It’s Friday night, which means not only is this day three of our road trip through Iceland, but that this is also my last night in Iceland. I’ve got to say it’s been a great month here, and we’re definitely going out with a bang. We’ve seen such a variety of landscapes and we’re going to even more tomorrow on our last day together. But first I guess I should go over the past few days.
Wednesday we left Akureyri and had to say goodbye to our home stay families. I know I only knew them ten days, but my family was so nice and hospitable that it was saddening to leave them. They were so full of love and it was great to watch them interact with each other. Even the older brother, who didn’t really engage in the family activities, would still tease his little sister in a loving way that showed he cared. I hope I can visit them again someday, and I’m so glad I got to know them during this trip.
The first leg of our drive wasn’t very long. We went to a geothermal power plant called Krafla (pronounced crap-la. Seriously.). We took a quick tour of the smelly place. The smell of eggs was quite pungent. They also had some weird artwork on the outside of the building. I don’t think I got a picture of it myself, but I’ll check to see if anyone else did.
That night we got free dinner at the canteen at the power plant. Apparently the workers actually live on site, so all their meals are there. We also spent the night at Krafla. I doubt I’ll ever get another chance to spend the night at a geothermal power plant, and I have to say that I enjoyed it. The accommodations were really modest, but it was a nice enough place. Plus they also gave us breakfast, and I’m a fan of free food.
Thursday was an extremely long day for us. We started off and immediately lost paved road because we were traveling to the highlands – the center of Iceland where pretty much no one lives and there are no paved roads. I had already spent hours on dirt/gravel roads because of our trip to the Arctic Circle, so I wasn’t exactly thrilled to experience a bumpy road for hours again. However, it definitely turned out to be worth it. The surrounding land was awesome and half the time didn’t even look like earth because it was lava flows. But after about four hours of driving, we came to a volcanic crater full of water. This was our destination. We all stripped down (which was a little embarrassing for a second, but I got over it since how often do you get the chance to swim in a volcanic crater?) and got into the warm water. It did smell terrible because of the sulfur, but I got used to it after a while. The water was the same as the cloudy, blue water at the blue lagoon, only natural. It was great.
The rest of the day pretty much consisted of constant driving. We had stops every now and then, but it was just hours and hours of car time. It reminded me of Alaska when we drove so many places. We did go through the largest of forest in Iceland. Usually there aren’t too many trees in Iceland, but this was actually a decent sized forest. Finally at midnight we made it to our hostel for the night where I quickly crashed for the night.
Today we visited an aluminum smelter, the industry that sucks up most of the electricity that Iceland produces. It was interesting, but I know I could never work in a factory like that. They also provided us free lunch, and we were all quite happy about that. Now we’re at another hostel and we just had our last group dinner, funded by Burch. It was a lobster dinner. I wasn’t that thrilled since I’ve never had lobster before and wasn’t that interested, but it actually ended up being decent. I’m not interested in eating it again, but I wasn’t totally disappointed.
Besides all the great stuff we’ve seen the past two days, we also got to experience car trouble. On Wednesday, the breaks kept overheating and we had to stop several times to pour water on them. Today something happened where the car wouldn’t shift into a higher gear. All this added more excitement to our travels. Luckily tomorrow we’ll have a different car, which will be good since my flight leaves at 5pm and then it’s back home to Raleigh. As upset as I’ll be leaving this great place, I am happy to be going home. Seven weeks has been the perfect time away from home, but I know it’s time to return. So my next update will be Raleigh and I’ll get working on uploading photos once I’m home.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Festival Weekend -- More Detailed
OK so most of my posts recently have been more photo oriented that actually telling what's been going on every day. So I feel like I have a decent amount to catch up on.
