A Trip of Ice and Fire - Day 1 - The Island of Fire (Goal 9/17 Complete)

6/10/17, “The Island of Fire” (Goal 9/17 Complete)

Thingvellir, Iceland

Reader, if I told you there was land border between North America and Europe, would you believe me?  Or would you say that they are two entirely separately landmasses separated by a large ocean?  Well, that is true, but, in that ocean lies an island of fire, situated right where the North American and European tectonic plates meet.  I am now sitting on that border, at the Law Rock that served as the speaker’s platform for Iceland’s parliamentary assembly for nine centuries, from 730 to 1798.

Behind me is all of North America.  Behind me is Reykjavik, Greenland, Newfoundland, and the main continent of North America.  In front of me is Britain, Scandinavia, and the main continent of Europe.  I have arrived at the crossroads, and what better place to announce that I have now visited every country in North America, which allows me to say that I have completed 9 of my 17 Goals.

This is a peaceful place.  It embodies everything about The North that I so love.  I see fire and ice in front of me.  I see brimstone and glaciers.  I see rivers and streams and grass.  I feel the wind.  All the elements of nature have converged on this spot, just as the citizens of Iceland used to converge here when parliament was in session.  It is a place that people came to vote and new laws and settle their grievances.  People did not send their representatives, they came themselves.

The Althing was a thing of beauty, just as the land where it was held still is.  This is one of the two World Heritage Sites in Iceland, the other is the volcano of Surtsey, which I will visit tomorrow, but for now, as I recount the events of the past 17 hours, I will enjoy this vista of Thingvellir.

After I closed and published at the airport, I got my pretzel as promised, and it was soon time to board.  I then realized that I had made a bad mistake.  I was initially assigned seat 8B, and, thinking it was a middle seat, I asked to be switched.  I was given seat 17C (17 seems to be a common number today).  17C was an aisle seat, to be sure, but it was right next to the bathroom, but so 8B was also an aisle seat, since the plane had a 2-3-2 layout.  I had fucked myself over.

Fortunately, the bathroom door wasn’t working right, and no one used until I was sound asleep.  I didn’t sleep much.  I got one REM cycle and then woke up hungry.  They only did food for purchase, but there were a bunch of issues.  First, I couldn’t find the menu.  It turns out there wasn’t one in my seat pocket.  I called over the flight attendant, and she brought me one, only to walk away before I could order.  I called her back, but I had fallen asleep before she came over again.  I got another REM cycle before we landed.

When we got there, things only got more annoying.  It was a veritable maze to get through the airport to the exit, and the food places would only serve departing customers.  Seriously?!?  I was starting to get very hungry.  Border control was quick, and I was only asked one question, “How long are you staying?”  Catching her meaning, I answered, “Three days in Iceland.”  Catching mine, she asked, “Are you staying longer in Europe?”  Knowing this was a border control question and not a geography question, I told her I would be would going to Greenland for a week, as Greenland is considered part of the European common border.  That was it.

Further through the maze, I wound up at the duty-free shop, where I treated myself to ten overpriced cigars.  They cost double what they should have cost, but I was running low.

I grabbed a quick breakfast and then went to the car rental place, but, somehow I had requested my reservation to start at 10:30 AM and it was now 7:30 AM.  They did not have any cars ready, and I did not want to wait that long, though, in hindsight, things would have worked better if I caught a REM cycle there and got my car when it was ready. More on that later.  I went to a different company, and they had a sedan, which would do the trick.

The moment I stepped out of the airport, I knew I was in The North.  It looked, felt, and smelled like The North.  I could smell the brimstone of the island.  I got in my car and headed to my hotel.  There was a police checkpoint, where they asked more questions than they did at border control, but I was quickly on my way.

Once I was away from the airport, I got went to the trunk, grabbed a Partagas, and lit it up for my first cigar in Iceland.  It was a nice drive, and I enjoyed the views of fire and ice, of brimstone and glaciers.  I was soon at my hotel, and, fortunately, they had a room ready.  It just happened to be the worst room in the hotel.  Seriously.

It was tiny, had almost no view, and was right next to the breakfast room.  Worse, still, the sun was shining directly on the bed, making it almost impossible to sleep.  I just needed one REM cycle.  It was a little before 9 AM, and I hoped to be on the road no later than 11 AM, maybe noon if I had lunch before I left, since I still needed my first Official meal in Iceland so that I could claim my final country in North America.  Around 10 AM, I finally fell asleep, or was about to, when I had a reflux attack.  I wound up not getting to sleep until 11 AM, waking up around 12:30 PM, finally feeling rested.

I got dressed and headed out, finding a restaurant that served traditional Icelandic cuisine.  The fish stew seemed as good of a choice as any, and I paired it with a local beer.  It was delicious, and I made my pronouncement, “72,” signifying that Iceland was my 72^nd country, and adding, “But, more importantly, every country in North America visited.  Goal 9/17 Complete.”  I finished my meal and asked for a paper cup to use as an ashtray for the car.  When he gave it to me, I realized that it was a coffee cup, and I needed coffee, so I got a cup.  The coffee, like the fish stew, was outrageously overpriced, more than double what I would have expected to pay in NYC for a similar meal.

After lunch, I got on the road, and it seemed like the whole island was under construction, but I finished my Partagas in the car, and I was soon at Thingvellir.  At the VC, I asked one of the workers my questions.  To my delight, he confirmed what I have been saying all along, that I was currently in North America and that Europe was on the other side of the rift.  The Law Rock (Logberg) was right on the rift, and the walk took me right through the rift, with North America on one side and Europe on the other.  The Plaque was right out front, and I lit up a Trinidad for the WHS.

