2nd January 2013
I saw the Northern Lights, the Aurora Borealis. To many, myself included, this was a dream come true. The faint green glow across cloudy skies prove to challenge what my naked eye could see in the beauty of the photos and videos that have fed my expectations - a bit too much.
When everyone asked me how was the Aurora, or tell me how lucky I am to have seen it, I'm greeted with a feeling of gratitude laced with guilt. Because in all honesty, I have to confess, it didn't leave me in awe. Yet, I felt it was not right to tell those who ask how beautiful it was, to tell them my perception of it. A perception that was influenced by the weather, the place I was in, and most of all, my expectations. I didn't want to be adding another set of perceptions to people's expectations.
It got me thinking though, this view I had of the Aurora Borealis. It reminds me of life, and how we are always chasing our desires. But sometimes, our desires don't turn out to be what we expect them to be. When that happens, it's difficult to reconcile the conflicting feelings within. You should feel overjoyed, and yes there is a sense of gratitude, though it feels like a bit of a let down and you're guilty for feeling so. Don't get me wrong, chase your desires. But that's just it, are they YOUR desires? Is the Aurora gorgeous because you really believe the phenomenon is life's awe or is it because it's on everyone's bucket list, and the TV and videos and HD photos just make it more gorgeous than it actually is. Again, the Aurora is gorgeous, but not the WOAH! impression, it's a silent beauty, a quiet glow, that can only be appreciated with a contented heart. While I was not left as impressed as I imagined to be, I wasn't exactly disappointed as well. As a matter of fact, I was more eager than ever to work my way to find my way up to the Scandinavian countries where there is a better view of the Aurora, or so they say. And this time, I want to do it because I really believe I can see more of the Aurora - never-ending desires or motivation? We won't know now I guess.
So, what does your Aurora look like? Can you chase after it answering your conscience, and let go of all attachment related to the outcome, whatever the outcome may be? God willing, the outcome is as you expect, but God willing also, that you have the gratitude to accept whatever outcome comes up.
Gotta run! ;)
Showing posts with label Iceland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iceland. Show all posts
Monday, January 28, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
She was in Iceland
This time it was with family, and boy was it both fun and stressful, hahaha. Not to mention that it was during Winter, and we got the lottery of bad weather so it was icy + rainy altogether.
For my holiday in Iceland, I decided that it would be simpler to arrange a tour since I've looked up some of the stuff that might be interesting in Iceland, and the transportation part can be quite complicated. Since I was with my family, I wanted to reduce the complication as much as possible. That said and done, a couple of my friends who went to Iceland did not end up taking tour packages. Instead they decided on day trips when they got to the hotel. In that sense, they had more control over what hotel they stayed in and such. My package was with Icelandair thus it included flight and accommodation with breakfast.
Transportation:
As we got a tour package, I did not have to concern myself over the transportation means. Most places are easily walkable especially if you stay in the city centre. Buses were also available within city centre. However, in my personal opinion, it would be much more convenient to get a car. Parking seems aplenty
Base/Hotel: Fossbaron Hotel
Location: 4/5
Environment: 3/5
Room: 3.5/5
The hotel was located two streets away from the city centre and faced the harbour which was quite a pretty sight even though it was cloudy and grey most of the time. One can easily explore the city centre from this hotel and even walk to the Old Harbour area which takes about a 20 minutes walk at average pace. It's 10 minutes away from the Orchestra Hall. That said and done, it was a dreary weather when we got to Iceland thus the environment wasn't as exciting especially when Reykjavik is quite the dull city with monotone buildings. The room itself was not bad as we got a spacious twin room. Bathroom was a bit troublesome as the shower area was small and as most Western countries have toilets with no draining holes, the bathroom was wet most of the time. Oh, and it was so difficult to control the temperature of the water as the source is from the natural hot springs so sometimes it's too hot or too cold. Nevertheless, hot baths are much welcomed in the weather. Another issue I had was free wifi only available in the lobby area; room wifi service is payable. That always annoys me, but hey, chance to be away from technology? Haha.
Day 1
Arrived in Evening
Dinner
I don't know how many times I've said this and I don't know how many times I don't learn my lesson. Arriving on New Year's day, and in the evening, is not the smartest idea. Public holiday would mean that most shops were closed which left us with Domino's for dinner. And one of the most expensive Domino's I had at that. The sun sets just before 4pm in winter so it was difficult to navigate around the area as we had to get used to the ice and still had no idea where we were in relation to the places of attraction. Thus the night was spent in the hotel. Not very exciting I know.
