Searching for Inspiration in Iceland - Part 1
Sometimes you need a change of scenery to help bring out the inspiration from your pallet. A long awaited journey to Iceland with my partner Jeff made for the adventure of a lifetime. Sit back, relax and let the story unfold for you. If you are considering international travel to help rejuvenate your creativity (among other things!) let this be your guide!
Day 1 - Lost and Found in Thingveller
*Harpa Welcome Center
After a long flight to Keflavik airport taking the midnight red eye from Cleveland straight to Iceland we were ready and raring to get on the road and explore. There was a four hour time difference, so when we had arrived it was already the afternoon and we didn't want to miss a beat.
The first obstacle was trying o figure out their foreign currency. Unlike US dollars they do not add decimal points 100kr = 1.00 USD (roughly). Things were quite expensive, what you would normally pay in the states are about double out there, so make sure that you save enough money for the duration for the trip. For a week trip including airfare we saved about $4,000 USD and that was about enough to do everything we wanted and needed; a camper truck (you'd want a high clearance vehicle so you can really get around on Iceland's roads!) food, gas, souvenirs, museum visits and one excursion.
After we arrived at the airport we picked up our camper truck and realized it was a stick shift. It took a minute to get the hang of but by the end of the trip Jeff was a major pro at driving the truck. We picked up some food and coffee and off we went to explore! First stop - Reykjavik, Iceland's major city.
From the airport to Reykjavik it is about a forty-five minute drive. Once we got there the weather was quite windy and cold. We bundled up, found parking and were greeted by a large glass building named Harpa - which we found to be the city's welcome center! The glass windows were in a hexagonal shape that replicated Raynisfjara's basalt sea stacks (more on that later). We had to snag some free wifi from Harpa to find out information from the information center and of course got lost a few times as we tried to find the art museum.
The art in Iceland is very centered around the landscape, as one would imagine. The walls were covered in photographs of Iceland's barren land in large format black and white photographs. In another part of the museum were some contemporary art with one wall covered in black lava stones and the other with crystal clear glass - probably in representation of Iceland's famous sayings "The Land of Fire and Ice".
*Reykjavik Art Musem
After the art museum we began to travel to find the park Thingveller to check out the scenery and hopefully find camping nearby. We had to rely solely on maps at that point and the maps were not detailed enough in the major park systems and everything was written in their language which was hard to remember street names and even driving signs like the speed limit were hard to decipher at first but as we travelled we learned along the way. On our way to the park we spotted a huge and beautiful rainbow! Which we later found out that Iceland is scattered with rainbows because of the climate, more on that later.
*Rainbows near Keflavik
We were lost, Thingveller was not signed properly, we were tired and just wanted to find our home stay. It's amazing how a country with one major road can get you lost! Finally after trial and error, asking for directions and searching for the camping signal we finally found a campground in the heart of Thingveller in the highlands. We were so tired and weary from our travels, we set up camp and laid our heads on the pillow.
*Our camper truck in Thingveller Highland Campground
Our camper lay high in the mountains, surrounded by other camper cars and trucks as the wind howled something fierce from the cold bite of the mountain air. It was late about midnight their time that we woke up in a freeze - that is when we realized we had no heat and the camper was also not supplied with blankets. We heard some noise from other campers rustling outside and decided to take a took. There, over the peak of the mountains in far reaches were illuminated by the green glow of the Northern Lights! We laid on the picnic table in awe of the dancing lights going in and out above the mountain peaks and to our surprise two shooting stars streaked across the sky, and we took that moment to make a wish - but I won't tell!
Eventually the lights dimmed in the north sky and we went back to the cold camper and huddled in the shivering cold to stay warm until the morning sunrise when we would embark on our journey to Iceland's famous Ring Road.
In my next blog post I will be writing about Icelands most majestic major natural attractions; geysers, waterfalls and also hanging out with locals in Selfoss. Stay tuned for Part 2.