Iceland –> London

On Tuesday morning, I woke up, saddened by the fact that I would be leaving the dreamworld I call Iceland later on that afternoon. Sam and I went to our favorite little coffee shop 2 blocks down the road and had some coffee with a chocolate croissant. After coffee, we made one last visit to Hallgrimur’s church to take the lift to the top so we could see the beautiful view of Reykjavik that everyone had been telling us about.

After viewing Reykjavik from the top of the church, we went back downstairs to find an organist playing so we sat down and listened for awhile. Finally, we went back to our hostel, then gathered our belongings and took a bus to Keflavik airport. Keflavik airport is one of my favorites that I’ve been in. It’s extremely modern and clean. We went to duty free and both bought some Icelandic chocolate, and I grabbed a variety of Icelandic shots to take to Newcastle with me.

After waiting at our terminal for quite some time, we realized that no one else was around so there had to have been a mistake. We found out they switched our flight due to inclement weather. We finally found our gate and boarded our plane to London. I was excited because I had never ridden on a plane where you walk outside and up the stairs to the plane. It sounds like something silly to be excited about, especially for someone who has taken as many flights as I have, but I’ve always ridden on massive jets so they have the inside walking gate directly to the plane. This was something new that I had only seen in films.

After 3 hours, we arrived at London Heathrow airport, exhilarated to finally be arriving in our new country of residence for the next year! It’s a huge airport and we had to walk through long and winding corridors to finally get to customs. After waiting in line, I walked up to the customs officer with my visa. She asked me what I was doing here and for how long, as well as what uni I’m attending and what I’m studying, then she stamped my visa and that was that. I’m always daunted by customs, because the United States’ is so intense, but it was actually rather simple.

Sam and I went on to find the entrance to the London underground and bought tickets for the Piccadilly line to King’s Cross, which was £5. Upon arriving at King’s Cross, we got our first real taste of London. It was crowded, loud, and bright… a lot like New York, but much nicer and cleaner. We asked for directions to King’s Cross Road, so we could find our hostel, Clink78. Clink78 used to be a courthouse where Charles Dickens worked while writing Oliver Twist. It is also where the Clash went to court for shooting a prize pigeon in 1978.

Our hostel was £16 a night, and was at a pretty central, easy to find location. They charge £2 for a towel (which I got out of by fumbling with my change long enough) and £3 for wifi during your stay. They have two old courtrooms that they have turned into a computer room and tv room, as well as a lively bar and kitchen in the basement. I would say that it was pretty decent for the money, but very crowded, so if you like more privacy, it might not be for you.

After checking in, Sam and I went to dinner at a small Italian restaurant a block away. I ordered my first English cider and a gnocchi gorgonzola, it was delicious. Then we walked around for quite some time until we were thoroughly lost and finally found our way back by midnight. We went to the hostel’s bar where everyone was hanging out and I ended up talking to a guy from Belgium, named Robin. He was in London looking for a place to live because he’s a chef and just got an internship at a very nice restaurant in the city.

When the bar closed, Sam went to bed and I went outside with Robin. We walked around for awhile and then I saw a bus going to Trafalgar Square so we decided to be spontaneous and chased it down. He had an Oyster card, which I didn’t know about at the time, but it’s a card you can use in London for buses and the underground. It’s only £1.40 for a bus if you have the card, but £2.40 when you have cash… so I recommend you get one if you’ll be in London. Very useful.

After the hassle of digging for my change, we just sat down in the first seat but then I remembered that it was my first time on a red double decker bus, so obviously, I had to run to the top. We sat in the first row and I was like a little kid in a candy shop the whole way to Trafalgar Square. We finally got there, and walked through the square, Chinatown, Hyde Park, past Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. It was so perfect because it wasn’t crowded, especially since it was only a Tuesday night. By the time we had seen everything, it was about 5am so we searched for a bus to King’s Cross and went back to the hostel. I climbed into my teeny tiny little hostel bed, snuggled up to my belongings, and went to sleep, dreading waking up in 3.5 hours.

