed home to relax while waiting for Sigríður to get off work. We decided to pass the time by watching Gilmore Girls, which was our relaxation choice for the weekend. Sigríður got off work around 11 as planned, and after picking her up we also picked up some ice cream and just enjoying hanging out together the rest of the night.

On Saturday Sigríður, Elín and Heiðrún had something exotic planned, or at least exotic to me. Our big event of the day was visiting the Blue Lagoon. Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spring turned into a spa, so named because of the milky blue color of the 6 million liters of geothermal seawater in the lagoon. The temperature is warm but comfortable. Because of the specialties of this ecosystem no chlorine or other chemicals are needed to keep the water clean. It's a beautiful 45 min drive from Sigríður's house.

Blue Lagoon

One of the specialties of the Blue Lagoon is the silica mud which is very good for your skin, so they have buckets of the mud along the edge of the lagoon, and you can just take a scoop and slather it all over your face. It really is a wonderful feeling, sitting in the warm, blue water of the lagoon, and once you wash the silica mud off your face feels so smooth and refreshed! And the scenery is unbeatable.

Heiðrún, Elín and myself looking good with mud masks

After returning refreshed and rejuvenated we stopped by a gathering of Sigríður's friends to share some cupcakes and chitchat. At first one friend offered to only speak in English, but I said while that was very friendly I didn't want everyone to talk in English just for me, so I enjoyed listening to the waves of Icelandic and sharing the occasional comment with Sigríður or Elín. I saw a few of those girls later, because after dinner some of Sigríður's friends came over to her place to hang out before we went downtown for the night. We had a blast, and it was crazy to walk around in the sunlight during the middle of the night. The sun rose again very soon after it set, so it never got darker than dusk. It made me feel like time was moot and like we were making our own strange schedule, forcing ourselves to sleep during daylight. I thought it was the coolest thing.

Sigríður  and I Saturday night

Sunday was an outdoor adventure day! Iceland is know not only for its special Icelandic horses and wool, but also for all of its geologic anomalies. Geysers, volcanoes, glaciers, lava rocks. and hot springs abound. Thus adventure sports and recreation activities such as hiking, camping and white water rafting are very popular, among locals and tourists alike. On Sunday we headed out to a section of the Hvítá River, 1 1/2 hours east of Reykjavik, for some white water rafting.

Iceland is beautiful.

Sigríður had met two American tourists on Friday at her restaraunt and, keeping it short, she ended up inviting them with us on Sunday. Paul and Paul are two good friends from the New York/New Jersey area, and the four of us had a really fun time together, just chatting about the States and Iceland and hearing everyone's stories. The drive to the rafting base camp was beautiful, and despite Sigríður's insistence that she had no idea where we were going, she got us to camp with fifteen minutes to spare. The rafting was so exciting. Even though the rapids weren't as huge as some I've rafted on, they were big enough to be exciting. And the ride also included the chance to jump into the freezing cold glacier water from a 5meter high cliff! Sigríður and I both jumped, though it took a 10 year old going first to convince us we wouldn't freeze before resurfacing. They had outfitted us in wet suits, fleece jackets, splash jackets, and diving boots, but I was still gasping for air the whole swim back to shore!

Sigríður and myself with the two Pauls after rafting

On the drive home we continued along the Golden Circle, the scenic route, to visit the famous geysers Geysir (yes, the word for geyser comes from this one!) and Strokkar in the geothermically active Haukadalur valley, and a spectacular two-tiered waterfall named Gullfoss. One thing the waterfall is famous for is how close you're allowed to get to it, but it was very windy and we were still cold from rafting so we settled for soaking in the view from afar.

Geysir

By Gullfoss. The drop you see is the first and smaller drop.

After arriving in Reykjavik we had time to drop the boys off at their hotel before going to Sigríður's house, where I met her parents and two sisters for a delicious, home cooked Icelandic meal. We had lamb, potatoes and salad, and after such an adventurous day it was exactly what I needed. And I was so thrilled to be about to meet Sigríður's family, after the time she was able to spend with my family  while she was in the States! Then it was back to the apartment to gather my things before heading to the airport around 11pm. My flight left at 1:30am on Monday, and I was back home around 6:30am local time.

I know I had a lot of really high expectations for this trip; it's what happens when you plan something for a really long time. But thankfully, this trip exceeded my expectations. Even though I did not miraculously learn to speak Icelandic during my four days there, I still got a kick out of hearing a language that is so foreign to me. I like to tell myself that by the end I was getting a better feel for the rhythm of the language. And I loved the stark, wild beauty of the country. My timing certainly didn't hurt--as a person that loves the outdoors and the warmth of the sun the constant light was a fun component. Winter would be tough for me. But most of all, I got to see Sigríður at her home, in her element, and catching up with her and being able to ask her about everything around was what made the trip worth it. I would recommend a visit to Iceland to anyone who has the opportunity, even if they don't know anyone there, because it's a gorgeous, fascinating country. But because of Sigríður I was able to do and see things that normally wouldn't have been possible for me, and I am incredibly thankful for her friendship and hospitality!

Sigríður and I outside the Blue Lagoon. Love this babe!