In the cinematic classic D2: The Mighty Ducks, Coach Bombay helped children everywhere learn all about Iceland.
Coach Bombay: I thought Iceland was covered with ice?
María: No, it's very
green!
Coach Bombay: I
thought GREENLAND was green!
María: Greenland is
covered with ice, and Iceland is very nice!
Since The Mighty Ducks was my only baseline
for this misnamed arctic country, I had a lot to learn about elves, Bjork, and volcanoes
before taking off. Some tidbits I picked up:
Iceland is...
the newest geological land mass in the world
the only place where it's "Talk Like a Viking Day" EVERYDAY. (No serious, Icelandic is closer to Old Norse than any other modern language)
an army-free country
the first country to directly elect a female president
the first country to have an openly gay head of goverment in 2009
Icelandair promotes cheap and flights from DC, NY, and Boston as incentive for people to layover in Reyjavik en route to mainland Europe. It's much more accessible than you probably think; going to Iceland took half the time and was cheaper than my trip home to Calgary for Christmas. This country is nothing short of magical.
The Blue Lagoon
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| The water is so packed with minerals in this region that it looks turquoise |
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| Salty Icelandic mud masks...mmm |
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| Just because. |
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| Legend has it these waters are enchanted by mermaids |
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| We found Megan Fox in Iceland! |
Reykjavik
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| Hallgrimskirkja Church |
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| View of Reykjavik from the bell tower |
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| I'm convinced the houses are all so brightly colored to compensate for the 6 hours of daylight they get during the winter |
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| Oh my. Oh my. Yoko Ono (sabatoger of the Beatles and all things good) had this "Imagine Peace" tower built in honor of John Lennon. Each year, she comes out to light it on his birthday (October 9), and it shines a powerful geothermal light shaft for a few months until his death day (December 8). Thanks, Yoko. |
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| The tower is meant to look like a wishing well, and houses thousands of "wishes" from some of Ono's exhibits. |
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| It's always Christmas in Iceland! |
Gulfoss Falls
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| Through the sea of tourists, I spotted myself! |
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| No amount of chain-linked fences could keep us away from these falls! |
Vik
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| Iceland ROCKS. |
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| Black sand beaches - that blessed volcano that halted all Euro-flights in 2010 is not too far from here. |
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| Ice? |
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| Southern most point of Iceland |
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| Totally candid...totally |
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| Some of the footage from the movie Noah was taken here, but these three backsides are better than any movie set I know of |
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| Jensen saved Nate's life on more than one occasion |
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| Skipping rocks in the Atlantic |
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| We had a great view. |
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| Our brave men scaled this thing with ease. I spy 2 mountain men... |
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| Toodles, Iceland |
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