Early 2000s, my family and I lived in Iceland for three years. Before we landed in a place where we would have lived for more than a decade when we moved back to the U.S., the land of fire and ice was where I called home.
Iceland was an amazing place to live, from the physical landscape to the history and culture of the country. I have vivid memories of walking up the sides of an inactive volcano and seeing giant geysers for the first time. Once we moved back to the States, I knew I wanted to go back one day.
Living in Iceland was definitely a big part of what would soon become an ongoing wanderlust that I still have to this day. Traveling is something I’ve always loved, even though it’s just taking a short day’s walk. So when Covid-19 pandemic and quarantine began to become our global practice, I knew that there were no trips I had planned for 2020 and none that I wanted to make in the future. happen.
As quarantine continued, I discovered that I was losing the hustle and bustle of getting on a day trip and planning a longer escape. This is something that a lot of people wanted, but it wasn’t travel at all.
Thinking about travel though? Totally doable.
I found myself thinking back on the hypothetical trip I wanted to take to Iceland. This hypothetical journey was something I have been dreaming about since I was a child, and even before the pandemic I had no idea when it was going to happen.
But in November 2020, one game I was finally excited about was released. As a longtime fan, I was looking forward Valhalla Creed Assassin just a little more than usual. With the game centered around the Vikings and the main character Eivor, part of the setting is set in Norway.
Norway and Iceland are similar in their landscapes, being both Scandinavian and so close to the Arctic Circle. Mountains, snow, and sprawling fjords are common sights. That’s why I spent the first 10 hours of it Valhalla just exploring the opening section of the game in Norway. I played through the main story line and really enjoyed it, but I really wanted to just wander around the map, exploring different areas and the side meetings that were available.
Valhalla’s The Norwegian region was so beautiful. And for me, who really missed the geography and sites of Iceland, it captured a bit of what I remember being in Iceland.
Once night falls Valhalla, you basically see the aurora borealis all the time. I had seen snippets of the northern lights in the first trailer for the game, but it’s different to see something in the trailer compared to seeing it during your first gameplay.
When I was living in Iceland, I saw the northern lights several times. It’s a bit difficult to describe how amazing they look, but “magic” captures some of it. So in Valhalla, I took time to walk up to one of the top mountain hikes to get to the point and to get a great view of the northern lights.
It’s simple to play a game context; take a look at the scenes as you play and explore. But when I saw the northern lights as I climbed over mountains (and fell to my death several times) it took me back to a certain time.
I don’t remember the exact year, but it was just after Christmas in early January. An Icelandic holiday is called Þrettándinn, which marks the end of the Christmas season. As a celebration, large fires grow up. Christmas trees are also taken down. So this particular Þrettándinn, my family and I went to a bonfire that was in the town near where we were living at the time. It was awesome! I remember seeing old wooden furniture and people ‘s Christmas trees (the living kind) in the big tree that made up the fireplace.