After sleeping in and slowly getting up and moving while waiting for the ridiculous wind to slow down, we finally got up and moving around 1pm and headed into Reykjavik. Our first stop was the Icelandic Phallological Museum, which holds the largest collection of preserved penis samples in the world. It was actually really interesting, but I particularly liked the small room off to the side with the “hidden people” penis specimens…given that they don’t exist, they’re Icelandic/Norse legends so they just made it up. My favorite was the Hidden Man jar, whose penis apparently only the pure of heart can see just as the hidden man can only be seen by the pure of heart, HAHAHA. Clever. They also have a fully mature sperm whale penis sample too, almost 5 feet long. After spending an hour or so looking at preserved penis samples, we did a little shopping and got some fish and chips for a late lunch. Then we continued down the road to Hallgrímskirkja Church and the Leifur Eiríksson statue, then went down to the water to look at the mountains. It was way too cold and windy to stay down there long, so we ran back to the car and went back to the hotel to warm up a bit. Then we headed to Blue Lagoon, a natural hot spring, and did mud masks and floated in the hot water under the full moonlight for a couple hours. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and ate and showered. Tomorrow will be a road trip day!
Mom and I left O’hare at 7:30pm and landed the next day in Iceland at 7:00am. As soon as we got off the plane we were greeted with red screens warning of an incoming hurricane force blizzard and told to get our rental car and head to our hotel ASAP before all the roads shut down. So instead of our plans for the day, we did exactly that, and opted for the additional $300 extra car upgrade and insurance as well. We got the rental car, and checked in early at the hotel (we were supposed to be in a cabin on a private peninsula but the weather forecast was so bad they moved us to their mainland hotel.) We made a quick stop at the bank to exchange money, then went to the grocery store to get food, then went back to the hotel just as it started snowing and watched TV and slept for 24 hours. The wind was indeed crazy, but instead of the rumored 6 feet of snow we only got like 3 inches. Looks like they exaggerate here just like in the states! What a fun Day 1! To be honest though, I REALLY needed that 20 hour nap. 🤣
I woke up a bit earlier than usual and after caffeinating myself I pulled everything I’ve accumulated over these past 2 months out of my bags and spread it out on the bed. Then I started to re-wrap and pack things up for the long trip back to the good old U.S.A. I bought more than I had originally planned, but all things considered, I didn’t buy that much. Mostly smaller items. I did have to offload my old shirts and a pair of pants due to weight restrictions, but I’ve lost a little over 4-inches on my waist and the old stuff doesn’t really fit right anymore anyway so it was no big loss. After checking out of the hotel and leaving my bag, I strolled down to the Tokyo Pokémon Center and picked up a few things since I had about 3,500 yen left to get rid of, then got some lunch at the restaurant next to the hotel.
I picked up my bag and walked over to the Narita Express Bus to the airport. My flight wasn’t until 6:20pm, but my anxiety was out of control today for some reason about this flight, so I arrived around 2:30pm and sat at the gate reading my book and scrolling through the endless void that is the internet. It was kind of a sad flight because I really didn’t want to leave Japan, plus my seat wouldn’t recline at all, and my row was one of the few rows that had a middle seat occupied so I couldn’t stretch out. I still managed to nap a little bit during the 14 hour flight, but given the time difference not sleeping isn’t a bad thing. I left at 6:20pm Friday the 6th in Japan, and landed in Chicago at 3:00pm on Friday the 6th so hopefully I’ll sleep well tonight!
Being in Japan all this time really makes me notice just how dirty Chicago is. After getting through customs I went to the bathroom and half the stalls were clogged and backed up with toilet paper and piss, and even the one I picked that wasn’t clogged was still filthy with toilet paper all over. You just don’t see that out east. I went to the taxi stand, and the taxi that pulled up made me glad I got a tetanus shot earlier. His check engine light was on, there was a thick layer of dirt and grime over every surface, rusted metal was visible everywhere the plastic had been damaged, his seats were being held together with duct tape…literally, it was disgusting. In Japan and Thailand the taxi drivers all have new cars and wear suits and driver hats and get out to open the door for you and have umbrellas to keep you dry, the customer service is impeccable. So now in Chicago, I just tried my best to not touch anything…but hey, I’m back even if it’s just for a couple days!
I had left the condo basically empty, so I had to run to the store to get a shower curtain liner, plastic dishes and silverware, some basic toiletries, foods and snacks for the weekend. One good thing about being back is I’ve had my DVR recording all of my shows while I’ve been away, so I have a lot to catch up on! Plus, I’m back where hard cider is a thing so yeeeaaaahhhh! Rick and Morty Season 4 and Redds Wicked Apple!
