Day 174-return to Bifröst

   June 26-The windowblind partly blocked the light from coming into the room during the night, but we were tired enough that it did not particularly bother us.  We slept in and then headed into Reykjavík.  We drove straight to Pam and Marilyn’s house for dinner.  Pam’s parents were visiting from Gillette, Wyoming, so we got to meet them and visit for a couple hours before we did some shopping and then headed for home.
   We unpacked and the kids immediately ran outside to play.  The adults sat back and enjoyed the peace and quiet.  It was good to be “home.”  Our European adventure had finally drawn to a close.  Overall, we had a great time on the trip.  We would have loved more time in each location, but we really did not feel rushed on the trip.  It was nice that we could spend multiple nights in most locations, rather than have to unpack and repack suitcases each day.  It was great to see the German relatives and our friends from the time we spent studying in Europe during college.  Thankfully, travelling with Shan’s parents was not as stressful as we were worried it might be.
   The experience also made us realize that we have developed a more Icelandic mindset during the past six months.  While sitting on an island isolated out in the middle of the North Atlantic, it is easy to almost forget that the rest of the world exists.  Obviously, this trip to Europe quickly made a sham of that perspective!  No place is isolated in Europe; everyone lives cheek to jowl, cosmopolitan cities are 10-30 times more populous than the entire country of Iceland, and each country borders other countries with different languages and customs.  It makes Iceland feel very quaint.  Actually, that is probably the reason we like it here: Iceland’s relation to Europe is much like Gunnison’s relation to the U.S. and we fundamentally like our rural lifestyle.  The downside of these places, though, is that many people develop the “big fish in a small pond” attitude that gets them in trouble when they leave the “small ponds” and find out that they really aren’t particularly “big” in the wider world!