Day 2
Blue Lagoon Spa
Church (The Hallgimskirkja)
Northern Lights Chase
These two activities were part of the tour package. We had to pay extra 50 pounds per person on top of our tour package price for the Blue Lagoon Spa - it's like an add on. I think it's slightly cheaper if you were to sign up for the Blue Lagoon Spa once you get to your hotel; most hotels provide such service as this is a really popular attraction in Iceland. I would say the experience is lovely, especially when surrounded by white snowy mountains. One can easily spend half a day there. The changing amenities were clean and sufficient. It's easy to get back to the city as there is a bus every hour from 10am till 6pm. I didn't think the water was hot enough though - super torture to run from the exit into the outdoor pool at 2 degrees celcius; have to admit, it was fun though.
The Hallgimskirkja, or church is a seriously gorgeous building. Very modern, and definitely not your typical church building. If I remembered correctly, it was only recently built, in 2005 as a complement to other churches around. Very simple interior with a huge brass organ. The best part was to climb up the tower, which journey could be completed by life, and then a climb up two flights of stairs. Easy peasy. Awesome view of Iceland as it turned dark, and I honestly think it as prettier at night with lights and snowy rooftops rather than the grey buildings in the morning.
At night, around 9pm we followed the tour to find the Northern Lights. Given that the phenomenon is very weather and location-dependent, the hotel staff would usually be able to advice beforehand if the tour would go on for the day. Also, from my experience, I do think those who take you on the tour are quite responsible in trying to find the best spot for the aurora. Note though, it's probably also very dependent on personal luck if and when you see the phenomenon - how long, how bright etc. For us, it wasn't as mesmerizing as I expected it to be though my brother did catch some amazing photos using his DSLR. Nevertheless, the adventure of waiting in drastically cold winds, trying to capture the aurora with my camera and standing under fleeting clear bright starry skies was quite the worth as well.
Day 3
Golden Circle Tour
Old Harbour
This is the other tour we got as an add-on and it was an almost full day tour lasting about 9 hours? It included a visit to an Icelandic greenhouse, Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir and Thingvellir National Park. The greenhouse was interesting, and in my opinion helpful with sleepiness since the lights are meant to recreate a sunny weather complete with UV lights all. Seriously, the weather in general made me sleepy all the time. Anyway, it's interesting to learn about how vegetables are grown in Iceland, and they honestly live up to their name of 'greenhouses' what's with using biological pest control (bees from Holland) and systems that ensure the use of electricity is not wasted. Pretty cool. Oh and the greenhouse I went to had the loveliest tomato soup served with cinnamon bread, salivating for it now. The journey continues to the Gullfoss waterfall, otherwise known as the Golden Waterfall. Gorgeous sight even in the dreary weather. Apparently when it's sunny, you can see a rainbow across the waterfall.
Then it was onwards to the Geysirs where we stopped for lunch. Basically you go for a multimedia show about geysirs in Iceland which in my humble opinion was less than informative because most of environment that does not help with consolidating the speech from the different TV screens. There are information boards though but we got a bit bored. They Geysirs were an amazing sight, to stand there and wait for it to burst at intervals of 4 minutes was seriously cool! My mum even took a video of it. Finally, our last destination was to the national park. Unfortunately the rain started to heavier, making the icy floor almost impossible to walk on. I would have loved more time to visit the park where you can walk in the canyons cut by glaciers. After a long day, headed back home and rested in hotel.
Since my mum and younger brother preferred to stay in, me and my other brother decided to go for a bit of a food hunting. We found the most famous hot dog stand in Iceland, and had pretty good lobster soup. Whale kebabs are horrible though, ugh. There's not much to see at the Old Harbour, but there were quite some nice restaurants and I think walking by the pier would have been a nice experience.
Day 4
Laugavegur Street
Woke up late due to the long previous day. Our flight was in the afternoon hence we wanted to head to the Harpa concert hall which looked like a magnificent building from the outside. Due to the sudden heavy rain, plans got cancelled and we duck into one of the cafes on Laugavegur street which is the downtown area filled with superbly quirky shops. Definitely would have loved to shop there. Had green tea latte at a cafe called Te & Kaffi, a small modern cafe before heading back and getting ready to leave.
