I'm still having trouble uploading the pictures :/
Despite staying up late last night to finish my take home test, I decided to wake up early to run so that I could make the most of my last day in Iceland. I left the hostel around 7:30 am and headed down Laugavegur towards the downtown area to run along the pond. It started to drizzle and the rain was really cold. Even though I was a little chilly I didn't mind since I knew I'd be melting in the Texas heat when I got home. After running around the pond I turned onto one of the main streets and ran towards the water. At one point I came across Reykjavik's city cemetery. The cemetery wasn't like any other cemetery so I decided to stop and take a look. There aren't many trees in Iceland, but the cemetery was almost completely covered by trees. Each grave had a little plot that was growing bright green vegetation. Most of the graves had little flower gardens. The cemetery rather large, and with the mist from the rain and the quiet from the early morning it was very relaxing. I walked up and down the aisles reading the headstones for a bit and then continued on my way.
Reaching the water, I ran along the coast and eventually happened upon the fishing district. There were large boats as well as small privately owned boats docked in the water, and several big buildings which I suspected to be for processing fish. I had been running along the water for about ten minutes when I realized that I couldn't cross back to the city so I had to turn around and retrace my steps. About 35 minutes after I had started, I found myself back in front of the hostel. My morning run was really peaceful, and I got to see certain parts of Reykjavik that we hadn't been to yet.
After breakfast at Sandholt, I wondered around Laugavegur going in and out of shops exploring until Caitlin came to pick us up from the hostel at noon. Shortly after noon we all walked to the bus stop and caught a bus to take us to the geothermal beach. When we arrived we changed in the locker rooms and then tested the "geothermal" waters. Basically, part of the ocean had been sequestered by a manmade barrier, and that body of water was geothermally heated from pipes. It was actually kind of cold, so we ended up just spending most of our time in the geothermal hot tub. We talked for a couple of hours reminiscing about our trip, and before we left I played a game of beach volleyball with a few other students.
At about 3 pm we left the beach and took the bus to a beautiful scenic point. It was located along the coast, and there was a great view of the ocean, and a nearby lighthouse. A week earlier I had jokingly suggested that we make a sweater calendar, with all of us in our Icelandic sweaters we had purchased, but Caitlin thought it was a great idea so we actually did it. We played around for a while taking pictures and one of the students planned on compiling them into a calendar when we go back to the states.
When we finished taking pictures some of us took the bus to Caitlin's house, while I walked to her house with her husband Maik, and a couple of other students. It was a rather long walk along the coast, but I thought that since this was my last night here, I should absorb as much of Iceland as I could. Reaching Caitlin's house, we all ate pizza she had picked up, and we sat in her living room chatting and looking over our sweater pictures on her computer. We must've hung out for hours because we didn't get back to the hostel until about 11 pm.
Since it was Thursday, all of the bars closed at 1 am, so we decided that we should at least go out while we still could. Almost all of us headed downtown, and we ordered a few beers at a casual bar and continued our conversations from Caitlin's place. Much to our dislike, soon 1 am arrived and we had to head home to pack. We all hugged Caitlin goodbye and thanked her for being such an exceptional academic director. She said we're always welcome to crash on her couch if we ever come back to Iceland, so when I do I'll have to take her up on that offer.
Back at the hostel I managed to pack rather quickly, so then I exchanged music with some of the other students and we stayed up talking. I actually only slept 30 minutes until I had to leave for the bus which took us to the airport. Saying goodbye to all of my friends was really hard because we had grown so close during our seven weeks together. It's hard to believe that we've only known each other for less than 50 days. We plan on staying in touch once we're home, and hopefully we'll be able to meet up again sometime in the future.
As for Iceland, I could not have had a more enjoyable summer. I've learned so much about renewable energy and Iceland's culture. My first international experience was definitely beyond anything I could have expected. I cannot wait to return to Iceland in the future. Until then, bless bless!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Day 44: Meeting the President
Today's the big day! We're meeting the president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson! We got to sleep in this morning since we're not going to meet him until around 1:30 pm, so I decided to go to one of Reykjavik's pools before we had to leave. Sophie, Brenda, Mike, Evan, Will and I walked about 25 minutes across town to get to the pool, but it was worth it.
