Fleas

I didn't have to work this morning until 10 instead of 8. Thomas said that because it was my first Friday in Reykjavik I needed to go out late and see the bar scene. So he told me to come in a little late. I didn't drink last night (I didn't want to spend the money) but I did go out!

Last night I walked (in the pouring rain) up to the City Hostel to hang out with Bo and Lisa. It took me about 45 minutes to get there (good Friday there were no buses running). We just hung out for a little bit and ordered pizza.

The sunset was beautiful. We didn't have the best view, but even still the colors were so nice. It was the first clear night since I arrived (unfortunately no Northern Lights).

The walk home was even nicer! (I didn't take any pictures though). The sunset above was around 10 pm. I walked home at 1130 and the sun was down but the horizon was a vibrant blue. The walk along the water is very beautiful!

I got in at about 1150, and surprisingly the French couple from the night before was still up playing cards with an American couple ( the French couple had to fly home this morning at 4). In Iceland, you can walk outside with open alcohol, and in our cafe you are allowed to as well. They had a 60 of Jack Daniels and they were playing cards, so I joined them for a little bit. When the French couple went to bed, the Americans and I walked downtown (at about 130am). Supposedly the Reykjavik weekend bar scene is crazy! People don't go out till about 1 am and the bars stay open till 5-7 am. I didn't drink because I didn't want to spend the money, but it was fun just walking around. The city really felt a lot bigger then it is! I met some cool people who want me to come to their show at a bar down the street within the next month. It was pretty cool.

This morning after work I walked down to the flea market. I got a few nice pictures of the harbour on the way:

Both of these pictures were taken about a 30 second walk away from my hostel.

The flea market is pretty awesome. Its about a minute away (as you can see I'm pretty central. Takes me about 3 minutes to get to the centre downtown square). I looked around for some sweaters. They were all so expensive! The most expensive I saw was 30,000 ISk (about 300$CND) and the cheapest was a used one at a second hand shop which was 9,000ISK (about 90$CND). So, for 14,400ISK....

TADA!

It was the first one I tried on and I loved it! I tried a darker one on but it wasn't as nice. The woman who sold it to me was really nice. She helped me try it on, and made sure it wasn't too small. It was expensive but worth it!

That is my day so far, but it is still early!

Horses, Vikings, Gull and Canadians!

Wednesday we had our staff party. The hostels treat their staff really well and we get some pretty amazing opportunities!! After work, we all met at the City Hostel (about 40 minutes on foot) to take a bus to the Hester Horse Farms out in the mountains in the Greater Reykjavik Area. I immediately made a friend on the bus named Klara. I heard some interesting things on this bus ride. Klara said my package of 5 gum looks like a spaceship, and I heard a girl explain how Iceland and Britney Spears are very very similar. Unfortunately she had some pretty strong points.

The view from the horse ranch was beautiful.

We let the first group ride to the meeting point and we met them there on bus. Unfortunately I couldn't bring my camera with me. The sun came out when we arrived and we met them in some ruins in a lava field. We were surrounded by mountains and a volcano. Everything was covered with moss and there were Icelandic horses all over. We sat and had some hot chocolate and rum (which was provided) then rode our horses back.

Once we arrived again at the Ranch they had Gull beer waiting for us and we had an unlimited supply!
We were even allowed to take it on the bus!

(Unfortunately not the best picture. We were pretty close)

It was funny because on the way to the ranch we were all in our seats talking quietly, then on the way back everyone was standing with beer, yelling and talking very loud. There were even a couple vikings on the bus!

We then arrived at a viking restaurant. The view was very nice. It was just on the other side of Reykjavik!.

When we got in, there was again an unlimited supply of Gull beer.

We were greeted warmly by Vikings who came in and sang a traditional Icelandic song

After the viking dinner, we ended up going to a bar downtown for some beer and some live music. It was a great first night out with the staff!!

