On Saturday, Samuel and I planned to go to Malmo, Sweden. It is directly across the Oresund from Copenhagen. There is a very large bridge to get across, and the train also goes over to Sweden, and all the way up to possibly Helsingborg. Pretty far into Sweden, either way. We took the train. It was really easy and comfortable.
Unfortunately, we didn't actually look up anything to do in Malmo before we went. So we found ourselves not knowing what to do or where to go. I almost wish we'd looked it up, but Malmo seemed like such a small city that I don't think we would have found much. We just grabbed a tour book from a tourist shop and wandered around.
The first thing we saw to do was go to Malmohaus, which is Malmo Castle. It was pretty cool, and not very expensive- 7 dollars or so. We were confused about the exchange rate the whole time. Once we got there, we decided to share a quick snack at the cafe and ordered pickled fried herring. Oh my goodness. It was amazing! It was served cold, which was strange (to us, at least) with potatoes and salad and creme fraiche. I wish I could eat it again. We took a picture, and everytime I see it, I start drooling.
The we went through Malmo Castle. It was pretty cool, but hard to follow at times. Some exhibits were in English and Swedish, others had an English guide at the beginning you could carry around, and others were just in Swedish. Some exhibts would have some signs in both languages, and some in just Swedish. I didn't feel like I understood as much as I could have. For example, down in the dungeons, there was a cool exhibit on the Black Plague. I didn't realize it was about the Black Plague, and not about people dying in the dungeons, until the end, when the signs started being in both languages again. I liked seeing it, and the castle itself was really cool. I know I shouldn't complain either, because I'm in their country, and I wish I was able to speak the language. The disparity between languages just seemed strange. Either way, I reall enjoyed it.
Samuel wanted to buy a sweater, so after we left the castle, we headed to an area the guidebook said had flea markets, shops, and international food. Sounds like a good place to find a sweater! Unfortunately, "flea markets" turned out to mean one farmer's market- no sweaters. No stores at all, really. Disappointing. We stopped at an Indian place for dinner. I had a dish that was really interesting. It was Butter Tikka Masala, but it was bright pink and sweet. It was strange, but very good.
Still on a sweater hunt, Samuel took us on a very roundabout way of getting to another place the guidebook described as having cute shops. It was a mall. Ugh. Malmo appears to exist solely for shopping. I'm pretty sure I saw more shops than people. Anyway, the mall wasn't bad. Sam found a really nice sweater, and I found a great thick wool scarf for really cheap. By this point, our feet started to hurt and we headed back to the train. They'd had a problem with the electric, and the people had been waiting for the train for almost an hour. We had good timing, though, because we only had to wait about 15 minutes. :)
Back and A and E's, we grabbed a pizza and settled in for the night. It was a good pizza. Felt just like home. :)
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Biking through Copenhagen
The plan for the next day in Copenhagen was to get some bikes from A's work and ride them through the city to see some of the more popular sites. A and E already have bikes, as they don't have a car. We just needed to borrow some for Samuel and me.
A note about owning a car in Denmark: when you buy a car, you are charged a 200% tax. So if you buy a $15,000 car, you pay another $30,000 in taxes, making your car $45,000. That being sad, Copenhagen has a really nice public transportation system, with several rail lines and what seemed to be a pretty good bus system. They also have really nice bike lanes. Instead of being some puny little afterthought of a lane like in the US, they actually have their own lane, with a curb seperating it from the road, and another curb seperating the bikes from the sidewalk. Besides the obvious, another great benefit is that cars do not drive through the bike lane to park on the side of the road, so there is no danger to bicyclists! I was really impressed.
A has a regular bike, but E has this awesome contraption called a Christiana.
That was the end of our sight-seeing for the day. It was really nice to just have the evenings to hang out with E and A and get to know them. Copenhagen was really nice because I feel like I got a really good feel of the city, but I also got to relax a lot. Plus, A and E were so welcoming. I felt like I was hanging out with old friends.
A note about owning a car in Denmark: when you buy a car, you are charged a 200% tax. So if you buy a $15,000 car, you pay another $30,000 in taxes, making your car $45,000. That being sad, Copenhagen has a really nice public transportation system, with several rail lines and what seemed to be a pretty good bus system. They also have really nice bike lanes. Instead of being some puny little afterthought of a lane like in the US, they actually have their own lane, with a curb seperating it from the road, and another curb seperating the bikes from the sidewalk. Besides the obvious, another great benefit is that cars do not drive through the bike lane to park on the side of the road, so there is no danger to bicyclists! I was really impressed.
A has a regular bike, but E has this awesome contraption called a Christiana.
Theirs looks a little different than this one, but the same general idea is applied. The back looks like a bike, but the front has a big box and two big wheels. The box is big enough that two kids could sit side by side. These are so great for a place where one mostly has to rely on public transportation. While looking for this picture, I saw pictures of people moving and even set up for the wheelchair!
We stopped for some quick drinks at a cafe by the canal, then headed out to Christiana, the place A and E most wanted to show us. Christiana (the cool bikes started here, hence the shared names) declared itself free from the state in 1971. Naturally, it became a haven for drugs of all kinds. Recently, they've cleaned up, and all I saw (and smelled) was pot. I wish I had pictures, because it was really cool. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed (drugs, remember?) and if they catch you taking pictures, they'll destroy your camera.
Christiana was pretty much what one would expect from a lot of pot heads living in a commune. The neighborhood didn't seem that big. The funny part (I thought) was that it is in the city. When E and A told us about this, I was expecting it to be far out of the city in the middle of a field or something. Nope! The houses were really cute and interesting, and there were people selling the types of things one might expect along Pusher Street. In addition to all the stoners and hippies were a bunch of people who just looked out of places- people in Abercrombie sweatshirts, and a huge group of old businessmen in suits lazily meandering around the paths. Strange place.
After this, it was getting late, so we made a quick stop at the Little Mermaid staute before heading off. Apparently, this statue is what inspired Hans Christian Andersen to write the story of the Little Mermaid. It was okay- kind of small and nondescript. It is a little strange that it is such a big landmark in such an interesting city.
To get to the school to get the bikes, Samuel and I had gone on the bus, and met E and A, who rode their bikes. Going home, E was tired from peddling the Christiana (I don't blame her whatsoever!) and we needed to start dinner, so E, Baby, and I rode the bus back while Samuel and A rode the bikes back to the house. On the way home, we stopped at the grocery.
