For the past several months as Chris and I have been planning our trip to Iceland, people would often ask us, "Why Iceland?" Honestly, I wasn't sure myself. I knew it would be different than the other trips we have taken together but I didn't know how to properly answer the question.
Now that I've been to Iceland I know.
Here's why we went to Iceland:
 |
| This is a restored barn built on original foundation. |
VIKINGS! The Vikings settled here in 874 AD. I have always thought of them as raiding brutes but apparently they were really just farmers that wanted some land. Sheep and horses descending from the animals the vikings brought with them still roam the land. In fact, the little horses that roam the countryside are a breed of their own. They are not found anywhere else in the world and have not been cross-bred with any other kind of horse.
This ship is a hand-made replica of a viking ship. In 2000 the owner/builder sailed the same route Leifur Eriksson took when he discovered Newfundland.
This church was right outside our hotel window in Reyjkavik. It reminds me of the basalt columns we saw all over Iceland. The statue is Leiffur Eriksson.
We were able to go to the tower and look down over the city.
Our church has a building in Reyjkavik too. We went to church on Sunday. The branch was happy to have us there. There were two sets of elders and a couple. The missionaries took care of the music, passed the sacrament, gave a talk and prayer, and interpreted so all the visitors who spoke English could listen.
 |
| This is Golfoss, the Niagara Falls of Iceland |
WATERFALLS! Everywhere we looked we could see waterfalls. Natural springs bring life to the island. The water filters through the volcanic rock and makes it clean and sweet. I have never seen such clear, clean water. It tastes good too! Several times I dipped my water bottle or hand into a stream for a refreshing drink.
GLACIERS! I was a little worried for my safety when they started handing out crampons for our feet and passing around helmets and pickaxes. It was fun hiking this glacier and looking down into the deep crevasses made by the melting water. The surface is black from the dirt that is blown down from the mountains but you can see a beautiful blue shining up from the layers of frozen ice below. This was an experience I will never forget.
HISTORY! This was one of my favorite places we visited. It's called Thingvellir. The clan chiefs met here every year for the "Althing". They met to discuss matters that pertained to the island, their culture and their well-being. If there were any disputes they would be resolved here, peacefully. The chiefs or councilors would travel from all over the island and set up tents for the convention. It was difficult to capture how beautiful this place is. There is a crystal-clear lake, a waterfall and a green valley. Behind Chris you can see the basalt-column wall. I think it's about a mile long but it's quite impressive. The Althing was eventually moved to Reyjkavik and evolved into their modern-day Parliament.
BLACK SAND! This beach is on the southern-most part of Iceland. It's very cold and rainy and very near an active volcano. Because of the volcanic activity there are some very interesting scenes and a beach with black sand. Now, who wouldn't want to see that?
VOLCANOS! This is Eyjafjallajokull or the E-15 that went off in 2010 and cause over 100,000 cancelled flights in Europe because of all the ash that drifted across the ocean. This poor little farm is right at the base of it. Somehow these people managed to recover from this natural disaster. They have a flourishing, beautiful farm.
GEYSERS! This is one of the most active geysers in Iceland. It goes off every few minutes. It's really fun to sit next to it and speculate when it will go off again.
 |
| Geysir |
 |
| Little Geysir-hot water boiling out of the ground |
BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS! This is Alaskan Lupin. It's not native to Iceland but they brought it over from Alaska to help with erosion. It is everywhere and it is beautiful. Several years ago the Lupin in Alaska became diseased and scientists came to Iceland to get seed to replenish their fields in Alaska.
This is just a sampling of the things we saw and did while were in this beautiful place. We saw seals and birds and horses. We soaked in natural hot springs. We ate fish and horse and whale (well, Chris ate the whale, I didn't). We met many wonderful and interesting people. It was a trip of a lifetime and I literally felt like I was on top of the world (I kind of was!) and THAT is WHY we went to Iceland.
