Travel Report LCI 2015 Akureyri
My first international LC trip started on Tuesday, the 18th of August, early in the morning. Me and my travel companions Louise and Lotta, met at Arlanda Airport about 6 AM. After the flight to Reykjavik, and the long waiting to get our rental car, we went straight to the first stop on our Iceland must do-list; the Blue Lagoon. The landscape, the blue water, and all the mud, really made us realize that we were somewhere very different from home! Our next must do, was eating strange things, which we accomplished by having the 6 course islandic gourmet menu in a restaurant in downtown Reykjavik. On the menu was of course lamb, but also puffin and ”brennivin”, and a lot of different fish courses. Like all food we had in Iceland, it was very tasty! That Iceland had so much to offer when it comes to food was a nice surprise. Another nice surprise was Iceland being such a licorice country!
Our must do-list, continued with the golden circle on Wednesday. We started with Thingvellir, where you can find the place of the first islandic parliament, as well as the rift between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. The next stop was the Geysir area, and in particular the geysir Strokkur. We followed the circle to Gullfoss, the spectacular waterfall, and on to Skalholt, the first bishop seat on Iceland. All sites were interesting or spectacular (or both), but the road trip itself was worth the time as well. The landscape, all the sheep and horses, and the hot steam puffing up from the ground- Iceland really is a magical country!
The next day, we had another day on the road, when we travelled from Reykjavik to Akureyri. The trip took about 6 hours, and what we had read in the guidebooks about the fast weather changes in Iceland, turned out to be true. We had sunny weather, we had clouds, we travelled through the clouds, and finally got to see the sun again, before arriving in Akureyri. Thursday, our LCI program started with the opening ceremony, and the parade took. Both really got me into LC mood! One of the highlights was definitely Vigdis Finnbogadottir's speech at the opening ceremony. Another was of course watching all the beautiful national costumes during the parade and the party afterwards.
Friday was the day for getting a bit of understanding of the international aspects of LC. I have been a member of LC for ten years, but I have never gotten more than a vague idea of what the international board does, and which questions are discussed in the international meetings. The meeting on Friday was a good one for a newbie, with everything very well explained, and a lot of Power Point presentations to show what it was really all about. In the evening, it was time for the homeparties! On almost every LC event I have attended, to homeparty is a real highlight, and this was no exception. My homeparty took place in Gunnhildur’s beautiful house, with ladies from Finland, GB&I, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and of course Iceland. We even got our own surprise guest; a singing and guitar playing friend of Gunnhildur’s. The sing-along went on until it was time to get on the bus again.
On Saturday, it was time for the next thing on the Iceland must do-list: Whale watching! When we went out in the fjord, the feeling was that it did not really matter if we were lucky and spotted some whales, since the boat trip itself in the scenic landscape was worth the time. We were however very lucky, and got to see many humpback whales going for a dive. Beautiful!
Somehow, the time always moves extraordinary fast on an LC event, and this was no exception. Suddenly, it was time for the Gala dinner, the last event at the LCI conference. The whole LCI was a top class arrangement, and so was the gala dinner. The sports hall in Akureyri was restyled, the entertainment was good, and once again, the food was delicious. After the dinner, the dance floor was full with happy ladies from around the world. It was a really great end to a great experience.
On Sunday, we drove back to Reykjavik, bought a lot of licorice in the tax free-shop at the airport, and flew back to Stockholm with so many photos and fun memories. LCI in Akureyri was my first international LC experience, but it will definitely not be my last! Cape town, anyone :-) ?
/Anna Burholm, LC48 Stockholm Bromma, Sweden