A Rainy Week.

This week has been wet and cold.  I think I have seen the sun once, which should not be so difficult coming from Michigan, but it has definitely dampened the mood.  Don't get me wrong, I would still prefer to be in this beautiful country without the sun than Michigan at this time of the year without sun... 36 degrees (here) compared to 10 degrees (there)...not a difficult choice.  That being said, my third week in Iceland has come to an end! Man is the time going by fast.  The more exploring I do here the quicker it seems to go.  After traveling around the Golden Circle last weekend it was very difficult to concentrate on school work again during the week.  We have made somewhat of a deal here; one weekend we travel, the next we hang around Reykjavik, for the sake of all our bank accounts.  Not only was it difficult focusing on school again, but it was difficult knowing that the upcoming weekend would not be spent outside of the city.  This does push us to be more creative within walking distance, however.  In my Icelandic Nature and Culture Legacy class on Monday, we were taken on a PowerPoint tour of almost every city in Iceland (by city I mean a gathering of two or more houses).  Most other cities contained around 100-300 people, not exactly how I think of a "city" or even a town.  In Volcanology we continue to learn about magma and rocks and stuff.  Obviously I was not cut out for science.  As I mentioned before, in Marketing Plans we are to partner with an Icelandic business to create a marketing plan for them (the name of the class says it all).  A girl in my group told us that she lives with a family who owns a pizza place here in Iceland and we could work with them for the class. We meet with the owner of this pizza place and lo and behold we are working with Pizza Hut!  It is very interesting to be working with an American based restaurant in a different country that has different standards and a different culture.  Every time we leave a meeting for Marketing Plans I am extremely hungry. Throughout the rest of the week I, once again, walked around the city exploring places I have not already. I honestly believe Reykjavik contains more restaurants/cafes per square kilometer than Chicago.  It is like torture walking down the main road, Laugavegur, when you are hungry.  I have to consciously remind myself over and over to not stop by every window, staring at the plates being served.  The food here is of much higher quality than the States, even in the smallest cafes a sandwich is turned into a gourmet meal.  Not to mention it is all SO delicious! I have not tried a single thing here that I have not liked, besides the rotten shark.  Friday night we ventured out near the Harbor to try the famous Icelandic fish and chips.  Our French housemate told us that he thought they were the best in the world, though I cannot speak to how many places in the world he has had fish and chips.  They were amazing though.  The batter around the fish is made from spelt and barley, making it not only healthier, but lighter and very crispy.  The chips are oven roasted potatoes and the sauce is made from skyr, technically and Icelandic cheese though eaten like yogurt, mixed with your choice of herbs and flavors. From there, a few of us went to an American style bar where my housemate Laura and I split a mouthwatering milkshake :)  Saturday we journeyed to the flee market to purchase our weekly fill of fresh fish, so tasty! Later that night, Laura and I went for a pleasant night walk in hopes of reaching Perlan, a beautiful building on top of a hill, with a wonderful view of the city. To make a long story short, we somehow ended up in the woods, in the pouring rain, trying to hike up what she claims to be a glacier (or really, a small yet steep hill of sheer ice).  We were a pathetic sight to say the least, made even more so when we finally reached the building in our state, to meet the concierge at the coat check waiting to take our coats. He was very kind to us though, not even acknowledging the fact that we were desperately out of place.  Never a dull adventure here!  I did not get out much with my camera this week (all photos are from my phone), but here is what I did capture...

Harpa, the beautiful music hall down by the harbor.  Those are all windows you see. 

A few of the main streets. 

The street I live on :)

Old, yet beautiful houses.

One of my favorite spots in the city. 

This cafe has wonderful chocolate chip cookies :) 

The kids, they are just too cute. 

A lot of the trees here are decorated from ground up in lights, it's wonderful. 

Sierra found a friend.  

Sierra and Laura enjoying a delicious meal! 

Enjoying our milkshake! 

Sierra and Katharina made some good bread.

And... our adventure... "No, don't worry, we won't get lost". 

Would have been a pretty view...if it wasn't foggy, rainy, and dark. 

Cheers! 

