Day 2 - Iceland horseback riding

Iceland is beautiful. Can I start off with that? The landscape is wonderful, and I can’t help but to imagine the old Nordic myths and stories when I look out across the fields and up to the mountains. There’s snow up in the cloud-covered mountains and steam rising from the rivers and hot pots. What an ironic combination!! That makes it all the more gorgeous. I can’t help but to imagine living here... Raising a family in a small town with horses grazing out in the pastures. This would be an amazing kid-friendly society. I could just imagine sitting on the back porch watching little kids run around playing and herds of horses galloping around behind them...

Horses!! That’s what I was supposed to be talking about!! We went horseback riding this morning, which, of course, was what I was most looking forward to. The ride was a lot better than I’d expected. Since it was a beginner’s ride, I expected a slow line of uninterested horses just following the leader. But it was the complete opposite. We started slow, but it wasn’t like a trail ride at Girl Scout camp. These horses had a mind of their own and made you actually pay attention and have to have control. Plus, we didn’t have to stay at just a walk. We went faster into a trot multiple times. Of course, I was wishing that I could go faster, but it was really cool to see all the other girls having such a good time. They seemed to really enjoy it.

I’m not sure how the other horses were, but I was put on a more advanced horse since I’ve been riding for seven years. I believe that his name was Stoic. He walked really fast and didn’t like to stand still. He was also a little mouth shy and wasn’t too found of the bit in his mouth. He kept pulling his head forward to try and have me loosen up on the reins. The problem was the reins were as loose as I could let them!! Riding him was a completely different experience for me though. Icelandic horses are a few hands shorter than the horses I’m used to, so it was different being lower to the ground. These horses are also a bit bouncier than the one I ride. But it was really fun. I just can’t wait until we visit the farm and get to ride show horses!! I’m sure I’ll be writing an article on that too!!

Until next time, have fun reading the other girls articles, and do something different! Maybe look up at the night sky after the setting sun. It can sometimes be the perfect shade of dark blue. Think of us when you’re doing it too. Remember, we only get two hours of dark here in Iceland!!

~Brittany

Day 1: Iceland

Today’s highlights for me were meeting Elvar, Goumondier, and our Sister Troop. We got to Reykjavik and couldn’t find the Scout House because we had Elvar’s house number not the Scout House’s. But it was ok because he lives 15 houses down from the Scout House. It was pretty awesome, we got our tour and then we got a bit of time to just unpack a little bit and an hour to sleep. Thank God, we were so exhausted!

We went out to find somewhere to eat and we ended up at a pizza place and it was amazing. Coumbah, Mrs. Susan, Rosie, and I went to the store across the street to get some food for breakfast tomorrow. We walked back when we thought the pizza was done after we had finished buying our food. We then walked back to the Scout House to have our photography session with Elvar. Throughout the session, some of the girls from the sister troop came in and immediately we all bonded! It was pretty amazing.

We played games like Apples to Apples, a hand game, and Ninja. We had a very good time, especially when we were all eating the chocolate with them.  Before this trip, I had been talking to Signy, and today we bonded a lot, she is so cool and I honestly don’t think we could’ve gotten a better group.

 
We went to the ocean to take some photos and it was really cool, I’m really liking this whole experience, and I don’t think that the jet lag besides today will be bad at all for the rest of the trip.  I love our Sister troop, and I can’t wait to meet everyone else tomorrow!

--Emma

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Hello!! It’s Rosie! Today, we got in from our LONG day of travel. We all looked like we were drunk because we were so tired. After mom did the currency exchange, we took a shuttle to the car rental place. All of us got into the car and slept for the one hour it took us to get to the scout house.

Once we got to the scout house, we unpacked and went to sleep again... :) When we woke up, we were STARVING! (of course...) Most of the shops and restaurants were closed, so we had a little trouble finding food. We ended up eating at a yummy pizza place, BUT Coumbah, Emma, Mom, and I had to go shopping for more food. We found a store that was opened, but everything was extremely expensive. We ended up getting help from a lady we met at the JFK airport yesterday who was also flying to Iceland. Small world!  She took us through the store and helped us pick out special Icelandic foods. We bought groceries for breakfast and lunch for tomorrow... (eggs, cereal, milk, lunch meat, bread, chips, etc)

I came back to eat the pizza we ordered, but the pizza was gone when I walked in. Lizzy said the pizza had seafood on it (which I dislike), so she said she ate my pieces. Thank the Lord she was kidding. I ate my pizza, and we continued on with our day.  -Rosie

We took this at the ocean at 10:30pm and it's still really light outside!

Some Last Thoughts from All of Us!

I'm really anxious about this trip I feel like it's the baby we never thought would be here. Now that it's here, all I can do is anticipate on what the outcome may be from all the planning, reservations, etc. I really love everyone in the troop and I know the outcome, whatever it is, will be spectacular because WE ARE WHO WE ARE!! ~ Coumbah

So the day of the trip is finally here! How we did it sometimes I don't even know, but we're here now! Really, I've been looking forward to this since we finally started. Even though we won't actually BE in Iceland until tomorrow, the journey will still be amazing. Killing time at the JFK airport might take a while, but we'll be in Iceland so soon!!! --Katie


The day is FINALLY here!! We are so excited and I can not wait! We are going to have such a fun trip and we are so happy this day has come.  I'm so happy, and I'm having those "about to cry, but in a good way" moments like every second! The girls are here now, can't wait to update on the trip!
--Emma

