Adventure Time: Reykjavik
Jun. 29th, 2014 02:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tealinMy final destination was London, but when looking up YVR-LHR flights I found there was one that connected through Reykjavik.
REYKJAVIK. How could I not? I mean, Reykjavik. Iceland is one of those places that, even though I know they are real, I can't believe are really real. The one time I saw it from a plane crossing the North Atlantic was a thrill, so putting my feet on actual Iceland? Yes!
On the way to Iceland, somewhere over Qikiqtarjuaq (yes), I saw my first midnight sun.
I've seen lots of peachy sidelit clouds in the air before, but something about knowing this was the midnight sun made it unspeakably beautiful.
The international airport is in Keflavik, a 45-minute bus trip from Reykjavik proper, so with customs on both ends and transit and the requisite early arrival for the outgoing flight, I only had about six hours free. None of the day tours worked with my hours but I figured a ramble around Reykjavik was pretty good anyway.
If you want to know what Reykjavik looks like ... it looks like this:
That's basically it in a nutshell. Charming, simple, small, surprisingly new, and wet wet wet. (I have missed the rain. It's OK.)
This is something I was not expecting to see:
... But on reflection it makes a lot of sense, on a rocky island in the middle of a plentiful sea. I hope the fish is really, really fresh.
I took an inordinate amount of pleasure from seeing thorns in contemporary use. #alphabetnerd
I wonder if this place has seen a significant uptick in traffic in recent years ... I thought it looked touristy and gave it a pass, but ended up there later because it was one of the few places serving lunch before 11, and I needed to dry out a bit so I didn't arrive back at the airport as a drowned rat.
My favourite part for sure was the drive from Keflavik and back. The countryside reminded me of the Mojave desert, southern Idaho, and the Canadian prairie simultaneously. I can see why people fall in love with the North; the lichen and tufty grass and patches of lupine blowing in the wind, with the enormous sky and fantastic feeling of expanse ... there was a real magic to it. Reykjavik was fun but if I go back to Iceland it's all wilderness for me.
Then it was off to Heathrow, with the most heavenly final approach ...
I do not understand how anyone who flies regularly can fail to be moved with passion for the beauty of the Earth and sky. They must not have an aesthetic or spiritual drop in their blood. What a miserable life.
REYKJAVIK. How could I not? I mean, Reykjavik. Iceland is one of those places that, even though I know they are real, I can't believe are really real. The one time I saw it from a plane crossing the North Atlantic was a thrill, so putting my feet on actual Iceland? Yes!
On the way to Iceland, somewhere over Qikiqtarjuaq (yes), I saw my first midnight sun.
I've seen lots of peachy sidelit clouds in the air before, but something about knowing this was the midnight sun made it unspeakably beautiful.
The international airport is in Keflavik, a 45-minute bus trip from Reykjavik proper, so with customs on both ends and transit and the requisite early arrival for the outgoing flight, I only had about six hours free. None of the day tours worked with my hours but I figured a ramble around Reykjavik was pretty good anyway.
If you want to know what Reykjavik looks like ... it looks like this:
That's basically it in a nutshell. Charming, simple, small, surprisingly new, and wet wet wet. (I have missed the rain. It's OK.)
This is something I was not expecting to see:
... But on reflection it makes a lot of sense, on a rocky island in the middle of a plentiful sea. I hope the fish is really, really fresh.
I took an inordinate amount of pleasure from seeing thorns in contemporary use. #alphabetnerd
I wonder if this place has seen a significant uptick in traffic in recent years ... I thought it looked touristy and gave it a pass, but ended up there later because it was one of the few places serving lunch before 11, and I needed to dry out a bit so I didn't arrive back at the airport as a drowned rat.
My favourite part for sure was the drive from Keflavik and back. The countryside reminded me of the Mojave desert, southern Idaho, and the Canadian prairie simultaneously. I can see why people fall in love with the North; the lichen and tufty grass and patches of lupine blowing in the wind, with the enormous sky and fantastic feeling of expanse ... there was a real magic to it. Reykjavik was fun but if I go back to Iceland it's all wilderness for me.
Then it was off to Heathrow, with the most heavenly final approach ...
I do not understand how anyone who flies regularly can fail to be moved with passion for the beauty of the Earth and sky. They must not have an aesthetic or spiritual drop in their blood. What a miserable life.