Week Number Two

My first full week of school.  I can't complain, at the moment I have one class a day, though Volcanology has proved to require much more brain activity than one would think.  Who would know you can spend an entire week learning about bubble formation? In my Marketing Plans class we are required to partner with an Icelandic business in order to form a working marketing plan for them.  This could potentially be what I am doing for the rest of my life, therefore I am trying to pay attention as best I can.  I am very excited, however, for my Icelandic Nature and Culture Legacy class.  We will be going on numerous trips to different parts of Iceland to experience the "nature and culture".  I promise, I am working hard and learning lots.  On Monday I ventured to a wonderful new coffee shop called Reykjavik Roasters.  They make one tasty cappuccino and have a lovely atmosphere to top it off.  The rest of the week went by in somewhat of a blur; class, starting homework, spending quality time doing this and that with the housemates.  Today is the main reason this post is being written.  We went on an adventure! Between the eight of us, we rented a car for the day and set out to explore a little of the country outside the city on a path called the Golden Circle.  The three main events were the geysers Geysir and Strokkur, the waterfall Gullfoss, and the national park Þingvellir.  Going the opposite way most tour books suggest, we started with the geysers.  The air was heavy with sulfur, creating a smell of rotten eggs throughout the area.  I have never seen a geyser before this trip and I now think I have seen enough for a lifetime.  They are interesting, don't get me wrong, but for about a minute.  From there we drove to one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen.  Gullfoss is breathtaking.  Half of the falls were frozen solid, making the sight that much more majestic.  I believe we would have stayed for hours if it wasn't for our hands turning blue from the cold.  As the sun began to set we started off towards the national park. We stopped once within the park to see a portion of the continental plates that are dividing.  This entertained some of the group more than others.  Finally, we headed home to surprise one of our housemates, Janina, with Icelandic pizza and a birthday cake, as it was her 24th birthday today! I'd say it has been another successful week :)

A few from the week...

First stop: Geyser Strokkur

Found some colorful Icelandic horses

Also stopped a few times along the way...

Our adventure bus. 

Laura! 

 The beautiful falls

What a blessing it is to be here :) 

One Week Down

I have officially been here just over a week.  Lesson learned: If the wind catches you off guard, you will be blown over... may or may not have happened to me.  This week consisted of a lot more exploring, a few fun adventures and a few failed adventures. On one of my solo trips I was able to take the lift to the top of the tallest church in Iceland, Hallgrimskirkja.  Not only is it the tallest in Iceland, but it was built on the tallest hill in Reykjavik... imagine the view.  From there I explored the harbor and along the sea side.  I will never be able get enough of the mountains visible from Reykjavik.  The rest of the week consisted of figuring out schedules, finally receiving my Kennitala, or my Icelandic identification number, and failing to see the Northern Lights :(  Saturday was quite exciting though! We made our way down to the harbor, once again, and found the Icelandic Flea Market! Think of anything, they had it.  The market was in an enormous garage type building, chock-full of Icelanders selling their goods.  Oh the wool sweaters I could have bought.  Side note, I have to admit, I exchanged my sweater for a phenomenal wool blanket.  I will leave all my clothes here in order to take this blanket home if it comes to that.  The market also sold fresh fish upon fresh fish.  A deliciously here in Iceland happens to be rotten shark.  Yup, you read right, rotten shark.  Of course, seven foreigners in a fish market would be on the prowl for this peculiar dish.  The first man I asked about it replied "Of course we have it, now you must try it".  Is it so obvious I am not Icelandic? Push came to shove, and I am proud to say I have now tried rotten shark.  It tastes exactly like it sounds it would, rotten.  Today we were supposed to go on a hike up Esjan Mountain, though the weather, as it tends to do in Iceland, changed very quickly and the trip was canceled.  This weekend has been the first bad weather we've seen since arrival.  Instead of the hike we went to a wonderful cafe type place called Bergsson with most of our house.  Eat instead of hike, sounds about right.  After being in this magnificent country a week I am finally starting to figure it out.  The money conversion is not half as confusing as it was when I arrived, and bad weather means bad weather.  I have not met many Icelandic people yet, though the ones I have met have been polite and helpful.  A hint of homesickness has crept in realizing the true extent of four an a half months, though I am not ready to jump on a plane back home just yet!

Went all the way to see...

One of those is my house! 

Down by the harbor. 

This girl was having the time of her life :)

Ducks, geese, swans, you name it. 

Icelandic masks?

 

Before the rotten shark...

And after. 

New friends :)

Last but not least, my delicious breakfast!! 

Enjoy!