Iceland’s particular brand of beauty may not be for everyone. Our first port of call looks much like any other city, and Freya is it ever expensive! The shuttle ride into town was 40euros, for the two of us! Without the benefit of a crew discount! But my Canadian debit car works here (but not in Norway, or England or the states, what the heck?) so at least I was able to pay for my lunch when the time came!
I am seeing an awful lot of Cathedrals this contract. The one in Reykjavik is definitely one of the most unusual I’ve come across. It’s a massive modern structure that is somehow both comforting and cleanly concise at the same time. There’s not a single piece of wood in the place (except…a decorative palm tree?) but the huge concrete arches easily mimic the heavy wooden beams of old. I would have loved to have climbed to the top of the tower, but the line for the lift was rather insane, and stairs were just not an option.
Eventually we ended up in an Irish pub (yes there is really an Irish pub in every city in every country in the world apparently), for lunch, which cost – as would later prove to be a pattern in Iceland – substantially more than we had anticipated. Seriously, the cost of living in Iceland must be insane when a pizza a cider and a beer costs over $40! But I will admit the staff was great and the food was yummy, so that was alright.
But really the daytime was just a chance to explore at bit – it was the evening we were looking forward to.
Achievement unlocked: Blue Lagoon springs, Iceland.
Yes it is “enhanced” the natural hot springs are expanded and assisted by heaters, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t incredible. Looking through the steam pouring off the cloudy blue water you can almost imagine that you’re in some different world. Or possibly on the moon, if the moon had water, as Iceland’s landscape does look eerily lunar, particularly in the night-time half-light. We’re so far north that it never truly gets dark, instead presenting us with a perpetual twilight dimness, as though the world is caught forever between night and day.
Because the water is so cloudy they advise you to take off all jewellery before entry for fear that it may drop to the bottom and never be seen again, or that it may be damaged by the high mineral content, so my necklaces all got safely stowed in my bag in a locker and I made sure to keep a tight hold on my (thankfully waterproof) camera.
The lagoon is huge, so it’s easy to find a corner to sip your strawberry champagne or blueberry smoothie (which are easily purchased from the swim up bar! Many shades of awesome, I had never actually been to a swim up bar before, and this one sold smoothies and fresh juice and other yumminess!)
It may not necessarily be the fountain of youth that the adverts claim, but it certainly was one of the most relaxing evenings I’ve had in a very long time. And the famous white silica mud did seem to have a lovely effect on my skin.
At just after midnight we all climbed back into the bus where I slept for most of the hour ride home. The nice thing? The fact that by the time we got back it was 1am didn’t matter in the slightest, because I didn’t have a class until 3:30 the following afternoon.
Life, on days like this, is pretty much perfect.