A few weeks ago I was lucky to have had an apportunity to visit a country I had been dreaming about for so long. The name of it is Iceland. Actually, one thing that aroused my facination about this country was a movie I saw about two or three years ago on a Scanorama film festival in Vilnius. The movie called Heartstone (Hjartasteinn in Icelandic) was one of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen with stunning views of the landscape of Iceland and a subtle rendition of the LGBT+ theme. So, if you ever happen to find this movie somewehre (because I couldn't find it online) do not hestitate and watch it. In terms of LGBT+, my experience in Iceland was quite different from what I saw in that movie because everyone here seems to be very tolerant and open-minded, there are many LGBT+ flags painted on the walls of the buildings, pavements and windows. They also have a great purpose of brightening grey colour that is a common view here. In general, there are thousands of colourful and painted buildings all around Iceland, especially in Reykjavik, that create an extremely artistic and warm atmosphere and, unlike in Vilnius, there aren't any vandal graffiti drawings on them because, apparently, people have some respect for others and their creations in Iceland. The thing is, Iceland completely differed from my expectations. From others I heard that it is extremely cold, windy and rainy, remote, wild and exceptionally expensive, however during my visit it didn't rain and I barely needed those rainproof jackets and trousers I had (although I would still recommed to take them). Most places, like waterfalls, canyons and hiking trails, are very suitable for tourists, there are parking lots and fenced paths because it is forbidden to step on the moss. So, reality does not really look like those instagram photos where there is only a single human figure. In general, it is not wise to blindly believe what others say or show you. Including me. Because every experience is very unique and different people see the world from different perspectives. As Iceland is becoming so popular a destination, it is very likely that you already have some kind of an image of it in your head. So did I. Of course, a big part of it turned out to be true but in terms of prices, you can absolutely find food for the same price as here, in Lithuania. And I am not talking just about basic necessities. It is possible (in less touristic places) to buy a sandwich for appriximately 4 euros, even healthy stuff like plant milk, fancy tea, nut bars, dark chocolate costs as much as it does in other western european countries. The funny thing is that you can get a lot of things for free. E.g. water, tea and coffee are free of charge in a majority of caffes. Public pools are also incredibly cheap. Also, I was said that there are no forests in Iceland, but there actually are some, you just have to look for them. The sun does shine almost everyday too.
But enough empty talk. Let's discuss the important element of Iceland that is nature, shall we? Nature here is particulary splendid, majestic and varied. It makes you feel small and insignificant . A human is a mere guest, temporary visitor here. Human leaves, disappears but the nature remains. But by no means, it is stagnant. On contrary, the nature is ever-changing, evolving and flowing, constantly being shaped by erupting volcanoes, flowing lava, howling wind, thousands of glacial rivers, stormy ocean and glaciers themselves. As I found out, the landspace is very young here with some pitch-black lava fields being just 800 years old. Nothing has yet adapted to grow there, so only some moss greens here and there. Those probably left thwe biggest impresion on me. The green mountains, especially in the southern part of the island, with herds of fluffy sheeps and fields of purple lupins do look impresive too. And horses. They are everywhere, wild, with long mane, different in their size and the manner of trot.
The title of the article might look a bit strange but I will try to explain it. When we first left Reykjavik and went to the country side, we decided to have a swim in a hot spring river. Little did I know that the walk to it was about 4 kilometres uphill. And on the way, landspace reminded me of hell because the area is extremely geothermaly active and steam full of sulphur emerges from the surface of earth. The hills look like they are smoking and the sulphur tickles your nose and eyes. Lake Mitvan looks like hell even more. Red-ish ground with holes of boiling water and unbearable smell of sulphur does definetly leave an impresion. Do not forget about the geysirs too. And the heaven part? Well, most of the country. Divine waterfalls with rainbows, crystal-clear lakes and rivers, lush flora, magical smell of wild thyme and other herbs in the fields. And the sun, which, contrary to what I heard, shines quite often.
But it us not just about the nature - the cultural side of the country is very developed too. Icelanders love music
and I have heard that most of them play in band at least once in their lifetime. The towns there are quite small (well,
the total population of the Iceland is less than 340 000) but there are a few concert halls that are visited a lot. When
were in the secound largest city of Iceland, Akureyri, Metropolitan Flute Orchestra played in their concert hall. For free. And
Reykjavik has a beautiful bee-hive-like famous Harpa concert hall and the impresive Hallgrímskirkja church with huge organs. I was lucky to attend an organ concert where french organist and composer Thierry Escaich played. When we visited a small town in the East, called Seyðisfjörður, a LungA festival was taking place there, celebrating culture, art and creativity, exploring gender from different points. Variuos exhibitions, workshops and discussions take place there annually. Art centres and galleries, like Reykjavik Art Museum, are also worth visiting. Agriculture is actually developed too. As there are unlimited amount of boiling thermal water and running water that produces energy, it is possible to grow vegetables in greenhouses that are heated and lit all year. We visited a tomato farm where tomatoes are grown and served together with fresh bread and butter in a restaurant inside that same greenhouse. In terms of food, traditional skyr yogurt is a must try. So, yeah Iceland is not just about nature.
What else I noticed is that people here have a very high level of culture, are all polite, kind and fluent in English. In cities, locals dress very stylishly - minimalism mixed with some latest trends and warm layers. And even though I have heard that it is worthless to take jeans, a lot of locals wear them. Together with traditional lopapeysa wool sweater. As it is cheap, safe and popular, many tourists choose to hitch-hike instead of renting a terribly expensive car. We did give a lift to a couple of hitch-hikers who told us that all the people are nice and the longest they waited for someone to stop was less than two hours. But what really impressed me was the number of pools, it is something that you do not really know before going to Iceland. From what I understood, hot springs like Blue Lagoon are more for tourists, meanwhile locals (all year around) go to public swimming pools. Basically every town and village has at least one. I've been to four in total. Everything is very neat and clean, however, there are some rules. People have to wash naked before dipping in the pool but there is not a lot of privacy in the showers and changing rooms so everyone (of the same gender of course) can see your naked butt. Icelanders do not really have a complex of being naked as near some hot springs there weren't separate men and women changing rooms at all. Back to pools, they all are situated outside and everyone swims there despite the weather conditions. Well, sits is a more suitable word because since (baby) it is cold outside icelanders like to warm up in hot tubs and while the streets might look empty, the pool will sure be full. There are usually two-four of those hot tubs with different temperatures varying from 38 to 44 degrees celsium. So, like I said, all facilities are to make people feel better, happier and more fit. Let me remind you that there are just as many residents as there are in Vilnius and they even have a few olympic-sized swimming pools. Oh, and they cost like 4 euros. Not bad, Iceland, not bad at all. In general, Iceland is a great country to live (except for cold weather, polar nights and high prices). It is very modern and well-developed, the atmosphere is great, people are friendly, food is tasty, everything is clean and quite safe. What can I say, amazing and magical land it is, with elves, fire, ice, moon-like surface and clouds lying just a few metres above the ground. Hopefuly, I will have a chance to see it again one day.
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