I feel like grocery stores in foreign countries are a great way to get a sense of the culture, or at least the food culture. IN Denmark, grocery stores are small. In this neighborhood, there is a wine shop, a cheese shop, and a vegetable stand all seperate from the grocery store. I think it is nice that a company just pays attention to one thing and does it very well. E says every single time she goes to the grocery, there is at least one thing that she just can't find or they don't carry. That's the downfall of the cute little stores, I guess- no selection. The produce section was a small corner- a far cry from the sprawl of produce in the US. One really cool thing- herbs are sold in plant form. I love this idea! There is no sense in chopping off a huge amount of a plant to have half of it go to waste anyway. This way, it just stays alive until you can use it again!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Copenhagen, Denmark- Day 1
Day six of Glorious Europe Extravaganza began tiredly. There's no better word. After 2 hours and 45 minutes of sleep, navigating the public transit of a foreign city in a foreign language was nothing short of daunting. Fortunately, as we were staying with Sam's cousin, A, he had written us amazingly detailed directions on Copenhagen's public transportation system. Despite getting on the wrong train, we managed to make it to A's house with the help of some very nice locals. We also walked past his street several times. But it all became worth it when we were welcomed with open arms and given breakfast burritos and cappucinos. Sam's family are the most wonderful group of people on Earth. Never have I met a family where every member loves the others and there is no drama, no annoying family shit, just love and get-togethers. A, and his wife, E are no exception. After staying with strangers in Iceland, it was really nice to stay with family strangers. :)
Our sleep space was to be in the living room, so in an effort not to take that over, plus with desire to stay awake and stay on a normal schedule, we decided to go out on the town. Plus, A and E have a two-year old, E-Bear and a four-month old, so sleeping probably wouldn't have been too much of an option! Sam, A, E-bear and I packed up a stroller and set off. We saw some really old houses still around from the (possible) 1500s. The architecture is gorgeous. A later showed us a video from the 1930s, and Copenhagen looks exactly the same. The only difference was the clothes and the cars! This city is so pretty. It looks exactly how I thought it would, with brightly colored little houses in rows and intricately designed buildings.
We stopped by Nyhavn, which is a gorgeous harbor with lots of little shops. Sam bought some apples from a local apple grower. They were so good we ate them all up almost right away and raved about them for the next couple of days. Apparently they're grown on a little island in South Denmark.
We also walked down Stroget, a pedestrian street full of shopping. None of us really wanted to shop, but it was one of those "must-sees". It was okay- about what you'd expect from a street of stores. Clothes (and everything else!) are expensive in Denmark. Apparently Copenhagen is in the top 5 most expensive cities to live in the world.
We stopped at a big square, where E-bear ran around and chased pigeons (and stepped on a sleeping one, whoops!), then headed off to Rosenburg Castle in the King's Garden. It was gorgeous and ridiculous- a huge castle in a huge park in the middle of the city. Room after room of fancy stuff, including this incredible clock E-bear couldn't get enough of. This clock would have sold for millions of dollars, easily. It was the most intricate clock I've ever seen in my life. In the basement are the Crown Jewels, which are about as ridiculous, extravagant, and over-the-top as you might expect. Two armed guards were outside, with two more in the basement.
After all that, we needed some food, so A took us to a great smorrebrod place. Smorrebrod is a Danish food that is really just meats and cheeses on top of food bread. As you can imagine, that can be done a plethora of different ways. This place was fancy- Sam had one with eel and one with gorgonzola, A had one with chicken salad and one with gorgonzola, and I had one with beef tartar. They were all delicious. E-bear had a hot dog. Europe is in love with hotdogs- kinda weird.
Came back to the house, E had made us delicious dinner, and we crashed pretty quickly.
Our sleep space was to be in the living room, so in an effort not to take that over, plus with desire to stay awake and stay on a normal schedule, we decided to go out on the town. Plus, A and E have a two-year old, E-Bear and a four-month old, so sleeping probably wouldn't have been too much of an option! Sam, A, E-bear and I packed up a stroller and set off. We saw some really old houses still around from the (possible) 1500s. The architecture is gorgeous. A later showed us a video from the 1930s, and Copenhagen looks exactly the same. The only difference was the clothes and the cars! This city is so pretty. It looks exactly how I thought it would, with brightly colored little houses in rows and intricately designed buildings.
We stopped by Nyhavn, which is a gorgeous harbor with lots of little shops. Sam bought some apples from a local apple grower. They were so good we ate them all up almost right away and raved about them for the next couple of days. Apparently they're grown on a little island in South Denmark.
We also walked down Stroget, a pedestrian street full of shopping. None of us really wanted to shop, but it was one of those "must-sees". It was okay- about what you'd expect from a street of stores. Clothes (and everything else!) are expensive in Denmark. Apparently Copenhagen is in the top 5 most expensive cities to live in the world.
We stopped at a big square, where E-bear ran around and chased pigeons (and stepped on a sleeping one, whoops!), then headed off to Rosenburg Castle in the King's Garden. It was gorgeous and ridiculous- a huge castle in a huge park in the middle of the city. Room after room of fancy stuff, including this incredible clock E-bear couldn't get enough of. This clock would have sold for millions of dollars, easily. It was the most intricate clock I've ever seen in my life. In the basement are the Crown Jewels, which are about as ridiculous, extravagant, and over-the-top as you might expect. Two armed guards were outside, with two more in the basement.
After all that, we needed some food, so A took us to a great smorrebrod place. Smorrebrod is a Danish food that is really just meats and cheeses on top of food bread. As you can imagine, that can be done a plethora of different ways. This place was fancy- Sam had one with eel and one with gorgonzola, A had one with chicken salad and one with gorgonzola, and I had one with beef tartar. They were all delicious. E-bear had a hot dog. Europe is in love with hotdogs- kinda weird.
Came back to the house, E had made us delicious dinner, and we crashed pretty quickly.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Iceland, Day Five- The Final Day.
Our fifth day in Iceland was kind of a mixed bag. On one hand, we'd been in Iceland for five days, the country was awesome, we'd loved every minute and every thing we'd done, and it had been a completely unique and interesting vacation. Not only those things, but now we were getting to drive around the rest of the country, a goal we didn't think we'd be able to achieve!
On the other hand, we had to leave.
Though neither of us wanted to leave (expect so maybe we could stop hemorrhaging money) we did make our last day there as long as possible. We had left Husavik by 8 AM to make sure we had plenty of time. Since the weather on the ocean was so bad that we couldn't go whale watching, the weather on land was pretty terrible too. Cold, arctic rain was pouring down, and the temperature outside was maybe 38. Coupled with the rain, it was damn cold and we were both glad we were in the car and not on a boat in the Arctic Ocean.
The first place we stopped was Detifoss, the largest waterfall in Europe. Did I mention earlier it was almost freezing and raining buckets? Yeah, that didn't stop at Detifoss. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was worse due to the mist coming off the waterfall. It was really pretty, but I'm not much of a waterfall person. I can't swim, so water is just kind of a deadly asshole to me. I'm not normally awestruck, just annoyed that if I get too close, it'll kill me. By the time we got to the waterfall, we were quite literally dripping wet and freezing cold.The path, made of rocks, was more of a creek, and I slipped on the rocks a couple of times. Detifoss is probably really pretty, and maybe I'll see pictures and realize what I missed, but that experience was downright terrible!
