Land of Ice and Fire (part II)

Day 2 at Budir, the day of the wedding!

View of the glacier from Hotel Budir

We started off the day by going to the top of the nearby glacier, Snaefellsjokull (Icelandic is not at the top of my list of languages to learn... although it's fascinating! It's the only language in the world to use certain letters because it has been more or less preserved since the middle ages).  We were promised snow-suits for the snow cat so we all dressed lightly, only to be given instead what was basically airplane blankets.  It was cold!

Katie, me, and the groom

Are we doing it right?

It's not a green screen, I swear

Our faces and feet frozen from the wind and snow, we rode the snow cat back down to meet our bus, which seemed to be running on Icelandic time (it is an island, after all).

Two beach girls and a Viking

Then, it was back to the hotel to prepare for the wedding! The ceremony was held outside where the temperature was brisk but the scenery was beautiful. Navigating the volcanic landscape in heels was a little tricky, and the bride's brother-in-law almost disappeared into a sink hole, but we made it.

Matt reading his vows to Kara

The Icelandic minister had a sense of humor, and when the ring bearer (unwillingly) brought his pillow up for the exchanging of the rings the minister put it on his head.

The traditional Icelandic wedding cap

The ceremony ended with everyone joining hands in a circle around the bride and groom and singing "and everyone had lots of fun, lots of fun..." to the tune of London bridge is falling down.  It was certainly a memorable occasion!  Dinner was 6 courses of fish, all fresh caught that morning.  And there were vegetables!  I've never been so excited to see vegetables in my life.  The last course and wedding 'cake' (another unique aspect of the wedding, I wish I had a picture!) didn't wrap up until after 1am.  Looking outside the eternal sun made the early morning indistinguishable from any other time of the day.  The next morning we said farewell to the bride and groom and headed back to Reykjavik, where our  next adventure (Copenhagen!) awaited us.

Overall, Iceland was a mind-blowingly beautiful place.  It reminded me a lot of the Hawaiian landscape, but tremendously more vast.  The water was unbelievable (glacial run off? yum) and the bread was some of the best I've ever had.  My only complaints were that it was cold (I'm a Hawaii girl now), every meal was meat or fish and potatoes (can I get a pepper??), and the hot water at our apartment smelled like farts.  The people in Iceland were polite but not especially warm.  Given their history (centuries of economic depression, including the recent banking crash of 2008) and the often bleak weather, even in the summer, I can't say I blame them.  Complaints aside, it was an unforgettable trip and I'm glad I had an occasion to go there!