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Monday, February 25, 2013

Hello again,

We have been to Iceland and back since I last wrote. For a while, we

were not sure we would be able to get there since we were flying out of

Logan Airport in Boston and a gigantic snow storm named Nemo was

going to hit the city the night before our flight. Nemo dumped over 2 feet

of snow on Boston. So Rob checked out if the flight was being canceled,

what our options were if it was canceled, if Amtrak would be running to

Boston, etc. On Sunday, February 10, we thought we had it all figured

out and we could follow our plan, so we headed to Jason’s house to drop

off our dog and have Jason go with us to the train station, then take our

car home with him to save us parking fees… but first we had to go back

home to get the camera bag we forgot. We eventually arrived at Jason’s

house with just enough time to make our train at 7:30 am, only to find

out that trains were not running north of New York City. We really

wished they had put the information on their web site. So after a hurried

debate, Rob and I decided to drive, rather than try to take a commuter

flight. Jason loaned us his GPS since we did not have directions to Logan

airport. Amtrak was real good at refunding our money; it was in our

account within the week.

The roads were clear to NYC (which we circled around to the west), then

we started seeing small piles of plowed snow along the road sides, then

larger piles. We did not stop for breakfast or lunch which we had

planned to have on board the nice peaceful train, but Jason had supplied

us with some granola bars for the trip so we did not starve. Rob was

flying our car like the proverbial bat out of hell, although he was by no

means the fastest car on the road and he was not weaving in and out of

traffic. We were only slowed for many toll booths and a few gas stops.

All went smoothly until we reached Hartford, Connecticut, where 2

lanes were closed. Between the road map and the GPS we found a street

route around the back-up. The roads in Hartford had been plowed, but

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mostly had only one lane. Passing cars going the other way was most

unpleasant. It took us about an hour to get back on the highway.

Fortunately after that it was a straight and clear shot to Boston’s Logan

International Airport and we arrived at 5:08 for our 8:30 flight. Security

went relatively quickly, so we even had time for a bite of non-granola

food before we boarded.

The flight took about 5 hours. We tried to get as much sleep as we could

in the cramped uncomfortable seats. I bet we could have slept nicely on

Amtrak’s big roomy comfy seats… stupid snow storm…

We arrived at Keflavík International Airport in Iceland before dawn on

Monday, and caught the “FlyBus” to our hotel in Reykjavik. We arrived

at the hotel, Icelandair Natura, about 8:00 am and the sun was not up yet.

After stowing our bags and a quick shower, the sun was finally up, so we

set out to see some sights and have breakfast. The first thing we saw was a

big silver dome on top of the hill across the road from our hotel. It is

called the Perlan (Pearl in English), and is a revolving restaurant on top

of a museum. It was also a good landmark to find our hotel. As we

reached the main road, I looked back for a look at our hotel and saw an

airport conning tower rising above the left side of the building. Rob had

told me that the hotel was close to the airport, I just had not expected it

to be right next door!

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After a long walk to downtown we had a bite to eat. We found a coffee

house that served soup, etc. While we ate, the TV was showing BBC and

we listened to the news of the Pope’s resignation. After eating we found

the bus station and I went back to the hotel for some sleep. Rob,

however, went forth to explore.

When we were in Iceland in November 2011, our hotel was in the north

of the city, near the bay. This time our hotel was in the south of the city

near the fjords. So we were able to see things we did not on our first visit.

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After my nap, we caught a bus downtown and had dinner at 73

Restaurant. It was really good. After we meandered around the

downtown area for a while we returned to our hotel. Later that evening,

I hear an awful loud noise like a gigantic vaccum cleaner. I asked Rob

what was happening. He calmly replied that it was an airplane getting

read to take off from the airport. Fortunatly the noisey plane soon flew

off and we got some sleep.

On Tuesday we caught a plane from Reykjavík to Akureyri (Ak’-u-er-i)

in the north. Reykjavik airport is very small; it has 6 gates. We walked to

the airplane and climbed up the steps to board. We flew on a twin engine

prop plane and we had a good view of the land below us. This shot shows

Reykjavik Airport from above. The building in the center with the blue

stripes is our hotel. Our room overlooks the runway.

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The flight only took about 45 minutes. Rob amused himself by taking

pictures out of his window. Akureyri’s International airport is even

smaller than the Reykjavik airport. I think it has 2 gates and has only one

runway which is practically in the fjord. A bus met us at the airport and

took us to our hotel. Most of the people on the plane came for same

Norhern Lights tour as Rob and I were taking. After checking in and

stowing our suitcases, we wandered downtown. Down being the

operative word. The street was like one in San Francisco, Seattle, or West

Virginia. The incline started out gentle but then got very steep. Both Rob

and I were tired by the time we were down. But eventually we reached

downtown.

