Home From Iceland

Iceland.
A land full of myths and mystery and wonder. Oh how my heart almost burst at the thrill of being in that magical country. 
It's so bittersweet to be home, as is always the case after any venture of mine. 
But I feel especially so after this one. Iceland captured my heart in a way that it hasn't been captured before and I'm not sure it's ever going to fully be freed.
I told more than one person that if it weren't for the people I loved waiting at home for me, I just might have stayed and not come back.

I'm sitting here at home on this dreary and gray Monday (weather I actually am quite fond of and something I missed while in Iceland, as we didn't see much of it during our stay) and listening to some of the Icelandic music I picked up during my trip. It feels so crazy that I was in such a different environment and space just a day or two ago. I always have a little bit of culture shock, if you will, when I return home from my travels. It's a little jarring to all of a sudden be back home and pushed back into your normal day to day after being in such a different time and place (jet lag aside), experiencing otherworldly things so outside of your norm mere hours before. I sometimes wonder though if that's just the affect of 21st century travel. The ability to be on the other side of the world, in a place completely different than your normal surroundings, is possible within just a few hours by hopping on a plane and flying there. I wonder if, back in the day, when you had to travel by ship or train or even horse and buggy, if your culture shock was lessened by the gradual transition back into your normal surroundings. The switch from cultures and experiences not as drastic in their slow reversal. 
Maybe that's a rabbit trail for a different day...
Anyway.

The dream of visiting Iceland being realized gave me nothing short of that pinch-me-is-this-really-happening feeling pretty much the whole time I was there. I frequently found myself setting aside my phone, or my camera and just taking in my surroundings and trying to experience them as fully as I could without the help of technology or any documentation. 
It took me off guard in so many wonderful ways. The varying landscapes, the people, the food, the language, the wool...
I filled up about 70gbs of memory cards documenting my wonder and adoration (I mean I didn't set my camera aside the whole time). So there will be lots of photos coming your way as well as a video (if I can get my act together to edit the footage).

However, in the meantime, I have some work to catch up on. 
But I'm surrounded by lots of new Icelandic wool, some pretty magazine and newspaper clippings and post cards on my walls, a few snacks still left from Bonus, photos awaiting editing on my desk top, and some new music to fill my ears.
So going back to my normal routine and work day today isn't quite so bad after all.
I very much feel as if I'm achieving this dream currently actually.
And so I feel pretty content right now.