YAY ICELAND!

So after my frantic 3 days at home, I was off to the "Land of Fire and Ice." I can't even describe my excitement about going back to the land I love. I was in Iceland three and a half years ago and fell in love with the place. I have wanted to go back ever since. The first trip was in the middle of winter. It was COLD and it snowed the whole time, although they insisted that was not typical weather, and it was dark most hours of the day. Did I mention it was cold?

At long last I returned in the summer. To see this crazy place in all its glory. I was ridiculously excited by this trip. I could not wait to see the contrasts between winter and summer. I could not wait to go out into the countryside to see the green country that was a vast expanse of white last time. To see the sun shining! And of course there is the city with the crazy nights of partying that never end... So much excitement, I could barely contain myself. Once I was checked in at the airport, waiting to leave, I was literally jumping up and down!

Iceland does not disappoint.

I arrived at about 6am. The sun was shining brightly. Immediately it was clear that this was not the same place I visited the last time. Last time I arrived at 6am and it was total darkness, and would remain so for another four or five hours. Not in summer. No way baby, No pitch blackness this time!

The ride from Keflavík (where the airport is) to Reykjavík was amazing for me. This is because I have been on this exact route before. Twice. But it was just blackness with some lights here and there both other times. This time I could see what was there. We rode along the coast with clear blue waters on my left, and a bizarre landscape of lava rock and green moss and grasses on my right, complete with a lovely mountain backdrop. The mountain and lava terrain were made even more dramatic when the ominous black clouds appeared overhead.

When I arrived in Reykjavík, the sun came back out to greet me, and it was surprisingly warm. I stashed my bags in the luggage room at the hostel and ventured out to wander a bit, and get some much needed food and (of course) coffee. And just to look at it. Green trees, grass, loveliness. A stark contrast to the white and grey of my previous visit.

I was exhausted. A four hour "overnight" flight from Boston to Reykjavík... It is not good for the internal clock to leave at 10pm, fly four hours, and arrive at 6am, while your brain thinks it is only 2am... needless to say i did not really sleep that "night" because I never really had a night at all. After a couple hours of coffee, waffles, walking, sitting, looking... it was nap time. I was just waiting for my hostel to give me a bed so i could sleep.

Finally I got my key and I was off to sleep, after a very frustrating long conversation with an insane Austrian woman.

A few hours later, I woke up and got cleaned up and went out for an evening on the town. This was, by far, the most tame and relaxed evening I have ever spent in Reykjavík. If you don't like long nights of partying and drinking and general insanity, this is not the place for you. Oh Reykjavík, dear to my heart, please be kind to my liver...

But this time I had to get up early the next day (7:30am... ugh...), and having only gotten a few hours of sleep that day I knew I could NOT manage an all nighter. I was proud of myself for avoiding that scene completely. I just walked around the city, gazing happily at the colorful buildings, and houses with bright colored rooftops, and the shining sun, the beautiful harbor, and, of course, the beautiful people. And I ate a small cheese pizza that cost about $40, had some beer, and began to wonder... What time is it???

You never seem to know what time it is in Iceland. The state of light or dark outside give you no indication. Places don't seem to close ever. It reminds me of Vegas, where there are no clocks and the casinos have no windows. You never see the sun set (or rise again) because all evidence of time passing is kept hidden from you. Also, I usually don't wear a watch. I forgot to bring it on my vacation. That was rather dumb on my part.

I asked the bartender what time it was, and it was nearly 1am. OH NO! My bus... I really wanted to catch the last bus back to the hostel because it would be quite a long walk. And so much for getting to bed early. So I ran off into the night to try to make it to my bus. I missed it. But look at what i did see:


That's right. I took that picture at 1am. You see how a gal could lose track of time and miss the bus, right?

So anyway, I began to walk back to the hostel. No big deal, just about a 30 minute walk from where I was. Not the end of the world. But then I saw it. My bus. Bus no. 14, right in front of me. Why is my bus here? It was not supposed to be. But I got on and asked the driver if he was going to the Reykjavík city hostel, or was I on the wrong bus? And it was the bus 14 that goes in the opposite direction. DRAT! Oh alright. I thanked him and got back off the bus.

He shouted after me to come back. I did. He explained that he was finishing the route at (Someplace I can't remember or pronounce) and then he was finished for the night, and he had to drive all the way back the other way, to (Someplace else I can't remember or pronounce) so he would be driving near the city hostel. Not to it, but very close. He could just drop me off on his way, and it would be a much shorter walk.

I am an American. Here in the US, you don't really want to do this. For one thing, no bus driver would really offer to take you somewhere off of the normal route. And for another, if he did, you have a pretty good chance of being attacked/robbed/abducted... who knows what. But this was Iceland! I tried so hard to get into trouble last time I was there. My conclusion was that you can not get into trouble in Iceland. Also, I was tired. I had been walking a lot that day, lots of cobblestone streets, lots of hills, boots with heals... achy feet. So I though, what the hell?

As I rode in the bus, one of the other passengers was chatting with me, asking lots of the usual questions... "Where are you from?" "Why are you in Reykjavík?" (The Icelanders often seem surprised and confused by foreign visitors) "Really? You are on vacation and you wanted to come here?" "Really? You are here alone? You are very brave!" I laughed because this is the safest place on earth, nearly. No bravery required to travel to Iceland alone.

Then he got off the bus, and there were no more passengers. Just me. And then the voice of reason started. OH FUCK. Now that was brilliant, Liz. Oh yeah let me just blab all about myself and how I am in Iceland all alone. Now I'm on a bus that is out of service, and I don't know where I am, and I have no cell phone, and this bus driver could take me literally anywhere and do anything to me right now. And now because I'm sooooo smart, he knows no one will be looking for me. Ever. I begin to eye the windows and doors and wonder if I can open the doors by force, or if only the driver has that power. The window? "Neyðarútgangur." That looks like it means emergency exit, right? Oh there's the window breaky thing to get out in an accident...

Strange things go through your mind. Then the bus driver called me to come up by the front of the bus. I was reluctant to move away from the neyðarútgangur. But I also was trying to act casual and not piss the man off. So I went and sat near the front but out of arms reach. He started to talk to me about Reykjavík, and how nice the weather was that evening, and pointed out landmarks to me along the way. Once we were back in the city where I recognized things, my panic level went down a little. And he took a side street to go right past the harbor so I could get a nice view of the sunset, and explained to me that it would set completely in about 20 minutes, but it would still be quite light out, and then it would rise again in about an hour or so afterwards. And how they are losing 9 minutes of daylight every day since the solstice... etc. Very friendly. Then he told me about his daughters and his wife, and at last pulled the bus to a stop and opened the door.

"Just walk down this street and then at the end turn left. One minute later you will be at your hostel."

You mean, you aren't going to murder me? Yay! I thanked the nice man and got off the bus and scurried down the street, while the very innocently kind man drove home to (that place I can't remember or pronounce) where his wife and little girls were probably sleeping. Simultaneously I felt so relieved and also so stupid. Gee, Liz. Overreact much??

I reiterate that you can not get into trouble in Iceland.