Iceland. Indescribable.

Hi Everyone,

So I have had a awesome 2 weeks going firstly Iceland then back to Copenhagen and now in Istanbul to start a 2 month travel fest. So last weekend I had an amazing time in probably one of the most unbelievable places I've ever visited, Iceland. To be honest after hiking in Austria I was a little concerned that nothing could top what I saw but I have to Iceland did. It was incredible. So firstly getting in early to Keflavík Airport my mate, Mundi, picked us up from the airport and we just casually drove around to the Blue Lagoon. Just driving from the airport to the Blue Lagoon was amazing. It was like driving around on the surface of the moon as there was volcanic rocks as far as the eye could see with moss growing on them which if distrubed takes 100 years to regrow. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa with bathing and swimming area averaging 40 °C. Also the minerals and sulpate in the water is suppose to be really good for skin diseases, so I now have amazing skin. Also I have to say the abolsute best thing to do to when you get off a plane is to go to a natural spa and then hit the sauna. Incredible feeling.

The Blue Lagoon

So from spa we checked out the city of Reykjavík. One of the funniest things I found out about the city is that in the recent elections the 'best party' won and the new major of Reykjavík is an Icelandic comedian. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/26/world/europe/26iceland.html?_r=2&scp=7&sq=iceland&st=cse) - I would have linked his election video but I'm in Turkey at the moment and youtube is blocked here even on my iphone. Talk about internet censorship (Can I say that?? I was only kidding Turkish censors. I love Turkey and their internet filter.)

The city of Reykjavík

So in the city centre we went to see the luthern church called Hallgrímskirkja which is an incredible structure. Then we went to check out the Einar Jonsson Museum which includes indoor and outdoor exhibitions, dedicated to the works of Iceland’s first modern sculptor, Einar Jonsson (1874-1954). After this it was off to Reykjavík art museum where there was some very weird art but also quite cool. Finally it was to the National Museum of Iceland (Þjóðminjasafn Íslands) for a bit of history and culture. Such as the Icelanic flag the red is to represent the fire produced by the island's volcanoes, white recalls the ice and snow that covers Iceland, and blue for the Atlantic Ocean.

Me dress as a viking

The next day we started on the Golden Circle which is a circle of famous Icelanic tourist spots. First stop was Þingvellir which is the site of the first Icelandic Parliament. This was actually the first parliment to ever be estalished in the world. It was quite an imposing place to have a parliment with these huge cliffs on either side almost like you are walking through a crack in the earth. Also there were these actual cracks in the earth which were filled with completely clear water and so you can see to the bottom some of which went down to depths of over 100m. (The cracks had different names but the most famous ones were Nikulásargjá and Peningagjá which is littered with coins at its bottom). The most amazing thing about these cracks were they were just surrounded by this small hills and medows but went down to incredible depths and are popular spots for diving and some have underwater caves.

Around the Þingvellir

We then just had a pretty relaxed afternoon headed to the swimming pool which essentially is going to the spa and sanuna. And of course all the hot water in Iceland comes from the natural hot springs. Then we headed out into the city at night (It wasn't actually night as it never get dark there during the summer. Freaking awesome) to check out the skinke action.

The next day we went back to complete the golden circle tour. On the way though we just dropped in the geothermal power station. I found out that Iceland powers all of its electricity via geothermal and hydro power. Also they are starting a pilot electric car program there so soon they could be completely energy self sefficent. Australia why the hell can't we do this. By the way the power station was awesome.

To complete the golden circle we went to see the Geysers in the Haukadalur valley. Acutally the word comes from the Icelandic Geyser from this valley called, Geysir. This was an amazing site to have these natural jet-like eruptions happen every 10 mins almost like clock work.

A Geyser just before it exploded

Finally to finish the cirlce we visited the Gullfoss (Golden Falls) which is a waterfall located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland. I think in this posted I've used the same words over again to describe what I saw but really it is indiscribable just how beutiful and diverse and incredible, amazing, awesome Iceland is.

The Gullfoss (Golden Falls)

I just wanted to thank Mundi so much for driving and showing me around also to Sunna as well. It was awesome to see you guys and I have to say Iceland is one of the best and most amazing places I've ever visited. Truly surreal.

So I'm now in Istanbul which as a kid promised I would go back to as it is one of my favourite cities. Actually it was quite interesting I was thinking about it the other day but Istanbul was the first city outside Australia that I ever visited. Not that much has change still one of the most beutiful and unique cities in the world. Probably the only thing that is different is I'm staying with my Turkish friend Alperen which has been awesome. I had no idea you can bargin for anything here include your meal. Pretty much everything is up for negoication the only problem is you have to be able to speak turkish to get the discounts. I'm more and more getting the impression that the tourist subsides the cost for the turks. Like water for example can cost double for tourists!

Anyways I think I might leave my Turkish experience for another post and just finish by saying I've having an great time enjoying the summer time in Europe.

Take care
Jono