This morning I was filled with expectations. I expected to wake up early and spend some money foolishly on the KEX buffet breakfast. Foolishly, because I have food at home and the KEX buffet breakfast costs about 1500 kronur. However, somewhere between six and ten in the morning found me having really nice sleep. Then, somewhere around ten in the morning found music wafting in from somewhere. Somewhere closeby. Somewhere close enough by that it wafted loudly. I drifted in and out of sleep and finally heard the little “boop” of a Skype message coming in around eleven.
It was the Capt, who was off to the farm this morning. We exchanged brief xoxoxo messages, and I decided to get out of bed. I hurt. I decided that I wanted to go swimming. But I also felt such an urge to run, run away from Reykjavik that I found it hard to get myself going. A few other messages came in, from Morning and from Traveler. I checked my email and found one from Alpha, saying he’d be around today but hoped to turn in early, around 2000 in Wisconsin.
Dragging myself out of bed, dressing, I found myself hungry. Went to the kitchen and it was a disaster area. Wow. So I cleaned off once counter in order to prepare my breakfast of oatmeal with capers, a ham very similar to prosciutto, cucumbers, and olives with RUssian caravan tea and cranberry juice on the side. Went to eat in the common room and it was a bigger disaster area. Wow. Decided to eat in my room. As I did so, I decided that I wanted to escape the dorm, the city, the whole shebang. But I still wanted to go swimming.
Took my dishes to clean up in the kitchen, and decided to run down to Nóatún for groceries for the rest of the week breakfasts and lunches. Bought tomatoes from Hveragerði, gurka from Flyður, avocados from Chili, some ham, some lamb, some lemons, cranberry and grapefruit juice, apricots. Came back, put it away, and contemplated my life while staring at the iPad.
Decided to go swimming — in Hveragerði. So I am now sitting at Mjödd, waiting for the number 51 bus. It comes at 1530 and it is now 1438. It cost me an extra 1750 kr over the bus pass for Reykjavik, but it is worth it. I should get to the pool in Hveragerði by 1610; it closes at 1730. It was the largest pool in Iceland for years, and looks quite lovely. Hveragerði itself is the site fo the greenhouse research being done by Christina Stadler!
I hope to catch dinner there in Hveragerði after the pool closes and then make my way back to Reykjavik.
Of course, in doing all of this, I am missing the potluck dinner organized by David. I had offered to roast lamb, but while some people expressed an interest, no one really followed up. After the disaster area shock of the kitchen and common area this morning, I realized that I do not have the fortitude to chase after people and ask them for kronur to buy lamb, slave over it all day, and be stuck in Reykjavik. Part of me wants to continue on to Vik and skip class in morning, but I will try to squelch that particular desire. Aside from that — the oven doesn’t work.
My nerves are horrible — it is 1442 and I am going to see where my bus will stop.
So the bus ride to Hveragerði was quite pleasant. Took a couple of pictures. The stop in town is at the Shell station, and the pool is a few blocks up the hill from there and well marked. The pool is actually right next to the Agricultural University Greenhouses! I like the town of Hveragerði — it has trees and charm. It is known as the Blooming Village,
and there is a sign outside of town that talks about the Horticultural History of the village: