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Iceland 2016

March 2016
A 10-day adventure by Sarah Read more
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  • Sarah McmurrayIceland 2016
    Day 3

    The airport

    March 21, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    I'm very early for my flight. Waiting with some olives. For some reason I felt a lot of jitters getting ready for this trip. Forgot to mail my patent, then forgot my purse, then forgot my coat. Maybe it`s the fact that Lakeisha's school called me looking for her, just before I headed out. Made my second ever call to human services over lunch. And my second this week. Fortuitously, this vacation came at a time when I really, unexpectedly, need it. Jennifer and I plan to make it a vacation of celebration. What will I celebrate today? Confirmation that Jeffco Child Protective Services has opened a case on my mentee's behalf. I wish I had been sooner to realize the neccessity.Read more

  • Sarah McmurrayIceland 2016
    Day 4

    First day in Reykjavik

    March 22, 2016 in Iceland ⋅ 🌧 5 °C

    I arrived aat 6.15 this morning, after a 6 hour flight departing directly from Denver at 5.15p. It would probably be an overestimation to say I got 3 hours of sleep. It was probably closer to two. Though not for lack of trying.

    Jennifer and I had made a plan to meet in the duty free shop in the airport - but which one? We figured it out eventually.

    The day started with passport control, a little shoping, a trip on the flybus, finding our air b&b, dropping luggage, breakfast, and an extensive walking tour of the city. A few items of culture shock. There's not really any crime to speak of. The jail is in a building hundreds of years old. It has a mere 14 cells. Along the same lines, it is believed very healthy for babies to take their naps outside down to -2 degrees C. Consequently, it is common practice for adults to tuck their little ones into prams and park them on the sidewalks outside cafes where the parents go in. When you see a pram parked on the sidewalk, it's polite to be quiet nearby, and let the baby get her sleep.

    We saw many sites of street art and graphitti. However, this is merely juvenile amusement, and unassociated with gangs. One of the tactics of the city, and various homeowners, is to paint their walls with a mural, as a mural will always be respected, and not tampered with. Murals are everywhere throughout the city. Additionally, someone has been attaching little toy men onto various street signs and markers. To very amusing effect.

    Politically, I'm not very familiar with Iceland. So I was a bit surprised to hear them refer to the "state archictect," and "state sculptur." I did, however, enjoy their work. Hallgrimskirkja is a massive concrete lutheran church, designed by Gudjon Samuelssson, is made to represent basalt columns. It certainly does, and is one of the most unique church structures I have ever seen. The state sculptor, Einar Jonsson, has his sculptures all over the city, and housed in an outdoor sculpture garden across from the church. His work feels at once dark, tortured, and spiritual.

    In regard to food, the coffee is strong. I breakfasted on a cauliflower quiche, and lunched on a lamb pizza.

    The air bnb is pleasant. Our room is complete with red robes and hot tea. One fun fact, all of the hot water is actually sourced from the hot springs beneath the city.. So the shower smells a bit sulfury, and you never run out of very very hot water.    Read more

  • Sarah McmurrayIceland 2016
    Day 5

    Hvammstangi Cottages

    March 23, 2016 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 1 °C

    I slept about 12 hours last night. It was glorious. Then started the day with a traditional Iclandic breakfast (so they say) in downtown Reykjavik at the Loki Cafe (Loki, the Norse god, the trickster). I had Icelandic Plate 3, consisting of trout and eggs on rye, pickled herring on hard boiled egges on rye, and rye bread ice cream. And some more strong coffee. Fish and ice cream are not my usual breakfast, but it was hearty and tasty - though the pickled herring was pretty strong.

    After picking up our rental car we headed out of town to two of the lesser known waterfalls, Hraunfossar and Barnafoss. Barnafoss means Children's Falls, and is named after two local children who are believed to have died there crossing a stone arch over the rushing river. They since knocked the stone arch down to prevent such opportunities again.

    The drive is gorgeous going northward. The clouds sat low over the valley. At one point we were driving through one. Ponies and sheep are grazing everywhere. We are traveling highway 1, the Ring Road.

    It's winter, and close to the Easter holiday, where many Iclanders travel. It's not alwways easy to predict what is in season, and what will be open. The highly recommended craft store was closed for the season. The famous farmer`s markets were no where to be found. We are undeterred. We had some tastey seafood at Sjavaborg - Tuna, Prawns, and lobster. I've also been sampling the favored national snack of licorice dipped in chocolate. While not usually a licorice fan, the bit I picked up is quite good.

