Iceland Part 2
How Iceland 'felt' to me in 2019
Have you ever been to Iceland? I was blessed with a surprise trip there in 2019.
I'm not sure it's a popular place to visit, but I recommend it as a summer destination, vs. winter, winter is so extreme! You get daylight from 5am - 11pm in August. Deep winter gets four hours of sunlight daily.
It is about as unique as any place can be. I still have not exactly put my finger on the feeling I get, but it's different for sure.
Winter would be equally fantastic, I am sure, but I didn't see it then. My travel buddy did and had a wonderful time doing his photography in the winter beauty. I hope to return one day, it is so very unique.
Have you ever been to a place that feels void? The place actually feels empty, lifeless, uninhabited? The only thing I can think of is its void of God’s Spirit, I felt no peace, not there. Nothing there to create a sense of unconditional love. Just ‘a big nothing’ feeling.
Don’t get me wrong, the people were lovely, just in a carnal way. Kindness is built into them, but not Christian values.
Routine care is there, but it's in a social concept, not in heartfelt love and compassion from the heart of God.
I walked on the streets of Reykjavik for hours and hours and it was a place of social awareness, but not God's love. Until you have found God's love, it will all seem the same to you or me.
It was a different feeling from England, in the USA, Fiji or Mexico. Void is the best way to describe the feeling.
I stayed at a hospital for hours and hours visiting our friend, I felt care there from the nurses and doctors, just not in a Christian way. More like, ‘we respect everyone’ and we care about people.
The care our friend received at the hospital was calm, no alarms beeping on machines, and they were very kind. The language barrier was difficult and was made harder because our friend had his hearing aids out.
The Icelandic accent is quite thick, and he was not able to understand his nurses. Everyone tried to help, but it was a challenge. The nurse's station had tea, coffee, cookies, cake and water for family.
They had a sunroom, and they felt it was good for the patients to get out of bed to feel the warmth of the sun and get the Vit. D. I was chatting with a patient there and she spoke no English, and I no Icelandic. I guess I 'can' talk to just about anybody!
WE even wrote letters to each other after I was back in the USA. It was lovely. I can’t say enough about the health care in Iceland, I thought it was spectacular.
And, although I am not a pure supporter of socialized medicine, this was a financial blessing to us and to the people who received care in Iceland. The young man next to our friend was formerly from Philly, USA and married an Icelandic girl. He was having long term issues with his stomach, and he said he would have been ruined in the States. The bills would have been astronomical in the USA. Our healthcare is broken. for sure.
I would guess in the winter you see many varieties of beauty but with only 4 hours of sunlight a day, that just doesn't leave much time for sightseeing, so be sure to plan your time in museums, restaurants and with a headlamp for evening walks.
I was staying at a Boutique Hotel called Hotel Holt and it was lovely, unique and old-world in their customer service.
The breakfast was a full spread of beautifully displayed food and wonderful tastes.
Coffee, Tea, Cookies, Cream, Sugar, jellies, oatmeal, eggs, sausage, bacon, bagels, fruit, juices, milk, Skyr, cereal, salmon, and some other fish.
Walking to downtown Reykevick was only a five-minute walk from the Hotel Holt, and walking to the Harpa building was maybe 25 minutes from Hotel Holt.
When you go to Iceland, go prepared for rain, and wind and swimming!. It is really breezy on the shorefront. I wish I had been able to explore more, but for the short trip it was, we saw the main points. I would love to go back, even if it does feel ‘different’ than any other place I’ve visited.
If you are trying to see the Northern Lights - the Aurora Borealis, it is best to wait until fall or winter. Yet then the clouds roll in and it's a chance you take, in trying to see the night sky, so be sure to make other plans in case the night sky is 'distracted'. There are groups that ‘sky hunt’ and they are there to let people know where to go to find the Northern Lights.
On Facebook: "Northern Lights Alert"
It is still on my wish list of places to go back to and find out what the Blue Lagoon is like, and so many other gems on Iceland.
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