Epic Camping Trip

Friday 10/6- We leave Reykjavik in the evening, pass through Selfoss and arrive at the campsite in Skaftafell late, like midnight.

Saturday 11/6- We take a short hike to the falls at Skaftafell, take some pictures, trespass a little bit (I started it because I wanted to get closer to the falls), the usual. Next we take a ride up the coast to the Glacial lagoon. We see some of the ice from the icebergs fall with a terrifying crash into the ocean lagoon. I definitely jumped and probably yelped. We even saw a few wild seals in the water. The icebergs (what you can see above the water anyway) were this really really blue color, and had ash on the top from the most recent Grimsvolt volcano eruption. We continued on to Skogar, where we would start the Fimmvörðuháls trek the next morning. On the way we made a stop at a mountain cliff that Orri knew had a secret trail up to the top. It was probably the most technical climb I've ever done, and I still think it was more challenging than the hike we were warned about, though it was a much shorter climb. At the top were some ruins of a farm, and we found engravings with someone's name and the date on the rock that looked like it was from 1890. At one point you had to leap over a 2 foot gap and cling to rock to not fall off the cliff. Icelanders (or maybe just Orri) are truly fearless, they will climb whatever, do what they want, not follow the very few signs that limit where you can walk and what you can and can't do. Live and do at your own risk. Dinner at the campsite, no bonfires, just a grill and 300ISK for a 3minute shower. At least the bathrooms were decent and there was a lot of counter space to prepare food.

Sunday 12/6- We eat breakfast, and then pack up for the hike of our lives. Up what seems like over a hundred stairs alongside a waterfall at the foot of the trail just beyond our campsite, and then (generally) gradual ascent to the peak, which still had snow on it. This trek is between two active volcanoes- Eyjafjallajökull the volcano that erupted two years ago and caused all the airport delays, and Katla, one of the biggest volcanos that has been overdue to erupt for over a hundred years. The trek itself was unlike anything I've ever done. The sense of scale is just incredible. You are literally alone in the wilderness, so vulnerable, so aware of your tired legs, your thirst, the heat from the sun on your back, the wind. The landscape is beautiful. The river follows the trail to the left, and has something like a dozen waterfalls along the way. Parts of the trail got pretty technical, there was some narrow paths with a cliff on one side if you didn't cling to the rocks on the other. I'm still surprised we all made it through relatively unscathed. I was definitely thankful that Orri met us at the cabin meeting point to guide us to the bottom into the national reserve of Þórsmörk. Climbing up, ever more up a glacier in a cloud was probably the low point... I just was ready to descend already, and to get out of the slushy snow. Once we cleared the fog we trekked on further to the volcano crater, from Eyjafjallajokull. Orri lit a cigar with the magma, and the boys in the group grilled hot dogs just by digging into the ground with a glacier pick. The smell of sulfur at the top of the lava mountain that formed after the eruption was overwhelming, and the colors of the earth even more shocking. Reds and yellows, porous, light-as-air black rock. It was actually warm to sit on, even as high up as we were. Steam spilled around the crater like weird smoke clouds. Just feet beneath our feet, the earth was a molten magma mess, churning and shifting, violently cooling towards the surface. It was totally an adrenaline rush to be trekking on top of this.

On the decent, a group of us chose to glissade down the mountain on a steep patch of snow, and take the "shortcut" to the campsite, instead of going the long way across the plateau. Turns out it wasn't so much a short cut, but it was an incredible view and incredibly difficult, amazing trail, across cliffs, around streams and mini waterfalls through a gigantic valley, on top of sheets of ice that inches below gave way to sizeable streams which flowed into the river. I even sunk through the ice at one point, fell a few feet but managed to get back up. By the end of the hike down into the town of our campsite, my palms were raw from clinging to rock and catching myself when I lost my footing crossing the steeper gravelly parts of the cliffs.

That night after our hobo dinners, we introduced Orri and some of his friends' kids to s'mores, which was super cute.

Monday, we forded like 7 streams and stopped at a waterfall that you could walk behind. We also stopped at a turf house museum, and the hydropower interactive museum, which was super high tech and really interesting. But maybe just not worth writing about in here. Not compared to the trek of my life!