    For the trip I've purchased a fabulous National Geographic map of the Island. It indicated there was a light house and a hot spring a few miles north of the city. Driving up the unpaved road in our 4WD, we easily located the light house. The fjord was instantly so foggy it seemed an absolute neccessity. The hot spring, however, was no where to be found.

    We remain undeterred. The town swimming pool was open, and fed from geothermal springs. We relaxed the night away there, waiting to see if the Aurora would peek out. No such luck yet. But Jennifer and I have made a deal. I will handle all the tricky driving. And in return she will get up nightly to check for the aurora, and wake me if it's out. A mutually satisfying negotiation.

    We are currently tucked away in a cosy cottage outside of town, and I am retiring to the top bunk.    Read more

  • Sarah McmurrayIceland 2016
    1
    Day 6

    Brimnes Cabins

    March 24, 2016 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 2 °C

    Some things worth knowing about Iceland - they are serious about their tunnels. I've gone through two tunnels now, and either one makes the Eisenhower tunnel that goes through the continental divide look childish. The first tunnel, yesterday, was under the water. Under Hvalfjordur to be exact. I didn't even realize where I was going. I was just going down down down to the center of the earth. Jennifer and I only realized what happened when we came out the other side, paid a massive toll, and couldn't figure out where we came from. The second time was today, going through a mountain on the way to Olafsfjordur. The tunnel is crazy long, deep, and most shockingly, one lane. It was like traveling through the belly of a dimly lit snake. It made the Icelandic stories of the hidden people seem feasible. It took a little while to realize there was a system wherein I believe my direction could periodically pull out to the right and let the equally freaked out oncoming traffic creep by. There appear to be even longer ones to traverse tomorrow.

    We began today by miserably failing at getting gas in Hvammstangi. After a lot of staring, a man came outside to ease our distress. He determined the machine needed to be restarted. The woman who came to restart it clarified that it needed to be restarted because we had messed it up so badly. She then walked us through the proceedure culminating in needing to enter our PIN for our c redit card. I said we didn't have one. She explained all Icelandic credit cards have a PIN. I explained no American credit cards had a PIN. So she said we needed a gas card. I really don't know why it still didn't work. The second woman that came out did the exact same thing I just did, but it worked for her. We've decided to always get gas now on the way out of town, to better hide our shame.

    Though not very religious, it turns out Icelanders take a very long Easter vacation. Starting today and lasting through Monday. It's unclear what they do on this vacation, as most everything is closed. We drove up to Saudarkrokur (which I like to pronounce Soda Cracker) to check out the world's only fish leather tannery. Which was closed for the holiday. As was the information center, as was the museum. Turns out the only places open are typically restaurants. Which isn't the worst thing. But food can be pricey here. Don't expect to get a steak of any variety anywhere for under $50. Thank goodness I didn't come here for steak.

    Heading south from Soda Cracker we happened upon some beautiful old turf houses in Glaumbaer. They currently feature in the book I'm reading (Independent People by Halldor Laxness), and are called croft houses. The traditional home of the shepherd, made on all sides by thick cut turf, with tiny windows. The houses themselves were closed, although the tea room stayed open (keeping with the 'everthing closed but food' theme).

    We now circle our way counter clockwise around the Troll Peninsula. Spending quite a long time in the hot tub at the cabin tonight, waiting for the lights to show themselves, we have been stood up again. But the hot water and cosy cabins are never a disappointment.    Read more

  • Sarah McmurrayIceland 2016
    22
    Day 7

    Olafsfjordur

    March 25, 2016 in Iceland ⋅ 🌙 1 °C

    This is the second night we're staying in Brimnes Cabins. The town is Olafsfjordur, and the fjord we're on is Olafsfjordur. Last night we asked our cabin hosts if they thought the Folk Museum just south in Dalvik would be open. They checked the internet, and were shocked to find no Easter hours posted. As though everyone in Iceland is conscientiously posting hours and updating their websites. Not to worry though, they assured us there was so much in Dalvik to do, it would be worth the trip regardless. Having just driven through the town to arrive last night, we found this assertion hard to believe.

