Monday, June 12
the plot:
Monday, I actually woke up to some sunshine (instead of rain), but with ominous clouds still overhead. No worries though. I was booked to be listening to math talks from 9:30-5:30 anyhow. ;) My talk was in the early afternoon and went quite well. Otherwise, I learned a LOT from listening to all of the others.
Post conference, I made a makeshift dinner after exploring the grocery store. Then, it was off to the Volcano Show (web site) with Adam, another grad student at the conference. The Volcano show is a 2 hour documentary. Since Iceland lies on the crack between the American and the Eurasian plates, it's a center of volcanic/hot spring activity. (In fact the whole island was made from lava of eruptions past.) The presenter/filmmaker and his father have filmed every eruption in Iceland since WWII, and are very enthusiastic about showing their work. It was a worthwhile way to spend a chilly evening.
At 10:30pm, on my walk home from the theater, the sky cleared up for the first time in the two days I had been there. Suddenly, where there had been fog for the past 48 hours, there were gorgeous mountains in the background of everything. Soooo, I went on a photo spree. :). The results are below.
the pictures:
(click on any thumbnail/caption to open a larger version in a new window)
- my hotel
- reykjavik university
- the volcano show
- wandering around town at 10:30-11pm
where to next?
my room, complete with minibar
...and bathroom
...and balcony :)
view from the balcony... the color of the sky was default for most of the week :P
welcome to reykjavik university
a better view of the university building
ronja, the ninja's daughter = the view from the university cafeteria each day
the volcano show
volcano show poster
pictures of volcano pictures
randomness
...and suddenly there were mountains
closer up
downtown reykjavik, 10:30pm
statues in the "sunset"
the hallgrimskirkja (again)
now's as good a time as any to mention... the way to spell iceland in icelandic is "island"... in english, this makes a fantastic pun :)
viking ship sculpture, 11pm, reykjavik harbor... quite possibly my favorite picture of the trip
same shot, different angle
sea, sky, and mountains...
street shot
more wandering
freezing my nose off in the cold