First stop on the trip is Reykjavik, Iceland. It’s pronounced rek-je-vik, but I was going with ray-jav-ick for a good month. Say it with enough confidence and people wonder if they’ve been pronouncing it wrong.

When booking a flight to Oslo, they had a two-hour layover in Reykjavik, and I thought, why not make it a two-day layover.

With only 300,000 people, Iceland is one of the most educated countries in the world. It also used to be one of the wealthiest until the economic crisis and the country Bernie Madoff-ed everyone. Wikipedia declares, “Iceland’s banking collapse is the largest suffered by any country in economic history.” Not to make light of an awful situation, but doesn’t it sound like the entire country should be on sale? Like a giant outlet of a country? As in, “Yes, I would like to purchase your parliament building for $25.” But the plus side IS a weaker Iceland Krona and a government really encouraging tourism.

Visit Iceland also taught me that, “Team handball is a sport which is popular on continental Europe, but has yet to catch on in America. It is the team sport in which Iceland has achieved the most success, including a fourth place finish at the LA Olympics in 1984.” Well done Iceland. Also? When I ran junior varsity cross country in high school, I once had a 356th place finish. And now we are equally impressed with each others sports cred. Which is to say not at all.

The Infamous Northern Lights in Iceland. That I didn't see. But they sure look nice.

One of the most exciting aspects to me was that I would get to see the Northern Lights in Iceland. Yet one blog had the foresight to warn me, “Okay, listen. We’re really, really sorry, but we have to tell you something. The northern lights are not really on all the time.” So I was hoping to do a tour with Reykjavik Excursions the first night but the chances of seeing them were slim, so the tour was canceled. While walking around Reykjavik the first night, I saw something glowing in the sky that I was hoping would to be the lights. But nope, that was just Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace tower. First she ruined the Beatles, and now she ruined the Northern Lights for me. Thanks Yoko.

Geysir (photo courtesy of the Geysir Center)

Day two took me on the Golden Circle tour with what I’ve affectionately dubbed the fanny pack brigade. This pretty much all-day tour takes you to one of their geo thermal plants, the Gulfoss waterfall, Geysir, Thingvellir National Park (home of one of the first European parliaments and you also get to see the Great Atlantic Rift. For all of you not paying attention to Mr. Smiley in Field Geology, apparently it is a crack between two tectonic plates – the American plate and the Euro-Asian plate.) You can see my pics on Tumblr.

Back to the fanny pack brigade. I have a long history of listening to my music so loudly you can hear what I’m listening to from far away. At one point during the tour, a motherly type turns to me and loudly says, “Ahhh….Paula Abdul.”

Busted.

Now, I am NOT a Paula Abdul fan. I just really love the violin intermission in “Rush, Rush.” But as she danced around singing lyrics, “Straight Up Now Tell Me,” I felt marked. I was a Paula Abdul loving American in inappropriate footwear, and even amongst the fanny pack brigade, there is a place of shame for that person. If only she overheard the next song, “Get Buck in Here” by DJ Felli Fel, I could have retained an ounce of dignity. Life is a cold-hearted snake.

Photo Courtesty of Blue Lagoon

The second night seemed unlikely to field the Northern Lights as well, so I opted for a swim in one of their geothermal pools – the Blue Lagoon. Swimming in these pools are very important to the people living in the country. Four percent of the energy from their geothermal power plants goes to swimming pools, and two percent goes to industry. (Guess who paid attention during the Geothermal plant tour? This blogger!) I like your priorities, Iceland.  Despite it being freezing outside, the pools have these warm currents running through them. It’s like how the pool gets warm in spots when someone pees in the pool, but it’s actually just mother nature here. You also rub this silica mud all over yourself that is supposedly great for your skin. I suspect I’m headed for break out city tomorrow.

How can you not love a country that casually claims that the Icelandic national food is the hot dog? And a delicious one at that. Hot dog stands are all over the city, and are tasty and cheap.

The people of Iceland are uber-friendly. As I sat there staring at my giant blue map with my giant backpack, a universal synonym for either “mug me and take my money” or “can you offer me directions,” the people of Iceland chose the latter. Also, the first time I looked at a geo thermal pool website, I figured they were models and only a couple of people would look that gorgeous. But as I woke up in a pool of my own drool as we were landing, I realized that the people of Iceland are that beautiful. And are probably not impressed with drooly Americans.

Next Stop: Oslo, Norway. Any suggestions?

The beautiful people of Iceland. Who probably don't wake up in their own drool on airplane rides. Photo courtesy of Laugar.