Iceland Impressions

 Day 4

A volcanic landscape with few trees, a fresh layer of snow in the nearby mountains, a driving and rainy wind.  Smacked upside the head by radically different surroundings and going on 24 hours without sleep, we ventured in to the Blue Lagoon spa, with geo-thermal power and water over 100 degrees F - heated by steam coming from 2000 meters below. My family can stay in the water for a LONG time despite 45 degree temps if soothed by warm water, a fresh drink, and a facial mask.

What we learned: Icelandic contains six additional letters and is remarkably difficult to read or understand. While Icelanders tend to know a few words of English, our language is not ubiquitous and Google translate was pressed into service on more than one occasion. (By contrast, the Danish language only has 3 additional letters, one added as recently as 1948, in the Danish Spelling Reform). 

Iceland feeds its population largely with produce grown in greenhouses as they do not have topsoil to spare; only grass can grow on the volcanic rock and no tilling is possible. Farm animals do graze the patches of grass that intersperse bright green moss. The landscape is easily the most impressive and overwhelming I've ever seen, and standing in the (growing) rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates amazed all of us. 

After exploring the rift we had a delectable lunch at a farm-to-table restaurant owned by the farmers and I actually had to choke back tears as I picked fabulous french fries off my children's plates. It was the best Mother's Day lunch ever, and the kids had ice cream afterward, with the donating cows chewing their cud placidly in the room next door, looking on through their windows.

Icelandic (beef) stew tastes delicious, the rain is cold and omnipresent, fish jerky I do not recommend. Reykjavik sits on a bay surrounded by mountains that can't even be seen when the clouds and rain descend. If the weather hadn't broken late on our second day we would never have noticed the mountainous arms that encircle its harbor. Traveling Iceland's Golden Circle by car felt like venturing into the fields of Rohan from Lord of the Rings, or country north of the Wall in Game of Thrones (which was filmed in Iceland from season 2). 

Traveling from Reykjavik to Copenhagen on an early flight - in combination with jet lag - threatened to wreck us all, but arriving to a bright spring day and a park dotted with sunbathers lifted our spirits, as did a surprise encounter with one of William's high school classmates. More about Copenhagen in a few days...