More from London coming soon!

Forever wandering and wondering,

Brianna Leilani

View from Hallgrimur’s Church

The South Shore Adventure

Iceland – Day 4 – The South Shore

On our last full day in Iceland, we had our biggest adventure, which I was most excited about: The South Shore! We left at 8:30am and took a beautiful two hour ride to the South Shore, passing volcanoes, lava fields, meadows, greenhouses, thousands of horses and even more sheep, waterfalls, and more until finally we came upon this dirt road. We took the dirt road for a couple of miles thinking that we should be seeing a glacier until one point when Sam and I looked at eachother and asked if we had the wrong idea of what a glacier was, because even though everything around us was beautiful, it wasn’t what we thought a glacier would look like.

After believing that maybe we were at a glacier that had completely melted away, we turned around a corner, and were pleasantly surprised to see that giant mass of ice that we know as a glacier. Apparently in the past decade, it has retreated a significant amount and therefore, it is now much smaller, but still really magnificent. We walked up to the glacier and it was surprisingly warmer than the weather we had been experiencing in Reykjavik. We explored around and hiked up the ice a little bit but were on a time constraint so we didn’t get to spend as much time there as I would have liked.

Our next stop was a beach, by the village of Vík í Mýrdal, which is the southernmost village of Iceland. It has black basaltic sand and is famous for its hexagonal basalt columns and caves. They are remnants from Reynisfjall, which used to be a more extended cliffline, but has been torn away by the sea. The sea can be really rough because there is no landmass between that point and Antarctica.

After the beach, we went for lunch in Vík í Mýrdal, which has a population of only 200 people. I had the traditional Icelandic stew which is, once again, another really delicious Icelandic dish (I spoiled myself in Iceland). Then Sam and I went to the convenience store to buy Icelandic chocolate. Sam got a bag full of various Icelandic candies. I asked the clerk what the best Icelandic chocolate was and he told me it was Pipps, the banana flavor. I was hesitant but I took his word and it definitely wasn’t the best Icelandic chocolate. It wasn’t terrible, but I wouldn’t get it again. Sam says if you ever go to Iceland, get Nizzas chocolate. Apparently it’s the best, but I guess it’s all according to preference.

We boarded the bus once again, and went on to an Icelandic folk museum. It was the life work of a 92 year old man who still comes in everyday to this day. He actually came out while we were there and showed us how they used to make wool in medieval times. Really exquisite guy. The museum housed Iceland’s oldest Icelandic bible which used to be really expensive. It would cost a person 2-3 cows for a single bible. The cows would be paid to the church, and the church would recycle the cows as food, and also as leather skin for the bibles. The icelanders had to be innovative with what they had. They used whale bones as bowls and made ice skates out of horse or cattle bones.

After touring around the museum, we went outside to see the traditional Icelandic homes from medieval times. These homes were actually used for a long time, even up into the 20th century. They look like elf homes, as they are build into the ground, covered by grass. When looking from the outside, they appear to be tiny, but I was shocked when I went inside to see that they were larger than they appeared. Some even had a second level. We also went inside an old church and schoolhouse.

After leaving the museum, we visited a waterfall with a 200ft drop, called Skógafoss, which was incredibly beautiful. Our final visit was to the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, which is very famous because there is a path that allows you to walk behind it. Once you come out of the other side, you’re soaking wet, but it’s a really cool experience.

 

After our beautiful day on the South Shore, we had a two hour ride back to Reykjavik, and I slept the whole way. When we got back to our hostel, we packed our things, then went for dinner at the soup place where we went the night before because it was so good. We returned to our hostel, sad to only have one more night and one more day in this magical country.

Next… last day in Iceland, as well as our long awaited arrival in London!

