accidental goddess

Iceland—a small country, the size of Ohio, hanging just under the Arctic Circle between Greenland and Norway—has become a very popular tourist destination.  No surprise!  Deservedly called the Land of Fire and Ice, it has 32 active volcanic systems sitting above a mantle hot spot and 269 named glaciers, including Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest. It also boasts about 10,000 waterfalls and is a highly ranked place to catch the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis).  But would you want to go there in winter when there is very little daylight and the weather is less (a LOT less) than balmy? I did…and loved it!

My logic: This is the first winter in many years that I was not going skiing—for a few reasons, one of which is a recently rehabbed knee.  I did not want to sit home with FOMO while my friends were schussing in Colorado. Seeing the Northern Lights was at the top of my wish list, with the Continental Divide (Mid Atlantic Ridge) a close second. Plus, I have all the cold weather gear that would be needed.  So…the Road Scholar trip A Long Weekend in Iceland seemed like a good fit.  The net-net: I did get to meet one goal (walked the Continental Divide) and not the other (no Northern Lights) …but I was constantly delighted and awed by everything else I experienced.

Iceland is simmering

Although there was a recent eruption that evacuated Grindavik, we did not get very close to any active volcanoes. Nevertheless, we were constantly aware of the geothermal activity.  At the Sky Lagoon we swam (basked) in geothermically heated water.

At the Hellisheiði ON Power Plant we learned how Iceland harvests geothermal energy to send hot water through huge conduits to heat the entire country.

At the Geysir area we saw steaming fumaroles, mud holes, and watched the Strokkur geyser explode. And, at the Lava Center we enjoyed high-quality presentations and interactive exhibits about all the dynamic underlying systems.

Every part of the landscape that wasn’t developed (or covered with snow) showed the volcanic aftermath—from “hot mess” to a dramatic panorama—lava-filled, dark, rocky.

Iceland is gushing

In addition to the water features at Geysir, we visited three of the thousands of waterfalls, all three large and thundering:

• Seljalandsfoss originates beneath the Eyjafjallajökull glacier; its ice cap erupted in 2010 and caused havoc at airports across Europe.
• Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls, 82 feet wide with a 197 foot drop.
• Gullfoss might be the most famous due to its iconic wide, curved three-step “staircase” that plunges in two stages.

Iceland is growing

Þingvellir National Park is a UNESCO Heritage site in the Golden Circle where the lava fields are being torn apart by tectonic forces leaving a big gorge between the North American and the Eurasian tectonic plates. Known as the Mid Atlantic Ridge/Rift or Continental Divide, the park has a “Bridge Between the Continents” that makes it easy to walk between the plates and explore the area. The tectonic plates drift apart at a rate of about 2 cm per year and magma constantly fills the gap, so rather than splitting into two masses, Iceland is getting wider.

New, old, and ancient

Modern design is everywhere
The glass Harpa Concert Hall and the towering Hallgrímskirkja Lutheran church are prime examples of the contemporary architecture in Reykjavik.  The hip Marina Hotel had a snarky sense of humor and my little room felt like an IKEA doll house. Even Iceland’s functional buildings have modern designs, like the Perlan building, a museum with a rotating glass dome on top of six water tanks that store 24 million liters of Reykjavík’s hot water, and the ON Power Plant, which was airy, open, futuristic. All the museum displays and educational exhibits we saw were very cool, worthy of design awards.

History is honored
Iceland is proud of its Viking heritage. We learned about the ancient way of life at the Skogar Museum and saw some of the turf-roofed, hobbit-like houses. We ate lunch at Café Loki in Reykjavik’s “Neighborhood of the Gods” where the streets are named after Viking gods and goddesses, and then passed the City Hall and its lively duck pond, the stone (Icelandic dolerite) Parliament House, which houses the Alþingi, the oldest parliament in the world; and the Höfði House where, in October 1986, Regan and Gorbachev took the first steps to end of the Cold War. Everything immaculate and well maintained.

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The weather is wild

The weather predictions were for precipitation with a temperature between 24-38 degrees every day. I expected snow and rain, I just didn’t expect it to keep changing so rapidly. Snow, sleet, rain, sleet, rain, clearing for a few minutes.  Wash, rinse, repeat…and repeat.  Every now and then we saw a small sliver of blue sky between the clouds.  It didn’t last long and every night the cloud cover was too heavy to see the moon, the stars, or the Northern Lights. Sunrise around 10 AM and sunset at 4:30ish were often dramatic.

There were some food-related surprises

We ate one very balmy lunch in the “tomato tropics” of a Friðheimar greenhouse.  Stepping out of the blowing snow into the warm jungle of tomato plants was a pleasant shock.  The very friendly staff served us tomato soup (of course) with a mountain of delicious bread and tomato “apple” pie for dessert.  Also, many of us had heard the Icelanders have a unique hotdog, served with a variety of toppings including ketchup, mustard, remoulade, and fried onions.  We found a stand near our hotel in Reykjavik for a taste test: long, skinny, flavorful with a very crispy casing.

Shout outs

A shout out to Road Scholar, who organized this trip, and to our wonderful guide Eygló Sigurõardóttir. Luckily, they only use first names in Iceland. Some of us called her Igloo and some called her Egg Roll. She was fine with either!  Check out the correct pronunciation: https://translate.google.com/?sl=is&tl=en&text=Eygl%C3%B3…

Next time!

“Too many natural wonders. Too little time.” I found Iceland to be friendly, accessible, dramatic, and beautiful. I want to go back for another shot at the Northern Lights, to travel further into the countryside and see that rugged landscape when it is not covered with snow.

Some fun facts about Iceland

• It’s one of the youngest landmasses on our planet and one of the last places settled by humans (Vikings from Norway discovered it over 1,100 years ago).
• It is the least densely populated country in Europe with only 3 people per square kilometer.
• It has the northern-most capital, Reykjavik, with the oldest parliament in the world.
• It has one of the oldest languages in the world, the highest literacy rate, and the highest per capita number of writers.
• It leads the world in gender equality and has a high level of social welfare, with free healthcare and education for all citizens.
• It is ranked one of the eco-friendliest countries in the world; almost all of its electricity is produced using renewable energy sources.
• It has one of the largest colonies of puffins, a unique breed of horses, and no mosquitoes.
• The Arctic Fox was the only land mammal living in Iceland before the Vikings arrived.