A Wintery Week in Iceland: An Introduction

I have struggled with where to begin. I obviously have little difficulty writing at length about all kinds of things, travel being one of them, but something about this trip has left me at a loss for words. What I expected, what I hoped for, what happened -  I am struggling to express any of it. But sometimes you just have to dive in. And hope that you can even begin to do justice to the experience.

Over the months that I planned the trip, I was frequently asked, "Why Iceland?" That's a great question. Unfortunately my best answer was, "Ummm, because it seems awesome..."

From the moment I landed in the country on a dark, cold, Sunday morning, I knew my answer, while inadequate, was also replete with truth. Awesome it was, in the truest sense of the word. Almost immediately upon my arrival, as the sun began to slowly spread its color and warmth across the snowy landscape, I began to appreciate the magic of Iceland.

Beauty there is not fleeting. It is temporary, of course, as is all beauty, but it does not pass quickly. Iceland is a place where the sunrise lasts for hours rather than minutes, where waves crash relentlessly and endlessly against the rocky coastline, where mountains and glaciers experience the seemingly minutest of changes. It is a beauty meant to be savored.

At the same time, it is a land constantly in flux. A land that has been and continues to be shaped by water and wind and earthquakes and volcanoes. A powerful place that is continually changing. At any moment, the landscape could be violently and irrevocably altered by the forces of nature.

So that's where I choose to begin. With beauty and change. With magnificence and power. And the hope that as I share more about Iceland in the upcoming weeks, I can even begin to communicate what an incredible place it is.