Forever wandering and wondering,

Brianna Leilani

Iceland’s Beautiful Blue Lagoon

Iceland – Day 3 – Blue Lagoon

On Sunday morning, we slept in because we didn’t have anything planned that day except for the Blue Lagoon… so it was our day of relaxation. We left Reykjavik at 11am and got to the Blue Lagoon around 12. It was surrounded for miles and miles by the Christianity lava that I mentioned in the last post, and we started to see the steam in the air from a couple of miles away until finally, we saw a patch of fluorescent blue water. I had seen pictures before, but I don’t think you can ever quite understand how beautiful the Blue Lagoon is until you see it in person. 

 

 

There are walls of lava surrounding it and black sand at the bottom, yet it’s color is so pure. At first when you step in, it’s warm, but not extremely warm. To the right, there is a wet bar but the drinks are outrageously priced, even worse than everything else in Iceland. As you move towards the further edges, the water temperature starts rising and in some parts, it’s really hot, but so relaxing. There are buckets of the white sulphuric scrub for you to rub on your skin which exfoliates it and cleanses it… I left with my face feeling softer than baby skin. Also, no one warned me, but if you have long hair, do NOT let it get wet. I guess the sulphur makes it feel weird and greasy even though it doesn’t look any different. It also makes it more inclined to tangle, so be smarter than I was, and pull your hair up. 

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While swimming in the Blue Lagoon, we ran into the friends I had made the day before at the Golden Circle, Andreina and Jenny. That’s the thing about Iceland, it’s so small that you’re likely to run into people you know everywhere you go even if you do only stay a few days. We talked with them for awhile and then I got out, showered and ate a snack. I came with Sam and our two friends we met from Fiji and Australia, but after searching all over the Blue Lagoon, I couldn’t find them. We finally contacted eachother through e-mail and decided to leave around 3pm. 

 

When we got back to Reykjavik, we walked around the city, and window shopped for awhile. I admired the Icelandic wool sweaters that I can only dream of having because my wallet won’t allow me one. Then we walked into an Icelandic record store and the guy working there asked if he could give me any recommendations. I told him I love Bjork so he told me to check out the following bands which I haven’t had a chance to check them all out yet, but if you’re interested: Hjaltalin, Asgeir Traulsti, Hljoma Pu, Solry, Cheek Mountain, and Ruxpin. The spelling might not be quite right on all of those but I’m sure it’s enough to help you find it. 

 

After the record store, we went to a noodle bar a few doors down that we had been wanting to check out since our first day. It was so good, I don’t even know what to say about it. I’m a “phonatic”… meaning I loooove Vietnamese pho. This place was like an Icelandic twist on pho. It was beef, noodles (thicker than the kind for pho), a darker broth, sprouts, peanuts, and various spices. It wasn’t exactly spicy, but they just added many different spices giving each bite a plethora of flavors. If you want to make a lot of money, open up a restaurant with this stuff in the states… it’s killer. 

After the restaurant, we returned to our hostel, and I showered for the second time after the Blue Lagoon trying to get the sulphur out of my hair. Later that evening, my roommate, Adrienne, and I went downstairs for our hostel bar’s happy hour which was two Icelandic beers for the price of one. We ran into a girl I met on the first day and sat down with her and two other girls. We all talked for a few hours and were surprisingly all from North America… it was probably the most people I had met from North America the whole time I was there. After adding each other all on facebook, we decided to go to a place down the street known to have the best soup in Iceland. I honestly can’t say enough about how good the food is in Iceland. This place only offers two types of soup each day (meat and vegetarian) and nothing else other than alcohol. I had the meat soup (more like a stew) in a bread bowl and it was delicious. It was supposed to be “Mexican style” which I can see hints of in the flavor, but everything in Iceland has a bit of a twist to it. 

 

After our late dinner, we all said our goodbyes and some of us made plans to meet later because our paths would be crossing again in the near future. We all returned to our hostels and went to bed, ready for another day of Icelandic adventure.

Coming soon… day 4 in Iceland, my favorite day: The South Shore Adventure!!

