ICELAND: Day 1

The following occured on Thursday, August 9th, 2012.

My last two travel adventures yielded NO written documentation of the journey and I have come to regret it.  I try not to regret things because you can’t change the past.  This time I’ve decided to stick to writing everyday, not matter how late it is or how many alcoholic beverages I’ve consumed.

I arrived at 6:20am local time, 2:20am to my jet lagged body. It was strange; not only did I have to go through security at Pearson International I had to go through it again at Keflavik Airport in Iceland.  Rules have changed since 9/11: any flight coming in from the States must be screened again. 

Straight away, the drive from the airport is GORGEOUS.  The lava fields are covered with low lying grasses and mosses and lavender-coloured flowers.  I keep forgetting I’m just below the Arctic Circle.  The roads are jet black.  They get their colour from the volcanic rock.  I’ve seen the red, iron-oxidized roads of Prince Edward Island and now the black roads of Iceland.  I was fighting back tears as my 19-year-old dream of going to Iceland was coming to fruition right before my eyes.  It was raining a lot and more was on the way…

I arrived at my “hotel”, Welcome Apartments.  I’ve spent the last two vacations in hostels and I’m done.  Hostels make me hostile.  I feel too old for that now.  I enjoy comfort and quiet so I may fully enjoy the reasons for travel – to take in the sights.  Welcome Apartments are for travels wanting more of just those two things: comfort and quiet.  I rented a bachelor apartment with my own bathroom and kitchenette.  Having a fridge and a sink and a hot plate will make eating breakfast easier and more economical.  The bathroom was quite peculiar:

 The entire bathroom is like one, giant shower.

My not-so-blackout blackout blinds.

During the summer months Iceland had nearly 24-hours of daylight.

Blackout blinds are a necessity to get much-needed sleep!

 My plan was to stay up and beat the jet lag but, alas, slumber won the game, but not before exploring a little and picking up some necessities at a place called Bonus, a local grocer.  I found myself at a place called Te + Kaffi (yes, you guessed it: Tea + Coffee) and had a bite to eat.  It was 9:00am but my body was very confused.  I spoke to a French gentlemen during my time there and it turns out he is also a high school teacher of history and geography.  We steered our conversation to nerdy geography things – half the reason we both found ourselves in Iceland!

After that, I strolled along Laugavegur (the main shopping and entertainment street in town) and walked into a record shop called Smekkleysa.  I told the sales clerk I wanted to hear anything Icelandic.  I left with a CD by Seabear.  I have yet to listen to it properly but I’m sure I will love it.  I really love music and shape my travels around it.  I went to Ireland because of all those years of listening to U2 and yearning to see the places where the music I love was created.  I think art and geography have a strong connection even though people often exclaim what a strange combination of teachables I have: dance and geography.  To me, it makes sense.

I proceeded to my accommodation and fell into a 4-hour sleep (which explains why I’m up at 3:15am local time, writing this).  Upon awaking, I went to the Backpackers Hostel on the main road to inquire about good places to eat.  The clerk directed me to Vegamot, a hip and happening place to eat in Reykjavik, on a street called Vegamotastigur.  It was very busy so I took that as a sign of its credibility.  My choice restaurant in Toronto is constantly busy and is a favourite among Torontonians.  I ordered a delicious hamburger with potato skins, complete with a cucumber and dill sauce.  I saved my skins for late night eats, post pub.

After dinner I popped into a bookstore and a young woman called Ylva said she recognized me from Vegamot (she was also having dinner there at the same time).  We struck up a conversation and realized one of her friends might very well know one of my good friends.  Both Ylva and my friend studied at the same acting school – Guildford School of Acting in the UK.  Such a small world!  We are now following each other on Twitter and are planning to meet up for a drink during my time here.  I make friends wherever I go! It is definitely one of my finest traits.  J

I went on to meet a woman named Inga I met on Twitter.  She owns a travel business called Tiny Iceland and hosts visitors to Iceland.  She brought some American travelers (Jamie and Tommy) and we all enjoyed a night out at Lebowski Bar and Den Danske Kro (Danish pub).  I tried Gull, a local beer, and let me tell you:  SO GOOD.  Delicious beer.  I am convinced it is due to the amazing water in Iceland.  The tap water is the best water I’ve ever tasted, tap or bottled.  It might be the best water in the world.  Google it! Another interesting fact about Iceland: beer was banned from 1915 to 1989!  You wouldn't know it by the nightllife!  Reykjavik is known for its nightlife; people party until all hours of the night, especially on Fridays and Saturdays.

 Jamie and Tommy from Oregon!