I think I've already done an update about Friday, so I'll start with Saturday. I don't actually remember much what happened during the day. I guess this is why I should do updated more regularly. It was probably a lazy day of just hanging around the house in the morning and then spending time downtown until dinner time. That's pretty much how most of my days with no class went. Saturday night there was a huge gathering in the circle of town with a stage set up. Everyone met up and we listened to music for a while. There was a guy who performed who was incredibly flamboyant and actually made some of the guys in our group a little uncomfortable. Apparently he's a big hit here, and I thought he was pretty funny. He sand some Lady GaGa, which was entertaining. I also got to hear the band that everyone went to see Friday night at one of the bars. They only played a few songs, but I enjoyed it since I didn't have to pay the 2500 krona like everyone else did. Free is always good.
That was also the night when I tasted the first alcoholic drink that didn't make me want to gag. I've only ever had sips of beer and wine before, but I think most of them are pretty awful. I don't get the appeal at all. But one of the guys bought some apple cider thing, and it wasn't half bad. Of course it tasted extremely sugary, which is also not appealing since I don't want to rot my teeth. I think I'll still just be sticking to water whenever I go out with everyone else.
However, Saturday night was a big night for me. Apparently it's a big thing here to break glass all over the place. Everyone told me that during the crazy weekend in Reykjavik, there would be glass all over the roads because people take their beer glasses/bottles out of bars and just drop them on the ground when they're done. And I'm assuming once people get drunk enough, they also have some fun with breaking bottles. Well, one of the guys gave me his finished beer bottle and I got to break it on a wall. I did feel a little guilty, but it was fun, and I did it in an area where people probably wouldn't be walking. I wouldn't want anyone to get cut by the glass. So I glad I finally got to have that experience. I feel like a true Icelander now.
Oh, this is jumping back a bit, but I remember what happened Saturday. My family had a barbecue with their relatives. There was lots of food and all the little kids were really cute. I couldn't say much to the kids because none of them knew English, but they were adorable so I just smiled at them. So that was during the day on Saturday.
Sunday morning would have been a great time to sleep in, but my home stay family decided to take me and Marty fishing again. So we left at 7am for a fishing spot about an hour away. I guess it was fun, though we hardly caught any fish. But they brought plenty of snacks, and the little girl and I ended up watching Hannah Montana in the car. So I can't really complain.
After fishing, one of my classmate's home stay family invited the whole group over for a cook out. We had chicken, lamb, and hot dogs, all of which were delicious. We also had an amazing dessert of grilled bananas that had cut of candy bars shoved inside of them. The chocolate got all melty and it was probably one of the best desserts I've ever had. I definitely plan on making that once I get home.
Sunday night was the big concert that I posted photos from earlier. We got to hear a couple more bands, some of which I recognized from the music at my home stay family's house. And the night ended with fireworks. All in all, a great weekend.
Monday was probably the laziest day I've had in a long time. I didn't even emerge from my room until noon, though I had woken up earlier than that. I just didn't want to get out of bed. We had a wonderful brunch of pancakes, sausage, eggs, and bacon around 1-ish, so I don't think I ended up getting dressed until after 2. Basically an ideal day, in my mind. After meeting everyone downtown at one of the cafes, it was back for dinner with the family. Then we were going to watch up because none of my family had seen it before. However, Marty's DVD didn't work; something about the region not being right. So we watched Princess and the Frog instead. It was the third time I've seen it and I love it even more. The songs are so enjoyable and I feel like Disney really hit it out of the park with that one.
Tuesday was our last day of class. We had to present our project that we've been working on for the entire trip. It was rather boring, but we all got through it. We celebrated the end of class with lunch at a local bakery; the soup and bread bowl and top notch. That night was our last night with the family. We had one last meal together of lasagna and garlic bread. Then we went to the Christmas house, a place with tons of decorations and other cute things. I'll post photos as soon as I get them uploaded. After that, we had grilled bananas again with ice cream. I don't know if that's an Iceland thing, but it really is very tasty. And it seems like it can't be too bad for you considering bananas are fruit. Of course once you load it down with chocolate and ice cream, that's a completely different story...
