We come from the land of the ice and snow, From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow

 

On most vacations, your biggest concern is remembering to reapply sunscreen. In Iceland, not only do you have to worry about the midnight sun and geysers burning you, but volcanoes erupting, falling into craters, continental rifts, and glaciers. There isn't vacation insurance for this, so bring along your sturdiest hiking shoes and  a hearty viking attitude instead.

THE BLUE LAGOON

 

I know it looks like Lexie and Kathryn are on Neptune, but it's actually the Blue Lagoon. As one of Iceland's famous hot springs, The Blue Lagoon is like a giant hot tub, but one that's totally natural and smells of sulfur.  Consequently, it's like no other spa experience. We covered our faces with a silica mud mask and scrubbed them with volcanic ash all while swimming around in the saltiest hottest natural water I've ever been in.

 

The country's abundance of hot springs is part of the reason the vikings settled in Iceland over a thousand years ago. Today, they are used to heat hot baths throughout Reykjavik, the Icelanders hangover cure, and for controversial thermal energy. 

Who knew something that looked like anti-freeze could be so relaxing?

WHALE WATCHING

 

Whales come in many forms in Iceland. You can either see or eat them, I went for the former. Unfortunately, whaling is totally legal in Iceland and one of the biggest tourist traps. The whaling industry propagates the myth that whale is a national delicacy, so tourists trying to be "authentic"order it and the vicious cycle continues. I prefer whales in the ocean, not on my plate so I went on a whale watching tour instead.

 Despite how we had all paid to go on a whale watching trip, one woman literally shrieked whenever a minke whale surfaced, as if she was shocked they existed. Then again, I've heard that whale watching tours off of other coasts, such as Cape Cod, result more in watching the color variation on the waves than whales, so the fact that we saw five whales in under an hour was quite impressive.

 We also saw a true national delicacy, the puffin. I apologize for the poor photo, I had the wrong lens and the birds are small. One woman on the boat was unpleasantly surprised by this because she mistakenly thought puffins were the size of penguins or maybe she thought they actually were penguins. I don't think they're going to make any inspirational documentaries narrated by Morgan Freeman on puffins anytime soon.

THE GOLDEN CIRCLE

 

After three days of going to Reykjavik art museums depicting the beauty of nature, I thought maybe I actually see it for myself. In half a day, you can see some of Iceland's most stunning natural wonders on The Golden Circle bus tour. Since I rode the school bus for a decade, I'm not usually one for bus tours with their guides who almost sound like robots and tight schedules and this one was no different in that respect. I wasn't sure if my guide was still working on her English or just thought rhetorical questions were effective, but every time she spoke to us she said, "You may be wondering what such and such is..."Well, actually I wasn't, but you might as well tell me now that you're at it. However, the natural wonders made up for it.

  

First, there was the Kerio crater formed by a volcano. When in doubt, everything in Iceland was formed by a volcano.

 Next up was the original geyser, what all geysers get their name from.

 Although geysers are like natural tea kettles and everyone waits for them to spout, it was still delightfully unexpected when it did erupt.

 Even more fun to watch, all the spectators.

 

That's 176-212F.

 The most impressive sight was Gullfoss or the Golden Waterfall.

 On sunny days, there's a double rainbow as you can see, but sadly, I didn't find a pot of gold at either end.

 During the 20th century, they thought about using the waterfall to generate electricity and its owners (can you imagine owning a waterfall?) rented it out to foreign investors to no avail. However, the controversy generated one of Iceland's most romantic heroines, Sigríður Tómasdóttir, who threatened to throw herself into the falls if they proceeded. Now, it's preserved so unsuspecting tourists can accidentally take a tumble if they aren't paying attention.

 Lastly, we stopped at Þingvellir National Park, the sight of the continental rift and the original parliament, coincidence? 

 

The Golden Circle tour ended up being one of my favorite parts of the entire trip because it proved that there really is no country like Iceland. The land almost looks like Mars sometimes. I can't imagine living in a place with active volcanoes, but the Icelanders are hilariously lackadaisical because everything that could've gone wrong in the past decade- eruptions, financial collapse- has and they've survived more stalwart than ever. As the slightly pessimistic bus tour guide said, "Iceland was formed by a volcano, so who knows if we'll be here tomorrow."