The pool was big, and had several geothermal hot tubs, a basketball hoop, and a couple of water slides. We could only stay about an hour since we had to get back to the hostel to get dressed up to meet the president but we made the most of it. It was nice to relax and play around in the pool. When we were sitting around in the hot tub talking we couldn't help but talk about how in a couple of days we'll all be back in the states.
We didn't have much time to think about that since we had to quick rush home. We had to be ready to leave the hostel at 1:30 pm and we got back a little after 1:20 pm. I quick ran up to my room, put on my slacks and rushed to iron my shirt. I was tying my tie as I walked out the door, but I managed to make it on time to the bus stop with everyone else. The bus ride wasn't too long, and after about 15 minutes we came upon the president's house. I think we were visiting his "house" but his actual residence was behind it. Apparently when we got there he was in a meeting with some important people so we walked around outside and looked at an old bell tower and walked through the cemetery.
Soon the president's assistants called us in and we all gathered in a sitting room. The side door opened and one by one we walked into the president's parlor and shook his hand. Then, we gathered around him in the room and while we were served champagne and macaroons he spoke to us about Iceland's energy policy and its role in international matters. Grímsson was an excellent orator, and it was nice to hear an honest opinion apart from the somewhat biased lectures we had heard over the past couple of days. We listened to him speak for about an hour, and then we got to walk around the house. We got to sit at his desk (not his real desk, his actual house was behind the building I think), view the small archaeological museum downstairs, and see his polar bear pelt and narwhal tusk upstairs. Around the house there were so many gifts from foreign diplomats and pictures of the president meeting with important people from around the world.
After we were done snooping around his house we went outside and had a group picture taken on the stairs and then got back on the bus. Meeting the nation's president was an exciting experience, and is an opportunity that you don't get in many countries.
Arriving back at the hostel we changed out of our formal clothes and then headed over to our ethics class. Since this was our last class we summed up what we had learned and talked about whether or not you can put a value on the environment. I found the ethics class to be very intriguing and I'm excited to take an engineering ethics class that is required my senior year at UT.
For dinner most of our group went to a Thai restaurant up the street called Banthai. I don't know why, but there is great Thai food in Iceland (I ate Thai in Akureyri too). I ordered a spicy noodle dish while most of the group ordered curry. Since we had about ten people eating together it took a while, but it was nice to chat with everyone while we were waiting.
That evening we pretty much all stayed in since we had our exam to do. Caitlin decided to give us a take home exam (an essay test), so I stayed up late writing my essays so that tomorrow I could just relax and enjoy my last day in Iceland. I think my test went well. I plan on going to run tomorrow in the morning, which should be a nice start to my last day. My last day?!? This experience has gone by so quickly.
The pool was big, and had several geothermal hot tubs, a basketball hoop, and a couple of water slides. We could only stay about an hour since we had to get back to the hostel to get dressed up to meet the president but we made the most of it. It was nice to relax and play around in the pool. When we were sitting around in the hot tub talking we couldn't help but talk about how in a couple of days we'll all be back in the states.
We didn't have much time to think about that since we had to quick rush home. We had to be ready to leave the hostel at 1:30 pm and we got back a little after 1:20 pm. I quick ran up to my room, put on my slacks and rushed to iron my shirt. I was tying my tie as I walked out the door, but I managed to make it on time to the bus stop with everyone else. The bus ride wasn't too long, and after about 15 minutes we came upon the president's house. I think we were visiting his "house" but his actual residence was behind it. Apparently when we got there he was in a meeting with some important people so we walked around outside and looked at an old bell tower and walked through the cemetery.
Soon the president's assistants called us in and we all gathered in a sitting room. The side door opened and one by one we walked into the president's parlor and shook his hand. Then, we gathered around him in the room and while we were served champagne and macaroons he spoke to us about Iceland's energy policy and its role in international matters. Grímsson was an excellent orator, and it was nice to hear an honest opinion apart from the somewhat biased lectures we had heard over the past couple of days. We listened to him speak for about an hour, and then we got to walk around the house. We got to sit at his desk (not his real desk, his actual house was behind the building I think), view the small archaeological museum downstairs, and see his polar bear pelt and narwhal tusk upstairs. Around the house there were so many gifts from foreign diplomats and pictures of the president meeting with important people from around the world.