    Nevertheless, we headed the 20 minutes back south through the one way (what the guidebook calls a "thin") tunnel, to try our luck at breakfast and the Folk Museum. We found an open door, but they told us they were closed. The only place open for breakfast was Olie, the gas station. Turns out it wasn't half bad. The Folk Museum, however, was closed. We looked to our right, and saw a couple of other stranded tourists locked outside of the Whale Watching center. Laughing at their naivete, we walked down to the water, then over to the now open Cafe, Gisli Eirikur Helgi, named for three brothers and some famous adventures with their hungry cat.

    I'm so glad we did. It was by far my favorite dining experience in Iceland. Super quaint, everything was made from scratch and served in mismatching antique dishware. At last, my taste of fish soup, a really fresh salad, 3 types of home made rye bread, a huge chunk of butter to carve, and all the sea salt crystals my heart desired. Every bit was delicious. My previously delightful gas station breakfast became shameful to me. The heretofore inhospitable Dalvik became charming and quaint. The first highlight of my day.

    We then headed north to make our way around the top of the Troll Peninsula, or Trollaskagi, in a blizzard. The Garmin, determined to do us wrong, tried to head us directly into the peninsula on an unsurfaced road, which eventually ended as Impassible. Fortunately, I brought a real map, and my hard earned map skills, honed from decades of being lost around the world, brought us back on track, through a 7km tunnel, followed by a 4 km tunnel, and stopping at the northernmost city of Siglufjordur.

    Here, the Herring Museum and the Fold Music Museum were kind enough to post which 3 hours of the day they would be open for business. Unfortunately, our windows of fate did not align, and we continued down the other side of the peninsula for our most sought destination of Hofsas.

    I'm so glad wee did. Leaving the blinding blizzard behind us, Hofsas was beautiful and sunny. Their claim to fame is their fjordside hot spring \swimming pool. Icelanders are sticklers about hot spring hygiene, insisting on a fully nude shower with soap before heading in. They even post diagrams of which parts of your body are most in need of a wash. The views were incredibly stunning, making near the look of an infinity pool on the side of the cliff. Along the beach to the south, massive basalt columns hung over the ocean, the first I've seen in nature here.

    Though the length and depth of the tunnels freaked me out at first, I was glad to have so much of their shelter on the drive back to Olafsfjordur in the evening. The blizzard had worsened. Snow and sleet were driving sideways, while the wind was gusting out toward sea. The arctic ocean was frothing and crashing against the cliffs below me. I could easily imagine the frozen demise of countless vikings over the years. All day I was also thinking of my book, wherein the hero, Bjartur of Summerhouses, just survived a blizzard and a dip in a glacial river while riding a reindeer, only to find his wife at home, already dead.    Read more

  • Sarah McmurrayIceland 2016
    11
    Day 8

    Laugar

    March 26, 2016 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

    I've been taking white on white pictures all day. Yesterday's blizzard around Olafsfjordur never let up and we woke to snow everywhere. Thank goodness Iceland does a better job clearing the roads than Denver. Still, it felt like a fierce, winding drive around the cliffs overhanging the fjords, back down to Akureyri.

    That, however, was nothing compared to the drive I just undertook back from Myvatn Nature Baths this evening. The white on white landscape, where the ground, mountains, and sky all bled into one, turned into complete darkness, where only the driving snow 10 feet in front of my face was visible. To the right: nothing. To the left: nothing. Above me: nothing. Ahead of me: nothing. To either side of the road, the little snow posts had pieces of reflective tape at the top, the only things guiding me through the vast void I was driving through. As the road sloped up into apparent nothingness, I felt like I was slowly driving into heaven.

    The nature baths, themselves, were also a bit transcendent. Situated at lake Myvatn, the sulfury water had that unreal blue, slightly opaque tinge to it. The cold snowy day created steam off the water obscuring everything and casting it mysteriously. Jennifer and I soaked and soaked. The hot water coming out of a pipe felt like a deep tissue massage. We followed it up in their cafeteria with a sampling of the local geyser bread - rye bread baked in the ground geothermally. It's a flat, dark rye, which is covered in butter and smoked trout. Very much hit the spot.

    A lovely end to a beautiful day of driving through this exceptional landscape. On the way we stopped at Godafoss, meaning waterfall of the gods. While not the largest or tallest, it is considered one of the most beautiful, crashing through a lava field. In the year 1000, the law speaker Porgeir was forced to decide on Iceland's national religion. After 24 hours of meditation, he decided on Christianity. Afterward, he tossed all his pagan carvings of the Norse gods into the waterfall.    Read more

  • Sarah McmurrayIceland 2016
    1
    Day 9

    Few are similar first time.

