Day 1 - Reykjavik (04/20/14)

Background

As preface to this blog, Iceland has always been a country that my mom has wanted to visit.  I remember having Iceland books around our house when I was younger, but I knew she had never visited.  I didn't know much about Iceland, but I had 8 months virtually free after my undergrad and before graduate school; I was desperately seeking adventure and new sights/culture, so my mom and I decided Iceland was going to get scratched off of the bucket list this year.

My mom researched the package deals through Icelandair, an airline known for making trips between the U.S. and Europe with a stop in Reykjavik, Iceland;  she picked out the Saga Sites Driving Holiday package (http://www.icelandair.us/offers-and-bookings/book-packages/packages/item198432/nature_&_driving/), which includes the flight from Dulles to Reykjavik, 4 hotel nights, car rental, and a strongly suggested itinerary.

Day 1 - Reykjavik (04/20/2014)

The trip actually begins with Day 0, which includes our flight from Dulles International Airport to Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.  Our flight left at 8:30 PM EST, and I didn't realize until shortly before the flight that we would be arriving in Reykjavik at 2:00 AM EST (6:00 AM Greenwich Mean Time Zone) and would be expected to start our day right away.  My mom and I did the best we could to sleep on the 5 hour flight.  Shortly into our flight, we hit ~20 min of the bumpiest turbulence I have experienced.  However, Icelandair seats reclined really far back, and I realized that the turbulence frightened me less if I kept my eyes closed.  I was out in less than 5 minutes.

Some fun facts about Iceland and Reykjavik:  Iceland is an active volcano island, with 30 active volcanic systems in the country.  This is due to Iceland being on a divergent tectonic plate boundary.  The national language is Icelandic--a German language.  The country shifted from Norse paganism, originally practiced by the mediaeval Scandanavian vikings that settled in Iceland in the 9th century, to Roman Catholicism in the 11th century, and finally to Lutheranism in the 1530s.  The translation of the New Testament into Icelandic is believed to be one of the main contributing factors to Icelandic surviving as a language (it is the oldest living language in Europe).  The currency in Iceland is the Icelandic krona (ISK), and 1.00 USD = 112.16 ISK. Reykjavik it is the furthest capital north of any sovereign state (64°08' N), and has a population around 120,000.  Since Iceland is so far north, winter days are short (as short as 4 hours in December) and long in the summer (as long as 21 hours in June - July); I am blogging at 9:45 PM, and it is still not entirely dark!  Reykjavik is located in southwest Iceland, and is believed to be the first location of settlement in the country.  It is considered the world's "Greenest City" for its extensive use of hydro and geothermal power.

Reykjavik, as viewed from the Hallgrimskirkja Church

My mom and I arrived in Keflavik International Airport and grabbed some airport breakfast before our day ahead.  We had some difficulty finding our way out of the airport-- probably mostly due to lack of sleep.  We took an Flybus shuttle to Reykjavik--a 50 min drive from the Keflavik Airport.  The rural area we drove around was very brown and VERY rocky (Rothrock would have been put to shame), with snow-covered mountains in the background as we drove along the coastline.  My first impression of the city before we arrived was that it looked very simple and spread-out.  All of the architecture did not appear to be gaudy in any way; most buildings were simply rectangular and uniformly colored.  We hit several stops before arriving at the Reykjavik Lights Hotel.  My mom and I dropped our large luggage, and got out of the room before we could seriously consider sleep.  

We walked around past some Olympic training centers and toward the coastline.  We got a magnificent view of the mountains and the Faxafloi Bay on our walk toward Reykjavik Old Harbor. 

 

We eventually made it to a cute shopping strip, which had many viking shops and stores with clothes built for the cold (e.g. Icelandic wool sweater stores, Marmot, etc.).  Since it was relatively early (before 10 AM) and Easter Sunday, there weren't many people out.  

Hallgrimskirkja Church

My mom and I visited the Hallgrimskirkja Church.  The statue in front of the church is a statue of Leifur Eiriksson, the first European who was believed to discover America (500 years before Christopher Columbus);  the statue was a gift from the United States.  The architecture and massive organ in the church was stunning.  We further paid $6/person to go to the top floor of the church and check out the famous panoramic view of the city.

Hallgrimskirkja Church

Mom and I in our Icelandic wool sweaters

Throughout the day, we got continuously hit with 5-minute snow squalls and wind that left us eyeing the Icelandic wool, even though we packed with the weather in mind.  We each got an Icelandic wool sweater that was hand-stitched by women of Iceland ($$) and sported them the rest of the day.

It was a long hike before we got back to our hotel at 2 PM, where we took a 1.5 hour nap.  We then further planned our stops along our drive for the next couple of days.  It looks like we will drive 100+ miles tomorrow, so we are getting an early start.

Finally, we had dinner at a place that I am blanking the name of, and we got magnificent meals for a great deal.  I got the salad and soup, lamb, and dessert (a chocolate mousse--yes!) and my mom got the same meal except with a local white fish instead of lamb.  As a note:  Iceland, at least Reykjavik, has proven to be considerably pricey thus far.  My mom and I each had a light lunch that averaged around $20/person.  Our dinners were each ~$40/person (this would have been the same price for another entree that didn't include the soup, salad, and dessert).  I would guess that this is due to the high standard of living that Iceland can proudly boast.

Now we are back at the hotel.  Overall, an awesome day, and we are both excited to explore more of the country tomorrow!