Too Cool for Ibiza? Try ICELAND!
Tim Weiland
Issue date: 1/31/06 Section: features
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Versus Magazine Online [Image Edition]
I arrived at a tiny, microscopic airport after landing on what appeared to be a surface that I had seen in a photograph on the cover of my Astronomy textbook from freshmen year. I had come safely to Keflavik airport on a distant volcanic island country called Iceland. It was late June of 2005 and I had already experienced an action-packed excursion through Europe with my crazy Hungarian friend. The entire summer up until that point had become a hard adventure to follow up with any activity, and I was initially skeptical that our experiences to be had in this remote place on the rim of the Arctic Circle would be even an ounce of excitement in comparison. If only I knew, how wrong that assumption was...
We began the afternoon driving a rented miniature Toyota Yaris, a stark white toaster with 18" wheels cruising down a deserted 2-lane highway (the "ring highway" number 1) bound for the Icelandic capital city 2 hours away. I have never felt more foreign to a place in my life… It was like being on the moon of a faraway planet in another galaxy, black and gray boulders of volcanic rock called pumice scattered about among dark crevasses and sedimentary designs
spiraling out from the road.
Upon arriving at Reykjavik, the first thing I noticed was the white phallic shaped building protruding toward the sky from the highest point in the city. I found out later that this tall, beveled white stone tower was a steeple to one of the only churches in town, and one of the few places reserved for worship in the country. When looking down at the sprawling village of Reykjavik around me, I did not have any indication that I was about to meet some of the most interesting
and talented people I have ever met, in the most stylish creative atmosphere that I have ever encountered. To make it even better, since the longest day in the Northern hemisphere's calendar year was upon us- there would be absolutely no darkness or down time!
I arrived at a tiny, microscopic airport after landing on what appeared to be a surface that I had seen in a photograph on the cover of my Astronomy textbook from freshmen year. I had come safely to Keflavik airport on a distant volcanic island country called Iceland. It was late June of 2005 and I had already experienced an action-packed excursion through Europe with my crazy Hungarian friend. The entire summer up until that point had become a hard adventure to follow up with any activity, and I was initially skeptical that our experiences to be had in this remote place on the rim of the Arctic Circle would be even an ounce of excitement in comparison. If only I knew, how wrong that assumption was...
We began the afternoon driving a rented miniature Toyota Yaris, a stark white toaster with 18" wheels cruising down a deserted 2-lane highway (the "ring highway" number 1) bound for the Icelandic capital city 2 hours away. I have never felt more foreign to a place in my life… It was like being on the moon of a faraway planet in another galaxy, black and gray boulders of volcanic rock called pumice scattered about among dark crevasses and sedimentary designs
spiraling out from the road.
Upon arriving at Reykjavik, the first thing I noticed was the white phallic shaped building protruding toward the sky from the highest point in the city. I found out later that this tall, beveled white stone tower was a steeple to one of the only churches in town, and one of the few places reserved for worship in the country. When looking down at the sprawling village of Reykjavik around me, I did not have any indication that I was about to meet some of the most interesting
and talented people I have ever met, in the most stylish creative atmosphere that I have ever encountered. To make it even better, since the longest day in the Northern hemisphere's calendar year was upon us- there would be absolutely no darkness or down time!