A bit about the town of Reykjavik

The 24 hour daylight is something you get used to pretty fast. It is kind of great when you can take a picture at 3am and have it look like its noon. Colors here are amazing. The sky is always really light blue, but the pinks and yellows that the sun makes are just so vivid, and there are always at least wispy cirrus clouds in the sky to reflect color. Reykjavik has some of the most longest, most beautiful "sunsets" I've ever seen. I use quotes because the sun is never really all the way down in the summer. Generally, sun here is worshiped. On sunny warm days people sit outside and drink beer outside of restaurants not facing each other, but facing the sun. The hot ground water is responsible for nearly all of the power generated in Iceland. It is maybe the only place in the world where you can take a long hot shower and NOT feel guilty about it, since it is the country's single most abundant and renewable resource thanks to the active volcanos. Most things are more expensive than they are back home (makes sense, most things are imported), especially restaurants.

Some of my favorite places:

Smiðjan pizza- They serve these flavor infused oils with the pizza, so good. One is garlic, the other is tomato/chilli. Brick oven, the real deal. Try cream cheese and jalapenos- an icelandic favorite.

The Delicatessen with a green awning on Skólavörðstígur - It has a small restaurant in the basement with a catch of the day special on weekdays. It was the best cheapest meal I've had in Reykjavik, totally a local secret, I doubt they have a website. When I went, the special was catfish with a wild mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes. I debated licking my plate in public.

Kaffibarinn- There are no pictures allowed at this bar, free hor d'oeuvres on Wednesdays with specials on red wine. It is a chill place to work during the day (free wifi) and a happening bar scene after eleven on the weekends. Brenavin, the Icelandic liquorish schnapps are a must-try. 
Seabaron/Sægreiffin restaurant. Their lobster soup really is freaking fantastic and deserves its fame. 
Sjávargrillið restaurant. Brendan and I had our last real meal in Iceland here. Maybe that is what made part of this place so good, but I'd come there before and really loved the presentation, prices and flavors of everything I ordered. They bring out bread with butter in this lava rock bowl, and they had great fish specials, super fresh, seasoned well, always with some kind of delicious sauce or salsa or both. 

Wifi here is free at every corner, which is so nice. No more paying for internet cafes like in South America. I refuse to try the national dish- putrefied shark fin, though I did try some whale meat and have to admit that it was the best steak I've ever tasted. Somehow the thought of eating anything putrefied just activates my gag reflex. Skyr is Icelandic yogurt, really thick and full of protein, they make for good fruit smoothies/daquiries. My favorites Thai and Indian food is popular here and spices and cooking mixes are readily available at the Bonus supermarkets (their mascot is a pig, and their commercials are hysterical).

In general Iceland veers from the rest of Scandinavia in its density. It is slightly more car-centric and more similar in attitude to America than Sweden, Denmark and Finland. They have a lot of space, and have grown used to that luxury. So much so that a curator at the hydroelectric plant warned us that Icelanders may seem pushy at the bars, but it is only because they are used to having a lot of space to themselves, and do not adjust when the bars become full, and personal space dwindles. Though, they do seem to use the spaces they have in terms of business for the maximum amount of time. I wonder if this is a product of the economic collapse. Restaurants turn to bars and stay open, changing moods and crowds throughout the course of a day. Bookstores with cafes, Deli's with restaurants. Lots of mixed use spaces, but in a different way than what I'd usually associate with that term.

Ancient viking culture is an ever present tourist trap, but I find the symbols and myths really interesting. I'm tempted to buy jewelry with Viking significance, but can't seem to legitimize spending the money on it, especially when it feels a little like a gimmick. The harbor area has a lot of this historic influence, and even a real blacksmith. In general that are has a lot of stores that are also workshops. The hand-knitting association does the knitting in house, which is why the Icelandic wool sweaters are ~200 bucks a pop. They are THE icelandic thing, but I would never wear it, I hate itchy wool. And, I have a sweater that looks like one of them that I was made fun of for wearing in undergrad (thanks 1135) so, I will pass. There is another jeweler on Laugavegur (the main shopping street) that is really good, and also does work in the back of his shop. I would recommend him to anyone that wants some cool Icelandic designed jewlery- he even uses lava rock beads in some of his stuff: Eureka Art by Simon Sverrisson.

Esja, and Golden Circle deluxe

Climbing Mt. Esja was super fun. Most of it varied between windy gravel paths to steep dirt path with grass growing on either side of the trail. The best part is climbing the rocky top to the summit, I think it was just over 800 meters. The water is so clear and clean it is safe to drink, I refilled my water bottle near the top of the mountain. It is actually a complex of mountains, I'm not exactly sure what mountain within the Esja mountain range we climbed to the top of. I am definitely a little bit nervous about the Fimmvorduhals trek we are doing in the South which is more intense, but I think the adrenaline of being between two active volcanoes (Eyjafjallajokull and Katla) will help me keep up with the rest of the group. I'm so pumped.