At Den Danske Kro, a two-man band was playing.  Apparently, this band is quite well-known in Iceland and they usually play bigger venues – I was a treat to see them in a small pub.  The one dude’s name is MagniÁsgeirsson and he is a bit of a local celebrity.  He and his band mate played a Leonard Cohen song and I freaked out (because he’s Canadian, not because I love Cohen.  Yes, it’s true.  I don’t LOVE Leonard Cohen, ok??  Get over it). I went up and requested anything else Canadian.  They played Neil Young’s Heart of Gold and it made me smile from ear to ear.  They also played Mr. Big’s To Be With You and when they did the whole bar sang at the top of their voices (little known fact about Iceland: Icelanders LOVE this song.  Like, madly.  I heard it every night out at the bar and each time every single person would sing it.  It was confusing and awesome).  And lastly, one of the other songs they played was Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song.  Before they sang it, Magni said, “Here’s our song!”  One of favourite bands of all time, Led Zeppelin, came to Iceland in the ‘70s and wrote Immigrant Song – a tune written in the perspective of the Vikings sailing from Norway and discovering Iceland.  The Viking TRULY discovered Iceland – no one was there when they arrived!  It’s not like when misinformed people say Columbus “discovered” America or when John Cabot “discovered” Newfoundland, Canada.  No, they didn’t.  People were already there.

It was a fantastic first day in Iceland.  I cannot wait to see what more will happen.

Time for sleep now.  It’s 3:30am and the sun is starting to rise. It was dusk at 11:00pm.   Fantastic.  Tomorrow: I’m off the Geysir, Gulfoss, and Thingvellir!  Stay tuned for Iceland Day 2!

Thank you for reading, lovelies. 

Sincerely,

Roopa

All photography by Roopa Cheema

ICELAND: A prologue

Let me take you back on a journey to 1993…

I was thirteen years old.  I was in the 8^th grade.  Grunge was in full swing (only two short years had gone by since the releases of Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger, Nirvana’s Nevermind, and of course Pearl Jam’s iconic album, Ten). I was on the cusp of entering high school with only one year left in elementary school.  My thoughts were likely dominated by what I was going to wear to grad (even though it was months away), if the boy I liked would ask me to grad (even though it was months away), and what high school was going to be like (even though it was months away).  That’s the mind of a teenager!

 

This is a picture of me in the 8th grade.

You can see the evidence of Grunge.

And weird stuffed animals. 

 Also, back in ’93, we had this strange and wonderful thing called MuchMusic.  Yes, I know it still exists today but it is definitely not the same from my childhood and adolescence.  For all you super young folk out there, MuchMusic used to play music videos.  Like, all the time.  That was its purpose!  With the advent of YouTube in 2005, MuchMusic turned into a weird channel for strange teen-based reality shows.  I remember waiting for hours for my favourite video so I could bask in its awesomeness for the 3-5 minutes.  There was a real joy in it because of the waiting.  We don’t have to wait for anything anymore; you can watch the same video on YouTube seventy-eight times in a row.

And then, there it was: Bjork’s video for Big Time Sensuality.  Bjork had released other songs and videos before this one but it was THIS video (and how it made me feel) that would be burned in my memory to this day.  I was…Enchanted.  That is the perfect word to describe it.  Bjork was, and still is, enchanting.  I wanted to know everything about her!  Who is she??  Where is she from??  How did she get her hair like that?? I spent many hours trying to get my hair like hers in that video.  Here, let me refresh your memory:

And that’s the moment my obsession with Bjork and Iceland began.  I started reading books and encyclopaedias about Iceland (this was before the Internet, my friends).  I would wait for hours (while doing homework and chores, etc) just to push the record button on my VCR for whichever amazing video of hers would air.  I couldn’t get enough.  That was when my dream of going to Iceland was born – in 1993, nineteen years ago.  Another dream came true in 1998 when I saw Bjork live at The Warehouse (currently The Koolhaus).  I still cannot believe I saw her on the Homogenic tour.  Homogenic is actually my favourite album of all time.

Iceland is tucked away in its own little world in the North Atlantic Ocean.  Getting there was not easy nor was it financially achievable for a very long time…Not until their economy collapsed in 2008 and Iceland Air started to fly out of Toronto at very reasonable rates.  I remember seeing ads in the subway and having heart palpitations.  The dream was slowly becoming possible!  I was set to go the summer of 2010 but certain events in my personal life prevented me from going.  I’m actually very happy I didn’t go then – the whole experience would have been tainted by the bad memories of that time, and what I would later learn about that time period as well.  It wasn’t the right time for me to go and my intuition guided me to stay.

In August of 2012, my dream of nineteen years came true.  I could cry right now just thinking about it.  Sometimes I wonder if it even happened; if I only dreamt it as I had done for so long.  Well, I know for sure it happened because I have 1000 pictures to prove it!  And, for the first time, I kept a daily journal of my travels to share with you!  On previous journeys I have attempted to write daily but failed miserably, and as a result my memories have faded significantly.  I couldn’t let that happen to my dream.  This time I succeeded and I’m excited to share it with you and to relive my trip all over again!

Might I add how sad I am to be only writing about Iceland at this moment as one of the coolest music festivals is currently in session?  IcelandAirwaves is happening right now!  I'll be speaking much more about the indie music in Iceland in later posts.  I wish I were there.  But I always wish I am...

Stay tuned as I post Iceland: Day One!

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Roopa

P.S.  Perhaps this will prompt you to go!