Our second stop was a town called Egilssadir. We mailed some postcards and grabbed some food and coffee. One of our hosts in Husavik told Sam about a great shortcut that was not only incredibly gorgeous, but would save us 90 kilometers! Unfortunately, we had some issuses finding it, but it still saved us plenty of time and was really incredible. The road is called 939, and while it isn't the nicest road you'll ever drive on, it is too pretty for words to explain.
We didn't stop again until we got to Southern Iceland. That sounds like a long time, but Iceland is so small that it didn't take that long. We stopped in Hofn to grab some lunch. The Guidebook recommended Kaffi Hornid, saying it had "great character" and good food. Eh. I wouldn't say it was bad, but it certainly wasn't the glowing recommendation the guidebook bestowed upon it. We walked in to some French girls arguing with the waitress about being overcharged. I don't know what character the guidebook was talking about. It was an okay restaurant, but nothing that stands out. I had tomato soup and bread- the bread was great, the tomato soup was unlimited, and I had my fill. Sam had an $18 cheeseburger- pretty common price for Iceland- and said it was really good.
Our next problem was the car. A clause in our rental agreement said that we couldn't take the car off-roading, or on any "F" roads, which are the roads in Iceland that mean you need a four-wheel drive to go on them. While we definitely didn't, the car looked like we'd been driving it through every mud puddle in Iceland- and the handle had fallen off one of the doors. Uh oh. We figured if we returned it clean, it might look better, and we also really needed to wash the windows. Iceland doesn't have windshield wiper fluid and squeegees at every gas pump like the US does, so we were at a bit of a loss. Then we looked across the parking lot and saw the coolest invention for hand-washing a car ever invented. I'm probably way behind the times on this, but I'm going to ghetto-rig this for the next time I wash my car. This thing was pretty much a deck brush with the soap and water coming out of the handle in between the bristles. I know this is a really lame thing to talk about on a travel blog, and these things are probably everywhere, but I have never seen them and I am completely amazed. Okay, enough about car brushes.
Besides the cool factor of saying that I drove all the way around Iceland, Jokulsarlon, the next place we stopped, was the reason I am really glad we got to see the southern part of the country. Jokulsarlon is this place where pieces of a glacier are breaking off, slowly melting, and moving out to the ocean. The glacier pieces/icebergs are either this gorgeous blue color or striped with sediment from when the glacier froze. The wind was incredible- it almost knocked me over a couple of times. My one regret is that we didn't take a boat ride among the glaciers. It is supposed to be great, although freezing, and not very expensive. Unfortunately, we just didn't have time. That can also go on the list of things to do next time- or the list of reasons to return to Iceland!
Sadly, our next stop was Keplavik, the airport. What looked like a barren, empty landscape at touchdown now looked like a bustling metropolis compared to the rest of Iceland. Our plane left at 1 AM and took 2 hours and 45 minutes. With the time change, we arrived in Copenhagen a little after 6 AM, completely exhausted.
On the other hand, we had to leave.
Though neither of us wanted to leave (expect so maybe we could stop hemorrhaging money) we did make our last day there as long as possible. We had left Husavik by 8 AM to make sure we had plenty of time. Since the weather on the ocean was so bad that we couldn't go whale watching, the weather on land was pretty terrible too. Cold, arctic rain was pouring down, and the temperature outside was maybe 38. Coupled with the rain, it was damn cold and we were both glad we were in the car and not on a boat in the Arctic Ocean.
The first place we stopped was Detifoss, the largest waterfall in Europe. Did I mention earlier it was almost freezing and raining buckets? Yeah, that didn't stop at Detifoss. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was worse due to the mist coming off the waterfall. It was really pretty, but I'm not much of a waterfall person. I can't swim, so water is just kind of a deadly asshole to me. I'm not normally awestruck, just annoyed that if I get too close, it'll kill me. By the time we got to the waterfall, we were quite literally dripping wet and freezing cold.The path, made of rocks, was more of a creek, and I slipped on the rocks a couple of times. Detifoss is probably really pretty, and maybe I'll see pictures and realize what I missed, but that experience was downright terrible!
Our second stop was a town called Egilssadir. We mailed some postcards and grabbed some food and coffee. One of our hosts in Husavik told Sam about a great shortcut that was not only incredibly gorgeous, but would save us 90 kilometers! Unfortunately, we had some issuses finding it, but it still saved us plenty of time and was really incredible. The road is called 939, and while it isn't the nicest road you'll ever drive on, it is too pretty for words to explain.
We didn't stop again until we got to Southern Iceland. That sounds like a long time, but Iceland is so small that it didn't take that long. We stopped in Hofn to grab some lunch. The Guidebook recommended Kaffi Hornid, saying it had "great character" and good food. Eh. I wouldn't say it was bad, but it certainly wasn't the glowing recommendation the guidebook bestowed upon it. We walked in to some French girls arguing with the waitress about being overcharged. I don't know what character the guidebook was talking about. It was an okay restaurant, but nothing that stands out. I had tomato soup and bread- the bread was great, the tomato soup was unlimited, and I had my fill. Sam had an $18 cheeseburger- pretty common price for Iceland- and said it was really good.
Our next problem was the car. A clause in our rental agreement said that we couldn't take the car off-roading, or on any "F" roads, which are the roads in Iceland that mean you need a four-wheel drive to go on them. While we definitely didn't, the car looked like we'd been driving it through every mud puddle in Iceland- and the handle had fallen off one of the doors. Uh oh. We figured if we returned it clean, it might look better, and we also really needed to wash the windows. Iceland doesn't have windshield wiper fluid and squeegees at every gas pump like the US does, so we were at a bit of a loss. Then we looked across the parking lot and saw the coolest invention for hand-washing a car ever invented. I'm probably way behind the times on this, but I'm going to ghetto-rig this for the next time I wash my car. This thing was pretty much a deck brush with the soap and water coming out of the handle in between the bristles. I know this is a really lame thing to talk about on a travel blog, and these things are probably everywhere, but I have never seen them and I am completely amazed. Okay, enough about car brushes.
Besides the cool factor of saying that I drove all the way around Iceland, Jokulsarlon, the next place we stopped, was the reason I am really glad we got to see the southern part of the country. Jokulsarlon is this place where pieces of a glacier are breaking off, slowly melting, and moving out to the ocean. The glacier pieces/icebergs are either this gorgeous blue color or striped with sediment from when the glacier froze. The wind was incredible- it almost knocked me over a couple of times. My one regret is that we didn't take a boat ride among the glaciers. It is supposed to be great, although freezing, and not very expensive. Unfortunately, we just didn't have time. That can also go on the list of things to do next time- or the list of reasons to return to Iceland!