Akureyri is Iceland’s largest town outside the Greater Reykjavik area, but

the Reykjavik area has 80% of Iceland’s population and Iceland only has a

population of a bit over 320,000 people. That’s 256,000 people near the

capital. Akureyri boasts almost 18,000 people, so the downtown area is

not nearly as large as

Reykjavik’s. In fact is takes

up about 4 – 6 blocks.

After having some lunch

and doing a bit of shopping

and looking about, we

started trudging up the hill

toward our hotel. About a

quarter of the way up we

came to the big church

called Akureyrarkirkja with

its long flight of stairs

heading up. We decided the

stairs looked kinder than

the hill so we scaled the

church steps. Sadly even

then we were not at the top

of the hill, but mercifully we had bypassed the steepest part of the climb.

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Finally back at the hotel, Rob and I used the elevator rather than climb

the stairs to our room. Then we ate dinner in the hotel.

About 10:00 that evening, we boarded a bus for our “northern lights

tour.” Unfortunatly the night was mostly cloudy. Getlsy, our tour guide

who likes to be called “Handsome,” showed us some sights like the little

town west of Akureyri that hosts a Viking Festival each year. It sounded

like a Viking Renaissance Festival. Then he shared some information

with us like to be careful around the Fjords because sometimes polar

bears swim to Iceland from Greenland. Apparently last year 3 polar bears

visited Iceland, but none had arrived this year. Eventually he found a less

cloudy patch of sky. So we all piled out of the bus onto a sheet of ice on

the side of the road and waited for

the lights. We saw a few flashes and

flickers, but got no pictures. About

midnight, we went back to the

hotel.

Wednesday, we noticed some people

dressed a bit oddly, like the hotel

clerk who had horns. In the lobby

there were some young ladies at a

desk with donuts and boxes of

“Friski.” The

figure behind

the ladies is a

sculpture in

the hotel

lobby.

I eventually

asked the

ladies what

they were

doing. They

said that it was like Trick or Treat in Iceland and they were judging. The

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Trick or Treaters had to sing to win a treat. This

little vampire won a “Friskki.” He sang a bit and

did some dance “moves.”

Before we could learn more, the man from the

rental car agency drove up to take us to their

office. We rented a Volkswagen Polo, a small

little car that is sold in Europe. It was a nice car

with plenty of pep. (Rob’s additions are the blue

bits.)

We drove to Godafoss, a waterfall, and Mývatn, a

lake. Godafoss, God Falls in English, B on the map

to the right, was a site where after Iceland selected Christianity as the

state religion, the priests dumped artifacts from the Norse religion.

Continuing east

we drive around

Mývatn and

through the

village of

Reykachlid, (D

on the map),

population 300.

This is the

furthest east that

we have been.

(Although I

visited Japan

with my parents over 20 years ago, I traveled west to get there. So, I

generally consider that the furthest west I have ever traveled.)

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This is Akureyri from across the fjord. Downtown is at sea level. The

church is on the left near the “top” of town.

Godafoss

Downstream from Godafoss is above.

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Both pictures were taken from the shore of Lake Mývatn.

Iceland has no native mammals except for an arctic fox and maybe a

rodent (or maybe it came with the Vikings). So Iceland’s pseudo native

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creatures are the horses, sheep, cows, goats, and dogs the Viking brought

with them. But Iceland has plenty of native birds and sea life.

On our way back to Akureyri, we made a detour north up the east side of

the Eyjafjörður to a small fishing village called Grenivik (E), population

about 300. The village is below the Kaldakur Mountain. We managed to

put 153 miles on that little car that day. The drive was very pretty, with

patches of fog and blowing snow. It was pretty overcast all day long.

The car had studded snow tires all around so I did not really notice the

road being slick at all, except for when I decided to walk out over a

bridge and take a picture of the river flowing under it. Then I realized

just how slick the road really was! I almost fell 3 times!

That night we

had dinner at a

place our

tourguide,

Handsome, had

recommended.

It was pretty

nice. While

looking over the

menu, I saw a

dish I could not

translate into

English. So I

asked the

waitress what it was. She said it was a seabird that “tastes like puffin.”

Like everybody knows what puffin tastes like! It turns out that it tastes

like gamey beef. And FYI, reindeer also tastes a lot like beef. (When in

Iceland, do as the Vikings do.)

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On Thursday we drove up the west

side of Eyjafjörður (the big fjord next

to Akureyri). The road followed the

steep bank of the fjord for about 30

miles before it went through a long

tunnel in the mountains. It was a 1

lane tunnel about 3.4 kilometers long

(2.1 miles), but it had periodic pull

out areas to allow cars to pass. It was

overcast that day so the drive up the

coast was really neat. The wind was

gusting along at a very good clip but

we really didn’t notice it until we got out of the car. There were periods

of rain along the drive too. All in all I think it was a very common

Icelandic day for our little drive

We wanted to reach Greenland Sea at the top of the fjord, but could only

reach Olafsfjordur, population 881. This was the furthest north that Rob

or I have ever been.

