katycat: (Default)
The K-T Boundary ([personal profile] katycat) wrote2009-06-29 05:58 pm
Entry tags:

Iceland - First Day

Backing up a little ...

After mom and [personal profile] melannen dropped me off, it wasn't long before everyone else showed up and we got checked in. My second suitcase counted as a carry-on, so that was good. Then we went through security, and some of us sat around and chatted and watched the luggage while others got dinner. There were TSA agents everywhere. But eventually we boarded.

The flight was only about 5 hours. The plane had touch-screens in the back of the seats, so I played with that for an hour or so, and then spent the rest of the flight reading books on my iPod. After landing, we went through security again, gathered the rental cars (Skodas!) and drove the five hours or so from Rekjavik to Sauðárkrókur, stopping a couple of times on the way. The second stop was for lunch at an N1, which seems to have a monopoly here on gas and food for travelers! I spent the drive finally getting a bit of sleep, finishing my book, and chatting with my car-mates.

When we finally got to Sauðárkrókur, everyone was exhausted. We got room assignments and unpacked and moved furniture, and then we had dinner and went to the computer lab and slept. It's all a bit of a blur; I was definitely dropping by that point.

Sauðárkrókur is a quiet little town; it gives the impression of being a bit dreary, which isn't helped by the cold and the near-constant clouds. It's summer, so there is no night. I don't think it will made it hard to sleep, though; I expect we'll come home tired every day! But I do think the constant sun contributes to making the town feel a little faded and strung-out. (We've heard there's a club in town that is "sometimes almost fun." I expect we'll check it out this weekend!)

Our dinners are catered by a guy who serves us buffet-style at the local Rotary Club. It is completely delicious. I might even like fish by the time I get home. We'll see about that. :D


Odd sculpture at Keflavik (the airport).


View from the airport. Iceland reminds me a lot of Arizona, oddly enough: flat, rocky, mountains in the distance. The climate and vegetation and rocks are completely different, of course, but other than that ...!


This plume of steam had been visible from the plane. It's not a geyser.


It's the Blue Lagoon.


We went there after the flight, and showered, and swam in the steaming hot mineral water in the near-freezing air, and rubbed white goo on our faces, and had breakfast.

It is a little scary to be bathing in the waste pond of a power generation plant (!!!!). It's also kind of strange to have a swimming pool in the middle of a huge field of black volcanic rocks and no plants. But it was still kind of awesome.


A representative Iceland picture, shot from the road. There are no trees!


There are, however, rivers and waterfalls.


This is the house where we're staying.


A photo of the town.


Here's my room. It's a triple; I'm on the left.


This is the view from the window.


Here's another picture of the town. It's all decked out in blue ribbons for some type of sporting event going on.


Flowers blooming in the town square - at 9 PM! It's not going to get any darker than this.
lindentreeisle: Don- got tech? (Default)

[personal profile] lindentreeisle 2009-06-29 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
So cool!! I envy you. :D How is the Foreign Experience so far, or are you mostly in your insular group of English-speakers?

(The eternal day is kind of awesome- had a little of it in Scotland, the sun was only properly down for about 4-5 hours in July. I sure wouldn't want to live in Iceland in WINTER though!)
erries: (Default)

[personal profile] erries 2009-06-30 02:13 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm so fascinated by this! I have lots of questions!

1. How do you pronounce Sauðárkrókur? I don't even know what the letter "ð" is or would sound like.

2. What language do they speak in Iceland? Did you learn any of it? Do most of them speak English also?

3. What's the temperature like? You said it was summer, but you also said the air was near freezing when you went swimming.

4. Daylight all the time! This is not a question, just an exclamation. That would be SO WEIRD, especially when you're also dealing with jetlag.

5. What's the food like?

6. What are your classmates like? Your roommates? Are they near your age, or younger, or all different ages, or what? Is the whole group from UMass? You haven't said much about the people you're with.

Sorry, I'm just curious! I love living vicariously through people traveling overseas. :D