After we were done snooping around his house we went outside and had a group picture taken on the stairs and then got back on the bus. Meeting the nation's president was an exciting experience, and is an opportunity that you don't get in many countries.
Arriving back at the hostel we changed out of our formal clothes and then headed over to our ethics class. Since this was our last class we summed up what we had learned and talked about whether or not you can put a value on the environment. I found the ethics class to be very intriguing and I'm excited to take an engineering ethics class that is required my senior year at UT.
For dinner most of our group went to a Thai restaurant up the street called Banthai. I don't know why, but there is great Thai food in Iceland (I ate Thai in Akureyri too). I ordered a spicy noodle dish while most of the group ordered curry. Since we had about ten people eating together it took a while, but it was nice to chat with everyone while we were waiting.
That evening we pretty much all stayed in since we had our exam to do. Caitlin decided to give us a take home exam (an essay test), so I stayed up late writing my essays so that tomorrow I could just relax and enjoy my last day in Iceland. I think my test went well. I plan on going to run tomorrow in the morning, which should be a nice start to my last day. My last day?!? This experience has gone by so quickly.
Day 43: More field trips
Today's schedule was similar to yesterday's. We woke up early and had breakfast at the Sandholt bakery, and then went to the bus stop to head to the National Energy Authority. The students from UNC that joined our lecture the other day also came.
Our first lecturer was a high up employee in the National Energy Authority and spoke to us about Iceland's current focus issues and goals for the near future. Iceland's fishing industry and automobiles are dependent on fossil fuels, and since the rest of Iceland runs on mainly on renewable energy, transitioning from fossil fuels to renewables for transport and fishing is the next big goal. In addition, he talked about improving geothermal energy technology, water resource management, and exploring for hydrocarbons on Icelandic territory.
After the lecture we had about an hour long lunch break, so I quick made myself a peanut butter/nutella sandwich and then went exploring. A block or two behind the National Energy Authority building were some outlet shops, so some of us headed over there to look around. We went in and out a couple of stores, and I ended up buying some stuff from 66 degrees North, Iceland's popular outdoor brand (much like North Face).
Arriving back at the Energy Authority building, we next learned all about implementing a large scale electric car experiment in Iceland. since Iceland is such an isolated, closed environment, testing a fleet of electric vehicles on a large scale here would prove valuable. In addition, the lecturer discussed broadening the hydrogen fuel cell infrastructure in Iceland. Iceland is home to the world's first hydrogen fuel station, and a few city buses run completely on hydrogen fuel. As with the methane technology the hydrogen fuel and electric car projects are still in the beginning stages, but hopefully there will be a complete transition within the next 50 years or so.
Leaving the National Energy Authority we met back up with Gabriel at the same bar and discussed more environmental ethics. Once again, his class was really interesting, but after another long day I was struggling to be engaged. Heading back to the hostel after class, I managed to get my friend Evan to come downtown with me and have dinner at Reykjavik's famed hot dog stand, Bæjarins beztu pylsur. Apparently Clinton has eaten a hot dog there (and had a heart attack about a week later) among other people. The pylsur (as Icelanders say) only cost a couple of dollars, and comes with fresh and fried onions, their distinctive mustard, and a type of mayonese sauce. It's been open since 1937 and has been named the best hot dog stand in Europe. I got two pylsurs and they were great. I think they're made with lamb, which might explain why they tasted so much better than American hot dogs.
When we finished our hot dogs we went back up to the hostel and just hang out for a while. Later that night we met up with the UNC group and went to Oliver's, a young bar near our hostel and sang karaoke. I didn't sing, but it was funny watching some of my friends sing after they had been drinking.
Today was fun, but I expect tomorrow to be more exciting. We are going to meet the president!
Our first lecturer was a high up employee in the National Energy Authority and spoke to us about Iceland's current focus issues and goals for the near future. Iceland's fishing industry and automobiles are dependent on fossil fuels, and since the rest of Iceland runs on mainly on renewable energy, transitioning from fossil fuels to renewables for transport and fishing is the next big goal. In addition, he talked about improving geothermal energy technology, water resource management, and exploring for hydrocarbons on Icelandic territory.
