So, Iceland.

Flying into Keflavik featured the most remarkable window view I've ever seen. The Icelandic interior was ghost white, with only the occasional dark blue lake or steep grey rock face to differentiate it from the clouds. Without any single type of human development, it was impossible to figure out the size of the mountains below, but left to the imagination, they seemed massive hulks, brooding giants amidst the confusion of cloud and snow. I felt as though we were flying above the loneliest place in the universe.

On the ground in Iceland, it was already dark by the time I got to Reykjavik, so I got to see the city in firework light but not daylight. This afternoon, I took a walk around the center, touristy parts and was blown away again. The city itself isn't so special, although it holds it's own as a city much more than I had expected it would. There's a brand new convention center, that, while not the Oslo Opera, is the kind of cornerstone contemporary architecture that you can really build a waterfront around. Between that, and the impressive Hallgrímskirkja (central cathedral) is a quite charming downtown district and a wonderfully unassuming and dignified building that houses Iceland's Parliament, the Alþingi. But my favorite part of Reykjavik is Esja, the Table Mountain-esque behemoth that looms over Reykjavik from across the bay. It's one of my white-giants, and it's an unbelievable backdrop for the city. That's it in the back of this picture.