On 6/2/2011 the Iceland Studio had the most epic day- EVER. We drove up to Thinvallin, walked the continental divide (where the north american tectonic plate meets another one), saw some amazing waterfalls, visited the place where the name geysir comes from there are a few geysers, one that goes off about every 5minutes spewing boiling hot water 20 feet in the air (did you know geysir is an icelandic word?). We stopped to go caving in this really great cave after a little excited persuasion from myself. Climbing through this icy cave where lava once flowed through melting some of the rock and causing others to crash down to the ground was the coolest thing I've done here this far. Maybe the coolest experience for something I've been looking forward to doing for so long. I've heard there are many more tunnel systems and caves to explore and that's all I want to do now! We ended the day by visiting a hot river thta you have to drive on a crazy gravel road for a while from the main road, and then hike for another hour to get to. There is this place where water from the mountain that is freezing cold meets the water from the ground which is boiling hot, and where they mix, people bathe in these natural springs. So fun. It was incredible. Hot springs are a must-do when in Iceland. Especially because bathing and swimming is the favorite pasttime for Icelanders. Reykjavik has many swimming halls, 3 of which we've visited.

Amazing amazing day. We saw and learned a lot, had a great time. I WENT CAVING.

Reykjavik Nightlife

Our introduction into the bar scene here in Reykjavik was a spot called Kaffibarinn. Bjork and members of Sigur ros are known frequenters, and cameras are prohibited. A woman at the bar somewhat gracefully slid out of her seat, and crawled towards the door before a guy she was with tried to help her up, to which she reacted in a sloppily belligerent sort of way. It was 11:30pm and most of the rest of the bar was sober. Partying here starts at midnight the earliest, and goes until bars close on the weekends, 6am. Icelanders are definitely loud and rowdy when they party, which is funny because normally they are pretty quiet and keep to themselves. It was a really good night out, lots of drinking, some dancing, many bars that even now it is hard to keep straight. From the bars we've been to so far we liked Kaffibarinn, Prikid, Bakkus. Olstofa has a special beer and a casual meet up with friends to chat happy hour atmosphere. Vegamot is more of a club, so is Oliver, but we haven't spent much time there. b5 is the big retail windowed dance club where all the college kids hang out (20-25). No covers anywhere makes it one of my favorite cities to go out in. Drinks are sort of expensive, but it's not outrageous.

Kaffibarinn does a promotion on Wednesday nights, where wine is 600ISK, and they have free bread, cheese, spreads and meats. I accidentally ate smoked horse, which was weird, not my favorite.

I'm proud that I've managed to stay out as long as I did, on the nights we've been out it is so bizarre stepping out of these dark bars into the daylight at 5 in the morning. Summers in Reykjavik are amazing. I'm usually pretty good at guessing the time, but the nearly 24 daylight here totally throws me off.

Copenhagen

We arrived at Danhostel in Copenhagen relieved to have a bathroom in our room, with real towels and lots of space. It was deceivingly nice compared to our trainhostel in Lund, but the hostel in Sweden and Finland were cleaner and nicer I think. It was kind of rainy for the first full day we were there, which put a little damper on things but Denmark is very interesting. It wasn't very obvious what was THE Danish thing like it was in Finland with the Aalto vases and marimekko textiles or Sweden with h&m, the craft painted red horses, mooses and funny viking hats.

We visited the Louisiana museum of modern art, which was a great building to see. The best part was the sculpture park in the back. Very interesting, Scandinavian architecture, lots of natural light, wood. They had a David Hackney exhibit "Drawing on Ipad" which was really interesting. It was digital art displayed on the same medium it was made, and there were videos of him working which was cool to see. The building had some nice overlooks into bigger galleries, and had a clear path to walk though and around. Overall a good museum design, especially with how well they integrated the outdoor spaces.

On the way back we visited a little neighborhood that was developed by one developer, and made to look like an old town. It had low rise 2-3 floor gable buildings, most of them shared walls to complete the block. Interior semi private courtyards, public central square, retail ground floor, it had all the elements of a good neighborhood, but it was strange to be such a direct replica of an old town, clearly influenced by places like old town Talin, Estonia. There weren't very many people out on the streets, but the neighborhood was also pretty small. It almost felt like a living museum.

