Welcome to Iceland

9/29/24

Let’s just say, it’s been quite a week. Last week we were in Utah, this week we’re in Iceland. Last week we were elbow to elbow with thousands of young missionaries. This week we’re elbow to elbow with another senior missionary couple! Last week we were confident. This week . . . Todd is confident! (I’m getting there.) Buckle up, it’s been quite a ride.

On Monday morning we left the MTC and managed to get all our luggage to the Salt Lake Airport. We had an early afternoon flight to JFK, about 5 or so hours, and then another flight to Reykjavik that was just a bit longer. This took us through the night, landing in Iceland about 9:30 am local time. For 2 days I thought it was still Monday, it took a while for my brain to catch up!

We were greeted at the airport by Elder & Sister Allen and Elder Tibbits. These wonderful senior missionaries have all been serving in Iceland for the last year. The Tibbits left to go home to Utah the day after we flew in. They gave us their apartment, their car, and some of their responsibilities. They also left us food to eat, dinner was made, and a sparkling clean apartment. Elder & Sister Allen will be here serving with us for the next 6 months. We are very grateful they are staying for a bit to show us the ropes! They gave us a rousing welcome and made us feel right at home. Below is our mission car —

Let’s talk about this apartment for a minute. First off, it’s lovely. It’s the fanciest kitchen I’ve ever had, the whole apartment feels fresh and clean. There are two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a living/dining area. It’s furnished very comfortably and full of big, bright windows. We’re excited to have such a great place to live for the next two years. One of the most amazing things about the apartment is the shower. Well, the water, to be precise. There is water pressure for days! And, the hot water!! Since we are living on (essentially) an active volcano, there is never ending hot water. I love a hot shower and I cannot even turn the water as hot as it can go. So, basically, it’s a spa in the shower! 

We are right on the tip of an ocean bay and from two of the windows you can see the water. We can walk to it in about 2 minutes. And out the opposite windows we have a view of an embankment that feels like tundra – it reminds us of our Alaska days. The fall color in it right now is really pretty. We are going to like living here. In the first picture here, you can see our building with the red section in the middle. In the next picture, you can just see the water through the middle of the buildings looking out from our building. All of the buildings here are beautiful, bright colors.

Our first afternoon was spent napping and unpacking. The Allen’s and the Tibbit’s took us out to dinner at their favorite pizza place. There was lots of discussion and good food. It was a nice way to start things off. Sister Tibbits, in the middle, and Sister Allen, on the right.

That first night was a bit rough. It’s hard to adjust your sleep schedule by 7 hours! We did get a bit of sleep and woke late in the morning, Wednesday, to beautiful blue sky and the thoughts of adventures ahead. I have to admit, I spent most of the day Wednesday in tears. The fatigue, the stress, the change, the adjustments, and a healthy dose of homesickness for the kids and grandkids hit hard. 

Despite the tears, the Allen’s scoped us up and took us sightseeing. Apparently, a blue sky day is rare and they wanted to show us the sights while the sun was shining. We went to downtown Reykjavik to a famous church called Hallgrimskirkja. You’ve probably seen pictures of it before. It is a Lutheran church and one of the tallest buildings in Iceland. It is very impressive. We took elevators to the bell tower where there were views for miles. We could see all across Reykjavik and far out to see. The bells chime every quarter hour and leave your ears ringing afterwards! Watch the clock and plug those ears! 

The Allen’s drove us along the coast and we walked a black sand beach out to Grótta lighthouse. It helped with the homesickness to walk along the beach for a bit and we enjoyed watching the waves and getting to know each other. We also got a glimpse of the northern lights that night. They were just out to say hello on a clear night. We’re sure this is just a teaser for the nights to come when they will be brilliant. We walked down to the water by our home to see them. 

On Thursday we drove to Selfoss to do some immigration paperwork that we needed for our temporary residency. This drive was fantastic! There are steam vents everywhere, letting hot air escape from the ground. I got my first experience with Icelandic wind hair! We drove past the Walter Mitty hotel – the one where he gets a skateboard, right before the volcano erupts. I’m going to have to go back there sometime to look around. 

We saw just a bit of Selfoss when we stopped for lunch and it feels charming and inviting.

And we went to Urriðafoss – a magnificent waterfall not far out of Selfoss. The water is glacial runoff, pouring over an embankment. The power was wonderful and the views were just fantastic. Not that the city isn’t pretty, but getting out of town into the Icelandic countryside was a real treat. 

This is a 360* video Todd made. Use your finger to move the image around during the video to see the full effect.

As we made it through the week, my tears and homesickness subsided, our sleep schedules adjusted, and we began to settle into the apartment. We spent a few hours each day, here and there, organizing, rearranging, and setting it up how we like it. It’s been fun and I think we have everything done the way we want. We’re very grateful that the church provided such a nice place for us to live. They are very generous with us old folks. We also had a few video chats with the grandbabies and that’s helped things too. 

One thing that we are still in shock about is the grocery prices! Wow! Wow! We spent an hour at Costco and were stunned by, not only the price of everything, but that 24% tax rate. 🙂 Most things have to be shipped onto the island, making the cost of living very high. Just, wow. We bought some chicken and a pork roast (to divide and freeze) and had to take a breath at the cost. It’s also been interesting finding things that will work in place of our usual toiletries and other things that we cannot find here. There are many different stores and we’ve just been to a few. So far we are finding Costco and Bonus to be where we will probably be doing most of our grocery shopping.

On Friday we attended our first missionary coordination meeting for the Reykjavik 1st branch. We met the 6 young elders who are assigned to this area. Elder Benzley, Elder Hill, Elder Nielsen, Elder Pollock, Elder Fischbeck, & Elder Pelissie are pretty remarkable young men. They are sharp. These men are finding and teaching people all over Reykjavik. I made notes of at least 22 people they are teaching or working with right now. Several of them are preparing for baptism. It is amazing. I’m excited to learn from these young men as well as be friends with the members of the 1st branch and support them. The Allen’s are also working with this group and they are proving to be valuable mentors for the young missionaries and for us. 

This meeting was at the church and we got to see the Christus statue that stands in the foyer of this small building. It is beautiful. We’ll look forward to seeing it each time we come to church!