After the lecture we had about an hour long lunch break, so I quick made myself a peanut butter/nutella sandwich and then went exploring. A block or two behind the National Energy Authority building were some outlet shops, so some of us headed over there to look around. We went in and out a couple of stores, and I ended up buying some stuff from 66 degrees North, Iceland's popular outdoor brand (much like North Face).
Arriving back at the Energy Authority building, we next learned all about implementing a large scale electric car experiment in Iceland. since Iceland is such an isolated, closed environment, testing a fleet of electric vehicles on a large scale here would prove valuable. In addition, the lecturer discussed broadening the hydrogen fuel cell infrastructure in Iceland. Iceland is home to the world's first hydrogen fuel station, and a few city buses run completely on hydrogen fuel. As with the methane technology the hydrogen fuel and electric car projects are still in the beginning stages, but hopefully there will be a complete transition within the next 50 years or so.
Leaving the National Energy Authority we met back up with Gabriel at the same bar and discussed more environmental ethics. Once again, his class was really interesting, but after another long day I was struggling to be engaged. Heading back to the hostel after class, I managed to get my friend Evan to come downtown with me and have dinner at Reykjavik's famed hot dog stand, Bæjarins beztu pylsur. Apparently Clinton has eaten a hot dog there (and had a heart attack about a week later) among other people. The pylsur (as Icelanders say) only cost a couple of dollars, and comes with fresh and fried onions, their distinctive mustard, and a type of mayonese sauce. It's been open since 1937 and has been named the best hot dog stand in Europe. I got two pylsurs and they were great. I think they're made with lamb, which might explain why they tasted so much better than American hot dogs.
When we finished our hot dogs we went back up to the hostel and just hang out for a while. Later that night we met up with the UNC group and went to Oliver's, a young bar near our hostel and sang karaoke. I didn't sing, but it was funny watching some of my friends sing after they had been drinking.
Today was fun, but I expect tomorrow to be more exciting. We are going to meet the president!
Day 42: Reykjavik City!
Getting used to a big city after staying in rural Iceland for the past couple of weeks has been weird, but I'm excited about our upcoming "field trips."
This morning we woke up around 8 am and had breakfast at a little bakery down the street called Sandholt I believe. At 9 am Caitlin met us at our hostel and we all walked several blocks to visit Carbon Recycling International, a company that focuses on capturing carbon dioxide emissions and using it to make fuel. Hydrogen is produced, the captured CO2 is purified, next is syngas compression, then methanol synthesis and distillation. Converting carbon dioxide to methanol is a creative solution to dealing with CO2 emissions, but it is not yet developed enough to become mainstream. The lecture was interesting, but I was sitting by a window (and wearing long sleeves) and it was so hot, so I had trouble concentrating.
After leaving Carbon Recycling International we met in a little square a couple of blocks away for lunch. Caitlin bought some snacks and sandwich fix-ins from a grocery store across the street.
When we finished lunch, we went to the bus stop nearby and took a bus to a local methane company called Sorpa. It took us quite a while to get there but the drive was nice, we got to see the outer parts of Reykjavik. At Sorpa we met Bjarni, the leader of the methane project. He spoke to us about using methane from landfills to fuel automobiles. While I enjoyed learning about methane as an alternative fuel source, he was quite opinionated and discredited many other alternative fuels. He was kind of crazy.
Once the lecture was over, we traveled to the landfill where the methane is collected. We also got to see his car, which ran on methane fuel. A few of the company's other vehicles also use methane.
Even though it was quite late in the afternoon when we left Sorpa, we still had our ethics class to go to. Gabriel, a friend of Caitlin's, was our lecturer for environmental ethics and met us at a bar to discuss how ethics tie into environmental issues. His lecture was really stimulating but I was struggling to stay awake since it was about 6 pm and we had been awake since early in the morning.
After ethics Caitlin gave us some money for dinner, and I went to a tapas bar with a girl from our group named Shannon. We both wanted to try puffin, and after searching around town for about 20 minutes we finally found a restaurant that served it. We ordered several tapas, among them smoke puffin with a blueberry Brennevin sauce (the "Black Death" alcohol I mentioned in my earlier blog) and Icelandic horse. The horse was delicious, but the puffin was more unusual. Since it was smoked it still kind of had a raw texture and wasn't very flavorful. However, with the Brennevin sauce it was very good.
