Iceland is truly magical. Seriously. So cool. Looks a little like mars, but feels like a mix between Denmark and the countryside of Ireland. Reykjavik is a really charming city, small, northern, simple architecture that looks boxy from the outside, but pretty warm and cozy on the inside. As we were walking back from dinner in town tonight (our hotel is about a 20 minute (COLD) walk outside the Main Street of the town) I was partaking in a favorite pastime of looking in house or apartment windows and noticing their lights, family pictures and one person even had a little gong in their window. There were delicious cafes and restaurants lining the Main Street that gave the feeling of a little town, not so much a city. Cute boutiques and shops selling all kinds of warm clothes, fur mittens, wool socks and deer skin throws. Yeah, and they actually all wear printed sweaters straight out of any LL Bean. It always feels like Christmas!
We walked around quite a bit yesterday, because our travel day before, while not really long, was tiring, so all we really did our first night here was check out the high windowed lobby of our hotel and grab dinner at the restaurant downstairs. The creamy fish soup was really, really good.
So, yesterday we made the best of the time wandering around down town. We had hoped to join a walking tour, but the first time we tried, we couldn't find the right meeting place, and the second time, 2 hours later, I don't think anyone showed up, even the guide. Oh well! We made our own walking tour. Have I mentioned it is super cold(32*), so I already bought a new pair of wool socks, wool gloves (yup, they look like LL bean too!) and a wool hat that I bought from the lady who made it and then stood out on the street in the bitter cold to sell them. She deserved the sale, and I have needed that hat!
We saw their concert hall, down by the harbor, the city hall, on a little pond that was frozen, and covered in ducks and swans (so cute!), and the biggest church in Iceland that looks tall, imposing, gray, and a little too modern looking if you ask me. I saw it lit up tonight though, and liked it better.
We loved the city, and after a long day our feet were very tired, so last night we went to the geothermal pool complex down the street from our hotel. It's like a giant hot tub you can swim in all winter! We enjoyed the outdoor pool most of all. They had a full size, 50 m swimming pool (we did laps), a bigger, but shallower and warmer play area with a basketball hoop and some inflatable tubes that the kids really seemed to enjoy whacking each other with. They had a great big, water park sized water slide that Ryan mastered, and rode several times followed by laughing children. It was Kinda fun, but it was also dark, and I didn't get enough speed, so I watched from the warm splashdown pool after my 2nd try. The opposite side of the lap pool had several 'hot pots',as they call them here(hot tubs at home), that were all varying degrees of hot, a sauna, and a jacuzzi with Atlantic Ocean water (warm too). All were relaxing, except when Ryan made me race him 100 m in the pool, especially because he forgets we are still out of shape and now my whole body aches! It was really fun though, we spent almost the whole night there until about 9:30, then got some dinner and I was so tired I fell asleep with all my clothes on.
Ryan planned ahead by setting his alarm, and we were up early today for a Golden Circle bus tour. We were picked up at 8:30, then whisked away to the larger bus station, were everyone sort of milled around not knowing what bus to get on, but soon we were sorted, and on our way. The views were stunning, the landscape full of lava flows, old and new, Icelandic horses grazing here and there, and plateaus and mountains around every bend. One of the best bends in the road came when we were in site of the second largest glacier in Iceland. So cool, I was so excited to see a glacier, I made up a glacier cheer. Ryan claims he loves me best when I sing and cheer for things, so, it made for a happy day.
We first visited a greenhouse that worked from geothermal power. Actually, about 90% of the power in Iceland is geothermal, which is awesome and super environmentally friendly. I guess the price to pay is always living on the top of a huge volcanic hot spot, but it seems to work here. The greenhouse was most notable (at least to us) due to homemade tomato soup. Tasty, and of course, very fresh. Next we went to visit the Gullfoss Waterfall. It's a two tiered monstrosity of falls, cascading down from the glacier in the distance. Although everything was a bit frosty up there, the mist from the falls created a whole field of ice crystallized banks on either side. We took loads of pictures, squinting into the sun, and slid down a path to get a better view of the lower falls. Totally worth it, and my shoes officially double as ice skates. Can't say the same for Ryan, he may have pulled a groin muscle or two!
