Reykjavik: Day 1
We landed in Iceland’s main airport at 6:30 am. The most exciting part of the flight was passing over Greenland, which is exactly the frozen tundra you’d anticipate. The least exciting part was the sheer volume of babies on the plane.
Iceland’s airport looks like the hippest Ikea you can possibly imagine: hardwood floors, maze-like set up, juice bars galore. We ordered (strawberry kiwi apple) from the identical tattooed, man-bunned, burly juice baristas and then scored some delicious salmon for breakfast. Most people in Iceland look remarkably similar, some variation of pale pale skin and blonde hair.
Later in the morning, we went to the Blue Lagoon, one of the 25 wonders of the world, a pool of ethereal blue water heated naturally by the earth. Day drinking, severe jet-lag, and geothermal springs are not the best combination when you have not slept in nearly 24 hours, but that did not stop us from experiencing Iceland’s top tourist attraction. We joined hundreds of other Americans in the communal bath, slathering on silica face masks and relaxing in caves. Note the extreme and unrelenting fog:
After the Lagoon, we left on a bus to head to our apartment in downtown Reykjavik. Iceland is by far the most remote place I’ve ever been. I knew that it is formed on the top of an underwater volcano (thanks, geology), but I didn’t expect it to look like it had just formed on the top of an underwater volcano. Most of the island appears to be volcanic rock covered in moss, with villages and mountains few and far between.
Our apartment is on a residential block about a half mile from downtown Reykjavik. I can’t really tell what this neighborhood is like. It appears to be filled with dilapidated buildings and covered in graffiti and also home to a lot of artists, like the guy renting the apartment to us, Ingo. Here is an image of a cat considering jumping out a third story window in the building across from us:
Upon reaching the apartment, I promptly face planted into the bed and fell asleep within seconds. I woke up an hour later just as disoriented, making myself a cup of coffee by putting a filter and grounds directly into a mug and pouring water into it. I do not jet-lag well.
After the coffee mishap, we went to explore the city. Downtown Reykjavik is very quaint and looks like a small seaport town that you would expect to see in Alaska or somewhere. It’s a very walkable city with wide sidewalks and mixed use streets, but it has a surprising number of single family homes with giant yards right smack dab in the city center. Today is Iceland’s national independence day, so Reykjavik was a buzz. From what I can tell, this day is traditionally honored with Lana del Rey cover bands and men painting in the streets while dancing to dub step.
This place is not what I expected. I have so many unanswered questions about Iceland, mostly because there seems to be a Google blackhole surrounding the country:
- What do people do here for a living?
- Why do people choose to live in a country where it never gets above 50 degrees?
- Where can I get a real wool cardigan?
- Is everyone who is speaking Icelandic secretly judging me?
- Is it culturally acceptable to go to bed at 6 pm?
Only time will tell.