world. NEXT STOP ICELAND rolls

JON: I’ve always wanted to come to Iceland, and now with Alaska Airlines partnership with

Iceland Air, here we are, in the most volcanic island in the world. On this episode, we will

actually go inside a volcano, we will also explore the beautiful capital city of Reykjavic,

and we will travel a couple of hours outside the city for adventures in glacier water.

The Iceland music scene is blowing up on the world stage, and on this episode we feature

local favorite Jon Johnson. All this and more on Next Stop, from the land of fire and ice.

The fun starts now! Next Stop logo

JON: After a scenic, and I do mean scenic, 2 hour drive outside of Reykjavic, we are

with Arctic Adventures for white water rafting. This is not what you wear rafting in Iceland.

This is what you wear to go rafting in Iceland. MUMMI: OK, I’m going to take a small safety

brief before we go in, I am going to start with the paddle. How you hold the paddle,

you have a C grip on the top, so place your thumb under here and grab it. Say all forward,

use your upper body. Lean forward, all forward, ok? Sometimes you say hold the line, get in,

so everybody should get in, ok, so all at the same time, ok, and all forward, and all

backwards, all backwards, and get in. Good, very good.

JON: What an exhilarating day on the water, and it was beautiful, beautiful color of green.

FRIDRICK: Yeah, it is a sort of grayish green color, but we say that rivers with this color

are white, hence the name of the river hvitur litur a, means white river.

JON: So I love the rapids, it’s very challenging, it’s a lot of fun, but I also like when

you get to the spot where everybody can jump of that big rock.

FRIDRICK: I did the back flip! JON: That’s right, you did what we are not

supposed to do. FRIDRICK: We have to demonstrate that also,

yeah? JON: You know what I liked about the tour

today, there were people from all over the world, we had a couple from Singapore on our

boat, people from the States, people from all over the place. You must attract a lot

of different visitors. FRIDRICK: Iceland was nominated as the number

one destination by Lonely Planet. JON: Really?

FRIDICK: So there have been a lot of advertisement and we are having people from all over the

globe. Next Stop logo

JON: We were surprised to learn that Icelanders love their hot dogs. You pretty much find

them on every street corner, every gas station, convenience store, kiosk, eatery, wherever

they sell food they are going to sell hot dogs. They are consumed for lunch, dinner,

late night munchies, we are even told that school children consume them for breakfast.

Each hot dog comes standard with raw and fried onions, ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. But

the best part, you will pay less that 3 dollars for this national delight.

Next Stop logo JON: Today we are going to learn a little

bit about Iceland 1101, it kind of all started with this guy.

GUNDI: Ingolfur Amarson. JON: So tell us about him.

GUNDI: He was a viking, came from Norway in 1874, he found Reykjavic and settled here.

JON: What else is around us here? GUNDI: You have the Supreme Court over here,

this little gray building with the green and copper top, and the national theater, the

black box over there, and then of course we have the harbor.

JON: Now you guys have the very first parliament in the world.

GUNDI: Yes. JON: Let;s visit that.

‘GUNDI: Yes, let’s do that. JON: So Gundi, we mentioned that the first

parliament in the world was in Iceland, but it wasn’t this building, but this is parliament

today. ‘GUNDI: Yes, this is the parliament, and

we have 63 parliamentarians and it is actually in session now, though it is Saturday, because

they are arguing about the fishing policy JON: Well there is your postcard.

GUNDI: Yes, Hallgrimskirkja, our largest church in Iceland. In front we have Leif Erickson,

which discovered America. JON: So we now know, 500 years before Columbus.

GUNDI: Yes, in the year 1000. JON: But they are thinking it was maybe Canada,

right? GUNDI: Yeah, it was somewhere around that

area. JON: I notice there is a steeple tower up

there where people are looking out, can we check out the view? It’s got to be amazing

of Reykjavic. GUNDI: Yeah, let’s do that.

JON: Let’s do it. So, we are at the beach, the beach in Iceland.

GUNDI: Yes, the beach in Iceland. JON: I didn’t expect a beach in Reykjavic.

