Bryndis (pronounced somewhat like "Pren-tees") at Hotel Keilir had treated us so well, that I thought we were being pampered and babied a bit. She literally took care of our every need, such as meals, taxis to the airport, etc. Here is a link to her hotel
If you are ever in Keflavik, this is the only place you should stay!
Max even wanted to go back there to have her help us with finding accommodations from Thursday to Sunday. But I thought it would be fun to hitchhike to Reykjavik since I had never really hitched a ride before, and didn't want to pay $14 each for the bus. Five minutes after holding a sign, we got a ride from a gentleman who works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ivar. He was a young guy and filled us in on life in Iceland during our 40 km ride to Reykjavik.
We first learned of the municipal elections that had taken place 10 days prior, and literally, the Best Party won. The government in Iceland has been corrupt for decades and the economy had deteriorated so much, that people wanted to vote for anyone else, other than those who had been in office. The man who won was a comedian. Max told Ivar, "in bad times, people just want to laugh." This is just like Stephan Colbert winning the South Carolina primary.
We also talked about environmental issues, such as the whaling industry. Most fish stocks have been depleted, but the local populations of whales are maintained. Everyone wants to whale, but they don't want to eat the whales. Whales are actually quite a lean meat, but Max told Ivar, "McWhale! We could start a whale burger joint. All we would have to do is mix the meat with the blubber!" The three quintessential ingredients in fine French cooking is, butter, butter, and butter. Fat makes everything taste better, a fatty whale burger would be just the thing.
After arriving in Reykjavik, we stayed at a hostel which was a communal room, but we had it to
ourselves the whole night. Lucky us! So much luck! For a whole day, we explored the capital city of Islande, and even hoofed it all the way from the hostel to downtown, then up to the Pearl, an old geothermal plant that had been renovated into a hilltop viewing point for the entire beautiful area all the way from Keflavik to Reykjavik and beyond. Max was surely going to kill me for walking with our 30lb packs so far, if the pack didn’t kill me first. Luckily, we found a stashing place in some trees and brush.
Once up on the viewing platform, I thought I saw the Keilir mountain, and asked a man if he was Icelandic, and whether that was the Keilir mountain. Way in the distance, it was indeed, Mount Keilir, or cone. It looks just like a cone. I then made the mistake of asking him if he was from Reykjavik, and he was not, proving Ivar’s point, that the surrounding municipalities have much pride in their own towns. He said, “some say, ‘the greater area of Reykjavik,’ but I say, ‘the greater area of Hafnarfjörđur.’” The Pearl, more formerly known as Perlan, has one of the most beautiful vantage points I have ever seen. It doesn’t rival too many others. A tourist trap, yes, but one worth trekking to. There is Keilir on the right.
By this point, we were starving and asked the local where we could get some great local food. He suggested a few fish restaurants which we should have done, but the bus station was closer and they had sheep’s head there. We walked there and found out that this was the same exact place David, the American we met at the Blue Lagoon, had bravely swallowed a sheep’s eye. Of course this is tourist food, but we had to try it anyways.
We still didn’t have a place to stay that night, so we checked our messages, and there was a message from another American guy, Santiago, who was living with three other Icelandic guys. He had been there for only a few days, and they told him they didn’t know what to do with this extra room they had. So, Santiago suggested craigslist. So we were their guinea pigs. It ended up being great fun to stay with them for two nights. Only 5,000 ISK! We all went out for drinks and it was awesome getting to know them.
They were born on the island of Vestmannaeyjar, and started a band three years ago, Depublic. Again, the fishing industry came up, as it did with Ivar. We were told that even if Iceland hunted twice as many mink and skirt whales per year as now, (150/year currently), they could still be within ecological balance in 30 years. Cod is Iceland's largest export, 60% of their economy.
Iceland falls on two converging plates and are literally being pulled to the USA one way, and Europe, the other. This is why they have active volcanoes and such intense geothermal activity. When you turn on the hot water here, it is instantly hot, and smells just like sulphur. It sure makes for a short shower! Iceland is both literally and figuratively being pulled to USA and Europe. While we were out, they spoke in English most of the time, which is an incredibly beautiful language. But there were a few uncomfortable moments for Max and I. After a few minutes of Icelandic, Max, told two other girls in the bar, “I’m with this guy,” and a few moments later, “he speaks the truth.” The two girls looked like they were trying hard to stifle a laugh, so who knows if they were talking about us or not. However, it is great fun for them to make fun of a guy that leaves the room, and we were still there, so probably not, hehe.
There was a girl staying there, Valdi’s girlfriend, Elizabeth. We got talking since we were surrounded by way too much testosterone and she said that her parents live in the south of Iceland, and their farm was in much trouble after the volcano. She was going to be spending the summer to help them clean up the ash, and this was not a good time to be starting a new relationship long-distance but she would drive a long distance when missing someone. She asked about our situation, how long we would be traveling and she said, ah, it will all work out. She said, “þetta Reddast” which means it will all work out in the end. One way or another, things always work out. I didn’t think much of it until we had a talk with Valdi.
So a day later, they had a house meeting about rules with Santiago that turned into a raging party. Lucky us, we had an open invitation since we were staying there. And unlucky for you that I won't be posting the pictures from the party because they made me promise not to!
But the party didn't start until we had a nice conversation with Valdi. We learned that alcohol is expensively taxed, and has increased astronomically since their economic crisis a few years ago. It has gone from 10 to 15 to 25% taxed. So, a regular 1 liter bottle of cheap Irish whiskey was $90!!! If we had known better, we would have bought duty-free alcohol at the airport for $20, same bottle. Sales on alcohol has decreased by 30% because many people now just make illegal moonshine, it’s pretty much everywhere. There is a 20,000 kroner fine for making your own alcohol. According to Valdi, there had been so much upheaval in the recent years, that now they all just say, “fuck it,” or “þetta Reddast.” This has always been sort of my philosophy, but in this sense it seems almost sad to say it. Seems like a resignation, of sorts.
As we were about to leave, they asked Max and I, “so, since you are the first people who responded to our ad, what do you think of the place?” We stumbled for a minute and I replied, “it’s a fun place to stay, but don’t come here on your honeymoon.” They thought this was absolutely hysterical and seemed a bit concerned that it may indeed by our honeymoon. We assured them that it was not, but they may want to fix the exposed pipes in the shower that will burn you if you touch them.
Here is Max making friends with some very artistic graffiti in Reykjavik. Statues and now, graffiti, his best of abroad friends. Little did we know, that our next destination, Berlin is covered in it!
