Our Hike In Iceland

I have been in Denmark for over a week now and Copenhagen is already starting to feel like home. I will start uploading my pictures and stories from Copenhagen in a week or so once I have enough to make a post. First, I want to show you all my last updates from the Iceland trip, specifically our hike in Reykjadalur.

Sydney and I scheduled our hike through a local company called icelandactivities.com, a well-reviewed, family-owned company operating in the greater Reykjavik area. What was really amazing about the whole hike was that it was just me and Sydney and our guide...and his Pomeranian. The hike was personal and contoured around our pace and sight-seeing desires. Our guide was immensely informative and friendly; he is the one behind the camera in the pictures I am going to show you in this post.

Here Sydney and I are at the beginning of the hike, excited and eager to climb the mountain and see the hot springs. 

Within the first thirty minutes of the hike, we realized just how hard hiking in Iceland in the winter can be and we understood why they told us it was important to be in proper physical shape before signing up for the hike.

Here I am trudging through knee-deep snow. Even though the temperature outside was below freezing, the amount of physical exertion this hike required still had me sweating.

After about an hour or so of hiking ( I really don't know because no one was keeping track), we finally reached the hot springs.

While many of the other springs we saw smelled of rotten eggs from the sulfur, this hot spring, luckily, had no foul odor and was one of the cleanest in the valley. 

Sydney and I, as quickly as possible, changed into our bathing suits and sprinted to the hot spring.

 

Although initially uncomfortable, we became quite cozy in this naturally heated bath. In case the steam in this picture isn't a good indication, the contrast between the temperature of the air and the water was quite drastic, yet we still kept warm. 

Because I like to make decisions in my life based on the memories I want to have when I'm older, I decided to take on a particular challenge our tour guide gave me. Though I did have to ponder the request a bit at first, ultimately I gave in to my desire to have interesting stories when I go home and decided to make a snow angel.

In nothing but my bathing suit, I got out of the hot spring and dropped into the snow, waving around my limbs to create a snow angel. You can see Sydney in the background questioning my sanity.

I think this picture accurately portrays just how much the bitter snow stung my skin. I had some emotional support from the dog though. 

Here you can see my beautiful snow angel. I am proud to have done this because now I have the pictures to prove it and the fond memories of my recklessness. 

This is the last picture I have to offer from the hike. While there are many others that I will have to show you all when I come back home, only so many of them can be used to tell a story and I think this creates a perfect end to this story. 

Here I am, tired but triumphant, at the top of the mountain. The sun setting in the background and the burn in my muscles combined to provide me with a proud sense of accomplishment. 

Iceland

To initiate our adventures in Europe, Sydney and I traveled to Iceland for a few days. Our house was just outside of Reykjavik in a town called kópavogur. With the fresh blanket of snow that awaited us, we were greeted with a beautiful landscape. 

This was the view right outside form the backyard.

Across the street was this building which is called Kópavogskirkja. It is the oldest church in Kópavogur. And don’t worry, i hard to look up all of these words on the internet and still have only a small grasp on how to pronounce any of them.

At our trip to the grocery store, while there were a lot of foreign foods, i was surprised to see that there were a lot of American foods, such as this wide variety of Philadelphia cream cheeses.

At night we took a walk down to the bay to get a good view of Reykjavik lit up under the dark skies.

Here is a picture of Sydney after I have finished taking my 100th picture. I think the expression on her face pretty much affirms what my thoughts are on how people view constant picture-takers

After a long first day checking out the area we were staying, Sydney and I woke up bright and early to go on a hike. We were picked up from our home in kópavogur and driven about 45 minutes south to Reykjadalur, otherwise known as “The Smoky Valley”

On our way, the derivation of this name became very obvious when we saw a lot geothermal plants such as this one. Iceland produces about 25% of its energy through geothermal heat. Unfortunately, they also emitted the bitter smell of sulfur. However, that is harmless and the attainment of clean energy must be even sweeter.

By the time we got to the mountain at 10:00 the sun was finally starting to come up. In the winter Iceland only experiences about four or five hours of daylight per day.

Through knee-deep snow, thick ice and below-freezing temperatures, we trudged determinately up the mountain.

Our guide brought along his Pomeranian. As you can see his energy was unstoppable. Granted, he had an easier time hiking above the snow because of his size, his excitement helped us get through the hardest parts of our hike.

After about an hour or so we finally reached the hot springs that we could bathe in. Though the hike was physically taxing, the opportunity to relax in a natural hot spring in nothing but our bathing suits made every bit of the hike worthwhile.

There were many hot springs in the area, but some were either too hot or too cold for us to swim in. Our guide took us to one that was the perfect temperature. After swimming in the hot spring for an hour or two, we suffered through the process of getting out and getting back into our winter clothing. We then continued our hike and climbed one more peak before heading back to the Jeep.

Here was our view at the top. Though the climb was steep and rocky, the view was a worthy reward. 

Finally, we did make it back to the Jeep, as the sun was about to set. This is the expression of an achieved mountain-climber.

Our trip to Iceland was amazing and even though we were only there for two days, I feel that we got the most we could have in the time that was provided to us. Unfortunately I did not get to see the famed Northern lights, but that just means that I have to go back to Iceland another time, which is a-okay with me.