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The tunnel through the mountains by the Fjord.

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Mountains, fjord, and

rental car.

Another herd of

Icelandic horses

below.

A house or maybe a

barn with a sod roof.

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I did not see any lighthouses along the fjord as we drove along it, but

there may have been some lighting along the sides. Eyjafjörður is very

deep however. Cruise boats can cruise right on up the fjord and harbor in

Akureyri. In fact about 30 cruises dock there during the summer – not all

at once though. But I think that the little town must be just overrun with

tourists during the

summer.

Sadly we had to

leave Akureyri

that afternoon, but

we had time to

drive up to the ski

slopes above the

town to check out

the view. Then we

went to the airport

where we returned

our rental car and

boarded the airplane back

to Reykjavik. The day was

cloudy, so we could not

see the land below so

well.

This is a view of the

Church taken from near

our hotel.

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Rob is

boarding

the plane

to go back

south.

After

returning

to our

hotel – the

same one

we were in

before—

but in a

different

room, we walked to the city park. Its lake was mostly frozen except for

an edge where all the water fowl gathered. Then we walked downtown

for some dinner at a Nordic Bistro and Wine Bar.

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That is me taking a picture

of the birds.

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Another church on another

street in Reykjavik. Another church on another

Laura and the boat.

Reykjavik at night.

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The hotel has a special event on Thursday nights. They served cookies

and hot chocolate in a lecture hall while an Icelandic film actor reads

some Nordic literature. He started with a children’s tale of a lady troll,

her lazy boy friend troll, and her 8 beautiful children. Then he read some

of an old somewhat bawdy saga of a Viking lad. He ended the evening

with the first chapter of a modern Icelandic novel. The chapter he read

dealt with a boy’s early life with his foster family. Rob and I have a list of

the books he read, so we can order them to read if we want.

On Friday we rented

another Volkswagen,

this time a mid-sized car

called the Passat. This

one I didn’t like so much

as it had the “Start-Stop”

feature that would shut

the engine down at a

stop light and then

restart it when I took my

foot off the brake. It

worked okay during normal driving but when we were out visiting a

place and wanted to get out to take pictures then get back in the car,

having to start it all the time was annoying.

Another thing I did not like about it was the headlights; they didn’t work

very well, did not shine far enough ahead and had a very narrow beam of

light. This is NOT a car I would want to buy.

However, it did have a somewhat useful feature, a GPS system that we

used on Saturday.

Thankfully the hotel was located very close to Route 1, the ring road, so

it was very easy to find our way out of town. Not like last time I got lost

in town and spent an hour or two finding our way out.

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First we drove

to Gullfoss

(Golden Falls),

the northern

most point on

the map below.

We had visited

the falls on our

last trip, but the

weather was

rainy, cold, and

misereable, so

we did not explore the area as much as we wanted. This time we walked

down lower into the falls for some pictures. We still could not walk along

the path at the bottom. It was chained off because it was snowy and icy

and nobody in Iceland would have been excited to fish stupid tourists out

of the river.

After we took

lots of pictures

of the falls from

both the top

view and lower

view, we

decided to have

a bite to eat at

the “Gullfoss

Kaffi” where

Laura had the

lobster soup and

I had creamed asparagus soup. This was the very first time I had ever had

asparagus in any shape or form and I must say it was “interesting.”

After lunch I wanted to get some road maps of Iceland, to replace the

ones we bought last time then left in the rental car. So I got a big map of

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Iceland and then a smaller map of just the south-western part of Iceland.

Then we started to look at the hand-made in Iceland, 100% Icelandic

wool sweaters, and just could not resist getting one for each of us. Laura’s

is a zip front while mine is a pull-over. They are very warm and I was not

cold the rest of the time we were in Iceland.

Afterward we drove to Þingvellir, G on the map, the site of the Alþingi,

Iceland’s original parliament and a good place to see the North Atlantic

rift where the North American plate meets the European plate. We had

also been there on our last trip, but did not explore as much as we

wanted. This time instead of just shooting a few pictures from the

overlook, we parked near the lake and walked around the trails. It was

cold and some of the trails were a bit icy but it was nice. I would say that

we burned a lot of film there, but our cameras are digital. Saying that we

burned a lot of digits there just sounds so wrong. So I will just say we

clicked our shutters frequently.

After that

we

warmed

up while

we drove

south

along the

lake and

the river.

Then Rob

decided he wanted to see Skjanfoss (again!), F on the map. We visited

there twice on our last visit. I hope 3 times really is the charm.

