Travel Diaries: Iceland

In the beginning of July I returned from Iceland, where I spent two magical weeks attending a summer school on small states, organized by the Centre for Small States Studies at the University of Iceland. The summer school was a fantastic experience, I met some amazing people there and made a lot of great new friendships. I had the honour to listen to some of the best professors in the discipline of International Relations and small state studies and it was overwhelming to say the least.

But there's even more to it - the country, where the summer school took place. Iceland got under my skin, it is such an amazing and magical country that I feel the need to pay a homage to it on my blog.

The thing that I liked most about Iceland is the feeling that accompanied me throughout my whole journey - I felt like I am visiting another planet, as if I was in a bubble, far away from the everyday earthly problems. As we were landing at the Keflavik airport, exactly at midnight, the sun shone through the window in an almost bewitching manner. Looking down at the rough, sunlit landscape, I immediately felt as if I had left the planet Earth. The magnificence of Iceland does that to a person. Its dynamic and still changing landscape enchants you, the captivating warmth of Reykjavik and the hospitality of the locals make the city your home away from home. And it only takes a short drive to see it all at once - the hot springs, the volcanoes, the glaciers, the beaches. It's amazing, how much magic there is in one small area. One starts to understand why almost half of Icelanders allow the possibility of existence of elves or the so called huldufólk. 

The landscape, the folklore, the people - it all fits perfectly into the recipe for a magical land. Once in Iceland, I guarantee you'll never want to leave.