New Orleans

As a fun way to ease myself into the imminent travels that await me, I took a trip to New Orleans with my Dad, Susan and Rachel. This was one of my first vacations to the Southern United States and I was pleasantly surprised with the vibrant culture, decorated history and festive spirit of New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Here you can see my Dad, Rachel, and Susan as we are figuring out where to go after taking in the views of the Mississippi River.

As I've come to realize, people are not too eager to wait for you when you stop to take a picture at every available instance. This was often my view whenever I brought my camera along on our walks.


Of course I cannot talk about our visit to the Mississippi River without also showing you what we saw.

New Orleans is known for its rich cuisine so we were excited to test our tastebuds out for lunch at our first restaurant. At the suggestion of the hotel receptionist, we visited a restaurant called Sobou. It turned out to be an astounding start to our dining experience in New Orleans.

This was the first food we put in our mouths when we arrived. They are yellowfin tuna cones with pineapple ceviche and basil avocado ice cream. I have never eaten anything like this before and was skeptical of these different flavors and textures being combined. I shouldn't have worried because it was unlike anything I've tasted before in the best way possible. 


We also ate some traditional New Orleans delicacies, like this scrumptious seafood gumbo. 

After satisfying our hunger at Sobou, we decided to check out a nearby bookstore.

The layout was overwhelmingly, yet also charmingly, packed with stacks of books, maps, and old photographs. I found that many of the stores in New Orleans had their own refreshing personalities. This was a nice change from what I usually see in major cities where there are only chains that can be found anywhere else. 


And to really pull together the feeling of a cozy, inviting bookstore, the owner had this beautiful and friendly cat. 

One of the most prominent types of stores we saw in New Orleans, and especially in the French Quarter, were art stores, each unique in what was sold and the artists who operated them.


This is one art store that matched the charisma of its owner.
 The artist talked about his love of his work and his passion for the things he painted. He explained how he enjoyed working with customers who also shared his appreciation for creativity and nonconformity. 
 
And to help him market his work was this furry little guy. 

Besides fine art, New Orleans offers a plethora of other art forms that all vary from group to group. 


There were some more traditional musical performers who brought crowds together and engaged them with their instruments.


And then there were other performers who used more...unorthodox means of entertainment to attract audiences. 


Along with seeing the authentic sites that New Orleans offered we also bent to the pressures of visiting the popular "tourist traps". Here are some hot and decadent beignets and cafe au laits from Cafe Du Monde, which we had no trouble devouring in a timely manner. 

Our visit to New Orleans was an amazing trip that exceeded my expectations. There is so much life in this city both during the day and during the night that there is always something to do or see. I highly recommend visiting this Southern jewel that has become a festive, bustling city since it was first established as a French colony in 1718. The people, places, and events that go on here are unlike any that I have experienced on the East or West Coast and look forward to my next visit to "The Big Easy". 

First Post

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog. If you don't know me, I have no idea how you found this blog, but I still welcome you to follow me on my travels through Europe. I am a marketing and sustainability student at George Washington University in our nation's capital and for the next six months I will be studying at Denmark's Copenhagen Business School. To my friends and family, I have made this blog not only to serve my own memory, but to allow you all to keep up to date on where I am and what I am doing. 

The time is quickly approaching for me to depart from the U.S. and travel across the  Atlantic to live and study in Copenhagen. I have never lived outside of the U.S. for more than a few weeks so my time studying abroad will provide me with a new sense of independence and curiosity for the world. It would be hard to illustrate to all of you just how far I have come and how far I am going without first showing you where I started. I think it is appropriate to show you all where my home has been for the past three years: Washington, DC. 


First, you have the view from my apartment. My roommate and I scrambled to find an apartment when our original housing plans fell through. I found this and was signing a lease in three days. I can't believe how lucky we got with this view.


Second, I must introduce you to my friend who I will be traveling with, Sydney Mann, my partner in crime. We are attending Copenhagen Business School and are going to take over Europe together. We have no idea what obstacles may await us, but as a team we are unstoppable.


I would be foolish to leave out one of my favorite restaurants, Dean and Deluca. They sell amazing sandwiches, salads, deserts, pre-prepared foods, and beer. Pretty much everything I hold dear is housed in this building. 


Whenever the weather permits, it's lovely to take a trip over to Georgetown to take in the magnificent scenery. Here is the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal in Georgetown which was established as a National Park in 1961 by President Eisenhower. 


On a hot summer days one of my favorite ways to cool off is to go down to the Potomac River and rent kayaks with some friends. For a few hours we can drift around the river and in the glorious views of Virginia, DC and the National Mall. 

There is a lot of interesting graffiti in DC. This example in particular really makes you think.

 
Here is some more graffiti near the Capital Crescent Trail

Last, but certainly not least, is this final picture of the Potomac River as seen from the Georgetown Waterfront Park. On a really nice day you'll find joggers, bikers, and families strolling along the walkways or heading over to get dinner on the waterfront. People will often park their boats on the dock at the waterfront to enjoy a night of dining, dancing, and bar-hopping in Georgetown.