Forever wandering and wondering,

Brianna Leilani

  

Iceland – Day 2 – The Golden Circle and Icelandic History

On our second day in Iceland, I woke up after 5 hours of sleep in 3 days to go on an adventure around Iceland’s famous Golden Circle. I was too excited to let myself be exhausted. When Sam and I boarded the bus, we noticed two friendly faces that we had met and talked with the day before in Reykjavik. They were a really cool and well-traveled couple from San Francisco, but are now living in London. We sat behind them and they gave us advice on living in the UK and traveling in Europe, so we quickly became friends.

Once the bus departed, our tour guide introduced herself and gave us a brief history of Iceland. She said that Iceland is basically a large basaltic rock on the active mid-Atlantic ridge and has about 35-42 volcanoes. Most of Iceland is dried lava and we passed over this one part of lava that looks very green and luscious and is found all over Iceland, especially surrounding the Blue Lagoon and it’s called Christianity lava. She says that Iceland was a pagan country and when they converted to Christianity in year 1000, this giant volcano erupted and this type of lava spread everywhere. It is said that the pagan gods were angry that the nation had converted so they caused it.

Iceland thrives off of geothermal power which is really clean, affordable, and sustainable. Icelanders pay an average of 1 euro a day for electrical energy. Their water comes from glacial rivers and is pure with no additives, like chlorine, therefore, the best you can get.

Iceland’s climate is not the best for sustainable food and the only things that grow are potatoes, turnips, carrots, cabbage, kale, and cauliflower. The environment is not conducive for fruit so fruit is very expensive. Iceland’s geothermal power has made greenhouses possible so that Icelanders can sustainably grow organic non-gmo tomatoes and cucumbers among other things. Our first stop was at a greenhouse where they mostly grew tomatoes. I tried a fresh tomato soup there which was absolutely delicious along with the fresh bread that comes with it. I met two girls there from Zurich, Switzerland who happened to be staying in the same hostel as I am. We talked about traveling in Iceland and I gave them advice on visiting America. They ended up becoming good friends of mine throughout the trip.

After the greenhouse stop, we moved along to the Gullfoss Falls. They are not quite the largest falls in Iceland, but are still truly magnificent. As one person pointed out, they are sort of shaped like a slice of pizza and now every time I look at a picture of them, that’s all I see! We walked to the top and viewed them from above, then went down right beside them which was pretty surreal. I left soaking wet and freezing but it was worth it!

After Gullfoss, we went to visit the Strokkur geyser among many others which was a true test to one’s patience. In front of Strokkur, there was a line of about 30 or more people all with their cameras out waiting to get the perfect shot as the water spewed up into the air. You have to get the timing right or you might miss it and have to wait for the next one. After checking out the geysers, I hiked up the adjacent mountain with my new friends from Switzerland, Andreina and Jenny. The hike was not very long but the view from the top was picturesque. On the other side were great stretches of greenery with beautiful Icelandic homes and numerous Icelandic horses.

Icelandic horses are quite majestic. The Icelandic people are mostly settlers from Norway and when they first came to the island, the only animal already here was the arctic fox, which they think came from Greenland. They brought all of the other animals with them, including the horses. There’s about 80-90,000 horses here and they are all true bred. The horses can leave the country, but once gone, they cannot be brought back because they have strict regulations on keeping them pure.

After gazing at the horses from atop the mountain, Andreina, Jenny, and I ran back down to get some food before departing. I had a skyr yogurt and bought a little shot of brennivin, which is the Icelandic traditional schnapps, and also known as “black death.” I was thankful that I got the skyr, which I used to chase it with, because it was insanely strong. With only a tiny little sip, you can feel it warming up your entire body all the way to the tips of your fingers and toes. I wouldn’t have it again, but it’s definitely something you must try in Iceland.

Our next and final stop was Þingvellir National Park (pronounced thingvedlir), which is what originally peaked my curiosity of Iceland when I took a geology class. It is the only place on earth where you can literally see the tectonic plates. It’s the dividing point of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are diverging at an average of 2cm per year. They are quite spread apart now with a lake in between them, but it is cool to be in the middle, in what is now called “New Iceland.”