Anyway, basically my time in Akureyri was incredible. I already miss my Icelandic family and I hope I'll be able to visit them again some day. But now we're on our road trip and it's time to see the rest of Iceland. After one day of traveling, I'm already exhausted, so it's bed time for me. I'll try and post an update tomorrow now on today and tomorrow's activities.
I think I've already done an update about Friday, so I'll start with Saturday. I don't actually remember much what happened during the day. I guess this is why I should do updated more regularly. It was probably a lazy day of just hanging around the house in the morning and then spending time downtown until dinner time. That's pretty much how most of my days with no class went. Saturday night there was a huge gathering in the circle of town with a stage set up. Everyone met up and we listened to music for a while. There was a guy who performed who was incredibly flamboyant and actually made some of the guys in our group a little uncomfortable. Apparently he's a big hit here, and I thought he was pretty funny. He sand some Lady GaGa, which was entertaining. I also got to hear the band that everyone went to see Friday night at one of the bars. They only played a few songs, but I enjoyed it since I didn't have to pay the 2500 krona like everyone else did. Free is always good.
That was also the night when I tasted the first alcoholic drink that didn't make me want to gag. I've only ever had sips of beer and wine before, but I think most of them are pretty awful. I don't get the appeal at all. But one of the guys bought some apple cider thing, and it wasn't half bad. Of course it tasted extremely sugary, which is also not appealing since I don't want to rot my teeth. I think I'll still just be sticking to water whenever I go out with everyone else.
However, Saturday night was a big night for me. Apparently it's a big thing here to break glass all over the place. Everyone told me that during the crazy weekend in Reykjavik, there would be glass all over the roads because people take their beer glasses/bottles out of bars and just drop them on the ground when they're done. And I'm assuming once people get drunk enough, they also have some fun with breaking bottles. Well, one of the guys gave me his finished beer bottle and I got to break it on a wall. I did feel a little guilty, but it was fun, and I did it in an area where people probably wouldn't be walking. I wouldn't want anyone to get cut by the glass. So I glad I finally got to have that experience. I feel like a true Icelander now.
Oh, this is jumping back a bit, but I remember what happened Saturday. My family had a barbecue with their relatives. There was lots of food and all the little kids were really cute. I couldn't say much to the kids because none of them knew English, but they were adorable so I just smiled at them. So that was during the day on Saturday.
Sunday morning would have been a great time to sleep in, but my home stay family decided to take me and Marty fishing again. So we left at 7am for a fishing spot about an hour away. I guess it was fun, though we hardly caught any fish. But they brought plenty of snacks, and the little girl and I ended up watching Hannah Montana in the car. So I can't really complain.
After fishing, one of my classmate's home stay family invited the whole group over for a cook out. We had chicken, lamb, and hot dogs, all of which were delicious. We also had an amazing dessert of grilled bananas that had cut of candy bars shoved inside of them. The chocolate got all melty and it was probably one of the best desserts I've ever had. I definitely plan on making that once I get home.
Sunday night was the big concert that I posted photos from earlier. We got to hear a couple more bands, some of which I recognized from the music at my home stay family's house. And the night ended with fireworks. All in all, a great weekend.
Monday was probably the laziest day I've had in a long time. I didn't even emerge from my room until noon, though I had woken up earlier than that. I just didn't want to get out of bed. We had a wonderful brunch of pancakes, sausage, eggs, and bacon around 1-ish, so I don't think I ended up getting dressed until after 2. Basically an ideal day, in my mind. After meeting everyone downtown at one of the cafes, it was back for dinner with the family. Then we were going to watch up because none of my family had seen it before. However, Marty's DVD didn't work; something about the region not being right. So we watched Princess and the Frog instead. It was the third time I've seen it and I love it even more. The songs are so enjoyable and I feel like Disney really hit it out of the park with that one.
