Northern Lights: Update

Of course tonight I saw them out the apartment window.

norðurljós

So I saw the Northern Lights last night, or Aurora Borealis for all you scientists out there. I took the above picture... I did not take the below one, but merely post it to show you what they looked like (because there are so many possibilities). I also must admit that while it is really beautiful and amazing to see... cameras do a much better job than the human eye. What we saw wasn't nearly as colorful. It looked at first like maybe just weird clouds lit in the sky by light from a city. But there was no city there, and when someone took a picture, it came out looking bright green (like below). I would admit in reality however, that it was green twinged (though i hear it can be much brighter in color).

Five of us rented a car and started driving out to the national park where they take tour buses full of people to see them. While we were on the road there--going about 25 mph because the girl driving was somehow a worse driver than my 80 yr old grandmother and i was silently banging my head against the window asking that i just be put out of my misery--my prayers were answered as someone saw the "arc" out the window. This is the northern lights precursor and we pulled over onto the side of the road and jumped out. As we stared (and FROZE... not exaggerating... it was -4 C and WINDY) the light slowly moved across and around the horizon. Some big and spreading, some smaller and bright and reaching upwards. A few extended high across the sky. It was a sight to see. It lasted probably twenty minutes of slow moving ebbs and flows of light.

I would not proclaim to be a changed person now, nor have I somehow become addicted to finding them, but I truly look forward to seeing them again someday, and invite you all the join me.

Sunrise, sunset

These pictures were just taken out my window at 10 am this morning. The sky is full of the blueish glow of daybreak...

Being so far north, Iceland deals with much bigger shifts in the amount of light it receives than most Americans are used to. In mid-summer they experience the infamous "white nights" of the north (which i actually got to live in in Russia in 2004) Upon choosing to come here in January I was interested, even excited, by the prospect of days with very little light. Maybe I'd even be trapped inside painting all day. But the truth is, they get light. They get truly beautiful light. It just starts a little later and ends a little earler.

The sun comes up 10 or 11ish. This means hauling yourself out of bed before then is almost impossible. All the residents agree. For special events and trips we can do it. And a girl who just was studying in school here swears you are expected to be in class at 9 (when it is still mostly dark out.... beginning to hint at a day). But we generally don't see much activity in this house until 11 or 12. (Personally, I set alarms for 9 to get up and do yoga : P )

Then, because the sun is so low in the sky all day, you don't get much direct light. Instead, you have lots of amazing, piercing, gorgeous, magical, ambient light. Or clouds. Lots of clouds. Sometimes the mountains across the harbor will glow golden, seemingly from the inside out. It really is quite a feeling. I try to go out every day its remotely sunny just to walk around and bask in the city lit entirely like an independent film. Around 3 or 4 the sky starts to glow pink and orange in parts and by 5 its dark again. Although the days are getting longer. My first day here, I watched a very slow sunset at 3:15.

So the shortened days aren't really a problem. Just another amazing thing to be a part of; and a brilliant excuse to sleep in every morning. Stores have shorter hours than I'm used to and everyone warns you to take vitamin-D or use the crazy light box thing at the pool, but that's about it. So Good Morning!!

When in Rome....

So I've always been a huge fan of the notion that to truly travel, you must be willing to immerse yourself in the ways of a new place. Hell, I ate raw Salmon in Sweden... icky. But never has it really been more true, than figuring out how to exercise in Iceland.

Although a self-proclaimed "gym rat," my usual go-to while traveling is some ole timey running. You can do it anywhere any time and the worst that has ever really happened is Africans staring at me like I am nuts... no wait... the time I got lost in Kiev for 2 hours and cried til someone helped me use the internet to find a phone number to call a friend to give me the address so i could take a cab. But besides that time... its a relatively simple exercise plan. Except this year in Reykjavik they have had the most snow since 1920. Everything is covered in ice. People fall all the time. (not me yet of course!) The sound of a car spinning its wheels as it attempts to pull itself out of a parking space is almost constant. So i have dubbed running currently too risky (although like the magical creatures they are icelanders can do it no problem). So what is an endorphine addicted, beer and cake loving girl to do?

What Icelanders do... PUBLIC GEOTHERMAL POOLS.

So tonight (it was 4:45 but def. dark) I went to the pool. outside. in the cold. and dark. It was awesome. Also because these are salt water, not chlorine based pools, you are required to wash yourself nakey before going in, which means lots of nudity in the locker room. just another reason icelandic people are better than americans. No weird gymnophobia (real phobia name). see this for proof. http://blog.icelandexpress.com/iceland/2006/11/24/reykjavik-swimming-pools-the-naked-truth/

So i got a workout in! Yay! And even if I still don't know how to breath on my left side and can't back stroke in a straight line, I feel pretty good about the prospects of staying fit Iceland style.