Let me preface this post by saying, I did not really understand why Jenn was so set on going to Iceland when we began planning this little adventure. When I would first tell people that I was going to Iceland during my trip, their first reactions were “Why Iceland?”. To be completely honest, I had no fucking idea.
(Disclaimer: I swear. A lot. Yes, I know it’s unladylike of me but whatever. Just figured I should let you know in case you’re easily offended.)
We arrived in Iceland around 6:00am Tuesday morning. Although neither of us has slept in over 24 hours, we were unable to check into our rooms at the hostel. Given no choice, we decided to explore the city.
Just from a few hours of walking around, I could tell that the city Reykjavik was dramatically different than Boston, or any other city I had been to for that matter. No crowds of people on the sidewalks, cars actually stopping for pedestrians on the crosswalk, few buildings over 5 stories tall. It was unique. The first thing I noticed was the silence of the city. It may sound corny but it was quiet enough where I could sit down and take in the environment and views around me.
We finally went back to the hostel and immediately passed out from exhaustion. What was supposed to be a 2 hour nap turned into 2, 3 hour long naps. My clock was so off but I needed the sleep. Before going to bed, we went to the front desk and booked our bus for the Golden Circle tour. With our alarms set for 6:45am we attempted to get some more rest before or first real adventure in Iceland.
The Golden Circle tour was a day trip to the Gullfoss waterfall, the Geysir, and the pingvellir national park; arguably the three most well-known natural landmarks of Iceland. Our first stop was at Gullfoss. I have seen a waterfall before but not from this angle. I once went the United States’ side of Niagara Falls. Gullfoss was even more incredible than I could have imagined. The waterfall was just the beginning of a huge canyon, so spanning farther than we could see from out vantage point.
Our next stop on the trip was the Geysir. We visited the second largest one in Iceland at Strokkur. The biggest Iceland Geyser called “The Great Geysir” only erupts every 8-10 hours. Not that I’m impatient or anything but I really didn’t feel like waiting that long to see a big of water spout out of the ground like a whale blow hole. Strokkur typically erupts every 5-10 minutes. Minus the intense smell of sulphur (which basically smells of rotten eggs), I found the geyser to be intensely magnificent. The idea that this could be created by natural elements and the boiling and cooling of water astounded me.
Our last stop on the tour was the pingvellir national park. It is difficult to describe its beauty because I have nothing to compare it to from the things I have already seen. Don’t get me wrong, cities, especially Boston, are beautiful: the gorgeous skyline, seeing the sunrise on the Charles River, the wonderful architecture. When I would get up early to run along the Charles there was a bench that I always sat on to look at the sunrise, only a 5 minute rest to enjoy one of this things most people are too lazy to see. When I make my move to North Carolina, it is going to be one of the things I remember most. But I digress..
My point was that the things in this view of Boston that made it so amazing were the sailboats on the water, the Citco Fenway park sign (if you know boston, you’ll understand), the mass ave bridge in the distance. All these things were created.
When I stood on the top on the national park looking out at the lake, glaciers, lava stones; none of these were created by someone. It was quiet and peaceful and naturally made. I remember tell my friend Jenn that I can look in every direction and see nothing but mountains and glaciers. There are so few places in the world that you can say that about. I’m not being dramatic when I say it made me speechless. I could sit on a rock and look out at the amazing landscape for hours and not be bored. If I was one to meditate I would have just sat down, “pretzel – style” as they used to say in middle school, and just watch and listen. Listen to silence. Gaze upon the vastness of the area. And just think. About anything and everything that I wanted to.
I am writing this post towards the end of my journey around Iceland and I have to advise those would are considering taking a trip to Iceland to make sure they go to the pingvellir national park. It was the most eye-opening and deeply thought provoking time spent during my own trip.
travelingtrainwreck 