Þingvellir was Iceland’s first national park in 1930 and is also a UNESCO world heritage site. There is a lake in the middle surrounded by young lava, of about 9-10,000 years old. In this lake, there are 4 different species of trout that only live here and cannot be found anywhere else. It still remains a question to scientists who frequently come to study it. The lake has become the dividing point for the continents, because on one side, you can stand on Eurasia, then walk across the bridge, and you’re in North America… pretty phenomenal.

The fascination doesn’t end with the geology of Þingvellir, but also the history. It is the location where Iceland’s first national parliament was established in year 930. Iceland used to be separated by many regions that were controlled by various pagan chieftains. In 930, they all came together as one nation and they chose this spot for a few reasons. The mountains surrounding are not too high, therefore, everyone could easily travel there by horse. It was also the biggest lake in Iceland and all the rivers flowed towards it. The lake was a source of food and firewood, making this a suitable location for all to come together. Þingvellir is a place of monumental decisions, and so it is also here where the Icelandic people converted to Catholicism to keep Norway happy. Our guide told us that most people did not want to convert so the Icelandic way was to secretly stay pagan, and tell everyone else what they wanted to hear, and hence, they were Catholic. That concluded our tour of the Golden Circle and we headed back to Reykjavik. We called it a night after so little sleep in 3 days.

Coming next… The Blue Lagoon and The South Shore!!

Forever wandering and wondering,

Brianna Leilani

The Golden Circle

Reykjavik, Iceland

A day in Reykjavik, Iceland

It was Thursday morning, 7am, when I woke up from what would be my last full night’s rest in a long time. I showered, and made one final check that everything was packed and ready for Iceland then went to breakfast with my family to say our goodbyes.

 

 

After our last hugs, I left for the airport and took an hour flight to Charlotte, then another hour flight to Washington D.C., and finally, boarded the plane to Iceland.

 

Upon boarding the plane, I was given a bottle of Icelandic glacial water, and a comfy seat with a warm blanket and a pillow with an Icelandic lullaby written on it.

 

 

It was a comfy flight, but I couldn’t sleep due to excitement, and so, once over Greenland, I looked out the window and saw these green lights that I had never seen before in a completely dark sky. I kept looking and after awhile they became more clear, until they were clear enough that I realized they were the Northern Lights. I was amazed as they became more vivid and stared for about an hour. I tried to catch a photo, but due to the dirty airplane windows and it being night time, nothing came out.

We finally arrived in Keflavik airport at about 5:45am, and customs in Iceland, for me, was the easiest I had ever been through. No paperwork, no questions, nothing. The guy just looked at me and stamped my passport… however, I’ve heard varying stories about customs here so maybe my guy just didn’t care. Afterwards, we converted our money to the Icelandic Krona which in comparison to the U.S. dollar is currently ISK121.35=USD$1. They also didn’t charge any fees to convert it, however, everything in Iceland is outrageously priced.

We took the Reykjavik Express to our hostel, which is called Reykjavik Backpackers and is in the center of town. They wouldn’t let us check in until 2pm so we dropped off our bags and looked for a coffee shop, but nothing opened until 10am. We finally found one a few doors down and had some amazing coffee and chocolate croissants.

After breakfast, we went on a walk and started exploring. First, we walked downhill to the coast and walked around for a bit while taking pictures.

Then, we walked to Hallgrimur church which is the centerpiece of Reykjavik and is a huge cement church that took 41 years to finish. The architecture is incredible from every angle. On the inside, there is a massive organ unlike any I’ve ever seen before.

 

 

Then we walked back down the colorful streets of Reykjavik to the Hofoi House, which is a quaint little white house where Gorbachev and Reagan met and shook hands on an agreement to end the Cold War in 1986.