It's finally here. We're leaving for Iceland today. It doesn't quite feel real. Feels just like it did right before we left for Seattle. But this is going to be a million times better!! I'm kind of nervous though... Just hoping that I don't throw out my knee on this trip. But I'll make the best of it either way!! It's amazing to think that in 24 hours we will be in Iceland. I can't believe it!!! We'll we've got a lot of plane time to deal with today. Time for listening to music (probably Snow Patrol) and reading!!! So excited!!!!!!
~ Brittany

It's hard to believe, it really is. This trip is something special, in a way that I can't express. I'm so glad to be spending this time with all of you!
~Selina

We're all at my house now, eating a big potluck breakfast with our families, getting our bag tags and itineraries, blog cards, emergency information.  Yesterday I was finishing getting things ready for the trip and just felt like I wanted to stay home and read books in the hammock for two weeks, but today is here and we've packed the van....I'm getting really excited; the girls are laughing and full of energy and I know it will be an amazing trip! - Susan

I am soooo excited!! It has taken a lot of work and dedication to get to where we are, but it is soooo worth it!! I am really looking forward to our trip!!!! ICELAND/ENGLAND OR BUST!!-Rosie

I can't believe that it's finally here!  We've worked hard doing our final planning and I'm exhausted before we ever leave but I'm so excited.  We've had a wonderful breakfast and have already packed the van so now it's time for the fun!!! - Donna

Scoot, Scoot, Slide... Scoot, Slide Getting to Iceland and England: The Vision Thing by The Leader

One of the lessons that I have learned is how to create your own reality. Too often, we let the voice in our heads tell us what is possible, and it limits us from where we go in life. One of the lessons I really wanted for all of my girls to learn early in life was how to not limit their visions, and how to make them reality by working together.

When we started the process of our latest adventure 3 years ago, I challenged our girls to dream as big as they could. I admit I was a little scared when the answer was, "Europe!" knowing that there would be a lot of fundraising and responsibilities they would face.

We seem to scoot forward, inch a little forward, slide back - just like climbing up a huge vertical mountain just a few inch at a time, trying to see if this place will hold our weight, pulling our bodies up just a few inches, trying to find a place for another foothold a few inches further... but sometimes having to back track and go down and around a big hole we didn't know was there when we started. 

It would have been much easier if the parents had donated all the money and I planned the trip and told the girls what we were doing. But they would have learned nothing about teamwork, about negotiation, about figuring it out themselves. There have been so many times when the girls came to a tough place and reported they could go no further. Every time I took a deep breath and walked them back to "start" and made them push for their answer. 

The entire trip is a result of their being unreasonable in their dream.

In the process, they have become quite amazing women!

Susan

My first trip to Europe, what do I expect? by The Assistant Leader

I can hardly belive we are going to Iceland and England! It’s really starting to sink in as we complete our final preparations and I’m getting really excited. I’m looking forward to visiting both countries and getting to know our sister troops. We have some really exciting activities planned and I’m grateful to be able to make this trip with our awesome troop. They will make it a wonderful trip and I’m looking forward to seeing the leadership they will display.

I can’t wait to see the blue lagoon in Iceland. How can the water be so blue?!

In England, I’m most looking forward to seeing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.

Donna

Drawing close! by Lizzy

Hey Lizzy here!!

So... IT’S HAPPENING! I REPEAT THE TRIP WE’VE BE PLANNING FOR 2 YEARS is about to happen, in less than a week! If that isn’t crazy exciting, I don’t know what is. We’ll be leaving and coming back in 10 days. The first half of the trip will begin with going to Iceland. Our time there will start pretty nice and slow with a photography session with our sister troop’s leader; then, we will continue with horseback riding, swimming, and caving! After that, we’ll be doing what’s called the Golden Circle tour which involves sightseeing around three major natural attractions. One of these attractions is an actual fault line of the earth! The next day, we’ll visit a local farm, visit our sister troop, and bike around the city. Finally on our last day in Iceland, we will be visiting the American embassy, and then going to come exciting museums. The Iceland portion of  trip is so busy and exciting it could really just be a trip of its own. HOWEVER, right after Iceland we’ll be taking a flight to ENGLAND!! We open the london portion by doing some roaming around, close to the hostel we will be staying at, just to get ourselves acquainted. Then, the next day, we’ll be spending time with our London sister troop and visiting a real English Castle. On our third day, we’ll be visiting the areas  north of Oxford Street. These places will include the British Library, THE FILMING SITE FOR THE SHOW SHERLOCK ON BBC, King’s Cross, and Regent’s Park. After that day, we’ll visit the big attractions like Trafalgar Square, and Big Ben. To finish up the day, we’ll go to the Victoria and Albert Museum or the Science Museum. To conclude the trip, we will be visiting the famous Oxford street, where all the shopping happens. This will also include a visit to Chinatown (a tradition in the troop - to visit a chinatown anywhere we go), and also some cool independent bookstores. Finally, we’ll take a nice walk along the Thames. THEN THE TRIP WILL BE OVER - and we’ll sadly leave for our flight back to the ATL. Even until the end, I am sure this will be a trip of a lifetime!

Lizzy

American Embassy in Iceland by Emma

Hey Guys, It's Emma!

Recently everyone has been getting assignments to write on our blog, and I definitely got the topic I wanted.  I get to share some very exciting news with all of you and I'm so happy to!

A few weeks ago our leaders Susan and Donna got an email from the American Girl Scout Embassy in Iceland. We had previously sent out our schedule for the trip and apparently they had seen it. After doing so they thought we have a really great group, very adventurous and that we are achieving amazing goals. They then sent our leaders an email inviting us for a free tour of the American Embassy and also to host a lunch for us.

We are so honored and thankful for this opportunity, and I will make sure that all of you get every detail of our experience with these wonderful people.


Love you all!,


Emma