I was soon at the Law Rock, and I struggled to find a good spot for a ceremonial picture.  Eventually, I took one from the top of the bleachers.  That had a good view, and I was standing on top of the Law Rock.  After my cigar, I sat down there, there I lit up an Ardor and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I can head back to Reykjavik and see the modern parliament, which is conveniently located across from my hotel.  Oh, and souvenirs, of course, both here and in Reykjavik.

Reykjavik, Iceland

It is almost midnight, and the sun has not yet set.  The sun will set by the time I finish writing this entry, but it will only get dim, not dark.  The sun well rise again only three hours after it sets.  In fact, I will not see darkness until I get back to New York eight nights for now.  Until then, there will be no dawn, only seven nights of twilight and one night where I watch the midnight sun over the tundra.  This close to the summer solstice, this far north, no, these islands of fire and ice know not night.  That is one of my favorite parts about The North, these long summer nights.  The midnight sun is even more alluring to me than the Aurora.

The streets are still alive, with tourists and locals, the sun playing no part in sleep schedules.  I now that I will have no sleep schedule this trip.  I will sleep when I want and for how long I want.  I could catch a REM cycle three or four times a day and spend most of the night awake.  With no darkness, and no days of long drives with five stops, there is no need to consolidate all of my sleep at night.  That’s what I did today.  I caught two REM cycles already, and I suppose I will catch another the other two whenever I please.

These are more of the joys of The North to me.  I came here to see fire and ice, not see darkness.  There will be no darkness, and I am glad.  Antarctica I had a similarly structured sleep schedule, and I will be glad to repeat it.  What to do tonight?  Well, I have a lot that can be, or I can just sit in this plaza, staring at the Althing, the parliament building that allowed me to say that I had visited every national legislative assembly building in North America, all 23 of them.  It is a small city, with not much to do, and that means that I can do anything I want, or nothing at all, and that means everything.

After I closed at Thingvellir, I headed back to my car and got a few overpriced souvenirs, including a flag pin, just in case.  I lit up a Montecristo Open Eagle for the drive back to Reykjavik.  I couldn’t quite figure out how to get the area I parked outside the hotel in the morning, but I found a free lot a few blocks away.  I took my ceremonial picture outside of Althing, the modern parliament, dating from 1881, and I allowed myself to proud of the fact that I had now visited all 23 national legislative assembly buildings in North America.

I then went to the souvenir shop closest to Parliament, or what I had thought was a souvenir shop, leaving my cigar outside.  It was actually a bookstore with a souvenir section in the front.  I got a mug and put some keychains inside the mug.  I then asked about flag pins.  They didn’t know what I meant.  I pointed to my collar and said, “Like, lapel pins.”  They had them.  I got two more Icelandic flag pins and a Reykjavik crest.  All my small souvenirs were in my mug.  I then went to get a t-shirt, and I found one in 2XL.  I slung it over my shoulder and went to check out, my mug in hand.  Everything was overpriced, but the total seemed to be too low for all the overpriced souvenirs I had bought.

As I walked around the corner to my hotel, I felt something on my shoulder.  It was the t-shirt.  He never charged me for the t-shirt.  I wondered if I should go back and say something, but I never saw a receipt, though I knew the math added up too low to have included the t-shirt.  I retrieved my cigar and went back to the hotel, still wondering if I should feel guilty.  I did not.  Once I had walked out of the door and paid the amount of money requested, our transaction was deemed completed.

I finished my cigar and looked at some restaurant choices.  The top two places I was considering were both right by my hotel, one literally around the block, the other by my car.  The one that was rated higher seemed to be only seafood, and I wanted to make sure I had lamb tonight, but I decided I would check them both out.  I took a nap and headed out.  The first place was, in fact, just seafood, so it would have to wait for tomorrow.  I walked to the place with the more varied menu, a well-reviewed restaurant by the name of Matarkjallarinn Food Cellar.

On the way, I found the main souvenir street and stopped at a couple of shops, but the only thing new I found that I wanted was a replica of the Althing.  I was soon at the restaurant, and it had a four-course menu that included everything I wanted to try, but it was packed.  It was a little after 9:30 PM, and they told me they wouldn’t have a seat at the bar until 10 PM or a table until at least 10:30 PM.  I told them I would come back for the seat at the bar and asked them to hold a table if it opened up.  I went to my car to get my sweatshirt from the car.  By the time I got back, it wasn’t even 10 PM, but, somehow, a table had opened up for me.

What followed, reader, was quite possibly one of the top ten meals of my life.  To drink, I had two Viking red ales, but that wasn’t the best part.  The food was out of this world.  My first course was a goose and puffin medley, which was amazing.  Then came the smoked arctic char, which is even better.  After that, the main course, the lamb, and it was as good as lamb gets.  I was in heaven.  Then the skyr (yogurt) dessert, followed by coffee.  I loved every bite and every sip.

It was a little after 11 PM when I got outside, and it was as bright as day, the streets were still packed, and most of the restaurants were still open.  All the bars certainly were.  I took my time walking to the main plaza and sat down in view of the Althing.  As I was filling up my trusty Ardor, I saw someone taking an Official U in the bushes.  The openness with which he did so made me realize that that was a thing here.  He acknowledged me after he finished his business, and I smirked and said, “Always make it Official.”  I don’t think he understand me.  I then lit up my trusty Ardor and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I can publish and get on with the rest of my evening.