Goodb-yceland or the impossibility to find appropiate words to say good-bye to all of you

I never got the meaning of FM Belfast´s Underware. But I guess it is one of the most awesome and beautiful party songs ever performed on stage. As we were driving back from the Isarfjödur music festival, their song was still stuck in my head: We come from a place where we count the days… And arriving in Reykjavik again, made me definitely start counting days: Five.

Looking back it is quite funny which was a major reason why I decided to extend my stay here in Iceland. I wanted to experience Icelandic Spring. And hells yeah, I am experiencing it. Snowstorm. Hail. Rainbows. Free Coffee at N1. It is great! But honestly, after nine month in Iceland I am still surprised by this country. How can you possibly create a calendar, in which a day like this is already referred as summer???

Spending a weekend in the Westfjords, in Isarfjodur and Nupur, the place, where everything began, unavoidably made me think about … What this stay in Iceland meant to me. And what does it mean, to go back, to whatever or whoever is waiting for me. All the time I thought, before I leave Iceland I will produce a fucking awesome blog-post: summarizing all this crazy shit, showing a lot of fotos, thanking all the people for the great time, add some pathos and put everything into the oven for 45 minutes. But somehow the oven seems to be broken: There is just no sense in highlighting some special events, because it would deny the meaning of some other ones. It´s not right to mention just some people here. Because there were just too many nice people around. It is a petty that I will not be able to see all of you before I leave. But, it would not even make a difference. To be realistic - most of us will probably never meet again. So I will basically avoid putting too much pressure in seeing every one of you, and just think about the good time we had all together. Either we just shared a beer, went on a trip, lived together, loughed together, shared thoughts, doubts and worries, or made an awesome barbeque at beginning of February ... I guess ... every one of you ... is a little part of this Icelandic puzzle. And of course I like the pieces of the puzzle, but what I really love... is the puzzle itself. Endings are never easy, someone said…

"Things rarely go exactly the way you want them to, so sometimes you make due with whatever you can get. Endings are never easy; I always build them up so much in my head they cant possibly live up to my expectations, and I just end up disappointed. Im not even sure why it matters to me so much how things end here. I guess its because we all want to believe that what we do is very important, that people hang onto our every word, that they care what we think. The truth is: you should consider yourself lucky if you even occasionally get to make someone, anyone, feel a little better. After that its all about the people that you let into your life..."

So don´t get me wrong. I am not and will not be disappointed by how it ends. I just think this are some beautiful and true words. And I hope I was able to make someone, anyone, feel a little better: That I also was a puzzle piece, of the puzzle of someone else.


And after all, I have to say. This is not the end. Because endings assume that something is over. But Iceland is not over. Iceland is much more than an island, a country, Háskóla Íslands, Laugavegur, FM Belfast or some trip along the south coast. Leaving all this, will change nothing. Iceland opened my eyes. Get to know every one of you, hearing all your stories, being part of your life’s ... just made me realize .. that there is so much more in life than ... what I have been doing so far. Iceland made me realize that we are our very own architects. That we really can do whatever we want to. And that I should consider myself as fucking lucky ... because there is so less, which restricts me. This freedom is amazing. And at the same time it makes everything so… foggy. I have no idea about anything right now: Will I come back to Iceland? What about all the people? Are they just portioned friends, like the narrator of Fight Club claimed? Will I continue living in Vienna, or just seek the next adventure? Do I need this routine and security in my life a study can provide, or can I really live freely and just do whatever I am up to? Right now: I just know one thing: On Saturday I am going back to some place, I left a long time ago. At least it really feels like it. And my god, this sounds pathetic. But another thing I know for sure: Iceland and every one of you will stay in my heart, and will accompany me in whatever I will do. Feel free to visit me in Vienna…

There are neither appropriate words nor pictures. There is no way to express everything I feel. But for not even trying, it is too important to me. I wish all of you all the best for whatever you will do. You are great people. Always remember that!

