Iceland

“Spring Break” in Iceland

March 2015

            Seriously, Spring Break in Iceland? Granted, it’s not beaches & palm trees, but to paraphrase a famous movie line: We don’t need no stinkin’ beaches! Iceland has been on our to-do-sometime list, and interest was further stimulated last spring when we flew to Europe on Icelandair thru Keflavik airport outside Reykjavik. Pretty views of the countryside, enticing tourist info in the seat pockets. My brother Doug & sister-in-law Ann had an enjoyable escorted tour circling the country during the summer. We’ve opted for a shorter 3-night visit focused on Reykjavik w/ some add-on excursions. Nearing the end of 2 academic years of “semi-retirement,” this is my last semester of teaching  ̶  we chose the March break in classes to put us into the Northern Lights season (fingers crossed). Iceland is just south of the Arctic Circle, but the Gulf Stream keeps temps “surprisingly moderate” (says one travel site), should be in the 20s and 30s (fingers crossed again). And volcanoes will hopefully be calm (are we running out of fingers to cross?). We hoped to connect w/ former colleague Thor, an Icelandic native who left UAlbany to take a very attractive offer back home, but he’s located too far north in Akureyri.

            We’ve been having a pretty rough winter. By early March we still had over 2 feet of snow on the ground. Our paper says it was “the coldest February in our lifetime” (the only colder was 1934), wind chills down to -30°! So maybe Iceland will warm us up.

Saturday, 3/14:

We have the luxury of almost a full day to finish our trip prep. Not our usual packing: we need to be ready for both cold (e.g., long underwear) and rain. I watch the UAlbany men’s basketball team win their league championship on a last-second 3-pointer by the player whose mother died during the season after the team and campus had rallied around the family; the women’s team won yesterday, so both are headed to “March Madness.” We’re finally seeing some grass over the past week here, tho plenty of snow piles still around. A rainy foggy drive to NYC, the usual exciting ride thru traffic in the Bronx & Queens, drop off the car (airparkparking.com) and shuttle to JFK. It’s good we weren’t flying last night or this AM: lots of lengthy delays and cancellations due to gale force winds up to 75 mph in Iceland; even bus tours into the countryside were being cancelled. But our Icelandair 9pm flight departs a bit early. So we’re off to the land of fire and ice, hopefully not much of either.

Sunday, 3/15:

Arrive Keflavik 45 minutes early at 6am (4 hours time change). An ATM stop to get local currency (complicated currency calculations: krona (ISK) = $.0072). Then a 45-minute Flybus ride to Reykjavik, 1^st thru lava fields as sunrise approaches. Not as much snow here as we have in Albany. A rainy forecast but dry and mostly overcast.

We’re dropped off at our Hotel Hilda. Our room isn’t ready, but we’re kindly invited to have breakfast: a buffet w/ breads, meats & cheeses, fruit, granola, yogurt, cake, etc. Hits the spot! 

Originally a family home then guesthouse, this small newly-renovated hotel (15 rooms on 4 floors) has very central location (Bárugata 11) in a pretty neighborhood, short walks to the old city center and to the harbor, and good price; we were able to get the last available room on booking.com. 

Into the old city center. Reykjavik is the northernmost world capital. It’s known for winter nightlife and geothermal baths, tho we’re more oriented to the many interesting historical and cultural sites. There are lots of museums; Iceland has “one of the highest per capita rates of artists” according to an internet source, and Reykjavik has been designated a UNESCO City of Literature. First stop at Tourist Info Center on Austurvöllur Square to get City Cards providing various free or discounted admissions. We wander a bit. 

Colorful buildings and old squares; but be careful  ̶  some icy footing. Over to the Ráðhús (City Hall) on Tjörnin Pond still mostly ice-covered; many swans, geese, and ducks congregate for feeding by some locals. 

And Marjorie makes friends with a local.

 

Pretty mountains w/ snow & ice across from the harbour w/ colorful boats, shiny glass Harpa concert hall (photo later) and other colorful displays.

An interesting sculpture of “The Unknown Public Servant”: a figure carrying a briefcase, covered by a block of stone from the chest up. Past Altþingishús (Parliament House), built in 1881 of hewn Icelandic stone, home to the oldest operating parliament in the world, founded in 930 at Tþingvellir (more on that later). Into Reykjavík Art Museum (Kjarvalsstaðir), named after painter Jóhannes Kjarval, one of Iceland´s most recognized artists; it opened in 1973 as the first building in Iceland designed to display visual arts. But we don’t find the contemporary exhibited work to our taste; Marjorie pronounces it “the 1^st art museum where I didn’t like anything.” 