Sadly, our next stop was Keplavik, the airport. What looked like a barren, empty landscape at touchdown now looked like a bustling metropolis compared to the rest of Iceland. Our plane left at 1 AM and took 2 hours and 45 minutes. With the time change, we arrived in Copenhagen a little after 6 AM, completely exhausted.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Iceland, Day Four- Myvatn and Husavik
Our fourth day in Iceland was one of the coolest days by far. I'd thought the landscape was pretty cool, neat museums and things to see, and nice people. Our fourth day was mind-blowing.
Close to Husavik is a lake called Lake Myvatn. Besid'es the Golden Circle (Gulfoss, Geysir, and Thingvellir), this is what people come to Iceland to see. If you ever go to Iceland, make it happen that you go see this area, and I promise you won't regret it. It isn't very easy to get there- if we'd driven straight there, it would have taken at least six hours. There aren't trains and I'm pretty sure there's not a bus. There is an airport. No matter how you get here, it was totally worth it.
Our guidebook took us in a circle around Myvatn, starting in Reykjahlid, and I feel like this was a really good way to see it. Each sight was awesome, but they seemed to get more and more fantastic as the circle went on.
The first thing we saw was Hverfell. Some of the signs we saw also said Hverfjall, and I think the story behind this is too funny not to share. 'Fell' in Icelandic means "small hill", whereas "fjall" means "mountain". It used to be called Hverfjall, but an Icelandic citizen went to court over the name. Apparently, it is more of a small hill than a mountain. I don't know why it upset him so much, but he won the case, and now the name is Hverfell. Mountain or small hill, the thing is pretty impressive. It looms up, black and ominous, in the background of Lake Myvatn. It was a volcano that erupted a couple of thousand years ago, but it doesn't resemble erupted volcanoes one might think of. Instead, it looks like a gigantic pile of black rocks. It is almost surreal. There is a path up to the top, and once there, we saw the gigantic crater in the middle. It was crazy! In the middle of the crater, there was a raised circle. I have no idea how it happened, but it was really cool to see.
Our next stop in the circle was Dimmuborgir. Apparently the terrible band actually got their name from somewhere. If I was Iceland, I would have sued for taking the name of someplace amazing and applying it to something shitty. I mean, the name "Shitty Band" was still available. They could have called themselves that. :)
I kid, I kid. But really, Dimmuborgir was really cool. The name means "dark castles" in Icelandic. I wouldn't want to be here at night; this place would be way too creepy. As it was in the middle of the day, well, it was over run with the same old people on buses that flocked to Thingvellir. I understand everyone wanting to see it, but part of our reason for going to Europe in September is that it is the off season, and we didn't want to be surrounded by people. I really would have enjoyed Dimmuborgir a lot more had I not been surrounded by old people talking about how bad the flies were (they weren't that bad, but what do you expect from a place essentially called Fly Lake?), how cold it was (it wasn't that cold, and I'm always cold), and walking really slowly in every possible spot to walk. We broke away for a bit, but by that time, we were frustrated and left. I recommend if you go to go really early in the morning, or maybe later in the day. It would be positively creepy at dusk or later, so maybe not then, but definitely try to avoid the crowds!
The next cool thing to see around Myvatn are the pseudocraters. These look like the craters that are formed from lava explosions, but lava come out there. They are made when hot lava flows over a wet place, like a lake or swamp, and the steam explodes. The pseudocraters are all found in a place called Skutustadagigar, on the southern part of the lake. They're not super cool to look at up close- they just look like grassy bowls- but they're neat to see from the road. Our guidebook recommended walking around on a path, but it took about an hour and we were on a bit of a time crunch, so it is on our list of things to do next time we go! Oh, and the other place pseudocraters are found is Mars. After this visit, I am convinced Iceland is a portal to Mars, so that doesn't surprise me whatsoever!
The western part of the lake is very pretty, but there isn't much to see landmark-wise. There are some mountains, and probably some goregous views from on top of them.
The next place we stopped is no longer on the lake, but off to the east. These next two places are why /u am convinced Iceland is Mars. At least, I now feel like I have a good idea what Mars is like. :)
Hverir. This place was mind-blowing, awesome, and made me want to barf. No, really. Hverir is made up of sulfur vents. The ground is red and there are white deposits everywhere, and steam is literally pouring out of the ground. It smells so awful that I could only stay for a couple of minutes. I don't know if we went on an exceptionally bad day, because the guidebook said nothing about the smell. Perhaps I am just sensitive, because there were other people out among the steam vents, taking pictures and looking around. I really wanted to see it closer, but I just couldn't handle it. We snapped a couple of pictures, including one of Sam pretending to barf, and jumped back in the car. I was really disappointed. Maybe those other people were Icelandic, and used to the smell. Since all the water in Iceland is geothermal, it all smells like sulfur. People wash their dishes and take showers in sulfur smelling water. Maybe due to that, they were able to handle it more than my sensitive nose. Maybe the wind was acting up. Or maybe I am just a wimp! Either way, it was really gorgeous in a creepy, out-of-this-world way, but foul.
Our last stop around Myvatn was Leirhjukur, which really looked like Mars. Leirhjukur is part of the Krafla volcano system, which is still active. As I don't really see the world changing so much, I forget what the Earth is really capable of. This really shook that impression. Iceland reminded me that the Earth is changing and very powerful. This sounds like such a cliche, I know, but it is really awe inspiring to be next to volcanic lava fields, with sulfur steam streaming out of the Earth.
That pretty much ended the most important things to see around Myvatn, so we headed back to Husavik to get lunch and hit some museums we were interested in.
We found Salka, which our guidebook mentioned as having smoked puffin. Fortunately, this restaurant was open, so we finally got to try! It was really good! The restaurant was a little expensive, but then again, most food in Iceland was astronomical. The service wasn't that great- the 5-top who came in after us got their food before we did- but I'd recommend it for the puffin. Cute and delicious; what more could you want from a bird?
Next was the thing I had been looking forward to the most for the entire trip- the Iceland Phallological Museum. Yeah, that's right. A penis museum. This museum was started by this one guy thanks to a pratical joke. When he was a school teacher, one of his students brought him a penis or a whale or seal or some other Icelandic animal. The teacher thought it was interesting, rather than repulsive, and preserved it. Word got around, and people started bringing this guy more and more samples of penises from different animals that would get caught. This museum now has over 270 penises from 46 different species. It is incredible! There's even a human penis from this guy who pledged to donate him when he died. They just got it in July. There are several other men who have pledged their penises as well. It was really really interesting. They didn't go into much more detail than the species, year caught, and sometimes how they got it/ life of the animal. Nothing about different functions or anything like that. I almost felt like I was looking at some guy's penis collection, and, essentially, I was. There were even several stuffed whale penises on plaques on the walls. Absolutely fascinating! Hands down my most favorite museum I've ever been to.
