First stop: Iceland. This summer
our family is embarking on a month long trip to 9 different countries, starting
in Europe and working our way east to Asia. I was really excited to hear that
we were kicking off this summer’s adventure in Iceland because I have only
heard of and seen amazing photographs about the country’s natural wonders. From
glaciers to northern lights to hot springs, Iceland was bound to check off at
least a couple items from my bucket-list…
We spent our first day in the capital city, Reykjavík,
roaming the cute and cozy city center streets checking out museums, galleries,
and famous hot dog stands as well as tasting the best soft serve ice cream out
there. In addition, we visited the largest church in Iceland and probably one
of the most unique churches I have ever seen. Hallgrímskirkja, a Lutheran church is
an active church completed in 1986 standing at a grand total of 73 meters tall.
Shaped like a bishop’s hat, in my opinion, the interior of this oddly shaped
church is just as unique as its exterior. Decorated in exclusively grey and
light blue earthy tones, this church lacked the large extravagance of most
other European churches. Perhaps what makes this church most unique is the view
point on the top floor. We were able to see all of Reykjavík from that very
spot. An example of what we saw is to the right. 
We concluded the day with a lovely
dinner at Harpa Concert Hall (we even came
back the next day for the amazing food!). The architecture of the Concert Hall
followed the Icelandic trend of unique design, fitted with numerous pieces of
different shaped glass outlined by abstract steel framework. Please see the image to the left. After
dinner we attended a show titled “How to Become Icelandic in 60 Minutes” that
went through various steps and histories to illustrate general Icelandic
culture in a humorous way. It outlined how Iceland is the “biggest small
country,” appearing very grand to its very small population of around 325,671
people. Titled as the 13th most developed country according to the Human Development
Index, this quite stable country was not always this way. Said to be
discovered in AD 874 by Norse chieftain Ingólfr Arnason, many more Norsemen
then settled this island until 1262 to 1918 when Iceland was colonized by
Norway and Denmark. Finally, the country became independent in 1918 and a
republic in 1944. Probably one of the most unfortunate points in Icelandic
history was during the worldwide economic crisis of 2008. Iceland’s entire
banking system systematically failed basically overnight, leaving the country
in political unrest that has improved but not completely disappeared. At this
show, we also learned about the demeanor of Icelanders. They are characterized
as dark, depressed, and lazy, yet hardworking, independent, and in love with
drinking! While the weather definitely agreed with the aforementioned
characteristics, the people who we met were actually pretty happy and nice!
We spent our second and last day viewing the
natural wonders of Iceland. Starting off by driving through the Golden Circle,
we saw the Geysir, numerous hot springs and geysers and Gulfoss, a pretty cool
waterfall. Even though the drive to these places took forever, the scenery was
quite beautiful. Painted with green as far as the eye could see, the volcanic
topography was unobstructed by any trees. Goats and Icelandic horses lined the
side of the roads and the rain poured down frequently, but not constantly. We
finished off our Icelandic adventure with the best: The Blue Lagoon a location
I have wanted to go to for such a long time.
Whether I was pinning it on Pinterest or bugging my mom about taking us,
this pale blue geothermal lake has always been a bucket-list item. The
experience was unlike anything I have done before. We got massages in the lake,
put silica and algae masks on, and swam around in sulfur and silica saturated
water. (THANK GOD IT DIDN’T SMELL LIKE SULFUR!!) The picture really speaks for itself!
Overall, I had an
amazing time in Iceland! Come back to my page to read about more of my travels
around the world this summer!