GUNDI: No, but this in the only beach in Reykjavic, and it is man made. We pump hot water, geo

thermal water into the ocean here. JON: So all of this is hot water. I like this

too though, there is a long man made hot tub up there, it’s just stacked with people.

GUNDI: Now this is our last stop, Perlan, the Pearl, it’s a restaurant. Restaurant

on top is a revolving restaurant. JON: So I love your city, but you know, we

love your landscape, you feel like you are on the moon. I love the geysers flowing out,

steam vents all over the place, you really feel like you are in a special place.

GUNDI: Yes, it’s like, some people say it is like on the moon, but this is Iceland.

JON: It’s a beautiful place, thanks for having us.

GUNDI: Thank you very much. Next Stop logo

JON: You’ll want to stick around for what is coming up, we go inside a volcano, and

feature Alaska Airlines partner, Iceland Air. Next Stop logo

JON: Iceland is comprised of 40,000 square miles and has a population of just over 300,000

people, the least populated country in Europe. Two thirds of its population lives in the

beautiful capital of Reykjavic. So what does this low population density mean to the most

volcanic island in the world? Gorgeous unspoiled landscape that will impress you beyond words.

Next Stop logo JON: For the first time in history, travellers

have the opportunity to see what a volcano looks like on the inside, but first, Bjorn,

let’s hike. What are we doing today? BJORN: Well we are going to take a hike over

the lava hills over here, we;ve got some smaller caves, and some both new and old lava streams.

JON: Oh, that’s cool. BJORN: Yeah, that is quite common here in

Iceland, it is formed by lava streams. JON: You know what else I like? This is natures

trampoline right here folks, this is awesome. So, I just learned something new and interesting,

the american and european plates meet in Iceland, and they are splitting apart right now.

BJORN: Yes, excellent example about how it is splitting apart and we are going to America,

at least this part is. JON: This part is going to America, this part

is going here. Cool. JON: So we have arrived at base camp, and

now it is time for safety. BJORN: Yep, now everybody puts on helmets

and harnesses. JON: It is going to totally clash with my

outfit, but we will make it work JON: So I’m not exactly sure of what all

this says, but I am pretty sure we are going into this.

BJORN: Yes, that is right, so we are here at the top now, and now we are going 120 meters,

a little less than 400 feet, down into the bottom of the crater.

JON: Here we go! This is kind of intense, in a good way. I am speechless. These formations

look almost too perfect to be natural, it looks like a Hollywood set.

BJORN: Yeah, Nature overtook prizes. JON: Oh man, this is just fabulous. Um, wow.

This was well worth the hike. BJORN: Yes, this is amazing, this size, of

course the size and the height, and also the bright colors.

JON: What do you want people to take from this?

BJORN: Well, of course, just the adventure and see how the plumbing looks like on the

inside. JON: The real plumbing.

BJORN: Yes the real plumbing, how it all works. JON: Thank you for the experience, this is

a once in a lifetime experience. BJORN: Yes, I am happy that you liked it.

JON: Takk. BJORN: Thank you.

Next Stop logo JON: When we told our friends and family we

were coming to Iceland, they said ‘Alaska Airlines doesn’t fly to Iceland’ But their

partner, Iceland Air, does. We boarded our flight in Seattle, and a short 7 hours later,

here we are in Reykjavic. From the minute we got on the plane to the minute we left,

the Iceland Air service was impeccable, we didn’t want the flight to land, but here

we are at Keflavik International Airport, Iceland Air’s hub to it’s 31 destinations

in North America and Europe. Now I love checking out new airports, and I especially love exploring

lounges. Our friends at Iceland Air said you have got to check out our new Sega Lounge,

and from what I’ve experienced so far, I’m expecting greatness. What did I tell you?

The newly refurbished Sega Class Lounge is a modern state of the art facility, with super

cozy furniture, free wifi, a wide assortment of snacks and beverages to your hearts content.

It’s the ideal place to spend your layover on your way to your next Iceland Air destination.

If you are not able to visit the Sega Lounge, Keflavik Airport, Iceland Air’s international

hub has plenty going on. From world class duty free shopping to fabulous restaurant

and lounges with wide open spaces to stretch your legs, you will find it here at Keflavik.