We had dinner in Selfoss, D on the map, population 6,512. Not being too

familiar with the town, we stopped at the first open restaurant we found.

It turns out it served Thai food – Icelandic style. It was pretty good

though.

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In Pingvellir Valley.

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Above: Rocks and falls on

the Rift.

We found another herd of horses!

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Skjanfoss on our third visit. Rob takes a final shot with his wet lens.

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After dinner we drove back to Þingvellir to a parking lot we noticed

earlier in the day. It was a clear night and the area was nearly free from

lights. And best of all we had some Aurora. It was basically a double

stripe across the western sky behind the mid-Atlantic ridge. It did not

dance or spin, but it stayed there a good long time. So I had time to try

several different setting on my camera, starting with a 20 second

exposure time and working down to 6 second exposures. I used a tripod

of course.

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On Saturday we still had the rental car and we headed south east from

Reykjavik. Our goal was to drive along the southern coast for a while.

Our rental car had a GPS, so we set Grindavik, population 2,821, as our

destination (B on the map). When we arrived there we set Eyrabakki,

population 594, as our next destination (D on the map). The GPS wanted

us to backtrack through Reykjavik to get there. But I had a map and

followed the road

along the coast. The

road must be new

because the GPS

thought we were

alternately on an

unpaved road or in

the middle of the

twilight zone.

Really, the road was

paved all the way

and we enjoyed the

drive along the

coast. In Eyrabakki we had some lunch, and then we headed back toward

Reykjavik with a few detours along the way.

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We decided to see some

more of Iceland’s

mountains. We drove

up to another ski area to

see the mountain up

close.

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Eventually we made it back to Reykjavik and had just enough sun light

left to take some pictures of the Hallgrimskirkja, the largest church

building in Iceland.

“Trip Advisor” on the internet says,

“The church stands on a hill,

Skólavörðuholt, which is situated in

the center of the city and is visible

from all over Reykjavík and

surrounding areas, making it a great

landmark. It is the building in Iceland

which took the longest time to build.

The former state architect, Guðjón

Samúelsson, got the plans for the

church in 1937 and it was totally

finished only in 1986. The plan for

the church was to make it resemble

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volcanic basalt rock formations.” In front of the church is a well know

statue of Leif Ericson. It was a gift from the United States for the

thousandth anniversary of the Alþingi (Iceland’s parliament). Actually it

Iceland has many statutes, busts, and paintings of Leif that, but I believe

this is the most famous.

Sunday was our

last day in

Iceland. We had

to return the

rental car, but

first we took one

last short drive

along Saebraut,

the road along

the bay on the

north side of

town. The road changed names a couple of times along the way:

Geirsgata, Tryggvagata, Myrargata, then a left turn to head south along

Ananaust, Eiosgrandi, and finally Norourstirond where there was a

lighthouse. Then we returned the rental car and walked back to the

hotel. After packing our bags, we stored them in the hotel’s storage room

and tried to walk up the hill to the Pearl. We had a wonderful vantage

point for taking

picture of our

hotel, the big

church, etc. But

near the top of

the long climb

we came to a

streach of trail

that was covered

with a sheet of ice. Not wanting to risk huring ourselves trying to cross

we turned around to head back down. The group of Germans coming up

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was not deterred, however. The young

boy crossed without mishap, but the old

guy quickly fell, followed by a couple

others. Eventally they all made it across,

busted and battered, and continued up the

hill.

The next group of people we met on the

path was Icelanders who told us that the

hill had been used by the British during

WWII and had bunkers.

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Rob and I then opted to return to the hotel, retrieve our bags, and have a

hot, stiff drink before boarding our bus back to Keflavík International

Airport: Keflavik, population 14,000.

This is a sign on the entrance door at the airport.

Rob and I did not get seats next to each other, but we both had aisle seats

diagonally across from each other. I shared my row with two teenaged

girls, and Rob shared his row with their parents. The girls behaved

nicely; they also slept a lot. Rob and their parents got super excited when

the airplane crossed over Greenland… they even had me wake the girls

up to share the news with them. The girls were less than thrilled.

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This is Rob’s thrilling view of Greenland.

About an hour or so out of Boston, the pilot announced that Boston had

gotten some snow and some flights out had been canceled. But it would

not affect our arrival. We arrived in Boston just about sunset, and

managed to get to our hotel about 7 pm.

Once we got our car jump started because we stupidly left the dome light

in the car on while we were gone, the drive back to Baltimore was more

sedate that the trip north. The roads were free from snow. Rob almost

followed the speed limits. We stopped for lunch. And we had no

problems with traffic. So we made it to Jason’s house about 6:00 pm. We

had dinner there and shared stories of our adventures, we made it back to

Germantown about 10:30 pm and went to bed since we had to get up and

go to work the next day.