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| FAKE-LOOKING GORGEOUS |
A few months later, I've FINALLY consolidated all of my Iceland posts, photos, 360s, notes and the like to this one blog post. HALLELUJAH! I ask only that you let it move your bones…jolt your heart a bit, soak you in some.
Here is the slideshow to kick things off…seriously…seriously breathtaking country.
followed by some…
CULTURE NOTES: night 1,
*so Icelanders are way way cool...but in a very unintentional and effortless kinda way.
the city (reykjavik) looks like a walking commercial for outdoor sports w/tourists wearing North Face and locals decked out in wool, great scarves & corduroy pants.
*everything here is BACK BREAKING EXPENSIVE. truthfully puts Paris & NYC to shame in every way.
*a Penguin Classic paperback book is $37, a standard music cd w/8 songs is $25-30, a pack of mints $6, a simple english dictionary $30, the average sweater is between $150-250, basic keychain around $8, a grilled cheese $11, Levi's around $175. speaking of North Face, these outdoor stores' prices make North Face look like a Dollar General clearance sale...true story.
*literally 3 or 4x price on everything.
*my absolute FAVE unexpected part about Icelanders thus far is their love for trinkets and odd toys and figures. in almost every local store/cafe/hangout, there are little plastic people on shelves, tiny stuffed animals hiding all over, random collected bits from all around the world, just totally knick-knack but in an extreme/good way.
i'll have more photo evidence of this whence i get home! (tho i added one to this post) i.e. where I had lunch, there were at least 200 of these little gems tucked away in every corner, crook, crevice. sending before I delete...then part 2.
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| #truth |
CULTURE NOTES: night 1, part 2.
*I don't think I gave a fair breakdown of why Icelanders are cool to me. they're just so laid back and friendly. they smile constantly and it truly feels like everyone who lives here absolutely loves it.
*I don't think I gave a fair breakdown of why Icelanders are cool to me. they're just so laid back and friendly. they smile constantly and it truly feels like everyone who lives here absolutely loves it.
*lots of beards and girls with bright blonde hair...and these natives wear those wool sweaters well and almost all of them would fit in great at your local Whole Foods.
*they DEFINITELY have their own sheep herder kind of alt indie style and I respect it.
funny tho, it was 52 today and the half that weren't wearing sweaters were in tank tops and plain t-shirts.
*tons of other Europeans here but I'm definitely bumping into Americans. we're easy to spot when overseas I tell you. we seem so style-vanilla in contrast to many other countries...just very Gap-esque, but then again, maybe that's just who we are. or maybe they feel the same on their end...lol.
*it's easiest for me to tell what country/continent someone is from by their shoes, then hairstyle...and then cell phone model.
*Germans vs. French vs. Russian vs. Icelandic, etc. different rules apply in different regions of course.
*different fish on all their coins...made me grin.
*tomorrow i humpback whale watch and check out the real deal blue lagoon!
plenty of pics & bits to follow i assure you.
miss you all but YAHOO...this place is incredible.
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| random FB post. |
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| random FB post 2. |
*4 or 5 u-turns in the middle of Route 1
*15-20 random driveway stops and backouts
*half of all stops on opposite side of road (cause you can do that here)
*6-8 times pulled over w/half car in the road
*6-8 times stopped dead on route 1 in park cause I could see far enough back that no one was coming
*prob 400 shots out the window (stopped & moving)
*constant alternating between two cameras, stopped & while driving
*switching lenses 10-20 times on my Nikon while driving w/the knees...lol (shout to to my sis)
*also snagged 8 videos while on the move (sharing one tonight)
*6 pano shots which take multiple frames & stitching
*probably 100-200 strong brake pumps to see if there's a decent place to pull aside
*1 half-mile driveway back out
*2x had to stand on the hood for better POV
*2x had to turn around and re-read road sign because I was sucked up by the scenery
*4x 360 shots off roadside
*a few stops in random grass for animal pics
*iPod fell between the crease 3x (just bonus).
*oops just now realized iPod left under seat...gotta call rental office
*4-5 solid sheep swerves...they literally will stand on the road and watch you
*almost exactly $10 a gallon for gas
*$300 for rental car (would be around $30 in the States)
another reason why i wrote this is because I'm SO SERIOUSLY EXCITED for some of these photos (the iPhone ones are mostly just for fun) and I think when people tend to admire nice photographs, they maybe sometimes don't realize their backstory or what it took to snag them. so when you see my final Iceland shots - once I upload them all from the Nikon, keep these risky little bits in mind. snapping a full-size DSLR, arm hanging out the window while doing a u-turn on the country's main road...that's too funny not to appreciate to some extent.
next time (prob November) I do something similar, maybe I'll film myself with a GoPro for the whole comedic, nerve-shredding experience.