Wind

All the people in Iceland will know why the topic of todays post, is "Wind". A friend of Sebastian, who arrived today at Keflavík had to wait four hours in the plane, because they were not able to dock on the airport. Half of Snaefellsness is impassable and even parts of the ringroad are marked as closed due to heavy winds over 30m/s. This day also made me think about our planned trip in the highlands. We will need a damn good constructed tent for this conditions. Anyway. Going to Samkaup was fun. Going back was not. It´s just some fucking moving air, but damn it matters wether it blows in your face or in your back. 

This pic is from a trip so Snaefellsnes, where it is basically windy all the time. As Eric said "we had a really great time until Marcus got shot in the back" (at least it looks like it) We really had to try hard to conquer the wind and reach the beach. Haha... now I can even say it. Peeing is also quite hard under this conditions: So I tried to get some shelter behind a stone, but this made the aircurrents even more unpredictable. So the fluid went up (i have never seen this before) and then somehow back again... haha.. yeah it was as well raining a bit. I was the master of disguise... MUAHAHAHAHAH!!! To my defense it was 25 m/s.

Do you sometimes  had the feeling that in Iceland whereever you go the wind is blowing in your face. Or at least also in your face (because sometimes I have the feeling the wind is coming from all four directions at the same time). But this is over now. At least for me. The wind is carrying me. It is blowing from the back. With at least 30m/s. My roads are cloased. There is only one direction left to go. Towards an end of this ERASMUS-Iceland. My god, I have no idea what I am writing here. I write, that it is over soon. But, that cannot be. It just started. I can remember. It was just some time ago when I arrived in Seydisfjödur. And all the people I met. Going to Landmannalaugar with Bob, Victor, Radka and Domenico. Ruining my car at Hekla, and still heaving one of the most beatiful hikes in my life. Making "Käsespätzle" in Djupavík bathing at Krossnesslaug directly at the sea (this picture will always stay in my mind, the beautiful orange sunset behind the mountains), haha.. jumping in Jökulsárlon, just to make a photo and show off with it (it worked!), our nice little near-death-experience in the Eastfjords, or Nina, who took a crap about knee-deep snow, and just continued walking with her fucking convers-shoes and my jacket, which was at least five sizes too big for her. So many beatiful memories, and so many nice people to share it with... damnit ... right now, it feels like the wind will just blow you off the cliff. Like the german tourist in Látrabjarg. Haha, and while he felt down, he continued making photos of himself smiling; at least that is our theory. And I kind of like it. And as I fall down  I will just grab the edge with my little finger. Return in summer and give Iceland an ending, which it deserves (from North to South), hopefully a happy one. And then I will just let it go. And realize that just half a meter under my feet there is the safe ground. There is just this short moment of uncertainty. The moment where you realize you released the edge, but don´t feel the ground already. But after this, there is this great freedom again, of doing what you like to do, seeing the people you love and going to the places you want to. And after this time here in Iceland I know much more about it. And at the same time much less. It is like the wind. You don´t know from which direction it is coming. But somehow you are really happy that it is there.

O Spring, Where Art Thou?

Oh Frühling, wo bist du?

 Zeit ist relativ. Das maritim-arktische Klima, welches sich in Temperaturen zwischen -10°C und +5°C, einen immer wiederkehrendem Zyklus von Schnee, Eis, Sonnenschein, Wolken, Regen und schmelzendem Schnee, niederschlägt, könnte darüber hinweg täuschen das die Zeit unglaublich schnell vergeht. Es ist immer noch Winter. Und so hat man die Legitimation (zumindest sehe ich das so) jeden Tag bis weit in den Vormittag hinein zu schlafen und auch sonst die Dinge ein bisschen gelassener anzugehen. Doch gerade diese Ruhe steht in krassem Widerspruch zu dem was bevor steht. Es sind noch viele Dinge zu erledingen. Und viel anstrengender als das ganze Organisatorische wird es hier, die ganzen Zelte abzubrechen. Und wo anders wieder neu aufzubauen. Wieder einmal. Ich glaube ich werde den Frühling dieses Jahr einfach überspringen. Dieses ganze aufblühen, Energie tanken, Blüten tragen spar ich mir heuer ich stürze mich ohne lange Aufwärmphasen ins Abenteuer. Wenn man ohnehin nicht genau weiß wohin es geht, hat es ja eigentlich auch nicht gerade viel Sinn alles durchzuplanen. Ist ziemlich aussichtslos. Ich mag den isländischen Winter. Aber ich freu mich schon unglaublich auf den Sommer. Egal wo.


