The First Day in Reykjavik

So, after waking up from the massive travel day, we had breakfast at the Sunna Guesthouse, and Bed and Breakfast type of place that we stayed in for the duration of our time in Iceland. We had a quick meeting with presentations on the city of Reykjavik and some basic Icelandic phrases, and then we headed out on the town to get oriented. We went to the Hallgrimskirkja, the largest and most well known church in Iceland. Out front of the church is a statue of Leif Eriksson, given to Iceland by the United States. We took pictures with the statue, and then went into the church. The state religion of Iceland is Lutheran, and it was pretty clear while in the church. The nave was very tall, it probably could have fit two or maybe 3 of my home churches inside, height wise. It was also very long, probably about the length of a football field, maybe even a little longer. But the church itself was very simple. Very pretty, but very simply. The building was made out of concrete, and they walls were not decorated. However, behind the altar, there were windows that allowed the light to shine into the church. Quite a sight. The organ was very beautiful as well, not as decorated as the organ at PLU, but beautiful in its own right. We weren't able to see the outside of the tower, as it was under construction, but we payed a small fee to go up to the top and got a great view of the city of Reykjavik. The city itself reminds me a lot of Anchorage. It is surrounded by mountains and water, and the city is spread out quite a bit. The weather is pretty similar, but it is a much wetter cold, similar to Washington.

We left the church and went down the main shopping street in Reykjavik. We needed to get going to our first class oriented destination, so we quickly stopped in a small grocery store to grab a few things, and I had an interesting conversation with the clerk. As I was checking out, the clerk, who had found out that we were American, asked me "Where are you from, my friend?" I said that I was from Alaska, to which he responded "Ah, are there still Indians there?" I said that were were, and that my sister was actually an adopted Alaskan Native. He asked "Do you see the Indians often?" to which I responded, yeah, more or less. He then ended the conversation by saying "Will you bring the blessings of the Icelanders to the Indians of Alaska?" I said yes, and thanked him for his friendly conversation. I thought that the conversation was a little odd and out of place, but interesting nonetheless. I later found out that because the immigrant population does not always know Icelandic, most people actually speak English in the grocery stores, not Icelandic.

We then walked to the National Museum, where the main exhibit seeks to tell the 1200 year history of Iceland in two floors. There were many amazingly awesome artifacts, but our tour guide hustled us through the exhibit rather quickly, which took away from the fact that we were looking at ancient viking swords, 1000 year old Christian artifacts, or the portable toilet built for the Danish kings visit many years before. But the exhibit was interesting and well done, and I enjoyed going to the interactive area and feeling the weight of the chain mail shirt, wearing a viking helmet while holding a sword and shield. 

After that, we had a little more free time to look around and get a bite to eat, and then it was off to the Blue Lagoon! Iceland is known for it's natural hot springs, but the algae and some other components of this particular hot spring make it special (www.bluelagoon.com). The lagoon itself is about 30-45 minutes outside of Reykjavik by bus, so I had a nice nap. The Blue Lagoon area is really neat. You walk in on a path surrounded by lava rock. Then you realize that there is an entire resort complex for the lagoon. They have these really neat bracelets that allow you entrance to the lagoon itself, but they also unlock your locker so you can store clothes and such. The lagoon itself is a milky blue color, and the entire group had fun swimming around and doing as the Icelanders do. It was an action packed first day, and I was ready to go to bed by the time it was over!