Tuesday was our last day of class. We had to present our project that we've been working on for the entire trip. It was rather boring, but we all got through it. We celebrated the end of class with lunch at a local bakery; the soup and bread bowl and top notch. That night was our last night with the family. We had one last meal together of lasagna and garlic bread. Then we went to the Christmas house, a place with tons of decorations and other cute things. I'll post photos as soon as I get them uploaded. After that, we had grilled bananas again with ice cream. I don't know if that's an Iceland thing, but it really is very tasty. And it seems like it can't be too bad for you considering bananas are fruit. Of course once you load it down with chocolate and ice cream, that's a completely different story...
Anyway, basically my time in Akureyri was incredible. I already miss my Icelandic family and I hope I'll be able to visit them again some day. But now we're on our road trip and it's time to see the rest of Iceland. After one day of traveling, I'm already exhausted, so it's bed time for me. I'll try and post an update tomorrow now on today and tomorrow's activities.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Festival Weekend -- Brief Update
Here are some photos from this past weekend. I'll try to post a better update later, but I don't have much time at the moment. However, we have started our road trip and tonight we're staying at a geothermal power plant. It smells like eggs, but hopefully it'll be a good night.
My Icelandic little sister fishing on Sunday morning.
A close up of the stage from Sunday night.
A huge crowd came out for the last day of the festival.
There's a heart of lights in the mountainside.
Fireworks!
My Icelandic little sister fishing on Sunday morning.
A close up of the stage from Sunday night.
A huge crowd came out for the last day of the festival.
There's a heart of lights in the mountainside.
Fireworks!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Photos from Akureyri
Here are the photos from my time in Akureyri thus far.
N1 is a gas station that is ALL OVER Iceland. On the plane ride over here, all the advertisements were about N1 and there slogan is "Meet me at N1." That's been a running joke this whole time.
The super blue water of the fjord. However when it's cloudy out, the water has a more depressing gray color. But the blue is beautiful.
Two trolls on the main street of town. Icelanders believe in elves and trolls, so I guess this is their way of showing it. The boy on the right is my Icelandic little brother and the other boy is his friend.
The main street of town.
The giant church in Akureyri. Icelanders certainly like their churches large.
The oldest building in Akureyri that has now been turned into a coffee place. Their hot chocolate wasn't half bad.
The schedule of events for the festival. There was a stage set up in the town circle and there was always someone on stage performing in some way.
My Icelandic family and I on our first fishing trip.
The fish that I caught flopping around in the grass. Then I got to eat him that night for dinner.
We went fishing on a river that ran through a farm and on one side of the field was a fenced in area of Icelandic horses.
We convinced them to come over to us by bribing them with tall grass.
They were so soft and this was probably the highlight of the fishing trip. Not that catching a fish wasn't fun, but the horses were really cute.
N1 is a gas station that is ALL OVER Iceland. On the plane ride over here, all the advertisements were about N1 and there slogan is "Meet me at N1." That's been a running joke this whole time.
The super blue water of the fjord. However when it's cloudy out, the water has a more depressing gray color. But the blue is beautiful.
Two trolls on the main street of town. Icelanders believe in elves and trolls, so I guess this is their way of showing it. The boy on the right is my Icelandic little brother and the other boy is his friend.
The main street of town.
The giant church in Akureyri. Icelanders certainly like their churches large.
The oldest building in Akureyri that has now been turned into a coffee place. Their hot chocolate wasn't half bad.
The schedule of events for the festival. There was a stage set up in the town circle and there was always someone on stage performing in some way.
My Icelandic family and I on our first fishing trip.
The fish that I caught flopping around in the grass. Then I got to eat him that night for dinner.
We went fishing on a river that ran through a farm and on one side of the field was a fenced in area of Icelandic horses.
We convinced them to come over to us by bribing them with tall grass.
They were so soft and this was probably the highlight of the fishing trip. Not that catching a fish wasn't fun, but the horses were really cute.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)