On to Kolaportid flea market in a large building opposite the harbour. 

We split, M to explore here, I check into our hotel room. Our room is small, but pretty, comfortable, and quiet.

          We rendezvous later, after I peek into City Hall and pretty Dómkirkjan (City Cathedral), Evangelical-Lutheran like most churches here. M has found some pretty stamps to use in her collages, but otherwise it’s the usual flea market stuff.  

We’re winding down, but some coffee and bakery energizes us for a visit to Volcano House. Dramatic films on the most powerful eruptions in Iceland during the last 40 years: the 1973 eruption on Heimaey when nearly 5,000 people had to flee the island in boats to the mainland of Iceland, and the 2010 eruption of Eyafjallajökull that disrupted air travel over a large part of Europe. Also exhibits of Iceland's geological history and volcanic system  ̶  they average an eruption every 5 years! And an average of 50 measureable (tho mostly not noticeable) earthquakes per day!

          After relaxing a bit at the hotel, we head out in some wind (which becomes quite ferocious after dinner) and light rain to dinner by the harbour at Sægreifinn, recommended by friendly hotel clerk. Excellent local seafood: salmon & scallops kebabs, lobster soup, very modestly priced for here. And there’s a “stuffed founder” (groan!): a lifelike mannequin sitting in the corner that looks to be the locally-renowned former owner. Over to Aurora Reykjavik: The Northern Lights Center w/ beautiful exhibits, photos, videos, and friendly informative staff. Tips for viewing include: “hot chocolate & snacks can save the day.” Seeing the NL is a crap shoot, requiring both atmospheric conditions to create them and clear skies to view them. There are many tours to see them, but they are frequently cancelled. How’s our luck?  ̶  read on. The museum has a world map w/ colorful pins showing guests from all over. Back to the hotel. We did a lot today!

Monday, 3/16:

           Continued windy during the night, but we do pretty well catching up on sleep. About the only English TV in our room is CCTV News, a 24-hour news channel of China Central Television based in Beijing, a rather different perspective than CNN tho it has the same look. In the news: Saddam Hussein’s tomb destroyed as fighting intensifies w/ ISIL in Tikrit; right-wing supporters of Netanyahu rallying for Israel’s Tuesday election. At breakfast we meet a mother w/ her friendly little girl and a couple from Bavaria. 

Still windy w/ breaks of sun as we’re picked up for our Golden Circle Tour (from 9-5). 1^st to the main station for Reykjavik Excursions to transfer to a large tour bus. This is quite an operation, w/ many buses headed for different tours. Fronts of buses have large moustaches: it’s Moustache March to combat cancer in men. Folks bundled up in Icelandic sweaters & knit hats. The Golden Circle is a popular circuit covering geological and historical highlights w/in 100 km of the city. 

  Driving along our guide gives info on Icelandic geology, history, culture, etc. Heating is geothermal, which explains the sulphur smell & taste of the hot water in our room. Thru desolate but beautiful lava beds, snowy mountains in the distance, a still-“active” volcano quite near the city, some sun breaking thru. 

Then agricultural areas, Icelandic horses in fields, and an area of “summer houses.” We’re reminded of the beautiful “Iceland: Colours + Patterns” booklet Doug & Ann gave us from their trip.

1^st stop is unexpected and interesting: family farm Fridheimer that’s the biggest tomato producer in Iceland. Sign coming in: “Drive Carefully: Tame Animals and Wild Children.” Tomatoes are grown year-around w/ climate controlled by a hot spring: 10,000 plants in many greenhouses, 600 bumblebees imported from the Netherlands for pollination. 

Back on our way, guide tells about the special place of Icelandic horses, and how lambs roaming “wild” gives a distinctive flavor.

To the bubbling, steaming Geysir area. Geysir (which lent its name to all geysers) has been inactive for a long time, but Strokkur erupts every 5-10 minutes. The wind is wicked here, it’s hard to stand steady and the eruptions are mostly blown away, but impressive nonetheless. Plus a bit of rain & sleet. It’s good we bundled up in layers today! A cafeteria lunch of tasty lamb soup and a colorful gift shop. 

Back on the road, our driver makes a tourist back up to make way for us on a 1-lane bridge; he must have trained in NYC. A stop at Gullfoss ("golden falls") waterfall w/ impressive ice formations. 

We then drive along a valley created where the North American and Eurasian continental plates meet and have been receding from each other. Rain is blowing sideways!!... but it stops and nice sun for our last stop: Tþingvellir, the historic rift valley where the Icelandic parliament first convened in 930. [Note: Iceland also had the world’s 1^st elected female head of state (1980) and 1^st openly lesbian government head (2009).] 

