Back in Europe

Greetings from Reykjavik, everyone. Patrick impressed me earlier this morning with telling me that the name translates as "smoky bay" and is the city with the most bookstores per capita worldwide. Ah ha, now we know our trivia!
We got here early this morning (6.30 local time) and are now hanging on to an iron will to stay awake until at least 4 or 5 this afternoon. First impressions include "Wow, this DOES look like the moon" (other than dandelions and tulips we haven´t seen much green here...mostly rock, water and ice, really), "Shit, this is expensive!" ($85 for a bunk bed room that is about as small as the average pantry; $ 4 for a CUP of coffee; $360 for a rental car for three days [didn´t take it]) and "Is this really almost June in the northern hemisphere?" (the air is so crisp, it´s beautiful, but it feels more like late February than late May).

Tomorrow we´ll probably go see the geyser (Old Faithful´s European brother), an impressive waterfall and one of the most visited national parks around here (all together called the Golden Circle). I´m really excited about our Friday plans, though... a day trip to the gigantic natural spa, the Blue Lagoon. Supposedly you can hang out in the thermal water for hours, then go to the sauna, put some mineral mud on your face (apparently really good for your skin, as we read everywhere) and just r e l a x. Finding a thermal puddle to sit in really isn´t difficult here, it seems. The map is covered with locations...so we might just skip the shower and check out the local pool tonight.

I wish I could upload some pics already, but it seems I schlepped my laptop over here for nothing at this point. Wi-fi isn´t accessible, resp. it costs you an arm and a leg (now we´re in the library for $2.50 for 30 minutes), so that´s out as an every-day activity :( I´ll update you guys at the latest when we get to London (hoping that one of the airports will provide a fast internet connection). Anyway...we´ve got to get back outside and moving or else we´ll fall asleep. More soon... Bless! (Icelandic for good-bye)