O Spring, Where Art Thou?
 

Time is relative. The maritime-arctic climate in Reykjavik, which results in temperatures between -10°C and +5°C, an eternal cycle of snow, ice, sunshine, clowds, rain and melting snow, can easily cheat our minds. Time is passing incredibly fast. Still, it is winter. And so we still have the legitimation (at least I think so) to sleep til almost midday, in general: take things slow and with comfort. But this calmness conflicts with the things, which are ahead of me. There are so many things I have to do. There are even more I want to do. It will be really hard, to quit all this here. I have really no idea, how things are going to work out after this „Iceland experience“. In some strange way I hoped to find out what I want to do in my life, what kind of person I am, with which people I want to share all this. But of course it was not so easy, and in fact everything turned out to be much more complicated than before (which is great, because this is, what life makes lifeworthy. Still…) I am afraid coming back to Austria is going to be much less „coming back“ than I hoped. Facing all this questions, which were thrown up here… a comeback will not provide answers I am satisfied with. I guess too many things have changed that a comeback is to a status-quo is even possible. Maybe I am overthinking all this again. I am just not good in dealing with uncertainty…

There is still over a month to enjoy here in Iceland. So probably it is way too early to make a résumé. I guess it´s time for spring. And then, we can just see what happens.

 Critical Mass Reykjavik (25.3) 

Critical Barbeque @ Graenahlid

The Megamitten project

Reykjavík is the city of gloves and/or mittens. The time in which it is more comfortable to wear gloves than not to do so is longer than in most other cities in the world. Gloves are accepted as a useful tool to protect your hands from cold and wind, but still mostly they are not appreciated as something really worthy. So it comes that you will find more gloves lying on the streets than for example carkeys or wallets. I guess two years ago, I began to think that it would be a pitty to leave the missing mittens on the street, to let them end up with no use for anyone. So I started to collect them, and by the time it became, yeah let´s say quite a strange hobby.

By now I have collected over hundred of gloves. And in Reykjavík I was able to take this profession to a higher level. There are hardly any days in which I don´t find a glove somewhere. Following the strict principle that I only take the gloves, where the possibilty that it will be reunited with the original owner seems not likely at all . And it always makes me happy when I find one. It is like a unwrapped present from a complete stranger. I found out that about 80% of all lost mittens are for the right hand, and was wondering about it for quite a long time. Until someone told me there might be a link to the fact that ten to fifteen percent of alle people a lefthanders. So it is quite logical that you use your superior hand for example lighting a cigarette or pay at the shop, untake your glove and by accident lose it. Against all odds I found another person who has the same hobby, and last party we ended up exchanging gloves, like we did it in our childhood with stamps or toy cars. People start to bring me gloves they find somewhere. And after all, it does not seem to be so strange anymore.

The Megamitten project, is something I did today. It was like this blog entry a result of major procrastrination, a great effort in not doing stuff for university. Don´t mix up with the "Missing Mitten Project" which describes itself as: "Lost another mitten? Don´t worry. Make it into a cute, tiny, stuffed animal"

In the Megamitten project leading scientists went for a glove-finding-mission and tried to answer how many mittens you can wear on one hand. The answer is: 42! ... no just a joke... actually it is just ten.

When you sew this monstrosity together it could be the perfect glove for people with really long fingernails.

Last week I paradoxically did something I never dreamt of before. I bought gloves. For real money. Wuhuu... but they are awesomely awesome, windproof, warm and with a silicon surface for extra grip. Worth every penny. Hopefully =)

So, if you need some extra gloves. You know where to find me.