Wednesday, April 4, 2018

ICELAND FAREWELL

We went to Iceland in June and loved it. We were wondering if we still would love it in Winter. We did, but I can say it would not be a great idea to go for the first time in Winter. So much is compromised by the weather. Still, Icelanders are a hearty people and make the best of what they have. And in natural beauty and kind fun loving people, they have it in spades! They enjoy their lives and love to show people their country. They are hard working, industrious, intelligent people who enjoy the fruits of a socialist democratic society that takes care of many aspects of life. Health care is free. Education , and college is free. Infrastructure  is well done and easy to use. Crime is almost non existent and food is local and fresh. Even in winter, because of their greenhouses, they supply their whole country with fresh vegetables. They are a healthy, active people, who tolerate the dark days of winter, but LOVE their long summer nights. The snow and cold does not stop them from enjoying their country. They always have many questions for Americans, usually pertaining to our gun use and crime...and have a hard time thinking we actually put up with it. Drugs are still illegal in Iceland. Liquor is expensive, eating out is expensive, and no one uses a gun, except hunters.  
I would go again in a heartbeat....and yes, even with the hoards of new visitors.....I would go in summer or fall. It is easier to get around, longer days, and more trails to hike on. 
One added note, the first part of our adventure we had the honor of being toted around by "Ole", a most humorous, kind man that hugged us a lot, drove on some really  scary icy, windy roads, and never lost his cool.  He was the quintessential Icelandic man....and what a cool guy.  

A FINAL DAY

With just the two of us we took off with our Icelandic friend and guide, Linda, to see some special places in the Capital city. We traveled to another waterfront area to see the beautiful opera house and read the line up of this years entertainment. Wow! They get some big name acts in this small country. The opera house was mostly all glass and a site to behold. This part of downtown Reykjavik was just bursting with new buildings and enterprises. The new influx of tourists was bringing on much needed capitol to a sleepy little country that had exploded with visitors. 3 years ago, when we visited in June, there were barely one million visitors for the whole year. This year.  3 million and counting!
In the afternoon we climbed up a hill to the Perlan Glacier and Ice Cave Museum. The "Pearl" . What a gorgeous place, where we were treated to a fabulous lunch and enjoyed a 360 degree view of the city. After lunch we donned warm ice jackets and entered the artificial ice caves, and listened to a young guide explain the ins and outs of glaciers and ice caves in Iceland. It was great fun, but since we had already seen the real deal.....it seemed a little artificial to us, but still worth seeing if one could not venture to the real glacier area. There was quite a big educational area about climate change, and after our "tour".  We were given a disc to write our impressions and share with the world!  
A wonderful "private tour" day with a fun lady who we felt was already a friend. We ended up at a Viking restaurant quite near our hotel and had a viking feast dinner with cod and wine and desert. 




Tuesday, April 3, 2018

LAST ONES STANDING

We woke up the next am not know what we were doing or where we may be going, but one thing was for sure, Steve and I were going to stay in Iceland and finish our trip. Not so the rest of the group with which we had been traveling. They all wanted to go home! They were done with ice and snow and unpredictable winter weather. A representative of the company metbwith everyone and apologized for all the delays and the fact that we were probably NOT going to make it to the Westman Islands this time around. So the representative set about changing people's flight and working on getting them back to the states. They also offered everyone a complete refund for that part of the trip, and it was a substantial amount. We got it also, but since we decided to stay, we also got all the accommodations and meals...so we felt good and in the mood to see more of Reykjavik.  While all the others were packing up and leaving, we started hoofing around this great city. We bought Icelandic wool from a knitting co-op, we found a REAL hamburger place and indulged in beef after all the fish and lamb we had been eating. We went to see the big frozen ice pond, and Steve, being Steve tried to walk on it, and fell thru the ice. He got wet, but no worse for wear.  We even had a "proper" happy hour and enjoyed the leisurely pace of not having any agenda or schedule. That night, a new blizzard blew in and cover d the town and Marina area with a soft blanket of snow. Steve got up around midnight and walked around in the snow. Iceland is probabaly one of the safest places in the world. We never did see a police, and they don't carry guns. People really are very polite and friendly and wonder all the time what is wrong in our country with all our shootings and murders.....we felt at a loss to explain anything, even the terrible man who was unfairly elected to be president.