    March 27, 2016 in Iceland ⋅ 🌙 -3 °C

    The Aurora forecast is a 4/9, the highest it's been all week. We stayed in the Myvatn region last night, considered the Aurora Borealis capital of Iceland - but not in a blizzard.

    The snow continued all night and into the day. The night's black out became the day's white out. After a breakfast of smoked lamb, egg, peppers, and black charred bread, I headed out into it.

    When traveling in Iceland in a blizzard on Easter, be sure you have plenty of gas. Many gas stations will be closed, so you will have to rely on your American credit card with a PIN which doesn't exist. And no, your bank card is not a fitting substitute. There are many charming, picturesque, mountainside churches that will be open. By open, I mean their doors are unlocked. But please don't bother trying to find out when or even if they are having services. They are utterly empty and there are no signs.

    We emerged out of the east central storm today in Akureryri once again. I was having Jennifer take videos of the intense white out conditions as we came down the steep fjordside roads. It was still my time to drive. Drifts along the railing were up to the middle of her doors or higher.

    Easter holidays are apparently the time for eating, as restaurants were all still open, and we found a charming cafe with plenty of hot pumpkin soup. We also stopped back in Glaumbaer at the turf house cafe, which was also open. Here, they had a variety of traditional icelandic cakes, dainty china, and an upstairs exhibit on 300 years of coffee in Iceland. I opted for my first tea today, and was highly amused to be served from a selection of Celestial Seasonings Teas - Hello Colorado! Little did our hostess imagine I had been in that very factory. The Victorian Earl Gray was delightful, and I also got a cream and rhubarb jam filled pancake, which we would call more like a crepe. It was the most traditional offering, and I had just been reading in my book where the hero Bjartur, was serving pancakes at his late wife's funeral.

    The sun had come out here, the little chapel was open, and I took a moment to explore. All the trap doors leading up to the bells were open, so I examined the views from the top, as well as the hymnals below. The church is actually famous for being the place where Snorri Porfinnsson, the first European born in North America (in the year 1004), is buried. Snorri's mother, Gudridur Porbjarnardottir, was a celebrated Icelandic explorer. Statue of mother and son are at the entrance to the church/cemetery.

    We found exactly one supermarket open all day, and there I purchased a small Icelandic easter egg. My fortune, mysterious as promised, translates to: Few are similar first time.    Read more

  • Sarah McmurrayIceland 2016
    Day 10

    Last night in Reykjavik

    March 28, 2016 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ -1 °C

    Well, my travel buddy has left me. The dangers of flying from different destinations I suppose - we didn't have affordable direct flights to our respective states on the same day. My oldest photo of Jennifer dates to my 12 year old surprise birthday party in Brownsburg, Indiana. By that time, Indiana was the fourth state I'd lived in. The fact that we're traveling about the globe together 25 years later makes my heart feel warm. Should I be blessed with another 25, who will I be then? Undoubtedly even more myself, but where, doing what? I'm a person who has never been able to predict even 5 years in advance. But 25 years? The thought is delightful.

    On the way to taking her to the airport, we stopped at the legendary Blue Lagoon. "It's so touristy," they say, "It's too crowded," I hear. I advise you, listen to none of this nonsense. As a lover of hot springs, let me tell you: Blue Lagoon is world class. Gorgeous, stark, foreboding, enchanting, relaxing, and more adjectives than these. The white silica mud caking the insane piles of black lava rocks looks otherworldly, surrounded by steam in this vast landscape. If I were to imagine a hot spring on the moon, it would be the Blue Lagoon - only silent, with no human disturbance to mar my sense of delighted wonderment.

    I'm winding down the day now at the Bus Hostel. I share a bunk room with 5 others. Iceland decor seems to swing between ultra modern looking IKEA things to a collection of charming antiques and mismatched china. Bus Hostel definitely swings toward the charming. The music playing is perfectly appropriate: 1930s sounding arrangements of popular pop songs. I finally figured out the city map, as I walked back from returning my rental car, and refound the recommended Fish & More. Ordering Fish Stew, I was quite surprised at the plate, though it was entirely delicious. Writing the last postcards, drinking the last cup of tea, about to spend the last night.    Read more

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