Do try:
- Food in Iceland (especially weird ones); rotten shark, lamb head terrine, the famous hotdog. I've not particular affinity for Icelandic cuisine (except that awesome tomato soup) but I do think you won't be able to find a lot of the cuisine anywhere else especially if you are not in Europe, so why not?
- Climb the Hallgimskirja especially in the evening, lovely view
- Go see the Geysirs and waterfalls
Tips:
- Be prepared to brave the weather. It's not horribly bad especially if you are well-acquainted with winters. Otherwise, it takes a bit of getting used to, and just tons of patience
- The Blue Lagoon Spa was alright for its price, I would recommend to go if you've never been in an outdoor hot springs, otherwise it can be pretty pricey
- If you are more adventurous, I would suggest NOT taking a package/tour, just get a car and explore. Spend time in National Parks, they really look gorgeous. Also, I've been told the South end of the island where there are black sand beaches are way more gorgeous than the city area.
For my holiday in Iceland, I decided that it would be simpler to arrange a tour since I've looked up some of the stuff that might be interesting in Iceland, and the transportation part can be quite complicated. Since I was with my family, I wanted to reduce the complication as much as possible. That said and done, a couple of my friends who went to Iceland did not end up taking tour packages. Instead they decided on day trips when they got to the hotel. In that sense, they had more control over what hotel they stayed in and such. My package was with Icelandair thus it included flight and accommodation with breakfast.
Transportation:
As we got a tour package, I did not have to concern myself over the transportation means. Most places are easily walkable especially if you stay in the city centre. Buses were also available within city centre. However, in my personal opinion, it would be much more convenient to get a car. Parking seems aplenty
Base/Hotel: Fossbaron Hotel
Location: 4/5
Environment: 3/5
Room: 3.5/5
The hotel was located two streets away from the city centre and faced the harbour which was quite a pretty sight even though it was cloudy and grey most of the time. One can easily explore the city centre from this hotel and even walk to the Old Harbour area which takes about a 20 minutes walk at average pace. It's 10 minutes away from the Orchestra Hall. That said and done, it was a dreary weather when we got to Iceland thus the environment wasn't as exciting especially when Reykjavik is quite the dull city with monotone buildings. The room itself was not bad as we got a spacious twin room. Bathroom was a bit troublesome as the shower area was small and as most Western countries have toilets with no draining holes, the bathroom was wet most of the time. Oh, and it was so difficult to control the temperature of the water as the source is from the natural hot springs so sometimes it's too hot or too cold. Nevertheless, hot baths are much welcomed in the weather. Another issue I had was free wifi only available in the lobby area; room wifi service is payable. That always annoys me, but hey, chance to be away from technology? Haha.
View from the Harbour walk
Day 1
Arrived in Evening
Dinner
I don't know how many times I've said this and I don't know how many times I don't learn my lesson. Arriving on New Year's day, and in the evening, is not the smartest idea. Public holiday would mean that most shops were closed which left us with Domino's for dinner. And one of the most expensive Domino's I had at that. The sun sets just before 4pm in winter so it was difficult to navigate around the area as we had to get used to the ice and still had no idea where we were in relation to the places of attraction. Thus the night was spent in the hotel. Not very exciting I know.
Day 2
Blue Lagoon Spa
Church (The Hallgimskirkja)
Northern Lights Chase
These two activities were part of the tour package. We had to pay extra 50 pounds per person on top of our tour package price for the Blue Lagoon Spa - it's like an add on. I think it's slightly cheaper if you were to sign up for the Blue Lagoon Spa once you get to your hotel; most hotels provide such service as this is a really popular attraction in Iceland. I would say the experience is lovely, especially when surrounded by white snowy mountains. One can easily spend half a day there. The changing amenities were clean and sufficient. It's easy to get back to the city as there is a bus every hour from 10am till 6pm. I didn't think the water was hot enough though - super torture to run from the exit into the outdoor pool at 2 degrees celcius; have to admit, it was fun though.
Blue Lagoon - a huge outdoor pool
The Hallgimskirkja, or church is a seriously gorgeous building. Very modern, and definitely not your typical church building. If I remembered correctly, it was only recently built, in 2005 as a complement to other churches around. Very simple interior with a huge brass organ. The best part was to climb up the tower, which journey could be completed by life, and then a climb up two flights of stairs. Easy peasy. Awesome view of Iceland as it turned dark, and I honestly think it as prettier at night with lights and snowy rooftops rather than the grey buildings in the morning.
Wonderful view
At night, around 9pm we followed the tour to find the Northern Lights. Given that the phenomenon is very weather and location-dependent, the hotel staff would usually be able to advice beforehand if the tour would go on for the day. Also, from my experience, I do think those who take you on the tour are quite responsible in trying to find the best spot for the aurora. Note though, it's probably also very dependent on personal luck if and when you see the phenomenon - how long, how bright etc. For us, it wasn't as mesmerizing as I expected it to be though my brother did catch some amazing photos using his DSLR. Nevertheless, the adventure of waiting in drastically cold winds, trying to capture the aurora with my camera and standing under fleeting clear bright starry skies was quite the worth as well.
Day 3
Golden Circle Tour
Old Harbour
This is the other tour we got as an add-on and it was an almost full day tour lasting about 9 hours? It included a visit to an Icelandic greenhouse, Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir and Thingvellir National Park. The greenhouse was interesting, and in my opinion helpful with sleepiness since the lights are meant to recreate a sunny weather complete with UV lights all. Seriously, the weather in general made me sleepy all the time. Anyway, it's interesting to learn about how vegetables are grown in Iceland, and they honestly live up to their name of 'greenhouses' what's with using biological pest control (bees from Holland) and systems that ensure the use of electricity is not wasted. Pretty cool. Oh and the greenhouse I went to had the loveliest tomato soup served with cinnamon bread, salivating for it now. The journey continues to the Gullfoss waterfall, otherwise known as the Golden Waterfall. Gorgeous sight even in the dreary weather. Apparently when it's sunny, you can see a rainbow across the waterfall.
Rows and rows of tomatoes
Gullfoss waterfall
Then it was onwards to the Geysirs where we stopped for lunch. Basically you go for a multimedia show about geysirs in Iceland which in my humble opinion was less than informative because most of environment that does not help with consolidating the speech from the different TV screens. There are information boards though but we got a bit bored. They Geysirs were an amazing sight, to stand there and wait for it to burst at intervals of 4 minutes was seriously cool! My mum even took a video of it. Finally, our last destination was to the national park. Unfortunately the rain started to heavier, making the icy floor almost impossible to walk on. I would have loved more time to visit the park where you can walk in the canyons cut by glaciers. After a long day, headed back home and rested in hotel.
Here
it
comes!
Walking in the canyon
Since my mum and younger brother preferred to stay in, me and my other brother decided to go for a bit of a food hunting. We found the most famous hot dog stand in Iceland, and had pretty good lobster soup. Whale kebabs are horrible though, ugh. There's not much to see at the Old Harbour, but there were quite some nice restaurants and I think walking by the pier would have been a nice experience.
Day 4
Laugavegur Street
Woke up late due to the long previous day. Our flight was in the afternoon hence we wanted to head to the Harpa concert hall which looked like a magnificent building from the outside. Due to the sudden heavy rain, plans got cancelled and we duck into one of the cafes on Laugavegur street which is the downtown area filled with superbly quirky shops. Definitely would have loved to shop there. Had green tea latte at a cafe called Te & Kaffi, a small modern cafe before heading back and getting ready to leave.
Cute modern cafe
Do try:
- Food in Iceland (especially weird ones); rotten shark, lamb head terrine, the famous hotdog. I've not particular affinity for Icelandic cuisine (except that awesome tomato soup) but I do think you won't be able to find a lot of the cuisine anywhere else especially if you are not in Europe, so why not?
- Climb the Hallgimskirja especially in the evening, lovely view
- Go see the Geysirs and waterfalls
Tips:
- Be prepared to brave the weather. It's not horribly bad especially if you are well-acquainted with winters. Otherwise, it takes a bit of getting used to, and just tons of patience
- The Blue Lagoon Spa was alright for its price, I would recommend to go if you've never been in an outdoor hot springs, otherwise it can be pretty pricey
- If you are more adventurous, I would suggest NOT taking a package/tour, just get a car and explore. Spend time in National Parks, they really look gorgeous. Also, I've been told the South end of the island where there are black sand beaches are way more gorgeous than the city area.
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