the starrs: Biking Through Reykjavik

We've been planning a trip to Reykjavik, Iceland for a while, and we strategically picked dates right after our return from the States to help take our minds off being homesick. The plan worked, and we had a great time in Iceland!

We went on a bike trip of Reykjavík as our first activity in Iceland. We thought it would be a good way to orient ourselves with the city before our week here began. It was very very chilly in the morning when we set out, and I was bundled up with three layers on bottom and four layers on top, two pairs of socks, two pairs of mittens, and a hat - this Arizona girl was set to go! When we arrived for our bike tour there was a couple already there, and once we got to talking we discovered that they had been stationed at Davis Monthan in Arizona previously, and are now stationed at Lakenheath where we are - what a small world!

Thomas & I outside of Iceland University

On our tour we saw the harbor, the new opera house, the hotdog stand where Bill Clinton famously purchased a hot dog when he was here visiting with Hillary. He apparently only ordered his hot dog with mustard on it, and now if you want a hotdog with only mustard you say "I want a Clinton". We saw where they hold their market on the weekends, Iceland University, the place where the first settlers arrived in Iceland, the house where the first democratically elected female President lives, Bjork's house, the only Roman Catholic Cathedral in Reykjavik (it is mostly Protestant in Iceland), and some of the main squares in the city center.

Hot dog stand where Bill Clinton ate

Reykjavik's weekend market

Björk's house

One of Reykjavik's main squares

Our guide also took us to look at a rock where the "hidden people" or the elves, supposedly live. Apparently in Iceland about 5% believe the elves exist for sure, 75% believe there is a possibility of their existence, and the remaining people say 'no way' are they real. The Icelandic folklore behind the "hidden people" is that back in Adam and Eve's time, Eve was preparing for a visit from God, but didn't have time to get her house ready and finish getting all of her children clean. She hid the children who had not been cleaned away in the back room, but when God came he told her that he knew her dirty children were being hidden and he was going to make them reman little people forever, never to be visible to humans again. Supposedly some people in Iceland believe they can "see" the hidden people dwelling in rocks and other places, but so far we are not among the seeing. :)

Rock where the "hidden people" supposedly live

Thomas and I were both struck by the "modestness" of the city - how we could just walk by where the prior President lived (and even see her Toyota parked in it's parking spot!), and their Prime Minister's telephone number is publicly listed. Our guide was also explaining to us how the women to men equality percentage is 85% - the highest in the world! They have female members in all aspects of their government, their university was 70% female students (single guys should definitely give Iceland University a shot! ha), and the President of the University was also a female. Also, Iceland as a whole is very environmentally friendly - they use the natural resources that they have available to their advantage. For example, they use their hot springs to heat/humidify the many greenhouses that they have, and these greenhouses enable them to have fruit and vegetables year round. Also, they use geothermal electricity to provide them with water, which explains why the shower in our apartment had a little sulfur smell to it. I'm glad we learned about the geothermal electricity though, I was just thinking our shower smelled like rotten eggs!

The former President's house

Another thing that was interesting to us was their University system. Tuition is free, the students just have to pay about $450 in administration fees per semester - amazing! Our tour guide told us he has seven degrees - he explained that since it is so cold in the winter and University is so inexpensive, he finds it fun to go to school then and learn new things. He also said that students don't feel as much pressure to go into the career field that they majored in because they didn't spend a ton of money obtaining that degree. Imagine the eight years of schooling necessary to become a doctor, and only having to pay $3,600 in tuition...it seems like Iceland University should have more foreign students considering their inexpensive education and forward thinking regarding equality.

We had a semi-mortifying moment at the end of our bike tour. I went to our guide to give him a tip (he was such a good guide!), and he looked at the bills, looked at me, and we could tell he wanted to say something but was uncomfortable saying it. I panicked a little - it was our first full day and I was't very confident with the exchange rate from Iceland Kroner to U.S. Dollars, so I was thinking I gave him a terrible tip, and everyone was staring at us. Then he finally said, "This is not enough for the tour". I finally realized that he thought we were paying for the tour, when I had in fact pre-paid. I told him that, presented him with the voucher showing we had paid, and once everything was sorted out he was very grateful and kind. Still an embarrassing moment, but at least my tipping wasn't the cause. :) If you are ever in Iceland and want a great introduction to the city, I highly recommend the Classic Reykjavik Bike Tour with Stefan as your guide.

The city itself it beautiful - everything is very Scandinavian in appearance, but with their own twist. It was also decorated for Christmas, so it was even more picturesque! We stayed at an apartment right in the city center so it was central to everything, plus much cheaper than what we would have paid for a hotel in the city! Bonus - the apartment was on the third floor above a Subway restaurant, so you know that was the first meal we had when we got in. :) The sun came up around 10am, so it was a little weird walking to our bike tour when it was still pitch black outside, but we could also sleep in and not be bothered by the sun. The sun set around 4:30pm, so there was limited time with the sun up, but the city was beautiful when it was all lit up, so we didn't mind!