Dramatic rock formations, beautiful waterfall & rapids, panorama of river valley & snowy mountains, sunshine bringing out some green. The most spectacular scenery of the day! 

          

Some rain & snow as we return to Reykjavik. The guide recounts stories of gods and myths. Lots of traffic circles to navigate.

Dinner at Reykjavik Fish Restaurant, a simple “fish and chips” place. Marjorie deems her fried cod “the best fish ever!” In the news: Boston has had more snow, now surpassing the seasonal record w/ some 9’.

 



Tuesday, 3/17: 

 

 

            

Up well before sunrise, I peek outside and see a light snow cover. Off I go in search of photo ops. Down to the harbour w/ pretty views of the boats and Harpa as the mostly clear sky lightens. 

A bit brisk, probably in the 20s, but not so much wind. We wanted to experience the geothermal pools, but the major Blue Lagoon site is pricey and would take up most of a day w/ travel time from the city. It turns out Vesturbæjarlaug, a “small and friendly neighbourhood pool” recently voted “Iceland’s best pool,” is only a 15-minute walk from our hotel and free via our City Card. So off we go after breakfast. Shower 1^st, then briefly thru the cold air, into the pool  ̶  steam rising from the water, sun & blue sky above . . . Ahhhh! So relaxing!

A group of schoolboys getting swimming lessons, instructor bundled up on the deck barking instructions. A few other locals, some swimming laps, others (like us) sitting in various pools & hot pots w/ temps from 36-44°C. We stay in about 30 minutes, enough to give us Gumby legs walking back.

  A look into a grocery store, then thru a large old churchyard, beautiful w/ fresh snow on trees & gravestones. Back at the hotel we meet our proprietor, Hildur Gunnarsdóttir; she is, appropriately here, a geologist. 

Down to the harbour and Víkin - Maritime Museum. A fascinating film, “Give Us This Day,” dramatizes a day for a preindustrial 7-man fishing crew, showing their skills & risks, and how fishing fit into the social structure and changing market economy. What a tough life! One day saw the loss of 33 boats, more than 100 men.

            It’s warming up nicely as we head to Saga Museum: an audio tour thru lifesize dioramas that recreate key moments in Icelandic history from the Vikings (and their Celtic female slaves) to Parliament to Christianity to the Reformation in the 1500s. Portrayals of Gutmunden the Good, the unofficial patron saint of Iceland (not recognized by the Vatican), and many others too difficult to pronounce or spell. 

           

A nice restaurant here where we share a hot dog “with everything” (to wit: “sweet milkbread w/ thyme & angelica lamb dog, horseradish remoulade, beer mustard, Val’s ketchup, and both crunchy & pickled shallots”) and hot apple pie. [Note:Frommer’s says “Icelanders are well aware that their pylsur (hot dogs) are the best on the planet, and they consume them in enormous quantities -- usually ein með öllu ("one with everything").” But we do not partake of such other traditional delicacies as pickled ram's testicles and hákari (putrefied shark  ̶  described by Frommer’s as Iceland’s “most notorious gross-out food”).] M finds artistic inspiration from picture frame arrangements on the wall, and we enjoy an interesting “making of” video, especially how they created casts for the dioramas, including one w/ a little girl. 

 

 A stop into the city library. M checks e-mail, 

I walk over to the harbour for a closer look at Harpa  ̶  a striking design w/ glass exterior framed geometrically. Back to the library where we look into the colorful children’s area, have a librarian take our picture to send to a library aficionado we met in Vancouver last fall.

            We’re picked up at 6pm for a “Horse Theatre and Northern Lights” tour. (Chose this instead of just an NL tour to hedge our bets on seeing the lights.) A drive thru South Iceland countryside on a beautiful evening; the guide says this is the nicest day since mid-December. Past a big geothermal power plant, we’re driving on top of a volcano! 

Speaking of dramatic natural phenomena, we learn some cruise ships are headed to Iceland for a solar eclipse on Friday. To Fákasel and the Icelandic Horse Park, open only a year. 

The Icelandic horse is a unique breed  ̶  small, long-lived & hardy  ̶  developed and protected here; Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported & exported animals are not allowed to return. [And according to one source, “Iceland is one of the most genetically homogeneous countries in the world… Icelandic people are all offspring of 5 Vikings and 4 Irish women or something like that.” Unlike the horses, import & export of people is allowed.] A multimedia presentation showcases the Icelandic horse’s place in history and culture, enacting a series of little stories and exhibiting the distinctive 5 gaits of these pretty horses. 