After the penis museum, we headed over to the Whale Museum, which was just down the street. Husavik is tiny- around 3,000 people live there- but they have a good selection of museums. The great thing about Iceland is that although their cities are tiny, they manage to make them feel quite big, with lots of attractions and entertainment. There was no point in Iceland where I felt bored or like there was nothing to do that interested me.
The Whale Museum was pretty interesting, and very comprehensive. They had this really interesting exhibit on display about whaling in Alaska. This photographer followed this group of whalers and showed the whole process. I like it because he did a great job of presenting the thing so that it was objective- one could really take their own opinion if they agreed with it or not. That's really hard to do with such a controversial subject.
While waiting for our hosts to get off work, we went up to a little lake called Botnsvatn behind Husavik. It was really small and cute- a really cute place to take a picnic lunch in the summer.
Our delightful host works for a whale watching company, and she offered to take us on a tour. We were planning that for our last morning in Husavik before driving back down to Reykjavik. Unfortunately, when we arrived back at their house, they had watched the news and found that the weather was probably going to be awful the next morning, and whale watching wouldn't be possible. As we watched the news throughout the night, it was confirmed- no whale watching for Kristen and Sam. We were really disappointed and kind of at a loss for what to do now with our last day in Iceland. We wanted to do something awesome, and really use the best of our day, but what?
Sam has been talking about driving around Iceland since I've met him. I'm pretty sure he mentioned it one of the first times we hung out. I don't know how long he's wanted to do this, but it is a long time, and probably his number one travel goal. Unfortunately, we figured that with only four days and seeing the West Fjords, we wouldn't be able to make the loop- until our whale watching plans we canceled. Sam, never being the person to give up on a dream, quickly jumped on Google Maps and figured that driving the rest of the way around Iceland would only take about 10 hours. Factoring in time to stop for gas, lunch, and a couple crucial sites, we would have more than enough time to drive all the way around and make it back in Reykjavik in time for our 1 AM flight to Copenhagen! Needless to say we were stoked, especially Sam.
Close to Husavik is a lake called Lake Myvatn. Besid'es the Golden Circle (Gulfoss, Geysir, and Thingvellir), this is what people come to Iceland to see. If you ever go to Iceland, make it happen that you go see this area, and I promise you won't regret it. It isn't very easy to get there- if we'd driven straight there, it would have taken at least six hours. There aren't trains and I'm pretty sure there's not a bus. There is an airport. No matter how you get here, it was totally worth it.
Our guidebook took us in a circle around Myvatn, starting in Reykjahlid, and I feel like this was a really good way to see it. Each sight was awesome, but they seemed to get more and more fantastic as the circle went on.
The first thing we saw was Hverfell. Some of the signs we saw also said Hverfjall, and I think the story behind this is too funny not to share. 'Fell' in Icelandic means "small hill", whereas "fjall" means "mountain". It used to be called Hverfjall, but an Icelandic citizen went to court over the name. Apparently, it is more of a small hill than a mountain. I don't know why it upset him so much, but he won the case, and now the name is Hverfell. Mountain or small hill, the thing is pretty impressive. It looms up, black and ominous, in the background of Lake Myvatn. It was a volcano that erupted a couple of thousand years ago, but it doesn't resemble erupted volcanoes one might think of. Instead, it looks like a gigantic pile of black rocks. It is almost surreal. There is a path up to the top, and once there, we saw the gigantic crater in the middle. It was crazy! In the middle of the crater, there was a raised circle. I have no idea how it happened, but it was really cool to see.
Our next stop in the circle was Dimmuborgir. Apparently the terrible band actually got their name from somewhere. If I was Iceland, I would have sued for taking the name of someplace amazing and applying it to something shitty. I mean, the name "Shitty Band" was still available. They could have called themselves that. :)
I kid, I kid. But really, Dimmuborgir was really cool. The name means "dark castles" in Icelandic. I wouldn't want to be here at night; this place would be way too creepy. As it was in the middle of the day, well, it was over run with the same old people on buses that flocked to Thingvellir. I understand everyone wanting to see it, but part of our reason for going to Europe in September is that it is the off season, and we didn't want to be surrounded by people. I really would have enjoyed Dimmuborgir a lot more had I not been surrounded by old people talking about how bad the flies were (they weren't that bad, but what do you expect from a place essentially called Fly Lake?), how cold it was (it wasn't that cold, and I'm always cold), and walking really slowly in every possible spot to walk. We broke away for a bit, but by that time, we were frustrated and left. I recommend if you go to go really early in the morning, or maybe later in the day. It would be positively creepy at dusk or later, so maybe not then, but definitely try to avoid the crowds!
The next cool thing to see around Myvatn are the pseudocraters. These look like the craters that are formed from lava explosions, but lava come out there. They are made when hot lava flows over a wet place, like a lake or swamp, and the steam explodes. The pseudocraters are all found in a place called Skutustadagigar, on the southern part of the lake. They're not super cool to look at up close- they just look like grassy bowls- but they're neat to see from the road. Our guidebook recommended walking around on a path, but it took about an hour and we were on a bit of a time crunch, so it is on our list of things to do next time we go! Oh, and the other place pseudocraters are found is Mars. After this visit, I am convinced Iceland is a portal to Mars, so that doesn't surprise me whatsoever!
The western part of the lake is very pretty, but there isn't much to see landmark-wise. There are some mountains, and probably some goregous views from on top of them.
The next place we stopped is no longer on the lake, but off to the east. These next two places are why /u am convinced Iceland is Mars. At least, I now feel like I have a good idea what Mars is like. :)
Hverir. This place was mind-blowing, awesome, and made me want to barf. No, really. Hverir is made up of sulfur vents. The ground is red and there are white deposits everywhere, and steam is literally pouring out of the ground. It smells so awful that I could only stay for a couple of minutes. I don't know if we went on an exceptionally bad day, because the guidebook said nothing about the smell. Perhaps I am just sensitive, because there were other people out among the steam vents, taking pictures and looking around. I really wanted to see it closer, but I just couldn't handle it. We snapped a couple of pictures, including one of Sam pretending to barf, and jumped back in the car. I was really disappointed. Maybe those other people were Icelandic, and used to the smell. Since all the water in Iceland is geothermal, it all smells like sulfur. People wash their dishes and take showers in sulfur smelling water. Maybe due to that, they were able to handle it more than my sensitive nose. Maybe the wind was acting up. Or maybe I am just a wimp! Either way, it was really gorgeous in a creepy, out-of-this-world way, but foul.