That night we didn't really stay out long. I ended up just going to a bar with a few friends and we talked for a while, lamenting over the fact that we'd all be going home soon. I can't believe this trip is almost over!
This morning we woke up around 8 am and had breakfast at a little bakery down the street called Sandholt I believe. At 9 am Caitlin met us at our hostel and we all walked several blocks to visit Carbon Recycling International, a company that focuses on capturing carbon dioxide emissions and using it to make fuel. Hydrogen is produced, the captured CO2 is purified, next is syngas compression, then methanol synthesis and distillation. Converting carbon dioxide to methanol is a creative solution to dealing with CO2 emissions, but it is not yet developed enough to become mainstream. The lecture was interesting, but I was sitting by a window (and wearing long sleeves) and it was so hot, so I had trouble concentrating.
After leaving Carbon Recycling International we met in a little square a couple of blocks away for lunch. Caitlin bought some snacks and sandwich fix-ins from a grocery store across the street.
When we finished lunch, we went to the bus stop nearby and took a bus to a local methane company called Sorpa. It took us quite a while to get there but the drive was nice, we got to see the outer parts of Reykjavik. At Sorpa we met Bjarni, the leader of the methane project. He spoke to us about using methane from landfills to fuel automobiles. While I enjoyed learning about methane as an alternative fuel source, he was quite opinionated and discredited many other alternative fuels. He was kind of crazy.
Once the lecture was over, we traveled to the landfill where the methane is collected. We also got to see his car, which ran on methane fuel. A few of the company's other vehicles also use methane.
Even though it was quite late in the afternoon when we left Sorpa, we still had our ethics class to go to. Gabriel, a friend of Caitlin's, was our lecturer for environmental ethics and met us at a bar to discuss how ethics tie into environmental issues. His lecture was really stimulating but I was struggling to stay awake since it was about 6 pm and we had been awake since early in the morning.
After ethics Caitlin gave us some money for dinner, and I went to a tapas bar with a girl from our group named Shannon. We both wanted to try puffin, and after searching around town for about 20 minutes we finally found a restaurant that served it. We ordered several tapas, among them smoke puffin with a blueberry Brennevin sauce (the "Black Death" alcohol I mentioned in my earlier blog) and Icelandic horse. The horse was delicious, but the puffin was more unusual. Since it was smoked it still kind of had a raw texture and wasn't very flavorful. However, with the Brennevin sauce it was very good.
That night we didn't really stay out long. I ended up just going to a bar with a few friends and we talked for a while, lamenting over the fact that we'd all be going home soon. I can't believe this trip is almost over!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Day 41: Second day in Reykjavik
Today we slept in and had a late breakfast at Tiu Dropur (ten drops) across the street. It’s a quaint little basement café with great waffles and hot chocolate. We had a lecture planned at 3 pm, so we had a little over an hour of free time after breakfast. I just walked in a few stores and did some window shopping before we met up at a hotel where our speaker was meeting us. She was an old professor of Caitlin’s and spoke to us about geothermal power in Iceland and the government’s master plan for future production and regulation. Another group of American students came too, ten kids from UNC Chapel Hill. They were our age and had studied in Alaska for three weeks before coming to Iceland. They had already been in Reykjavik for a week and are going to Akureyri with Caitlin after we leave.
After resting at the hostel for a while we all met up again at 7 pm for dinner at the Grill House, an American style restaurant downtown. Since I’m in Iceland, I decided to eat something that was at least somewhat local, so I got seafood quesadillas with haddock and shrimp. When we finished dinner we spent some more time browsing the stores along the main street and later in that evening we all met up with Thordur in the park area in the center of town. Tonight was his last night in Reykjavik with us and he was leaving the SIT group to play a gig with his band in Eastern Iceland. Even though he mainly just drove the bus driver, he helped out with a lot of other stuff and hung out the group throughout a large part of the trip. He’s only a few years older than us and Caitlin knew him from the university, so he felt like another student on the trip. When we said goodbye to him at the end of the night it was rather sad, and it really hit home that we’ll all be flying home soon and probably won’t see each other again since most of us live in different states.