 

 

After the show we’re invited down to the arena to meet 2 of the riders & horses, then thru the stables, followed by tasty meat (not horse!) soup dinner. Waiting for dinner the guide and bus driver excitedly get us to go outside  ̶  Northern Lights (aka aurora borealis) are already starting to show unusually early (8:30). We dine next to a woman from Manitowoc, WI.  
           

Back on the bus, we go hunting for the lights, turning onto very dark country roads, stopping several times when the guide sees a good view. There’s some tricky maneuvering by the driver, as quite a few cars are out hunting too  ̶  one place he starts to back up to allow a car by and a worried little boy pipes up from the back: “My Mom & Dad haven’t gotten back on!” At first the lights are quite faint and subtle, but they become more visible and can be seen in every direction. These photos are my effort to capture the lights.

            Last stop is the best, the lights keep changing, flaring up, fading away, flaring up somewhere else, sometimes in bands and other times as streaks, all around and above us. Wow!! [Back home I learn on the internet we hit the Northern Lights jackpot due to especially strong solar “belches,” as one source put it. The lights got the highest “grade” of 9 (on a 1-9 scale) and could be seen as far south as Pennsylvania. And full disclosure: the NL photo above isn't mine, it's from the internet, but same night & same vicinity as our viewing.] Reluctantly we head back to Reykjavik, passing Harpa lit up in green  ̶  for St. Patrick’s Day? To our hotel about midnight. What a day! We scored an Iceland trifecta: geothermal pool, hot dog w/ everything, and Northern Lights.

Wednesday, 3/18: 

             We still have most of today to see more sights. Blue sky to start, but becomes colder & more raw, steely-gray sky. A walk to the commercial downtown and a main shopping street, Skólavördustígur, w/ lots of colorful and artsy shops. 

             Up to Hallgrímskirkja, the tallest and largest church in Iceland high on a hill visible from thruout the city. It’s fronted by a statue of Leif Erickson, Icelandic explorer regarded as the 1^st European to land in North America (nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus). Statue was donated by the U.S. for the 1000^th anniversary of the Althing parliament. Named for Rev. Hallgrímur Pétursson, Iceland's foremost hymn writer, the church’s exterior with prominent steeple “is often described in terms both primordial and futuristic -- as if the church were some kind of volcano or glacier transformed into a rocket ship.”  

The more traditional interior has high Gothic vaults and tall, narrow windows. My choir director would especially appreciate the organ setup: the organ is roped off w/ a sign “Please do not disturb the organist” (apparently this has been a problem, tourists perching on the bench next to him for photos!), a place to donate for cleaning the 5275 pipes, and the beautiful pipes rising high above the interior. The organist is giving a lesson today. 

I take an elevator 8 stories (surrounded by organ music as I rise) plus 2 flights of stairs to the belfry for panoramic views of the city w/ colorful buildings & roofs, harbour & mountains beyond.

            Across the street to Café Loki for coffee and tasty flatbread w/ cheese. A large mural, based on the writings of 13^th C Icelandic historian-poet Snorri Sturluson, displays the life of Loki Laufeyjarson, descendant of both giants & gods. We sit below a particularly violent depiction of Ragnarök, the end of the world. Less foreboding are photos of the church exterior at many different times of the year. 
           

            

We head back down the street, stopping into some of the shops. One gallery has particularly colorful and distinctive works from some 40 local artists. M finds some good stuff for her artistic efforts in an art supply store while I wander the photogenic side streets. There's color everywhere, even parking ramps and garbage trucks! 

Back in the old city we warm up w/ good lentil soup & bread at Kebab Húsid. Last views before heading back to the hotel for our Flybus pickup.

            Driving to the airport we pass Taco Bell and KFC, the 1^st U.S. chains we’ve noticed. Thru rugged lava field landscape again. Sloppy wet snow at the airport. A half-hour late departing at 5:30pm but on-time into JFK at 7pm. A quick connection w/ our parking shuttle, up the Thruway, a phone chat w/ Matt  ̶  he and fellow musician Steve had been at our house dropping off a marimba. Marjorie gets an enthusiastic “Hi Mom!” from both of them and we determine that we have probably just driven past them on the Thruway. We reach home a little before midnight. And Albany is still colder than Reykjavik.

This was a relatively short trip. But we did and saw a lot! Beautiful sights, both natural and cultural. A lovely hotel, very friendly and helpful staff. We had considerable weather variety, reflecting what a guide said: “We don’t have weather, we just have examples.” And did I mention the wind? A guide said Iceland is the 2^nd windiest place after the Falkland Islands. But the weather was way better than the forecasts we saw beforehand. Timing could hardly have been better, w/ the best weather at the best times. Iceland is a beautiful and fascinating place!