Our last stop around Myvatn was Leirhjukur, which really looked like Mars. Leirhjukur is part of the Krafla volcano system, which is still active. As I don't really see the world changing so much, I forget what the Earth is really capable of. This really shook that impression. Iceland reminded me that the Earth is changing and very powerful. This sounds like such a cliche, I know, but it is really awe inspiring to be next to volcanic lava fields, with sulfur steam streaming out of the Earth.
That pretty much ended the most important things to see around Myvatn, so we headed back to Husavik to get lunch and hit some museums we were interested in.
We found Salka, which our guidebook mentioned as having smoked puffin. Fortunately, this restaurant was open, so we finally got to try! It was really good! The restaurant was a little expensive, but then again, most food in Iceland was astronomical. The service wasn't that great- the 5-top who came in after us got their food before we did- but I'd recommend it for the puffin. Cute and delicious; what more could you want from a bird?
Next was the thing I had been looking forward to the most for the entire trip- the Iceland Phallological Museum. Yeah, that's right. A penis museum. This museum was started by this one guy thanks to a pratical joke. When he was a school teacher, one of his students brought him a penis or a whale or seal or some other Icelandic animal. The teacher thought it was interesting, rather than repulsive, and preserved it. Word got around, and people started bringing this guy more and more samples of penises from different animals that would get caught. This museum now has over 270 penises from 46 different species. It is incredible! There's even a human penis from this guy who pledged to donate him when he died. They just got it in July. There are several other men who have pledged their penises as well. It was really really interesting. They didn't go into much more detail than the species, year caught, and sometimes how they got it/ life of the animal. Nothing about different functions or anything like that. I almost felt like I was looking at some guy's penis collection, and, essentially, I was. There were even several stuffed whale penises on plaques on the walls. Absolutely fascinating! Hands down my most favorite museum I've ever been to.
After the penis museum, we headed over to the Whale Museum, which was just down the street. Husavik is tiny- around 3,000 people live there- but they have a good selection of museums. The great thing about Iceland is that although their cities are tiny, they manage to make them feel quite big, with lots of attractions and entertainment. There was no point in Iceland where I felt bored or like there was nothing to do that interested me.
The Whale Museum was pretty interesting, and very comprehensive. They had this really interesting exhibit on display about whaling in Alaska. This photographer followed this group of whalers and showed the whole process. I like it because he did a great job of presenting the thing so that it was objective- one could really take their own opinion if they agreed with it or not. That's really hard to do with such a controversial subject.
While waiting for our hosts to get off work, we went up to a little lake called Botnsvatn behind Husavik. It was really small and cute- a really cute place to take a picnic lunch in the summer.
Our delightful host works for a whale watching company, and she offered to take us on a tour. We were planning that for our last morning in Husavik before driving back down to Reykjavik. Unfortunately, when we arrived back at their house, they had watched the news and found that the weather was probably going to be awful the next morning, and whale watching wouldn't be possible. As we watched the news throughout the night, it was confirmed- no whale watching for Kristen and Sam. We were really disappointed and kind of at a loss for what to do now with our last day in Iceland. We wanted to do something awesome, and really use the best of our day, but what?
Sam has been talking about driving around Iceland since I've met him. I'm pretty sure he mentioned it one of the first times we hung out. I don't know how long he's wanted to do this, but it is a long time, and probably his number one travel goal. Unfortunately, we figured that with only four days and seeing the West Fjords, we wouldn't be able to make the loop- until our whale watching plans we canceled. Sam, never being the person to give up on a dream, quickly jumped on Google Maps and figured that driving the rest of the way around Iceland would only take about 10 hours. Factoring in time to stop for gas, lunch, and a couple crucial sites, we would have more than enough time to drive all the way around and make it back in Reykjavik in time for our 1 AM flight to Copenhagen! Needless to say we were stoked, especially Sam.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Iceland, Days Two and Three- Djupavik and Husavik
Day two started off really early, thanks to sleeping half the day away the day before. I woke up about 6 AM and could not go back to sleep. Our car was dropped off around 8. As we had a full day planned, we set off not long after. The car was really nice- a cute Hyundai that was pretty much brand new- it had 800 kilometers on it when we got it.It even had seat warmers and an iPod hookup, so I was pretty content to ride around in it for ages.
Our first stop was a bakery that, in retrospect, probably wasn't open yet. Stores in Iceland close early and open late, especially on weekends. Most stores won't open until noon on Sunday, if they're open at all, even in Reykjavik. Gotta love a country that appreciates sleeping in!
Our original plans for this day included Gulfoss and Geysir, but thanks to our wonderful hosts, we crossed those off our lists already. They only thing we had left to do was Thingvellir. Instead of a Th, in Icelandic, that word begins with a letter that looks like a lowercase p and b over top of each other. Unfortunately, I can't do it on this computer.
Thingvellir is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is fancy. Iceland started their parliament here in 930 and continues until the late 1700s. The site is gorgeous, though this is one place where I feel I would have benefited from a tour. The place was crammed full of old tourists on tour buses. As much as I didn't want to be on one of those tours, I feel like I might have gotten a better understanding of the historical significance of the place.
Quick pizza for lunch and a stop at an outlet store because I forgot my sweater- talk about all the stupid things to forget to grab- and then we headed north to Djupavik. Reykjavik is less than 200 miles from Djupavik, but it takes over 6 hours to get there! Djupavik is a tiny town up in the West Fjords. Two people live there full time, and they are the owners of Hotel Djupavik, which is where we stayed.
The trip north was pretty nice. We went in a tunnel under the water for a good five minutes, which was kind of surreal when I really thought about it. I mostly just wondered what would happen if it sprung a leak!
Our plan was to stop in a town called Holmavik and get smoked puffin. Unfortunately, the restaurant decided to close that day. Pretty annoying, as the hours in our guidebook were listed for everyday. There was no note or posted hours. This type of thing happens to Sam ridiculously often, so we were very disappointed. The only other place in town to buy food was a gas station/convenience store with burgers, so that is what we ate.
The road to Djupavik from Holmavik is the real reason why the trip takes so long. For 2 1/2 hours, we drove on a dirt road, winding around fjords. I think it is something like 30 miles in distance, but takes ages. It is completely worth it, dirt roads and all, because the scenery is among the most gorgeous I've ever seen in my life. We'd be driving around these fjords, ocean to our right, high cliffs to our left, thinking we were in the middle of nowhere, and all of a sudden, there'd be a house. No matter how many there were, there'd always be a cute little sign designating the name of the "town". Iceland only has about 300,000 people, but they're more spread out than one might think!
Finally, we rounded a fjord and there was a tiny, picturesque town next to a huge waterfall- Djupavik! This town used to be one of the main hubs for herring fishing in Iceland until herring populations declined dramatically and fishing became no longer viable. The town and factory were abandoned. All that is left are the abandoned factory, about 10 small houses, and the hotel, which was formerly a boarding house for the young women who worked at the factory.