The famous and gorgeous Icelandic horses.

Thank you again to Lexie and Kathryn for letting me tag along. You two are the best travel companions I've ever had the pleasure to sight see with. I hope we can gallivant around Europe together in the future.

This is my final post about Iceland. It's almost been an entire month since my trip, yet I'm still blogging about it and could continue to do so, except I have even more photos and stories to share from other travels so perhaps I should write about them next. Expect more posts than usual as I attempt to catch you up on all the stamps in my passport from June.

There is a Light that Never Goes Out

 What's cooler than an Icelandic glacier? Reykjavik hipsters!

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I always knew that Iceland was beloved by hipsters. After all, the beautiful video for Bon Iver's "Holocene" was shot throughout the breathtaking vistas of the country. But as much as the bearded hipster yearns for the living his Thoreau-with-microbrew aesthetic in a remote cabin built off a volcano, that hipster is nowhere to be found in Iceland itself. Rather, the only thing American and Icelandic hipsters have in common is the flannel shirt.

 

 With a population of roughly 320,000, you wouldn't expect so many hipsters, but Iceland is literally (bar) crawling with them. After all, the sun barely sets in the summer so the "night" life is ideal. The midnight sun helps to shine a light on what makes Reyk hipsters different.

 

That's where I hang my Converse out to dry too!

 Firstly, street art. Depicting everything from trolls picking their noses to geek glasses sporting chickens, the graffiti is more interesting than what you'll find in the museums. The weirdest graffiti often covers a whole building, denoting a hipster haven.

 

 

However, sometimes it's covertly hidden down an alleyway or painted on a cheeky fire hydrant because the real hipster doesn't want to be found.

Do you think the wink is meant to be ironic?

Secondly, the record store.

 

As if the country's landscapes weren't starkly beautiful enough, they inspire some hauntingly gorgeous music too, such as Bjork and Sigur Ros. Consequently, Reykjavik has been selling vinyl before it became fashionable to do so again and no bar is complete without a hipster DJ set or live band.

Thirdly, flashmobs.

I'm not sure if I was visiting during a special festival week or if Icelanders just love playing music on the sidewalk, but I kept stumbling upon seemingly spontaneous concerts. Each time felt unique to both Reykjavik and my vacation.

First, there was the youth orchestra.

Who needs an ipod when you can have a live tuba as your soundtrack?

Second, there was the so-hip-it-hurts men's choir outside the bar. Pints still in hand, they precariously set up some bar stools to stand on and then started serenading the crowd of bemused locals and pleasantly surprised tourists with traditional Icelandic music for 20 minutes. They certainly had the talent of a professional choir, but never set their beer down. Perhaps this was their post-rehearsal vocal relaxation exercise?   

By the way, I don't think they were dressed specially for the event. That's how Icelandic men dress normally- slicked back duckbill hair style, tailored oxfords, and dark wash denim. You'll never look so dapper, so don't even try.

Sometimes hipsterdom can be depressing because you know you'll never fit in and you aren't supposed to, but even tourists have a chance at being part of the scene. Our hostel, Kex, was the epitome of trendy.

There's nothing a Kex receptionist can't do.

No, this is not a photo from The Selby, it's just the lounge on my floor.

Out of the three hostels I've stayed at throughout Europe, none had a gastropub on the premises before. Kex's was a good one too because even locals grabbed a dinner and drinks there.

I never really had to worry about blending in though because I was with my two boss bitches (I'm not being crass, that's the highest compliment I could pay them), Lexie and Kathryn. They bar hopped like pros, sang along to the new Beach House album playing at all the record stores, and knew where the in-crowd ate (see them slurping up delicious pho below.)  They were more than hip enough for Reykjavik. Only their sweet Southern accents gave them away.

Lexie, the Michelle Williams look alike.

 

Kathryn, master of wearing solid colors.

 

Reykjavik is a hipster paradise, except it defies one part of the hipster credo- exclusivity. Rather, everyone can get involved- see a flashmob, hear some Jonsi, touch a gorgeous wool sweater, taste the latest it-food, and feel like they're part of something special. After all, it's a small country, so the more the merrier.