Day 7

June 16, 2018

11:12 PM Iceland Time

Last night we went out dancing again but since it was the weekend, there were a lot more people out. I think its easier to stay up at night since it never gets dark here during the summer. Icelanders typically go out on weekends and usually don‘t go home until 5 AM. We didn‘t stay out that late though, I got home around 4 AM. We got to sleep in a bit this morning, and then we headed out for the first world cup game.

All the shops in town had hung Icelandic flags, signs saying Áfram Ísland, red, white and blue balloons, and everyone was either wearing an Iceland jersey, scarf, or had flags painted on their faces. There even was a statue of a pig that had a jersey on! All of us Snorris got matching world cup hats, and I wore a jersey that my dad had gotten me. I used to play soccer and my number was always 14. Turns out that the player who wears number 14 happens to have the same surname as my great great great grandfather who emigrated from Iceland, so I had to get the jersey! It was raining really hard, so we all decided to go somewhere that they were showing the game inside. It was really nice, a movie theater had free showings of the game, so we got to sit down in nice seats rather than get soaked in the rain. Iceland was playing Argentina, and most people thought that Argentina was going to win by a long shot. But low and behold Iceland scored a goal and they tied with Argentina 1-1!!!! Thought Argentina had possession of the ball for the majority of the time, Iceland did an awesome job defending the goal! It will be exciting to see how far they get since they tied in their hardest game. I can‘t even express how amazing it was to be in Reykjavik when Iceland was playing in the world cup.

 

After the game we all went on a bus and drove to Úlfarsfell where we went on a hike to the summit. It was BREATHTAKING. Everything was so green and moss covered everything, there were fields and fields of the purple Icelandic lupine. Some of the trail we had to step on the moss, and it was like walking on a thick sponge! When we got to the summit you could see the majority of Reykjavik, as well as the surrounding mountians, the sea, and the countryside. It really felt like we were in Lord of the Rings. On that note, I didn‘t really know that J.R. Tolkien came to Iceland which greatly influenced his writing! The blue mountain, elves, dwarfs, trolls; all were myths and legends that he learned about while coming to Iceland. This truly is a dream come true, and everyday I have to remind myself that this isn‘t a dream, and it is actually happening!!

When we got back from the hike, we went to a thermal pool nearby. I can‘t fully emphazise how amazing the pools are here. It is THE BEST. I am actually starting to enjoy submerging my whole body in the super cold pool and then going into the hot pools and or the steam rooms. It helps you adjust to the cold, and it feels sooo nice on your muscles especially after exercising. We have been walking a lot everyday, so it is a great way to relax or as you say in Icelancic: slappa af.

We were all pretty hungry, and we had a small barbeque in a park where we had traditional Icelandic hot dogs. Asta got us vegetarians veggie dogs. What makes a hot dog Icelandic are the toppings. They have some unique sauses that you put on it that are similar to mustard and mayo, but they are a much different flavor. More mild, not as salty, but really good. Then you put both raw onion and fried onion bits to give it some crunch. They were actually pretty good!

Even though we were super tired, we continued to see þingvellir national park. Þingvellir is a very significant place in Icelandic history. It is where the Alþingi (oldest parliament in the world) first came together starting in 930 AD. It is a very beautiful unique place. The park sits in a rift valley caused by the separation of two tectonic plates. It’s very rocky, but all of the rocks are covered in thick moss. You could see the folds of sedimentary rock twisting and turning in some places. We walked around for a bit and enjoyed the bit of blue sky that was peeking out from the clouds.

I would post photos today, but the wifi is a bit slow and they aren't uploading fast enough and I am pretty tired. I am going to rest up for tomorrow; which is Iceland’s national holiday. More festivities and fun to come, so stay tuned for my next post!