I feel as if weeks must have passed back at home since I left Saturday night. So much happens in a day here. In comparison my days at home are very short and predictable. Yesterday, my first full day in Iceland was gorgeous. After a leisurely morning, sleeping in until almost 10 (remember I was up until 2am trying to get those stupid pictures loaded onto this very blog) I met my Snorri friend Stefan for lunch. He has lived here in Reykjavik for the last two years working on a Master´s degree at the university. Lucky guy. We ate at a place called Grænn Kostur, which is sort of tucked away off of Skólavörðustígur. I can attest to the quality of the spinach lasagna. Amazing. Stefan and I had a good chat and then he had to go to work for the afternoon. Important stuff to accomplish. I had no such goals.
The timing of our lunch actually worked out perfectly. Erin and Erin were finishing up the first morning of their program just as I finished lunch with Stefan, and they had their afternoon free. I met them in front of Harpa and we went inside to look around. Erin Jones hadn't been inside before so we had a nice long wander and sat inside in the view of the sunny windows for awhile, practicing Icelandic and talking.
We took an extremely long walk around in the sunshine after that. We were sort of looking for a particular store that the Erins had liked last year, but it either closed down or wasn´t where they thought it was. We never did find it. The Erins had a program reception to go to at 5pm, so I took off on my own for the City Hall so I could check out the giant topographical map of Iceland. It is really amazing to look at, and I think I have gone to stare at it all four times I've visited. One time it wasn't on display and I was seriously let down.
In the same room as the map is kept, there was a looped showing of an Icelandic movie called Heild just starting again. The film was all photos and video of Iceland strung together in a really neat narrative, minus the narration. No words at all, or at least not in the first half that I stayed to watch. Just sort of haunting, beautiful music to accompany the images.
The sun was still shining brightly around 6, about an hour after I'd drifted into the City Hall building, and I was feeling guilty about missing it. I wandered back outside to find that yes, it was sunny, but it was also raining a bit. Typical. I ignored it and took my copy of the Reykjavik Grapevine to a bench at Tjörnin to read for awhile. I started to feel a little crowded when some families with young kids came over right in front of me to feed the stupid ducks. The whole dang pond, and they practically sat on my lap. It was time to go home to Selma's for awhile and regroup.
Selma met me back at her apartment awhile later and made a really good homemade pizza for us for dinner. We hung around, both just doing our own thing and occasionally showing each other funny YouTube videos. I can´t speak for her, but I think we are excellent roommates.
Around 10:30 that night we took a drive to the Seltjarnarnes area outside of Reykjavik. The sunset was especially striking so we went to check it out. There is also a little hot spring along the shore there, at the end of the peninsula that is perfect for warming up cold feet on a chilly night like it was. I had to pack up some of my stuff since I was heading for Fáskrúðsfjörður the next morning at the crack of G.D. dawn. I´ll be back in a week so I can leave some stuff here I won´t need out east. I always do this to myself when planning out my travels. I book flights at horrible hours or plan to come back right before having to do something else, and end up being pretty disgruntled with my past self for being so dumb. This was a perfect example of that.
With the long, bright nights here in the summer, going to bed early isn't something people do often, so getting up early isn't usually a preferred activity. Selma was kind enough to drive me to the domestic airport at a quarter to 7am and hang out with me until I boarded the plane.
The domestic airport here is fantastic. You walk in the door 30 minutes before your flight (sometimes less), tell the people at the desk your name, and check your bag right there. They print off a boarding pass and that is it. You wait until they announce the flight and then walk out on the tarmac and hop on the plane. No security, no long lines, no nothing. It is a total delight. I've gotten used to the frighteningly small planes now too, so that isn't such a worry. This was a nice smooth flight too. Hardly any bumps at all, unless you count the old dude sitting next to me that kept bumping his elbow into me as he twitched in his sleep.
Bogga and her son Stefan Alex were at the airport to meet me. It was so nice to see them. "Velkomin heim," Bogga said, and I felt like I was exactly that. Home.
It was cloudy driving into Fáskrúðsfjörður, but it cleared as the day went on. I went with Bogga to Reyðarfjörður, the neighboring town to the north when she had a hair appointment this afternoon. I met with her sister, Brynhildur who works in the town and talked to her for a few minutes. She pointed me in the direction of a nice walking path at the edge of the town, so I hiked around for awhile while Bogga got her hair done. It was absolutely lovely.
The sun was shining so brightly when we got back to town that we sat out on the deck. I felt myself getting an Icelandic sunburn right around the same time I realized I couldn´t keep my eyes open, so a nap was in order. One of these days I´ll get myself completely on a normal sleep schedule again. Maybe once I get back to Minnesota. Or maybe in September when I start work again.
There was a mouthwatering dinner hot off the grill ready to eat shortly after I woke up, and a walk around town with Bogga and her husband Elvar after that. We started the walk around 9 and it was almost 11 when we got back. From the light you´d never guess the time. I love the nights here. There have been many changes to Fáskrúðsfjörður since I was here in 2012. They have rebuilt the old French hospital and redone the museum. There is a dam build over by the school, and new hiking paths up in the foothills. I adore this town.
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