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Published: October 15th 2008
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Reykjavic
You can see the ocean in the distance from many streets. Despite three tough grad-level midterms looming in the coming week, 31 classmates and I decided to take advantage of a three day Columbus Day weekend and trek to Iceland for a much needed break.
After landing at 6:30AM and making the 45 minutes drive from Keflavik airport to Reykjavík amidst a cloudy sunrise, we were greeted in our hotel lobby with what we were to find out was a ubiquitous odor of rotten egg in many buildings. Referred to as “Iceland perfume”, the sulfur in the pipes keeps the briny hot water pulled from hot springs and pumped into buildings across the island from oxidizing.
Day 1: Welcome to Iceland
Driving Tour Less than an hour after checking in, we were on our tour bus, driving around Reykjavík, which is actually quite small. We stopped off at the largest church in the country, the harbor, the natural science museum, and as a surprise, even were shown the “projects” of Iceland. Our tour guide was pretty depressed over Iceland’s recent financial troubles, and at nearly every site, alluded to how construction across the island would be halted for years and migrant workers were fleeing the country as “at
least they have a country to go back to”. A few fun facts from the tour:
• Iceland has around 180 male inmates, and 5 female inmates in the whole island
• The top exports are fish and aluminum
• In the past few years, Icelanders purchased more Range Rovers than the British did
• The national snack is hot dogs
Appetizer of the Iceland Nightlife I capped off the tour with a 4 hour nap, and then headed out to a group dinner at one of Reykjavik’s top restaurants. The menu featured some of the most succulent lobster I’ve had, delicious lamb, and Skyr (thick Icelandic yogurt) with fruit for dessert. We then headed to Solon, a club, after some pre-partying, and basically took the place over. A classmate and I decided to check out B-5, the club next door, and were a bit put off after some of the locals started asking us pointedly who in the club we knew, and then witnessed a woman cut the Men’s bathroom line to relieve herself in the urinal. That pretty much became our exit cue.
Day 2: Taking in Iceland
Amazing Nature After way too little sleep, our
tour company was there waiting for us at 8:30 to take us out around Iceland. We started at a site about 20 minutes outside of Reykjavic where the parliament was founded a few centuries. I'm not quite sure why they chose to come out to the country-side for that. Also at the same site in the olden days, men were beheaded, and women were "humanely" drowned in a frigid lake.
Next, we headed to the Gulfloss geyser, and were again greeted by the welcome smell of sulfur. The geyser was fascinating. Every 5 minutes, a hole in the middle of a pool from a hot spring would fill to the top, start to bubble, and then shoot several stories into the air.
We moved from there to Iceland’s biggest glacier, the Langglacier which is the third largest in the world. After an hour of off-roading on a commercial bus (no joke), to prep for the glacial cold, we put on jumpsuits, special shoes, two pairs of gloves on top of each other, and crash helmets. We were then ushered onto a special bus with wheels that rose nearly 4 feet off the ground. The bus somehow scaled a
small mountain, and drove us out to the glacier where snowmobiles were waiting for us. We split into pairs, and started to snowmobile into the glacier. The vastness of nothingness on the glacier was astounding. Everything was just white, everywhere. Snowmobiling was a blast though, definitely one of the top moments in the trip.
Following the snowmobiling escapades, we went onto the Golden Waterfall, which was also quite impressive, and on the ride back to Reykjavík (it was night by then), the Northern Lights began their show! Unfortunately, it was nearly a full moon which made the color of the lights hard to see, but our cameras captured the green, violet, yellow, and red in the lights. The Aurora Borealis is absolutely amazing. It’s mesmerizing and truly a show, shimmering and changing shape every few seconds.
Culinary Treats To get some dinner, some of us made it out to a “tapas” bar, though it wasn’t like anything you’d find in Spain. Within our orders, we were able to sample Puffin (not so good - pretty gamey) and Minke Whale (tastes amazing - like smoky filet mignon). Unfortunately, they were out of Kangaroo.
Iceland’s Nightlife = 21st century Viking habits
Tonight, we hit the town
en force. After another pre-party, we started at Oliver Bar where the DJ looped the same 6 songs the entire night. The atmosphere was chaotic: Icelanders aren't very polite, and will plow through a group of people with their elbows out, clearing a path regardless of who gets knocked over. They're also rowdy dancers, and will bump into you hard enough to knock you over. Aside from that, Icelandic guys are aggressive, and it's easy to get the impression that they're looking for a reason to fight you. Also interesting, possibly 15-20%!o(MISSING)f the people at the bar were so drunk that they could barely stand up. All in all, it seemed like the modern equivalent of what a bar from a pirate movie would be like.
We moved back to B-5, but this time, with a group, and were treated to more of the same in Icelandic bar culture. This time however, I decided to start blending in and shoving people around like an Icelander - none of the natives seemed to notice that I was bowling people over. I even accidentally hit a waiter with a tray full of beers
and caused him to knock them all over.
Another interesting observation from the bathroom: Icelandic men are vain! It was hard to wash hands as the natives (often in suits with sweaters and ties underneath) were primping.
Reykjavic's bars kicked us out around 5AM (could have been later), and the streets were a carnival. Bottles were smashing all over the place, people were passed out on the sidewalks, and every 5 minutes, Icelandic men would start yelling and a fight would break out. It was like clockwork to the point where it could have been a Disney ride. The locals we were talking to at the moment didn't even bat an eyelid despite our gawked jaws.
Day 3: Geothermal Action
The Plant One of our school's alumni had a connection to a top Geothermal plant in Iceland, and we went to visit. After an interesting introduction from an entrepreneur working on a carbon packaging product, we had a reception with the COO, and then he gave us an overview of the plant's operations. I really liked their concept that the plant wasn't just for electricity, but also of making use of the geothermal energy in other
ways, such as pumping hot water to Reykjavic (apparently we were at the source of the "Iceland perfume"), and even creating the spa next door which was inventing new psoriasis treatments. We ended with a tour of the facility.
The Blue Lagoon To finish off the afternoon, we went to the spa that the Geothermal plant had created, and bathed in the spring water. They have added silica and special types of algae to make it better for the skin. The water was deliciously warm, and it started to rain outside. After a few hours, we headed back to Reykjavic, and had an excellent group dinner.
Ghost-Town As crazy as Reykjavic had been on Friday and Saturday, there was no one, and nothing happening on Sunday. I was just starting to blend into the Icelandic craziness, and was looking forward to trying out my new pushiness, but it was not to be. Severely disappointed, we hung out in our rooms until late.
Day 4: Back To Reality
I woke up for breakfast the next morning, and we found a typical Scandinavian looking coffee house... only that they had only traditional American Breakfast options! We
walked around Reykjavic in the day, and then made it back to the airport. I managed to be "randomly" selected for bag checks twice, and then began the study-a-thon to prepare for a week full of midterms. Can't wait to come back here!
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Simone
non-member comment
Iceland???
Iceland? Really Alex? You certainly have me beat by now... haha. Hope all is well.