the cyber cafe is in the back left-hand corner
public library
my hotel room
Um....OK, this should be interesting. I´m coming to you live from a cyber cafe in downtown Reykjavik, typing this on a keyboard that is largely in Icelandic for my first blog entry. The internet in my hotel is wireless only. Oh, and I´ve had about three hours sleep in the last two days, so like I said...interesting.
I flew in with a gaggle of American high school students bound for Denmark, and the little shits wouldn´t let me sleep on the flight. Monday was spent largely in a state of jet lag stupor. My hotel room is satisfactory, though not with many amenities (nice complimentary breakfasts, though). The ride from the airport took us through a bleak landscape of volcanic rock that reminded me of the Mars Rover pictures. The city itself is beautiful, though the outskirts have that utilitarian "Eastern European" look that reminds me of Orwell. However, downtown Reykjavik definitely has that old-world European flava. The locals are predominately young and beautiful, very hip.
I ate at a nearby restaurant whose decor was Americana. I was greeted with smiling pictures of Dean Martin, Elizabeth Taylor, and for some reason, Dustin Hoffman. My first full meal in Iceland was fish n´ chips.
Today´s itinerary is shopping at the mall for a new camera (the one I brought decided to stop taking pictures), a small white noise machine for my noisy hotel room (two of the hotel attendants were mucking about noisily in one of the rooms on my floor last night at 3 in the morning....painting). I hope to get into a hot tub this evening.
If I make it to Thursday, I´m off to the Blue Lagoon. The weekend will be for clubbing.
I already miss everyone. Next year, if I make it to Barcelona as planned, I´m going to spend more money on a nicer (and hopefully quieter) hotel, book it for a week only, and see if I can snag someone to go with me.
I´ll be back tomorrow, hopefully in a more lucid frame of mind.
---John
P.S. Iceland has only three TV channels, and at least two of them show nothing but American programs subtitled in Icelandic. Last night I was watching American Idol, Jay Leno, Boston Public, and an old episode of Cheers. All day long they play nothing but pop music videos. The first thing I ever saw on Icelandic television... was Kanye West.
P.P.S. I have discovered another Iceland band that I like. They´re called AMPOP and they sound like indie pop, except that they´re interesting.
P.P.P.S. Icelandic is damn near close to Klingon. æ þ ö ð
I flew in with a gaggle of American high school students bound for Denmark, and the little shits wouldn´t let me sleep on the flight. Monday was spent largely in a state of jet lag stupor. My hotel room is satisfactory, though not with many amenities (nice complimentary breakfasts, though). The ride from the airport took us through a bleak landscape of volcanic rock that reminded me of the Mars Rover pictures. The city itself is beautiful, though the outskirts have that utilitarian "Eastern European" look that reminds me of Orwell. However, downtown Reykjavik definitely has that old-world European flava. The locals are predominately young and beautiful, very hip.
I ate at a nearby restaurant whose decor was Americana. I was greeted with smiling pictures of Dean Martin, Elizabeth Taylor, and for some reason, Dustin Hoffman. My first full meal in Iceland was fish n´ chips.
Today´s itinerary is shopping at the mall for a new camera (the one I brought decided to stop taking pictures), a small white noise machine for my noisy hotel room (two of the hotel attendants were mucking about noisily in one of the rooms on my floor last night at 3 in the morning....painting). I hope to get into a hot tub this evening.
If I make it to Thursday, I´m off to the Blue Lagoon. The weekend will be for clubbing.
I already miss everyone. Next year, if I make it to Barcelona as planned, I´m going to spend more money on a nicer (and hopefully quieter) hotel, book it for a week only, and see if I can snag someone to go with me.
I´ll be back tomorrow, hopefully in a more lucid frame of mind.
---John
P.S. Iceland has only three TV channels, and at least two of them show nothing but American programs subtitled in Icelandic. Last night I was watching American Idol, Jay Leno, Boston Public, and an old episode of Cheers. All day long they play nothing but pop music videos. The first thing I ever saw on Icelandic television... was Kanye West.
P.P.S. I have discovered another Iceland band that I like. They´re called AMPOP and they sound like indie pop, except that they´re interesting.
P.P.P.S. Icelandic is damn near close to Klingon. æ þ ö ð
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