 

We continued on to visit a few other churches and walk through a beautiful park a little outside the main center of Reykjavik. A man of about 70 saw us and asked if he could help with anything, and we talked with him about living in Iceland for awhile, then he gave us directions to Baejarins Beztu Pylsur, notably known for having the best hot dog in Europe, as well as its customers, such as Bill Clinton and the lead singer of Metallica.

After playing on random yarn-bombed playgrounds and getting incredibly lost for quite some time, we finally found the famous Baejarins Beztu Pylsur and waited in line to try their iconic hot dog. It cost ISK 380 which is about USD $3. For someone who is disgusted by hot dogs, I loved every bite of this one. It comes with a sweet tasting mustard, and crunchy onions and it’s absolutely perfect. I found myself recommending it to everyone I met, as well as craving it later.

After our hot dogs, we started walking back to our hostel, drained of life, because we hadn’t slept in about 32 hours at this point. We sat and drank coffee while waiting for 2pm so we could check in. Finally, we checked in, freshened up and went back out and explored some thrift stores, which actually weren’t that thrifty. I couldn’t go on anymore because I was so tired, so I went back to the bar at our hostel and told the bartender to make me something with a strong enough kick to wake me up since coffee was no longer effective. He made me some really delicious red drink that I don’t remember the name of at all. I sat and enjoyed my drink while Sam left to do his thing for awhile.

Two guys from Fiji and Australia had just arrived and sat down behind me. They invited me to sit with them and asked me about what there is to do in Iceland. Being as in love with Iceland as I am, I gave them an entire list of things to do until a girl showed up telling me I was her roommate and wanting to know if I’d do a pub crawl with her. I told her I couldn’t do that, but we could do dinner beforehand. We made reservations for the nice restaurant below the hostel, and enjoyed happy hour Icelandic beers while waiting for our table. I had an organic pilsner that was really delicious, even for someone who doesn’t like beer. Finally, we received our table and ordered the four course special. There were 5 of us: my roommate, Michelle from Virginia, who I had just met, the guys from Fiji and Australia, and another roommate, Jay, from the UK. We started with a scallop and shrimp dish that was incredible, then two different types of Icelandic style tacos, and finally, an amazing chocolate cake with a caramel coating. As delicious as it sounds, it wasn’t much food and we left still feeling a little hungry.

The five of us went upstairs and hung out until Sam joined us. Then we all went outside and the streets were flooded with people. I had forgotten it was Friday night. We met a guy outside named Simo, who was from Newcastle, Australia and he had just been deported from London Heathrow back to Iceland because it was his last location. He had no money, and most of his things had been stolen in Greece. He was actually really funny, and we made jokes about his deportation and how he was the only person we ever met who had actually been deported. He was on a goal to spend the last of what was on his credit card on booze that night until he caught his flight the next morning back to Australia that his friend has to buy for him.

After seeing how lively the streets were, we decided to go out. We walked into a place called Moon Bar and were shocked to find a choir of guys from Sweden with pints in their hands and singing. The only other people there were the girls filming them. After that, we walked for awhile and finally chose a place that seemed really fun and awesome from the outside but walked in to find a bunch of Icelandic college kids dancing to awful top 40s music. It seemed like a bad fraternity party with cool lights.

Finally, we decided to give up on the night and walk back to the hostel, but stopped for lamb kebabs. This was my first kebab experience and it was perfect. I was with Jay, who has them all the time in the UK, but she said this one was much better, so now I’m afraid I’ll be disappointed once I try one in the UK.

After our much enjoyed kebabs, we finally called it a night. As soon as I crawled into my bunk, I pulled the covers over my head and fell asleep more peacefully than ever.

Check back later for day 2 around the Golden Circle!! It will involve a lot of Icelandic history and pictures of waterfalls, geysers, and continental divides.

Also, all of these pictures are taken with my iPhone… the “real” pictures will be coming soon, but they are much more time consuming so this provides a little glimpse 🙂

Forever wandering and wondering,

Brianna Leilani