Hanging out in the park with Thordur
Tomorrow we have some site visits planned and a short class on ethics that will continue on until Wednesday. Goda Nott!
After resting at the hostel for a while we all met up again at 7 pm for dinner at the Grill House, an American style restaurant downtown. Since I’m in Iceland, I decided to eat something that was at least somewhat local, so I got seafood quesadillas with haddock and shrimp. When we finished dinner we spent some more time browsing the stores along the main street and later in that evening we all met up with Thordur in the park area in the center of town. Tonight was his last night in Reykjavik with us and he was leaving the SIT group to play a gig with his band in Eastern Iceland. Even though he mainly just drove the bus driver, he helped out with a lot of other stuff and hung out the group throughout a large part of the trip. He’s only a few years older than us and Caitlin knew him from the university, so he felt like another student on the trip. When we said goodbye to him at the end of the night it was rather sad, and it really hit home that we’ll all be flying home soon and probably won’t see each other again since most of us live in different states.
Hanging out in the park with Thordur
Tomorrow we have some site visits planned and a short class on ethics that will continue on until Wednesday. Goda Nott!
Day 40: Arriving in Reykjavik!
We’re almost to Reykjavik! This morning we left our hostel in Stykkisholms and had lunch at a bakery. I had a delicious chocolate pastry and my friend Julia and I went halfsies on a cheap loaf of homemade bread to eat later. After breakfast we continued south towards Reykjavik city.
Around lunch time we stopped at a scenic turnoff where you can walk a short ways down to a beach area with some cliffs and rock formations. There were beautiful black stones on the beach which had been polished by the water and sand. I decided to jump into the (freezing) water with Mike and Will and we swam out to a tall rock formation. We had to take a break on some rocks part way there to warm our bodies back up, and looking into the water we saw a couple of tube-shaped jellyfish float by. They didn’t have any tentacles so hopefully they weren’t stingers.
Swimming back to shore we dried off and skipped some rocks for a while. Julia found a dried up starfish which she gave to Caitlin since it’s her birthday today. About an hour had passed since we stopped, so we all loaded up the bus to continue towards Reykjavik.
We arrived in Reykjavik around 6 pm and I have to admit it was slightly overwhelming. Coming from the Westfjords where there were only a few tiny towns surrounded by mountains to the middle of Iceland’s biggest city was quite a change. People were walking around everywhere, there are shops and restaurants lining almost every street, and there were more than a couple of cars in sight.
Our hostel is called Reykjavik Backpackers and is on Laugavegur street, the main street with all of the cafes and boutiques. We’re pretty much right in the middle of everything. Upon unloading our luggage in our rooms, we met Caitlin in a small park near our hostel for a pizza dinner, and we presented her with a cake we had bought earlier at a bakery (I bought her a couple of scratch-offs at a gas station, but she didn’t win anything). After chilling in the park, we walked around town exploring and then hung out in our hostel until late in the evening.
The National Gallery of Iceland
Church and Leif Ericsson statue
Viking boat sculpture
Colorful city streets
The building where Gorbachev and Reagan ended the Cold War.
Our room at the hostel
A little before midnight, we all met up in the hostel lobby and headed downtown to an English pub. Thordur met us there and brought some of his friends to hang out with us. We stayed at the bar for about an hour and then decided to go barhopping. Basically, our night was crazy. We kind of got split up after we left the pub, but I was with a group of about six others for most of the night. I went to Oliver, a young club where there was good dancing, Dillon, a chill bar where we looked for Caitlin (with no success), met up with Caitlin at Club 11, a rock and roll bar, and then ended up at some kaffi bar. The nightlife in Reykjavik is crazy, having been to Bourbon Street in New Orleans about a year ago it’s like that, but on crack. People smash beer cups and glass bottles on the ground when they’re done, there are confrontations in the street, and the “skinkas” are out in full force. Skinkas are Icelandic sluts who wear ripped, studded, or glittery tights (or all of the above), tight short skirts, outrageous high heels, and usually have bleached hair. At around 3:30 am I had to call it a night since I was rather tired, so Janice and I walked home and went to bed. Overall tonight was really fun. It was Caitlin’s birthday so it was cool that she came out with us, we got to meet Thordur’s friends, and we experienced the over the top nightlife in Reykjavik. It’s a good thing we made the most of our only Saturday night here!