Yesterday, I met some Canadians who were headed off to France to work at the Vimmy Ridge Program. Del is from Newfoundland and Andre is from Barrie and he goes to school in Waterloo. It was nice meeting someone from a local area! After work I hung out with them and a few other people who are here from France. It was cool because we all spoke french the entire night. It was a great way for me to practice!

After we ate some fries at the Laundromat cafe (there is actually a laundromat downstairs) we bought what we thought was normal beer (at an amazing price of 190ISK). It turned out to only be 2.5%, so we sat upstairs and played drinking games anyways.

It ended up being a great night!


Today is Earth Day and Good Friday. I didn't do much but I went for a walk around Tjornin

I also checked out the Canoe that faces the mountains (unfortunatly it was too cloudy to see the mountains) and I saw some pretty awesome graffiti. I think Im going to walk over to the city hostel to go swimming with some friends. Its about a 40 minute walk so we will see!

A Trip to the Pearl

I started working at the hostel today. I had to get up at 7 (with a little bit of jet lag it felt like 3 am) but they were nice and let me eat breakfast even though I was there just on time to start. From my room, the lobby is just down the hall which is perfect because the lobby is also a really nice cafe. I started working in the cafe by helping with breakfast and help make coffees. Once breakfast finished (10) I went helped with housekeeping until about 1. it wasn't too bad, but I much prefer the cafe.

I realized today that 'free hostel food' is mainly just breakfast food all day long. I will probably get tired of bagels, cheese, cucumbers and cold eggs but it worth saving money to rent a car to drive up to the west fjords (I will go into more detail about that when the time comes).

After eating lunch (aka second breakfast) I took off on another adventure into Reykjavik. This time I set off to find a woollen pullover. To my surprise, new ones cost about 300$ ( 29,000 ISK). I can buy them used in second hand stores but those are still about 9,000ISK (90$).

I continued down the highway to the big art museum, but decided not to see the art once I found out it was 1,000 ISK. Looking back on it I should have just done it. I then headed off for the Pearl.

(the Pearl)

Góðan dag Reykjavik!

Finally in Reykjavik!

The plane trip wasn't bad, and I could see the full moon through my window the entire night. We didn't get any food on the flight, but my first taste of Iceland was a bottle of Icelandic glacier water they handed out (some of the purest water left on the Earth). I am now at the hostel and I don't get my room until 2 so I won't be able to sleep for a while.

My first impression of Iceland was pretty interesting. At first when our plane began to land, it seemed as though we were approaching an area with quite a few houses. As we got closer to the ground, I realized they weren't houses and they were actually rocks! As I stepped off the plane and looked around, I realized the only building in sight was the airport terminal (which was pretty small).

The terminal itself was pretty empty. The only people in it were the ones who were on my flight. This made passing through the airport quick and easy and I found my luggage and boarded the bus to Reykjavik within 20 minutes.

The bus ride to Reykjavik was also very interesting. There were barely any buildings because the rocks were so jagged. They were covered in moss and it seemed as though they stretched out to the horizon until they met mountains in the distance. Halfway to Reykjavik, it started to snow and the moss was replaced with white patches.

At one point, I spotted a small green house in the distance that was abandoned and seemed as though it was sinking into the rocks. The one side had decayed and the front door faced the sky. It was beautifully placed in front of a mountain that dominated the landscape. I also saw a few hobbit houses that had doorways that entered into small rock hills.

Reykjavik itself is pretty strange. I went for a walk from the hostel, through the downtown center and up to the big church. The town is incredible, but there was barely anyone outside! It was 9am, but I had expected to see more people. Only a few shops were open and it seemed pretty abandoned.

I am sitting in the hostel's cafe, and it has big windows that look out onto the street.
Anyways, time for breakfast!

Airport....First Step to Iceland

I just left my family and am sitting in the airport. I saw the first two Icelanders I think I have ever seen! And theyre wearing woollen pullovers! ( I spotted them long before I got to the gate)
Its very quiet on this side of the airport (not many people are going to Iceland), but its nice and relaxing. The weather outside is very up and down so lets see if my plane flies!
All the best!