Reykjavik, Iceland

“It’s been done. It’s too late to turn back now. I hope I made the right decision. How did I manage to get on this plane by myself? What will I do when I get there? What if I hate it?” The thoughts started rushing into my mind, emotions overwhelming my body, and fear followed by doubt began to take over. “What am I doing?” I thought as I stared out the window at an unfamiliar city below me. 

After a six hour flight from JFK International Airport, my plane finally landed on new ground. A new city. A new country. A new continent. A mysterious place called Reykjavik, Iceland. “I’m here,” I said under my breath. As I anxiously sat in my seat I was ready to disembark the plane to see if my decision on traveling solo was the right one. I felt bittersweet. I was scared, nervous, and excited at the same time, but I felt free. Like a captivated animal finally being released into the wild. Into a new world I never knew existed.

As I stood in line to get my passport stamped, a quote on the wall caught my eye. “Better weight then wisdom a traveler cannot carry.” -Havamal (the sayings of the Vikings) I read it over and over again. Dismantling it word per word trying to discover what it meant. Since the wait was long, I finally decided to look it up and it all made sense. What I found was that the Vikings believed that when you do something, you actually learn more than reading about it because wisdom comes with experience. That when you do something more then once, each time it gets easier, but it is the improvement of doing that is most important.

A sign from the universe trying to comfort me? The longer I travel, the more I figure things out, the easier it will become and the stronger I will be. With this new confidence I handed over my passport and got it marked with my first European stamp. Ready to take on my new adventure I rushed to baggage claim and tried to figure out how I was going to get to my hostel.

Thankfully Iceland is really friendly with transportation. You could take the fly bus directly into the city from the airport. Unsure of what I was doing or what to say, I went up to the counter and bought a bus ticket. Hopefully, I end up where I’m suppose to. I hopped onto the bus with enthusiasm and hoped for the best.

When the bus started to drive away the sun hit my face through the window. “It seems like a good start,” I thought. With Reykjavik being located on the Seltjarnarnes Peninsula, I could see the Faza Bay in the distance. The sun dancing on top of the waves, allowing the beautiful landscape to reflect off the water. Blue skies and puffy white clouds were hugging Mount Esja as we drove by small Icelandic towns and houses. The closer we got to the city of Reykjavik, the closer I was to beginning a journey that I didn’t expect. A journey that will surprise me. A journey that will change my life, mold my mind, open my heart, and feed my soul with countless memories I will never forget.