hotdogs

Hello,

So, i'm feeling pretty low after leaving iceland. i thought i was getting used to saying goodbye to people and places, but iceland really was something special. last night at the hostel in england with my brother, we didn't know what to do because our new family wasn't with us. although, in a way its a good thing--it means we had a great time.

If you ever go to iceland (and you should), try to plan it so you are in reykjavik on the first weekend of the month. every weekend of the year there is a pub crawl called "runtur" (i'm not actually sure on spelling), but the first weekend is special because everyone in iceland gets paid once a month at the beginning of the month and they go out with their new money. on friday we went out with a big group from the hostel and watched an iclandic regae band play at a university bar and then spent the rest of the evening at prikid, a more relaxed bar where you could talk with people. we called it a night at 3am but all the icelanders were just starting...crazy people. saturday night was more of the same with some local bands and many other bars/pubs/clubs/cafes. we got back in time to say goodmorning to a lady who was catching the 5am bus to the airport. one sign of how late things usually go is that the hotdog stand stays open until 7am.

Maybe my idea of spring is wrong, but when i think of spring i don't think of cold, wind, ice, rain (ok, this one can be in spring...but cold rain, no), hail, sleet, and snow. I think winter returned after that tour guide said it was spring; but, it made for some great times. i've never swam outdoors in the snow before. my brother and i went to the geothermally heated pool next to the hostel and while we were playing on the kid's slide, which was good fun, it was snowing a pretty good amount. the locker room was a bit tramatizing but maybe i'm just not used to having 15 minute conversations with my friends while in the nude (it seemed like this was normal for everyone else from age 6 to over 60).

Being from las vegas, my brother and i decided it would be better to put the driving of icy roads into someone else's hands and took tours to all the sights. Iceland is an amazingly beautiful place that could easily compete with the natural beauty of new zealand. i could list out the things we saw but it just wouldn't be enough. "waterfall" can't really describe what we saw in gulfoss and the "black beach" in vi'k is more than a beach with black sand. so, i'm going to have to leave that list out--sorry.

The best thing by far was the people. we spent so much time together doing random things, like ice skating, movie nights, or watching the superbowl--all filled with laughing. everyone knew everyone else. it felt so good to be there and so wrong to leave. and now i'm back in england. my brothers on a bus to the airport and thankfully my bus leaves tomorrow morning for my visit to pauline near manchester. it will be nice to be with a good friend instead of trying to make new friends at a new hostel. i'm not quite ready for that yet.

Also, big thanks to Dani (my italian friend from sardegna that is living in england). Thanks for the use of your jacket. i truly don't know what i would have done without it.

Have a good day
your friend

chad