Around lunch time we stopped at a scenic turnoff where you can walk a short ways down to a beach area with some cliffs and rock formations. There were beautiful black stones on the beach which had been polished by the water and sand. I decided to jump into the (freezing) water with Mike and Will and we swam out to a tall rock formation. We had to take a break on some rocks part way there to warm our bodies back up, and looking into the water we saw a couple of tube-shaped jellyfish float by. They didn’t have any tentacles so hopefully they weren’t stingers.
Swimming back to shore we dried off and skipped some rocks for a while. Julia found a dried up starfish which she gave to Caitlin since it’s her birthday today. About an hour had passed since we stopped, so we all loaded up the bus to continue towards Reykjavik.
We arrived in Reykjavik around 6 pm and I have to admit it was slightly overwhelming. Coming from the Westfjords where there were only a few tiny towns surrounded by mountains to the middle of Iceland’s biggest city was quite a change. People were walking around everywhere, there are shops and restaurants lining almost every street, and there were more than a couple of cars in sight.
Our hostel is called Reykjavik Backpackers and is on Laugavegur street, the main street with all of the cafes and boutiques. We’re pretty much right in the middle of everything. Upon unloading our luggage in our rooms, we met Caitlin in a small park near our hostel for a pizza dinner, and we presented her with a cake we had bought earlier at a bakery (I bought her a couple of scratch-offs at a gas station, but she didn’t win anything). After chilling in the park, we walked around town exploring and then hung out in our hostel until late in the evening.
The National Gallery of Iceland
Church and Leif Ericsson statue
Viking boat sculpture
Colorful city streets
The building where Gorbachev and Reagan ended the Cold War.
Our room at the hostel
A little before midnight, we all met up in the hostel lobby and headed downtown to an English pub. Thordur met us there and brought some of his friends to hang out with us. We stayed at the bar for about an hour and then decided to go barhopping. Basically, our night was crazy. We kind of got split up after we left the pub, but I was with a group of about six others for most of the night. I went to Oliver, a young club where there was good dancing, Dillon, a chill bar where we looked for Caitlin (with no success), met up with Caitlin at Club 11, a rock and roll bar, and then ended up at some kaffi bar. The nightlife in Reykjavik is crazy, having been to Bourbon Street in New Orleans about a year ago it’s like that, but on crack. People smash beer cups and glass bottles on the ground when they’re done, there are confrontations in the street, and the “skinkas” are out in full force. Skinkas are Icelandic sluts who wear ripped, studded, or glittery tights (or all of the above), tight short skirts, outrageous high heels, and usually have bleached hair. At around 3:30 am I had to call it a night since I was rather tired, so Janice and I walked home and went to bed. Overall tonight was really fun. It was Caitlin’s birthday so it was cool that she came out with us, we got to meet Thordur’s friends, and we experienced the over the top nightlife in Reykjavik. It’s a good thing we made the most of our only Saturday night here!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Day 39: A Day of Sightseeing
Today was an early morning. We woke up at 7 am and left the hostel by 8 am. We drove for about an hour and then stopped at some cliffs that are a popular place to view puffins. Walking up the ridge we could see many seabirds nesting among the rocks and flying overhead. Moving closer to the edge we could see several puffins. It was surprising how close they let you get. They perch right underneath the top of the ridge and are not startled easy. People lie down on their stomachs to get close to the edge and can take pictures from only a couple of feet away. My digital camera isn’t too fancy, but I still got some decent puffin shots.
After getting my fill of the puffins I continued along the ridge to the highest point. It is really steep and crawling to the top you can see the ocean for miles. It was kind of foggy, but the view was still beautiful.
We had other things planned for the day so we had to head back on the bus after a while. Next we drove for about another hour and stopped near a beach. Our bus had somehow managed to get a flat tire, so while Thordur and Caitlin’s husband worked on it we all walked down the beach to the water. There were a lot of beautiful seashells, and reaching the water we took off our shoes and dipped our feet into the water. It didn’t seem like that long, but we spent about two hours on the beach I think.
