monday, february 25, 2013 we have been to iceland...
TRANSCRIPT
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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.