Sam is part mountain goat, and he decided to climb the fjord off of which the waterfall comes. He's crazy, as it was steep, cold and very windy, but he got some good pictures. The hotel's dog accompanied him. After that, we had an amazing, albeit very expensive dinner at the hotel's lobby. I had really good pork and Sam had lamb. They were each 40 dollars, but there was also nowhere else to eat anywhere close. Though we had lots of snacks, we both decided that a full meal would be much better! We retired (okay, passed out) in our adorable little room about 10.
Day Three
Sam and I both woke up at 4 AM. Yay for time change and going to bed really early, right? As we were in twin beds across the room from each other, we didn't realize the other was awake for a good half hour or so. Once we both knew the other was awake, we were both ready to go- which was annoying, as it was 5 AM, still dark, and we wanted to eat breakfast before leaving. Breakfast didn't start until 7:30, which is an awfully long time to sit in a room and wait. Our original plan was to go to a geothermal pool after breakfast, but since we were awake so early, we decided to just head out then. Once the sun started to come up, we set off to the end of the road.
Krosness, which is the end of the road Strandevir (that might be misspelled) is another Icelandic town that really probably shouldn't be called a town. It lies about 12 miles from Djupavik, but due to the condition of the road, it took us about an hour to get there. I think I might have seen two houses, but they do have a really cool geothermal pool. Built in the 50s, it is still in really good shape. The sun wasn't quite up when we arrived, and it was about 37 degrees Fahrenheit outside. The pool, however, was easily 80-90 degrees, heated by water from a geothermal spring underneath. There is nothing like being in a 90 degree pool next to the ocean and fjords, completely in the middle of nowhere. The only other living creatures we saw were some sheep. They weren't very big fans of us making noise in the pool, and scampered off to another side of the hill.
Breakfast was our first exposure to Icelandic breakfast. Lots of sliced meats and cheeses, like a typical European breakfast, but they added an Icelandic twist. There were two kinds of pickled herring, one of which was in a mustard sauce. They also had assorted flavored butters, like a mushroom butter that paired very well with the herring.
After breakfast, it was time to hit the dirt road back to civilization. Needless to say, we both got pretty sick of another 2 1/2 hours of dodging potholes. We both breathed a sigh of relief when we made it back to the smooth glory of a paved road. I will say this- if roads in Iceland are paved, they are in great shape. One might think the elements would have a greater impact, but if this is the case, Iceland is great at combating it. Even the dirt roads weren't in terrible condition- I've been on much worse. Still, I can't imagine driving for so long on those dirt roads just to get to the next town!
Sam heard great things about a town called Siglufordur, and it was more or less on the way to our next destination. This town, the site of another old herring factory, used to be a three hour drive from the closest town, but Iceland built a one road tunnel on the side of the mountain that reduced the drive to a little over 30 minutes. One way tunnels on the sides of mountains sound about as dangerous than they are, and we had a couple close calls with trucks barreling through the tunnel at crazy speeds. Fortunately, we made it to Siglufordur in one piece just in time for lunch.
Our first try was closed (seems to be a trend), but fortunately, the place across the street was open. I can't remember the name, but it was in a bright yellow building. Inside looked like a hunting lodge, with big tables made of trees. The feel of the place was great, and their crepes were pretty good too!
After lunch, we stopped by the herring museum they'd made out of their own herring factory. It was really cool to see, but I feel like a lot was lost in translation, especially in the case of a David Lynch-esque movie featuring factory workers, a guy sitting in an office, and someone driving a truck down tiny roads. Either way, it was interesting to see how the herring industry influenced the town so much.
Though pretty, most of the other activities in Siglufordur were outdoor- long hikes, horseback riding, etc- and we didn't really have the time for that, as we were heading off to Husavik to meet our hosts. We arrived there about 7. It was a long day in the car, and our hosts greeted us with lasagna and comfort. Yay! They were very sweet- a young couple with two rambunctious children. The kids and I made friends despite not being able to understand a damn word the other said! I crashed pretty early once again (I guess that's the effect of getting up at 4 in the morning)
Our first stop was a bakery that, in retrospect, probably wasn't open yet. Stores in Iceland close early and open late, especially on weekends. Most stores won't open until noon on Sunday, if they're open at all, even in Reykjavik. Gotta love a country that appreciates sleeping in!
Our original plans for this day included Gulfoss and Geysir, but thanks to our wonderful hosts, we crossed those off our lists already. They only thing we had left to do was Thingvellir. Instead of a Th, in Icelandic, that word begins with a letter that looks like a lowercase p and b over top of each other. Unfortunately, I can't do it on this computer.
Thingvellir is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is fancy. Iceland started their parliament here in 930 and continues until the late 1700s. The site is gorgeous, though this is one place where I feel I would have benefited from a tour. The place was crammed full of old tourists on tour buses. As much as I didn't want to be on one of those tours, I feel like I might have gotten a better understanding of the historical significance of the place.
Quick pizza for lunch and a stop at an outlet store because I forgot my sweater- talk about all the stupid things to forget to grab- and then we headed north to Djupavik. Reykjavik is less than 200 miles from Djupavik, but it takes over 6 hours to get there! Djupavik is a tiny town up in the West Fjords. Two people live there full time, and they are the owners of Hotel Djupavik, which is where we stayed.
The trip north was pretty nice. We went in a tunnel under the water for a good five minutes, which was kind of surreal when I really thought about it. I mostly just wondered what would happen if it sprung a leak!
Our plan was to stop in a town called Holmavik and get smoked puffin. Unfortunately, the restaurant decided to close that day. Pretty annoying, as the hours in our guidebook were listed for everyday. There was no note or posted hours. This type of thing happens to Sam ridiculously often, so we were very disappointed. The only other place in town to buy food was a gas station/convenience store with burgers, so that is what we ate.
The road to Djupavik from Holmavik is the real reason why the trip takes so long. For 2 1/2 hours, we drove on a dirt road, winding around fjords. I think it is something like 30 miles in distance, but takes ages. It is completely worth it, dirt roads and all, because the scenery is among the most gorgeous I've ever seen in my life. We'd be driving around these fjords, ocean to our right, high cliffs to our left, thinking we were in the middle of nowhere, and all of a sudden, there'd be a house. No matter how many there were, there'd always be a cute little sign designating the name of the "town". Iceland only has about 300,000 people, but they're more spread out than one might think!
Finally, we rounded a fjord and there was a tiny, picturesque town next to a huge waterfall- Djupavik! This town used to be one of the main hubs for herring fishing in Iceland until herring populations declined dramatically and fishing became no longer viable. The town and factory were abandoned. All that is left are the abandoned factory, about 10 small houses, and the hotel, which was formerly a boarding house for the young women who worked at the factory.