Continuing (south)west we drove for another hour or two until we reached a little pool. It was kind of in the middle of nowhere, but we thought it would be relaxing to go for a swim. The pool was just a small swimming pool but was geothermally heated which was nice. We only stayed for about half an hour though since we had to keep on driving so that we could make our ferry to take us to Stykkisholms.
We reached the docks around 5:45 pm, but had some time to kill since the ferry wasn’t there yet, and doesn’t board until around 6:30 pm. We bought some snacks at a little store nearby and played castle until the ferry came. Thordur drove our bus on the ferry while we walked on and found some seats. Shortly after the ferry took off we walked downstairs and got dinner in the cafeteria. I ate a really good chicken salad that had Doritos on it. For some reason Icelanders like Doritos a lot. My host mom in Akureyri put Doritos in a soup she made one night.
An isolated island inhabited by only a few people. We passed it on our ferry ride to Stykkisholms.
After dinner we headed back up top and hung out and talked music. Shortly before we arrived at Stykkisholms we headed back downstairs since the water was getting choppy. The stairs on the ferry are rather narrow, and when a friend’s scarf starting blowing away I tried to grab it but ended up just falling down the stairs. It was more hilarious than painful, so I was glad everyone had a good laugh.
Once we were off the ferry (about 9 pm) we all got back on the bus and headed around the block to our hostel. We were all pretty tired, so we just chose rooms and crashed. Before bed I went on a short walk with some people and we explored a little of the town and went to a coffeehouse where some people got some coffee and pastries. Stykkisholms looked really cute and had some interesting shops and restaurants, but since we are leaving early tomorrow morning unfortunately we won’t get to check them out.
Our hostel
Tomorrow night we’ll be in Reykjavik! Only six days left though :(
After getting my fill of the puffins I continued along the ridge to the highest point. It is really steep and crawling to the top you can see the ocean for miles. It was kind of foggy, but the view was still beautiful.
We had other things planned for the day so we had to head back on the bus after a while. Next we drove for about another hour and stopped near a beach. Our bus had somehow managed to get a flat tire, so while Thordur and Caitlin’s husband worked on it we all walked down the beach to the water. There were a lot of beautiful seashells, and reaching the water we took off our shoes and dipped our feet into the water. It didn’t seem like that long, but we spent about two hours on the beach I think.
Continuing (south)west we drove for another hour or two until we reached a little pool. It was kind of in the middle of nowhere, but we thought it would be relaxing to go for a swim. The pool was just a small swimming pool but was geothermally heated which was nice. We only stayed for about half an hour though since we had to keep on driving so that we could make our ferry to take us to Stykkisholms.
We reached the docks around 5:45 pm, but had some time to kill since the ferry wasn’t there yet, and doesn’t board until around 6:30 pm. We bought some snacks at a little store nearby and played castle until the ferry came. Thordur drove our bus on the ferry while we walked on and found some seats. Shortly after the ferry took off we walked downstairs and got dinner in the cafeteria. I ate a really good chicken salad that had Doritos on it. For some reason Icelanders like Doritos a lot. My host mom in Akureyri put Doritos in a soup she made one night.
An isolated island inhabited by only a few people. We passed it on our ferry ride to Stykkisholms.
After dinner we headed back up top and hung out and talked music. Shortly before we arrived at Stykkisholms we headed back downstairs since the water was getting choppy. The stairs on the ferry are rather narrow, and when a friend’s scarf starting blowing away I tried to grab it but ended up just falling down the stairs. It was more hilarious than painful, so I was glad everyone had a good laugh.
Once we were off the ferry (about 9 pm) we all got back on the bus and headed around the block to our hostel. We were all pretty tired, so we just chose rooms and crashed. Before bed I went on a short walk with some people and we explored a little of the town and went to a coffeehouse where some people got some coffee and pastries. Stykkisholms looked really cute and had some interesting shops and restaurants, but since we are leaving early tomorrow morning unfortunately we won’t get to check them out.
Our hostel
Tomorrow night we’ll be in Reykjavik! Only six days left though :(
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