We knew Iceland was going to be dark for much of the time before coming. When we arrived at the hotel around 8a, we asked the concierge when the sun would come up. She guessed around 10:30a. It starts getting dark around 3:30p. But the thing is, it’s kind of hard to tell because it’s not ever really bright. At some point, you just have to figure it’s as light as it’s going to be.
I remember this from when I lived here but I think Neb had some difficulty adjusting. Our sleeping hours were completely irregular and unpredictable (well also because of New Years Eve and the Saturday night we decided to see what the famous nightlife scene was all about, which doesn’t even start until midnight or 1a). By the end, he started to lose it a bit.
Today we went for a swim and some hot tubbing at Laugardalslaug, the city’s largest pool facility and the one I went to as a kid. At the facility, Neb finally found some relief:
Misa and I went to the Blue Lagoon last Friday. The Blue Lagoon is interesting because it’s a warm, blueish-white pool that’s really just industrial waste. It’s runoff from a nearby geothermal plant (note the steam in the background of the above picture). The people that run the Blue Lagoon have found that the waste runoff is full of silica which seems to be good for the skin, especially for people with certain types of skin problems. So they built a big resort there, with a hotel, restaurant, spa, massage, etc etc. They even have a line of skin care products (which seems a bit like a scam to me, but that’s just my opinion.)
The more I considered it, I think the Blue Lagoon would be a great place to film a low budget slasher movie. You start out with a group of UK tourists (maybe with Kiera Knightly if you want to blow the budget on one person, and so the audience knows who will make it out alive) visiting from a boarding school for kids with absent rich parents. They’re visiting Iceland, driving out to the Blue Lagoon, but there’s something creepy about it all.
Then bad things start happening. First, the snow piles up and all the roads close. Then, the power is cut. And things go downhill quickly from there. The bad guy could even be an evil Icelandic elf or something.
Anyway, Misa and I filmed very short snippet of what this could be like.
We happened upon the weekly economic protests in Reykjavik. I tried to translate this sign but it was a little too poetic for the translator to make sense of. Something about continental drift.
We took it easy today, wandering around the city on foot to the house where I lived from 1985-1989. On the way there, we saw my old Icelandic school (where I remember Meg & I eventually started skipping in secret a lot), our old local swimming pool and the Reykjavik farm zoo which didn’t exist when I lived here but they had rabbits, so of course we had to go!
We’ve seen the hot dog stands everywhere which I remember from my youth as well, but I also remember the sauces as being the dominating issue and since I didn’t feel like eating lamb here (especially after seeing them at the farm zoo!), I’ve been getting them without the meat - which is on the menu, so it’s not that strange. The brown flakey looking stuff is dried onions; there is also fresh onions, ketchup, a mayo type of sauce and a really delicious mustardy sauce as well.
Check out this Daily Show coverage of Iceland’s contribution to the Iraq war effort. The hotel the Daily Show correspondent is staying in is the same as our hotel, the Radisson 1919.
Hey, we’re in Iceland. Hanging out with some birds. Enjoying the sunlight from 10:30am to 4pm. We’re still a little bit exhausted, so expect more coverage tomorrow. For now, rest.