Sam is part mountain goat, and he decided to climb the fjord off of which the waterfall comes. He's crazy, as it was steep, cold and very windy, but he got some good pictures. The hotel's dog accompanied him. After that, we had an amazing, albeit very expensive dinner at the hotel's lobby. I had really good pork and Sam had lamb. They were each 40 dollars, but there was also nowhere else to eat anywhere close. Though we had lots of snacks, we both decided that a full meal would be much better! We retired (okay, passed out) in our adorable little room about 10.
Day Three
Sam and I both woke up at 4 AM. Yay for time change and going to bed really early, right? As we were in twin beds across the room from each other, we didn't realize the other was awake for a good half hour or so. Once we both knew the other was awake, we were both ready to go- which was annoying, as it was 5 AM, still dark, and we wanted to eat breakfast before leaving. Breakfast didn't start until 7:30, which is an awfully long time to sit in a room and wait. Our original plan was to go to a geothermal pool after breakfast, but since we were awake so early, we decided to just head out then. Once the sun started to come up, we set off to the end of the road.
Krosness, which is the end of the road Strandevir (that might be misspelled) is another Icelandic town that really probably shouldn't be called a town. It lies about 12 miles from Djupavik, but due to the condition of the road, it took us about an hour to get there. I think I might have seen two houses, but they do have a really cool geothermal pool. Built in the 50s, it is still in really good shape. The sun wasn't quite up when we arrived, and it was about 37 degrees Fahrenheit outside. The pool, however, was easily 80-90 degrees, heated by water from a geothermal spring underneath. There is nothing like being in a 90 degree pool next to the ocean and fjords, completely in the middle of nowhere. The only other living creatures we saw were some sheep. They weren't very big fans of us making noise in the pool, and scampered off to another side of the hill.
Breakfast was our first exposure to Icelandic breakfast. Lots of sliced meats and cheeses, like a typical European breakfast, but they added an Icelandic twist. There were two kinds of pickled herring, one of which was in a mustard sauce. They also had assorted flavored butters, like a mushroom butter that paired very well with the herring.
After breakfast, it was time to hit the dirt road back to civilization. Needless to say, we both got pretty sick of another 2 1/2 hours of dodging potholes. We both breathed a sigh of relief when we made it back to the smooth glory of a paved road. I will say this- if roads in Iceland are paved, they are in great shape. One might think the elements would have a greater impact, but if this is the case, Iceland is great at combating it. Even the dirt roads weren't in terrible condition- I've been on much worse. Still, I can't imagine driving for so long on those dirt roads just to get to the next town!
Sam heard great things about a town called Siglufordur, and it was more or less on the way to our next destination. This town, the site of another old herring factory, used to be a three hour drive from the closest town, but Iceland built a one road tunnel on the side of the mountain that reduced the drive to a little over 30 minutes. One way tunnels on the sides of mountains sound about as dangerous than they are, and we had a couple close calls with trucks barreling through the tunnel at crazy speeds. Fortunately, we made it to Siglufordur in one piece just in time for lunch.
Our first try was closed (seems to be a trend), but fortunately, the place across the street was open. I can't remember the name, but it was in a bright yellow building. Inside looked like a hunting lodge, with big tables made of trees. The feel of the place was great, and their crepes were pretty good too!
After lunch, we stopped by the herring museum they'd made out of their own herring factory. It was really cool to see, but I feel like a lot was lost in translation, especially in the case of a David Lynch-esque movie featuring factory workers, a guy sitting in an office, and someone driving a truck down tiny roads. Either way, it was interesting to see how the herring industry influenced the town so much.
Though pretty, most of the other activities in Siglufordur were outdoor- long hikes, horseback riding, etc- and we didn't really have the time for that, as we were heading off to Husavik to meet our hosts. We arrived there about 7. It was a long day in the car, and our hosts greeted us with lasagna and comfort. Yay! They were very sweet- a young couple with two rambunctious children. The kids and I made friends despite not being able to understand a damn word the other said! I crashed pretty early once again (I guess that's the effect of getting up at 4 in the morning)
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Reykjavik, Iceland!
Landing in Iceland is a mindfuck. Keflavik, the airport, is seemingly in the middle of nowhere. After flying all night over the ocean, Iceland comes out of nowhere and greets you with two tiny buildings. I should have taken this as a warning. International flights are greeted warmly by customs ("How long are you staying? Okay, go through.") and then taking the passengers by bus to baggage claim. Unfortunately, our flight arrived a little after 6, and the next bus to the Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland's "must sees" wasn't until 9:45. We decided to just go straight to Reykjavik and find our couch surfing hosts for the night. And so began our first day of no sleep.
Our hosts were really sweet. They lived a little bit out of the city, but the bus went pretty close and the bus driver helped us find our way. He is a native Icelander, and she is from Bulgaria. They were really nice- neither had to work that day, so they took us sight seeing.
First, we went downtown. They took us to a gigantic flea market that operates during the weekend only. One part was clothes, the other part was food. We tried dried salted herring that resembled jerky. It was pretty good. Icelanders like to eat it with butter on it.
Given that Iceland is an island and their main export used to be fish, one might expect the most popular restaurant there to be seafood. Nope! It is a hot dog stand. Naturally, we had to try one. They put two kinds of onions- raw and fried, and three different sauces on their hot dogs. One of these is simply called hot dog sauce. They were pretty good, but I still prefer Seattle's cream cheese and onions over Icelandic dogs!
The last thing we saw downtown was this huge topographic map of Iceland. It was done with layers of cardboard all on top of each other, and took four men over four years to complete- 17 man-years! It was easily ten feet by eight feet long, if not bigger. It was awesome to see all the places we were going to be going.
Our wonderful hosts then decided to take us out to see some of the cool sites close to Reykjavik to save us time the next day. I wish I could comment about the scenery on the way there, but almost as soon as we got in the car, I fell asleep. The waterfall they took us to, Gullfoss, was gorgeous. I'm not much of a waterfall person, but this one was pretty neat. The river does a couple of sharp bends right before crashing into a deep trench. Mist rises from the trench, so it looks like the water is just disappearing straight into the earth!
Next we went to see Geysir, the geyser for which all others are named- at least, according to the sign! It was raining and cold, but seeing hot water gush into the air is pretty awesome. We got a treat too- the geyser shot off twice in less than five minutes time. Apparently that doesn't happen very often.
I just couldn't keep my eyes open, and barely woke up for dinner. Our host had made us an incredible Bulgarian dish- great cabbage and potatoes. Unfortunately, I forgot to write down the recipe. I'd love to make it myself. Even after all my naps, I still fell asleep on the couch almost right after dinner. Our hosts were very sweet and understanding, and showed us to our room. I slept like a rock until 6 AM, when I awoke with a start. I cannot tell you the last time I woke up that early on my own, but it was quite a shock. I guess there's only so much sleeping my body can take.
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