We stopped again down the road for lunching and geysering. The Strokkur geyser (we stole the word geyser from Icelandic, along with the word 'saga') is a sight to see, and I haven't been to Yellowstone, so I haven't seen old faithful, but to mine eyes, it was awesome. I even took a video, which I will try to post! People cheered every time, and that's a lot, considering that it spouts every 5 minutes or so!
I checked out a few of the other hot pools around, even touching one to see how hot it was (it wasn't THAT hot!), and we loved the steaming vents all over the area.
After lunch, we went down the road in search of the rift between continents. We stopped at a national park, with more amazing views down a river, leading to a lake with a little rustic church in the distance. We hiked up a hill to view the two sides of the world! At points, one person could stand on the North American plate, while the other could stand on the European side. Sweet. I stood over it and was in two places at once. I've always wished I could do that!
As we drove back to Reykjavik, I watched out the window at the scenery, so foreign, thinking of all the foreign places I've seen over these many weeks abroad, and it kind if hit me that this is it! My eyes have seen so much! They are aching for more, but they are also full up, so while I felt sad to conclude with traveling, the idea of resting and starting back anew, that seemed appealing too. It's like standing on those two continents was a way to split apart, to look down into the rift, knowing that it isn't empty, it is full. For me, it's full of awesome memories, they won't pass by my eyes again, but now they are stuck in my mind, which is even better.
I love to travel. I admit it- I love you, Travel! I guess I can say that it makes me feel so alive, but I feel alive everywhere I go, and I try to take advantage of life, as much as I can, No matter where I am. I guess I love that it sets me on fire, in a way. It makes me love new things, it makes me miss old things, it makes me realize how big and small the world is, all at the same time, and that I want to be a true citizen. I like normal, I like comfortable, but I LOVE feeling the spark of excitement that goes along with adventure.
I don't know when I'll travel again, but I really couldn't have asked for a better partner, and I'm so thankful, that for after all the years that I've wished for a travel partner, that I found Ryan to laugh around the world with. Yes, there were plenty of times we wanted to kill each other, several threats of wanting to just give up and go home, tantrums, fights, disagreements, silences and eye rolls, but for every one of those times, there were 65 sunsets, a thousand hugs and cuddles, shared smiles as we saw something that made us both gasp with excitement, over 100 tastes we shared, smooshed together in planes, trains, cars, boats, buses, and even a hot air balloon, we did it together, and we've grown a lot from all these experiences. I love him more than ever, and thank God for it! I'll speak for him and say he feels the same, because I know he does (he tells me a lot!) Thank you, Ryan, for being my buddy- travel, diving, and life buddy. :)
So, we had a delicious last night out in a foreign country for awhile, and it was a good one! Icelandic lobster is supposed to be one of the best, and now, I'd tend to agree. I will now begin to pack my bag up, one last time (gotta admit, I'm happy about that!), and get ready for one last hurrah tomorrow when we get up and grab another early bus to the Blue Lagoon, another amazing geothermal spot that they made into a spa. It's a lot bigger, and will be more of a natural setting than the pool, and its been on my list for a long time! We will spend the morning there, then take the last bus to the airport. Whooooo. Then home! Back to New Jersey we go. And beyond.
I'm trying to figure out a good way to conclude, but it sort of feels like stalling! I don't want to pack, and I don't want to finish my blog. But, like all great roller coasters, the ride has gotta come to an end at some point. If it was that good, you know you'll just have to ride another one someday soon. Every day is an adventure, and I suppose theses new memories that I share with Ryan from around the world are gonna keep the fire alive until the next time.
It's funny, I always sort of laughed to myself when I was leaving a place, and a front desk worker at a hotel, a shop keeper, a boat captain, a waiter, and many others we met would say something like "See you next time," or "you'll have to save that for next time!" I always wondered how they knew I'd be back some day. I can't say for sure where I will return, but, they were right, there's always a next time. It's in my blood! Hopefully, if you're reading this, its in your blood a little too. So, until next time! :)
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