Bankroft- Was the most interesting bar/restaurant in Copenhagen. It had doll heads as lamps over the tables. A lot of weird punky bizarre decor, and an interesting menu. Several of the dishes were super vague like Salad, or Pasta (let the chef's decide what's in it for you). Really fun.

Saturday night in Copenhagen the group managed to make it out, despite being tired from a full day of visiting places and walking a lot. We went to the meat-packing district to an Icelandic owned bar called Jolene's. We first inadvertantly crashed a teen-age theatre party, and saw the tail-end of a burlesque fashion/dance show. Weird. When we finally found Jolenes, it was PACKED to the brim with people, like literally no where to move. It was a good time, lots of attractive dressed up people, it was a good welcoming to the city, though getting there felt like walking through oversized stripmall parking lots. Not so welcoming.

Orri took us to Halifax burger, his favorite burger place in Copenhagen. It was REALLY good, probably the best meal most of us have had in a while. We went to this bar for Stern's birthday that was playing the most bizarre music ever. Lucky by Britney spears, some backstreet boys, and then some crazy pop Danish music that another group in the back was singing along to. No shame. We played Kings- the drinking card game and drank WAY too much beer. Laura and I danced to single ladies like fools, it was great.

So, the main beer here is Carlsberg, they have an awesome brewery right downtown. On the day we rented bikes and biked around the city we rode through the brewery campus. They put up these temporary public play places. They had like a jungle-jim of bars, a skate ramp and then these rusted metal platforms on giant springs that were kind of like trampolines. Really fun. They seem like a great company. Their slogan is "probably the best beer in the world" which I love. However, I prefer Tuborg when it comes to Danish beer (sorry). I'm sure Carlsberg has something I like, but not what they were serving at the bars. Going out here in general is almost prohibitively expensive. I think I paid something like $20 for a mojito. Yikes. There were places that had good deals on beer though, and one of them was the place we went to for Stern's birthday.

I think in general perhaps I expected too much from Copenhagen. The cute painted houses on the waterfront are really only down one street in the city. There was a lot of construction, which influenced my experience of the city too. The pedestrian boulevards are wonderfully crowded, so much so that now there are two north to south arteries which are pedestrian only. It was almost awkward to be a pedestrian at points though, because bike culture was so strong. I nearly made a bicyclist crash. Oops, clearly not from Copenhagen. Sweden was much more stream-lined and neat, even its "bad parts" were really nice. In comparison Copenhagen is messy and hectic.

Tivoli, the crown jewel of the city, is a 4 city block amusement park right in the heart of downtown. Totally made me want to go to Cedar Point, but this place was better, cuter. It didn't take half an hour to get to the next roller coaster, rides at Tivoli were practically intertwining. A peacock theatre, restaurants around the perimeter, shops and cafes, waffles and cotton candy...yum fun.

Lund and Malmo, Sweden

Lund

is the main University city in Sweden. It was described to us as the Harvard of Scandinavia. It was really quiet the night we got there, after our train was delayed. Apparently here, there are these community houses, sort of like the greek system in the states that throw all the parties. As a result the bar scene is not as active. We didn't have trouble finding a dance party at this little bar, though. There is this amazing song they played that got everyone moving, something by Soulwax. I have to find out which song it is. So good.

We got a little intro to the types of programs offered in the progressive natural science department. They had majors like water management, climate change, natural systems etc. All of these programs have become interdisciplinary, which I think is great. Isolated disciplines can only solve pieces of the problems we're faced with today, its when they are able to collaborate and work together when real solutions are discovered and implemented.

The campus is very nice, lots of brick, feels like it was made in the 1920s, lots of gable houses surrounding the campus. Cobblestone roads are the standard. Some of the University buildings were more high tech, clearly newer, with solar panels and glazing and advanced building technologies. Definitely a small town atmosphere.

Hana, who showed us around campus is majoring in sustainable transportation, which is super exciting based on my experience with SMART through the University of Michigan. She will be interning in Germany helping to organize a summit conference in Seoul on Sustainable transportation next year. Definitely a great contact and networking opportunity for both of us.

The train hostel was a cute idea, but terrible to live in. They charged for hot water. And when we asked for a break-down of the charges for the room, the guy behind the desk (presumably the manager?) told us to get lost. 40+ bucks to be stacked three people up in a 2 square meter cabin with no hot water is ridiculous. I don't care if it is a "musuem." I'm glad it was only for one night.

