This is what Canada would look like without Trees

I didn't know what to expect.

I mean, we are flying into Iceland - so there's probably some kind of snow, or at least some mountains visible right? Maybe some viking village ruins. 

Nope. 

We started descending with no land in sight. I was getting concerned. This isn't Atlantis I was flying to, it was Iceland. And we were heading straight into the ocean. What a fantastic start to our trip. 

Then at what seemed to be the last second, the coast came into view. A flat gray coast with one house in the middle of a mossy tundra rock field. 

Sketchy. 

A few seconds later we had touched down on the runway - I don't even know how they knew were it was. We came through the clouds and bam! we were at the Keflavik terminal. 

After using the wifi to send some quick messages and locating the washrooms (which were waaaaay nicer than North America, we're talking bird murals on the wall and personal mini bathrooms) Wanetta and I tried to get some kronas. But, we went to the wrong bank counter, apparently there are two, so we asked for directions. 

The young Icelander at the desk with hipster glasses and haircut looked at us and said in an amused/disdainful tone: "The exit is over there." 

He pointed to the back corner where a set of glass stairs, labeled by a paper sign led the way to the main floor, customs, and the buses. Definitely would have missed it. 

We thanked him and were on our way to acquiring some cool looking money - and since $1 equals 100 krona, I soon felt pretty rich!  

Side note - their English is EXTREMELY good, hardly any accents at all!

Next step: Bus tickets. 

They were expensive, but Wanetta and I soon found them extremely worth it. 

We got on the flybus which set out for the 50 minute drive to the capital city of Reykjavik. Through the middle of nowhere.

I kid you not. 

There was NOTHING.

No trees AT ALL! 

(I was hoping to think up a few flatlander jokes, but was having too much fun looking out the window.)

Seriously, mossy rocks took care of the horizon morphing into some rolling hills and some random rock statues (kind of like Inukshuks). Covered by fog and mist, with the ocean to our left.

This is what Canada would look like without Trees. 

It was SO EMPTY. 

And so amusing. I couldn't stop smiling.

(Of course when we got closer to the city, trees started appearing, but they had clearly been planted by the civilization.)

Then once in civilization, everything was miniature! 

There was only one lane on each side of the highway, and the bus had a hard time making it. The houses were adorable and sometimes brightly coloured, but I had a hard time imagining our family living in one of them. And the cars - Wanetta thinks they're ugly - which is kind of true because they are all so cramped and small! 

Its just so hilariously different here  - and I LOVE IT! 

Especially being the minority and hearing Icelandic everywhere - or German, or French, but mostly Icelandic. Its so fun! I just wish I could pronounce the street names. 

Then we got to the Bus station (BSI) which looks like it should belong in the middle of the Mexican desert not with the rest of these lovely mini-Europe buildings! A super awesome young lady - who also had hipster glasses, so maybe they're not so hipster anymore....  - helped us out, told us where to go, and gave us directions which put our adventure into high gear. 

We bought a Reykjavik Welcome Card which gets us into all sorts of places for "free." And since we are under 18, we received the children's card and rate, a great money saver! But this did get us some interesting looks at our subsequent destinations.... 

We showed the card to the person at the swimming pool and he looked at us very suspiciously. 
"We're 17," I explained. 
"You look older," he frowned, and then reluctantly let us in. 

So, starting with a thermal swimming pool, we enjoyed everything we could in our 7 Iceland hours! The National Iceland Museum, National Art Museum, Vikin Marine Museum, Metal Viking Landmark, and Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral. PLUS a Food Fair that was occurring only today and tomorrow that we heard about from a lady in the thermal swimming pool. GOD MOMENTS! 

All in all, it was a fabulous day.

Even though there were no trees.