***wait til you see this photo I'm about to upload of what I drove into…
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| absolute stormy delight - free 45mph winds included. |
*icelandic farmers literally grow grass in the summer to harvest, then save to feed to their animals in the winter months.
*icelanders are more likely to believe in "hidden people" as opposed to elves and/or dwarves.
*i saw a church today for people who believe in both of these phenomena
*iceland is a relatively young nation, even in comparison to the U.S.
*the heritage of Iceland men is said to be 100% Norwegian, the women a mix of Norwegian, Dutch, Spanish, German and French
*the second largest "city" in all of Iceland is Akureyri w/a booming population of 17,000
*they have multiple Christmas stores open year round here
*if a "village" has more than one house, there will be a church
*we broke the shocks on our tour bus today...and then drove it another 4 hours...lol
*Icelanders have good taste in footwear
*traveling alone is not always ideal, but as you've seen...it can be worth biting the bullet & enjoying every second of it
*a plain deck of playing cards here is $9, a small bottle of water $3, a plain fridge magnet $10, most fashion magazines $12-$15, a 48 piece puzzle $35
*Europeans (esp the French) love to bust out a deck of cards anytime/anywhere. but no no...not Icelanders, #toocool
*there are a half million Puffins in Iceland and all 500,000 are awesome xFOREVER
*over a million sheep in Iceland - to 300,000 people...lol. could you imagine 1 BILLION cows in the U.S.?
*Icelanders say that before the financial collapse of 2008 that everything was twice as expensive. WHA?!?!? how?!?!
*Russians and eastern Europeans like to hitchhike
*they sell shredded flakes of whitefish in see thru bags here, a la pork rinds
*the Dutch LOVE the NBA
*there are almost zero trees on this entire island
*i got to see Mt. Eyjfjallajökull today (the rascal that erupted in 2010) but didn't get a good snapshot cause it was SO buried in clouds, fog & mist
*that isn't even one of the largest volcanoes in Iceland by a good bit
*if you're interested in Icelandic style, the store Geysir is PRETTY AMAZING, but also very €€€. definitely embodies their unique fashion sense tho
*Icelanders OBSESS over hotdogs and eat them everywhere. they are considered "the national food" and do contain lamb
*the Black Beach goes into my top 3 favorite, surrealistic & most beautiful locations I've ever been to in all my travels/life. I was speechless at first then actually got a bit anxious running around trying to take so many photos (250+ in 15 mins)
*there are waterfalls here like there are McDonalds in the U.S. the two big ones I saw today were considered "middle of the road" by Icelandic standards
*if no one is in the other lane, el bus driver is cruising middle of the road style
*Iceland has almost no resources besides the country's natural (geothermal) heat & wind
*German is HANDS DOWN the ugliest sounding language on planet earth...you can't talk me down on this one either. I'd rather produce Swahili Christmas rap albums until death before learning German
*they have Red Bull and Monster here but the big European energy drink is made by Coke & named "Burn"
*only seen 4 dogs since I've been here
*Icelandic tweens & teens dig some skateboarding
*i sat on a huge curvy "bench" today only to find out minutes later that it was a Fin whale's jawbone
*my tour today was 12 hours long and I'm smoked
*this is my last "CULTURE NOTES" so I hope you've enjoyed meeting the Icelanders!!!
I so sincerely look fwd to coming home and being able to sort thru the 1,600 some images in my Nikon & sharing 50 or so of the best of the best w/all of you. the pics should be much better than the ones I've been posting. poster-sized prints will be available if anyone is interested. ;)
& thanks everyone for tagging along! traveling solo ain't so bad when you have loved ones watching your back & a supportive girlfriend keeping abroad-smiles abundant. I hope you'll all join me in November w/ @brian white for Machu Picchu & the rest of Peru!
xx, SK
& HERE is the link to my 360 shots so you can pan and whimsically spin around in the selected environments I've captured with my now deceased & dissected iPhone 4S.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I loved Iceland. I seriously could not have ever imagined how breathtaking and strangely romantic it was. There really is something about the perfect blend of the people, the landscapes and the culture that makes Iceland feel like one of the most intimate places on earth. I would go there again in any instant…suggest it over any other country I've been to, and hope to take my bride there someday. It's just such a surreal, pure…almost not real kind of place. Every where you go in Iceland feels like an experience, like magic against your eyes.
Sooner than later, I'll have my Peru bits up…which will be an entirely different…much more adventurous, humorous, kind of…scary-ish, comedy vibe.
Best love…share the Iceland passion,
sk
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