Malmo,

in contrast to Lund was much more of a complete city. It had a metro, an old part and a new part, waterfront developments similar to Stockholm's Hammarby area. The famous Scarpa building "Twisted Torso" is the pivotal piece for the sustainable mixed use and mixed developer housing waterfront redevelopment in Malmo. It is a pretty cool building, definitely the "attractor". The apartment buildings all feature the same kind of allegiance to the interior semi private but still publicly accessible courtyard. Each building is unique and sleek, contemporary designs south facing balconies. Some are of course better than others, but there is a lot of variations in size and style. Its eclectic, but it all feels like its part of a whole. Along the waterfront there is an amazing boardwalk, with wooden steps down to the water. This area has become highly sought after, and housing prices are much higher than normal. Still, housing in Scandinavia is not that expensive, so to live in a place like this people are willing to pay extra. The area felt less populated, though. It is still a work in progress. Hammarby felt more lived in, broken in, vibrant- even on the rainy day we visited. I prefer that kind of atmosphere, but the architecture of Malmo. There were signs of life in the Malmo waterfront redevelopment though. In front of the neighborhood development, there was a really cool skate park where skateboarders practiced their tricks and parents sat around chatting. It is always hard to determine what makes these public places successful, many times they can just as easily be abandoned and never used.

Even outside of the development, Malmo has a great downtown. I found Indian food for like the first time on the trip. Pizza and kebabs are the drunk food, cheap places to eat around Scandinavia. Why they are paired up, I'm not quite sure. Great shopping pedestrian streets, trees lining the middle of the paths, interesting varied facades, low rise, colors. Old buildings mixed with new ones. The subway stations here looked like something out of Star trek. Lights on the escalators, perforated metal panel ceiling with LEDs. Very cool. One of the coolest things was the terrazzo floor pattern. It was a bunch of different street signs arranged in circular designs, the scale is so small you really have to look to catch that detail. That's what I think in general is so great about the cities we're visiting. There is a unrelenting attention to detail, which architects can especially appreciate. I would have liked to spend more time here. But alas, after only an day in Malmo, on to Copenhagen we went.

Stockholm to Lund train debacle

Currently I am stopped in the middle of Swedish countryside, on a broken down train waiting for buses to show up to take us to the next train headed south. The apologetic staff is compensating disgruntled travellers with internet vouchers, free coffee and baked goods. I'm thankful for the internet voucher, it's the best and fastest connection I've had yet.

I really liked Stockholm, despite the bad weather. Though, there is a strange perfection about it, almost like it is too good to be true. The charming old town, helpful people and beautiful harbor. It is an easily navigable city, mostly low rise, and composed of many islands and the archipelago. Though, even in the eco friendly neighborhood development, there was trash collecting in the marshes of the docks, so it's not that perfect. Overall I am most impressed with the transportation system. Absolutely no need for a car, there are street cars, buses, subways, and one card can be used to ride all modes. Brilliant, really. The 7 day full pass cost about $45USD but it was well worth it.

Typical Swedish souvenirs are these wooden horses painted red and decorated sort of like Easter eggs. Viking hats, and moose/reindeer hats were also popular. Mummi cartoons were also at every tourist shop, which Gamla Stan (old town) is full of. It's this hippo looking animal and a little girl with a ponytail that sticks straight up kinda making her look like a samurai. She's usually scheming or grimacing about something. I cracked and decided to buy myself a leather jacket, since I left mine on the Spirit flight to New York. This one is way nicer, and more fitted, I like it a lot. I'll need it if it continues to stay cold and snowy in Iceland, like it was last week.

There were more glass goods from Iitala, the Finnish glass company that makes the famous Aalto design vase. I didn't get one, because they were overpriced and not really my style, no offense to Aalto- he is still pretty B.A. in my book, and all books for that matter.

The Woodlands cemetery, subject of one of Caroline Constant's books was as beautiful as the pictures we've seen in lectures suggest. There's swirly designs of a darker species of grass in the hilly landscape, the place feels more like a forest oasis, with tall, tall trees varying in density in some areas, other times they are perfectly aligned both on a diagonal and orthogonal axis as pedestrian paths weave through. There is a small summit, with stairs that lead to the top. They are supposed to get easier (less rise) as you go up, representing the grieving process and how it gets easier over time. The symbolic cross was added after the project, which has a few chapels strewn about and one central meeting canopy, none of it symbolic as cemeteries before it. Built in 1919-1920, it was a new kind of cemetery for its time. I still don't think I've ever been to one like it.

OOooO... they're now offering free food as we are 2 hours delayed and counting. More on Lund and Malmo (the southern Swedish cities we're visiting), later.