DESTINATION ICELAND

Iceland is one of those places which was never on my bucket list of countries to see.  Not even remotely. I am just not enamored with...... well, ice and cold and anything resembling either.  Our Mission President goes once every 6 weeks, at least, because after all, it is part of The Danish Copenhagen Mission and we have 2 couples and 8 elders serving there.  Iceland Elders are actually called to serve in Iceland, learn Icelandic at the MTC, and even stay there an extra 2 weeks  because the language is so difficult.  We have recently had to send a couple of elders to Iceland on temporary emergency transfers and the Danish elders line up to go.  Beats me.  And, with the Icelandic soccer team being so popular in the Olympics, and good advertising and marketing, Iceland has become THE VACATION DESTINATION.  Did you know that they have free layovers for up to 4 days with Icelandic Air?    So hop off the plane in Reykjavik, stay a few days, and hop back on and finish your trip.   Everyone here asks, "Have you been?" or "When are are you going?"  Pressure.

So, armed with brochures, travel guides, maps and information from the Brookes and Anissa (took advantage of the lay-over in May), we decided to take the plunge and bought tickets for July.  My thinking was that Icelandic weather in the dead of summer can't be too bad?  Surely?  How cold can it be in July?  Can I just say that it was a good thing I took a coat........... and an umbrella.

Iceland is not very close, considering.  It is a 5- hour flight through two time zones.  But, other than the cold, rainy weather, I was quite pleasantly surprised.  Things are different there.  For starters, Reykjavik is not an old European city like Copenhagen.  It is a newer, sprawling town, with houses of startling colors and surprisingly flat-topped roofs, lined up on sloping streets.  The sharp smell of the sea saturates the air.  The Shephards, a record-preservation couple from Springville, UT picked us up at the airport and squired us around the city. Nice people.

City of Reykjavik as seen from the tower of the Cathedral shown below.

Hallsgrimskirkja 

The Reykjavik Cathedral (Hallsgrimskirkja Church), the main landmark in the city, sits atop one of the small hills within the city and can be seen from almost anywhere. It is massive and was inspired by the fascinating shapes and patterns formed when lava cools into blocks of basalt rock.  Inside is a humongous pipe organ and outside a statue of Leifur Eirikkson.  It is believed that Eirikkson discovered America 500 years before Columbus. We stayed in a cute little inn, just 100 yards from this beautiful building.

You can't beat Iceland for bizarre and fascinating landscapes.  The place is literally lava rock, spongy moss, waterfalls and glaciers with hot thermal vents thrown in for good measure.  Geothermal fields dot the landscape with miles of white pipe zig-zagging across the landscape and along the highways into the cities.  Houses in Iceland are heated by pumping this hot water directly from the geothermal fields to your radiator.  The water is so hot, that cold water has to be added and then, residents keep windows open in the winter so the heat doesn't suffocate them.  Of course, hot water from the tap is REALLY hot and has a faint sulfur smell. Thankfully, cold water is really cold and delicious.

Geothermal  steam vents

First picture shows  a huge steam vent.  These spout off everywhere.  The picture just above shows the hot water pipes zig-zagging across the hills.  This pattern keeps the pipes from breaking during earthquakes.  You can see the "spongy" moss -covered lava in the foreground.  Many areas are off-limits for walking because this moss takes a thousand years to form and one step ruins it.  BIG fines if you are caught traipsing around the moss.

Since we will probably never return to Iceland again, we took the plunge and did two tours.  The first was an 8-hour guided tour along the southern coast and was called The Golden Circle Tour. Massive tectonic plates from the east and west meet here amid huge waterfalls and rings of ragged rocks. (þingvellir National Park)  Everything was soooooo green.

The rocks jutting up beyond  the black sand shore are called The Three Sisters

The Golden Circle Tour

Our second tour was a bit more grueling.  Fourteen hours on a small bus.  Our very Scottish guide was superb -  entertaining, funny and supremely knowledgeable about all things Icelandic.  He knew everything from the peculiar gait of Icelandic horses to the stories and fables of the trolls who live in the hills.  He chatted for about 13 of the 14 hours.  We stopped at many places and trooped about, then climbed back in the bus, wet and dripping.   I swear, the humidity on that bus was over 100 percent.  Surely. We stopped for lunch and had lamb stew - a very popular food.  One highlight was the Jökulsarlon Glacier and bay where we got up close and personal in an amphibious boat.

Jökulsarlon Glacier and bay 

Because the ground is volcanic with a thin layer of soil you can't dig 6 feet down.  So the graves sit above gound with a light covering of soil.

The waterfall on the top right is the inspiration for the Cathedral in Reykjavik.  (The water fall is in Sveitarfelagið Hornafjöður.)  You can see how the basalt was formed into abrupt, shingled chunks of rock when the lava cooled.   The whole cathedral was constructed to mimic the rocks around the waterfall and the shape of the waterfall itself.  Both are stunning. I can see why tourists want to visit this most unusual country.

On Sunday , the Elders picked us up and took us to Selfoss, a small town with a tiny branch of the church outside Reykjavik.  We were the speakers for sacrament meeting and enjoyed meeting the Icelandic Saints in this small, cold corner of the world.  We even have 2 Elders in the north in Akureyri, located about 49 km from the Arctic Circle where they go for months in the winter without having the sun rise above the mountains.  The Akureyri Elders have had several baptisms this summer.  They are so excited with the work. The Elders who serve here absolutely love the people and the country. When they fly to Copenhagen for meetings, they cannot wait to return.  The love of the people and their homeland seems to be universal with missionaries in the church.  It is a simple truth.  You love those you serve.