Northern Lights

still shot from this source

Ever since watching an episode of Bear Grylls in Iceland I've wanted to go. I remember it exactly. He was talking about the landscape, with all these pockets of caves and dens, and he said, look at these, look at this landscape and you can easily see why people believed in trolls and fairies living in places like these.

And I was hooked. Fascinated that somewhere the landscape and climate could affect belief in such a way. What's also incredible about Iceland is that one can see the Northern Lights. I read somewhere (though I can't find it now) that the Northern Lights are at their peak right now, and have even been said to be seen in Scotland this winter.

Seeing the Northern Lights has held a fascination for me since childhood. I remember watching the movie Balto and my mom telling me that Northern Lights actually existed. And then, that their real name was Aurora Borealis, and the princess from Sleeping Beauty? Her real name is Aurora. As a child of seven, the prospect of seeing this natural wonder dazzled me.

Finally, Iceland has some pretty darn cool sagas. They're the stories that surround Beowulf without being specifically English: ones with wolves and fire and magic and evil witches and incest and shape shifting. When one of my professors first told me these stories, (UNC Brit Lit 101, Ted Leinbaugh) I was riveted. Now I know several people at Durham working on Icelandic Lit. and their papers? Always interesting.

So yeah. I'm rather embarrassed to admit this, but that's where I'll be going next week. My brother and sister are flying over from the States and we'll stay a few days in London, and then we're all going to Iceland. Fran too. I've been pouring over guidebooks, planning, and attempting not to plan. It hasn't quite hit me yet that I'm going, but I think by Monday, once both siblings have feet planted on English soil, I'll be so happy to have an experience to share with them I might just wet my pants.