Can't believe how fast time is going. Last Thursday I was in NY and now I'm already in Iceland.
Stayed at the Q4 Hotel in Long Island City, just east of Manhattan and only 100m from the subway. While in NY I went to the Museum of Jewish Heritage after visiting the Holocaust Museum in DC and wanting to learn more about Jewish history. I rode the Staten Island ferry and took some quick snaps of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The NY coast guard patrols every ferry to and from the island so it was amusing watching a coast guards ride along side us with automatic rifles in hand. I made a visit to the Empire State Building, Ground Zero and Grand Central Station and spent half a day walking around the beautiful Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Even saw some of the flowers that I worked with at the farm like Larkspur, Sunflowers, Queen Anne's lace, Asclepius and Zinnias. The highlights of my stay were a) not getting lost or hopping on the wrong train once and b) seeing phantom of the opera for the bargain price of $27. I was completely moved by it, goosebumps and all.
I found New Yorkers to be pretty rude however all the fellow tourists I met were lovely. I had a good long chat with two 60odd ladies at McDonalds in Time Square while I wrote postcards. Both were on a tour visiting from Memphis for a few days. They weren't surprised when I tactfully mentioned that Memphis was the only place I visited in the US where I didn't feel safe - even after the Grizzlies vs Clippers NBA playoff game when there were lots of people about. Their friendly nature gave me a boost for the day but it was quickly snuffed out when a young black man proceeded to say 'Aww look at the little fat white girl sending her postcards' when I'd found a post box.
My next stop has been Iceland. If the flights weren't so cheap ($390 from New York to Reykjavik to London) I probably would have never made it here so I'm trying to enjoy the experience as much as I can, although I've been here 4 days and to be honest I have mixed feelings about my visit. It is a beautiful place but very expensive and the locals don't seem too welcoming despite tourism being the biggest contributor to their economy. There is 22 hrs of daylight which is a strange adjustment. In the winter there is only 4hours of daylight. I think that would make me super depressed!
The country's currency is the Icelandic Krona. $10 AUD is equivalent to about about 1200K. I've made a point of buying food and cooking it in the hostel kitchen but even that has been expensive. I didn't bother buying chicken or beef as these were about $20 for a small pack. I did managed to score a bargain on an On the Peak ski jacket from the Salvo's however, for $25! Probably would've been spending all my time indoors without it because it's bloody cold.
The country's population is 330,000, 100,000 of which are in Reykjavik where I am staying. Downtown Reykjavic is a very quaint. A picturesque sea side area with lots of restaurants and trendy and eclectic stores. The fashion here is quite hipster and all the tourists stick out like a sore thumb in their warm jackets, jeans and hiking boots.
Not too much happening on the social scene so far. Honestly feeling a little lonely after being surrounded by so many people for the last 3 months. Have managed to meet a few nice gals in my hostel room though and went for dinner and a drink last night. One of the ladies is here from Germany and on a Germany Health Department bio-bank research visit. Apparently Iceland has one of the worlds largest bio banks. It has 3 databases that hold the DNA samples, health records and genealogical records of all of Iceland's inhabitants which has allowed Iceland to identify genes linked to a number of conditions like Schizophrenia, Stroke and Alzheimer’s. Because Iceland is so small in population they also developed an app based on this information so that people can check how closely related they are to one another before starting a relationship!
Heading to one of Iceland's outdoor geothermal pools tomorrow. The local geothermal pools are about $4 compared to the larger touristy ones which set you back about $75.
Last night I went to the Volcano House and watched a documentary on the volcanic history of Iceland and today I did a bus tour of Iceland's Golden Circle. This tour took me on a loop around the south west areas of Iceland. We stopped at the Þingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss Waterfall, a geothermal greenhouse village and the active geysers 'Geysir' and 'Strokkur'.
Here are some random facts I've learnt from my time here:
- The most earthquakes Iceland has encountered in a 24 hr period is 600.
- Iceland sits on the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. These plates move approximately 2cm per year.
- The word 'geyser' meaning spouting hot spring was derived from the hot spring named 'Geysir' that I saw today .
- Since the Vikings settled on Iceland in the 9th century there has been an erupting volcano on average, every 5 years.
- The volcanic eruption on Mt Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 that stopped flights through Europe created the highest level of air travel disruption since the Second World War.
- Iceland's 1783 volcanic killed one quarter of the entire Icelandic population, mainly from illness in livestock caused by the volcano's poisonous gases.
- Iceland's black beaches were caused from volcanic lava making contact with ocean water, it cooling rapidly and shattering into sand and fragmented debris.
