It’s been a long day, and not just because the last time it was ‘night’ was on the 8th of July before we flew to Iceland. I had the alarm set for 3.08am so I could wake up and write a review of the Carlton-West Coast game. Turned out to be a very bad game, as near as I could tell on the radio feed, which doesn’t help make such a dumb idea seem any better.
After that, we did “The Golden Circle” – the Gullfoss waterfall, the Strökkur geysir and the Pingvellir national park. Strökkur is next to the original and eponymous geysir, which is pretty cool – though I never did find out what the correct pronunciation really is. Gullfoss is also a darn fine waterfall, and as the place on the planet where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates pull apart and leave a Rift Valley, Pingvellir is quite an awesome place to contemplate. However. Having seen the rest of Iceland (Ísland), it’s quite apparent that the Golden a Circle is only so-called because it is within a day-trip of Reykjavik. By comparison to the rest of the country, it is really pretty uninspiring. If you ever aspire to coming here (and you should), don’t allow less than 10 days and whatever you do, get out to the south and east coast regions at the very very least.
Also, try the food. Most of it is excellent. Turn the part of your brain that can do maths totally to sleep mode, and just order what sounds tasty and enjoy the fact that it is. Having tried reindeer, horse, goose and whale so far, today I did order the tasting plate. It had some good things, but it also had wind-dried fish and fermented shark. The wind dried fish was no better or worse than eating bark. Dry, mostly flavourless and pretty tough, I guess it would keep you alive in a pinch and is the piscine equivalent to jerky. The fermented shark comes served in a sealed jar. That’s a reasonable sign of what is to come, and everyone in the restaurant could instantly tell the moment anyone else opened a jar. It’s not pleasant at all, but it’s not disgusting either. It’s a very strong and long taste, one that keeps brewing in your mouth well after you’ve swallowed it, in kind of the same way blue cheese does. I wouldn’t seek it out again, but given a choice between fermented shark and blue cheese, I would choose the shark.
Which brings us to the end of Iceland. Tomorrow we fly, via Öslo, to London. If the food is as good there, I will be surprised. The scenery certainly won’t be. For a last hurrah tonight (and for the small matter of our 17th wedding anniversary), we went to a fancy restaurant and had a fantastic time. We’ve been lucky enough to have anniversaries in some pretty nice places, but Reykjavik for the 17th will likely stand up to most comparisons.
Have we seen and understood Iceland? Possibly. The country is a little odd, in that it has a lot of history from 1,000 years ago, but then there was a long break and it only started developing as a modern country in 1944 when US and British soldiers came here in WW2. That leaves kind of a gap in the historical and cultural record. We saw stunning scenery, landscapes that are just not part of the experience of living in an ancient place like Australia. Here, the landscape is evolving and being created, not worn down for rebirth. It’s a different paradigm, but an inspiring one. Justine feels like we missed the cultural interaction that a guided tour may have provided. I wonder if that level actually exists, or if it is just us imposing the norms of other places onto it.
The summer / light factor shouldn’t be underplayed. We have not seen night for 10 days, and that probably isn’t good for most people. For me, personally, it is a little bit of a siren song. My mother has done genealogical tracking that suggests we are of Viking descent, and while I’m not massively attracted to that lifestyle, I do fit easily into this sort of daily cycle. I’m possibly less interested in the dark season, but these incessantly light months I can do with ease.
But, like sands though the hour glass, must all things be replaced by what is to follow. We’ve packed our bags, gathered our possessions, set our goals and charged our devices. Tomorrow, it is one of the legendary cities of the modern world that awaits us. London. I have recommendations for places that do good toast, and there are probably other things worth seeing from what I have herd.
Also, from what I have heard from the herd.
I’ll let you know.
Everything in one place 