For more information on Iceland Air and its destinations, visit icelandair.com

Next Stop logo JON: Up next, a brand new sustainable hotel

on Reykjavic harbor, and world famous Blue lagoon.

Next Stop logo JON: We are staying at the brand new, ultra

modern, super cool, Icelandair Hotel in the Reykjavic marina. and Snorri, this wasn’t

always a hotel? SNORRI: No, certainly wasn’t. In the beginning

it was offices for the dry dock, this is actually just right outside. This is probably the only

hotel in the world where you can actually touch the ships.

JON: So what was the process like building this? You were a part of it?

SNORRI: I was a part of it. JON: You kind of used everything, you found

stuff in the attic, you found stuff in the attic, you found lights, you found wood to

use, that’s so cool, very sustainable. ‘SNORRI: Our architect did a marvelous job

on the hotel, and did everything we could recycle, reuse, we did. As you can see here,

the bookshelf is made from our carpenters as well.

JON: And that was just old wood that you guys were just going to toss, but you found a use

for it,it looks so cool. So I noticed this guy when I walked in, who is this handsome

guy? SNORRI: This one here, there are two of those,

we call them the sailors, and this one is all dressed up and ready to go out.

JON: He’s ready for the night. Now this is all used, this is an egg carton?

SNORRI: Yes it is, it’s all recycled from the artist who made this.

JON: So Snorri, I heard you guys have a very well known chef.

SNORRI: Actually we have 2 very well known chefs, one of not enough, but they are really

good, they have been culinary chef’s of the year in Iceland a couple of times.

JON: And they cook out here in the open? SNORRI: Yes they do, their main station is

here at the bar. JON: We fast forward several hours later,

back in the lobby bar, and I mean several hours later because it is almost midnight

outside and it is still light out. With Chef extrordanaire Johannes, we are going to talk

about what is happening with food in Iceland, and I am going to make some stuff. Let’s

start out with what is happening with the food scene here.

JOHANNES: There are lots of things going on in Iceland.

JON: I can tell! JOHANNES: It’s about using your ingredients

that appear to you, and make a lot of food. JON: Sustainability. Tell us what you are

going to make and lets do it. JOHANNES: We are making cots, a cottis.

JON: Very thin. JOHANNES: Very thin, cut very thin. So next

thing is horseradish, chili of the north they call it.

JON: Chili of the north, I like it. I love horseradish.

JOHANNES: OK, next thing we have lovits. JON: That’s the stuff I was smelling.

JOHANNES: It’s an herb, actually I picked this herb this morning.

JON: You did? JOHANNES: Yeah, before I came to work.

JON: So many different tastes going on here, that is really good, the flavor just pops.

You nailed it, man. I can see why Snorri said you are the man!

Next Stop logo JON: The Blue Lagoon, located just a half

hour outside of Reykjavic has been considered to be one of the wonders of the world by National

Geographic. And from first glance at it, I can see why. This is so incredible. We have

been watching this from the webcam in the lobby in out hotel all week, and I have been

dying to come here, so here we are. EDDA: As you can see, people just enjoy relaxing

in the lagoon, and you’ve seen the benefits of the active ingredients from the sea water.

JON: What are those? EDDA: Those active are basically silica, minerals

and algae. And these are unique, not found anywhere else in the world.

JON: So I’ve got a couple of hours hereto spend this afternoon. I have been nursing

honestly a sore shoulder, and a pinched nerve in my neck, so I’ve been real excited to

come here. What do you recommend I do today? EDDA: I recommend you to of course, just warm

up in the water, dry sauna, steam sauna, and the energetic waterfall we have is amazing

for your shoulders. I would recommend you to the relaxing massage with is extraordinary

because it takes place in the water, the masseuse is with you in the water while you are having

a massage. JON: So we have found Iceland to be quite

high tech, check this out. Basically, this operates like your wallet, it opens your locker,

closes your locker, when you want to buy something at the bar, in the restaurants. Enough chatting,

let’s get in the water. Alright, lets take 10 years off this mug of mine with a silica