Since the Pandemic has indefinably land us on spot, I have caught myself looking at old photo albums of my travels more and more. Living vicariously through the pictures of my past, I often come across my trip to Iceland.
My trip to Iceland was on of the most spontaneous trips I have ever done. I booked the ticket from Copenhagen to Reykjavik with the late WOW air (Rest in Peace) only one and a half weeks before flying, after a late night conversation about it with some friends. I did not have much times to decide, as my main motive was to see the Northern Lights and for better chances to do that, I had to go before April and it was already the begging of March. So I booked a fast ticket, a room on Booking and I left a cold Danish morning to an even colder Icelandic afternoon.
I booked a bus seat to take me from the airport to the city, as public transport was not much recommended (at the time, at least). My first impression of Reykjavik was that it is a cute Nordic town, not even a city. You can easily walk it, it does not have many tall buildings or big streets and it is quite and cozy. I personally prefer the hustle and bustle of big cities, but it was relaxing. There are two highlights there, the first is the cathedral with the very Icelandic name Hallgrimskirkja. It is probably the most famous landmark of the city and a quick google search will make you understand why it is a highlight. The second was the concert and convention hall called Harpa. It has a full glass exterior and interior, it overlooks the ocean and the light hits it with such grace that even my selfies looked good. One last thing to mention about Reykjavik is the Bonus Supermarkets, which are great for tasting Iceland and their famous Skyr yogurts in many flavors. I also bought an extremely delicious salted caramel chocolate there and it has a cute logo with a pig. I mean, good prices too, but chocolate and pig logos are more important.
Of course we all know, that Iceland is far from just Reykjavik, so the next day I hoped early in the tour mini van I had booked and started going around. Generally there are many many tours you can book in Iceland (or at least there were many, before that whole pandemic thing), some cheaper, some expensive, definitely no cheap ones though. Iceland is not a cheap place for vacation, so if you are looking for budget traveling, good luck. Back to the trip now, it was full of, for a lack of a less cringy term, magic. I did the golden circle, a popular tourist route, which lasts half a day and takes you to the highlights of Iceland. We walked on ice, we fed Icelandic horses, which are extra cute, we walked between the Eurasian and American plates at Pingvellir National Park and we saw waterfalls. I still remember the wonder with which I was looking at the Gullfoss Waterfall or my surprise when I first saw the water coming with such force out of the Geyser. I literally spend all the time we had there just looking at the water coming out of the Geysers, it was that exciting.
What about the Northern Lights, though? That was the reason I went there after all. Well, I booked a tour for that too. As it is difficult to see it in the city, they take you with a bus in a national park with complete darkness and you wait to see it. They don’t appear every day, but the first night I went they told us that it is actually a good day for it. After arriving, I first marveled at how many starts there were out there. I have never seen that many. In fact the sky was so dark and clear, that even I, with no knowledge of astronomy managed to see and recognize constellations. As the time was passing and the cold was becoming more and more unbearable, we were all getting more and more disappointed since there was no aurora to be found, so we went back. Thankfully you can re-book these tours for the next day for free if you don’t get to see the Lights on your previous try, whether that is your first or fifth. I didn’t have high hopes the next day, but yet after a while, there they were. It was brilliant. It was like blue and purple fairy lights dancing in a harmonious melody in the sky, with such poise and grace. I caught my self staring at them, giggling like a child with happiness, it was truly unforgettable. I have to say however, that it was not green like I have seen many times in photos. Looking through the camera of a fellow tourist, I saw that in his pictures it was indeed green, while my eyes were seeing blue and purple. There is definitely some physics involved there, but I am not capable to give a proper explanation as to why, just to say that it happened.
So that was my trip to Iceland, short, cold and expensive, but so worth it. I definitely want to visit again, to see the many more it has to offer, but for now,I am still staying home. So, until we travel again, let’s delve on the memories.
The Indonesian Chronicles 