Epilogue

As we fly over Greenland,

And contemplate a 7 1/2 hour flight home, I have a chance to take the firehose off and try to digest this trip. Bear with me as I try to sort this all out.

Washingto DC

So fun touring with Brett and Veronica! Somehow I think they’ll always be newlyweds. I was concerned about George’s foot, and could totally tell when it was hurting. Still, it improved every day. We saw so many sights, really focusing on our govermental seat. Still, my takeaway memory is how easily compatible the 4 of us were, and how much fun we had together.

Virginia

Jessica graduated from William and Mary Law School! We spent all weekend going to various festivities to celebrate her remarkable achievement! She got some impressive awards that accurately reflect her always being involved in whatever she can be. Many people that have been involved with her life (adoptive grandparents , God parents, and friends) came to celebrate with her. I remember hearing George telling somebody about one of Jess’s school teachers being concerned that she was over-involved in things, and suggesting to slow her down. His response to the teacher...’as soon as you can find a way for us to do that, we’d be happy to!’ Well, Jess has found her path, applied her rock solid determination, and we were so happy and proud to watch her fly! 

Sweden

Land of ABBA! 

We loved staying with Magnus and Johanna and Ulf and Hwa! Fantastic hosts, and such a great introduction to how Sweden really IS. I think the few days we spent with them gave us quite a bit of context to build the rest of our tour on. 


The visit out to the archipelago was nun too shabby, either!

We met our group and settled into the Rick Steves portion of our trip. In a way this is the easiest portion of the trip. We just show up when we’re told to, and our tour happens. 

We learn SO much from all the guides, and travel VERY efficiently. I have wanted to come to Scandinavia to see if  Social Democracy works. It just seems so idyllic. Well, it really does. When everyone in a society really is lifted up, the standard of living for everyone is high. When people (government) are more concerned about the society as a whole rather than a system that promptes the uber-rich, everything works. It’s about everyone faring well...wellfare. I’m sold. 

Sweden is all that I’d hoped it would be. I like the whole ethos. Use brains and ethics rather than brawn. Hold teachers and scientists in high regard for what they add to the society, rather than doctors and lawyers and sports stars because they make the big dough. 

Denmark

Pretty cool place! I’ll always think of the Danes as master designers

And the masters of renewable energy. 


This plant outside of Copenhagen shows how forward looking this country is. It blew me away, and made me sad that the US is falling behind in this...the biggest challenge for the future.

And the bikes! Ah, to be a flat country! 


On to Norway

Where people are happy, even while they’re not. It’s just a way of looking at things...it’ll always get better!

For example, this was the only little riff between  George and I. No idea any longer what it was about, but it always gets better!  

The land of the Vikings! They ran throughout our entire trip. I’m impressed with their ship building, their adventuring, their hardiness, their sense of equality that still stands as the basis for Scandinavian ethos!

The Fjords...and the beginning of additional clothing layers always close at hand. 

Everywhere we turn, our president is chided. It’s embarrassing. We ate here, by the way. 


Norway is perhaps the most enigmatic to me. They’re at once the richest of the 3 countries (oil), but the most low-key. It just seems so alien to me that a government would wizely steward a country with the future in mind! Again, kind if sad. 

Iceland

Ah, Iceland. 

Land of more sheep than people

land of ice

Amazing Icelandic horses (Barbara...I get it now!)

land that fire has shaped more than anything

And yes, the land where it all comes together beautifully. 

I was by far the most surprised, awed, and inspired by the beauty of this country. It is a land with wildly diverse geography. Now naive when I looked for the ‘average temperature’ as I was planning this portion of our trip! It’s like asking the average temp for the west coast...including Alaska! 

So, favorites? No fair. All so different. Where would I most like to live? I think Sweden, but with a summer home on the North side of Iceland. I would need the culture of Sweden to pull me through the dark winter, then I’d enjoy the beauty and weather of 66 North!

By the way, we were able to do this entire trip without cash of any sort. From the bathroom where I used my visa to pay the 1 Kronar entrance (they didn’t accept cash at all), to every restaurant, gas station, tours...everything! 

Iceland day 8-The last hurrah

I’m so sad that this trip is ending! Each part has been amazing! Since our flight doesn’t leave today till 4:55, we have some time to play around Reykjavík. We started with a little shopping foray for Moi. Since we’re officially part of that rarified group of people who have been to 66 degrees North, I wanted a Tshirt. 66 North is a brand here, with very superior clothing. It’s funny...the clothing in Oregon has to be about waterproof. Here in Iceland, it’s about a windproof layer! Anyway, I got my Tshirt, and so did George. 

Next we went up to the top of ‘the‘ hill to Perlan, a beautiful dome that sits atop the city’s 6 watertanks. It has a restaurant in the top, with Iceland  exhibits and a planetarium theatre on the main floor. We saw a fabulous movie about the Aurora...which of course in Summer there’s chance of seeing. Did you know that Saturn and Pluto have Aurora’s too? The show was of course stunning. I sure wouldn’t mind coming back in the winter!

We walked all around the viewing platform enjoying the 17C weather! Look Mom, no coat! The locals go nuts in this weather, which is unusually warm. 

What do they do with a day like this??? Why, go to the geothermal beach, of course! It’s TRULY wonderful. Walking around in a bathingsuit in Iceland...such a thing is too wonderful for comprehension...but here we are! And....it’s free! Just walk in, change, put your clothes in a plastic bucket on the shelf, shower, and let the fun in the sun begin! 





What a perfect way to spend our last hour in Iceland! The last thing to cram into my bag, then, is my wet suit and towel! 

Here’s how we’ve been getting around for the last week. I’m mostly co-pilotting with the help of the tablet that Another Iceland Travel has preloaded with our tour. It had our route, our hotels, information about all the sights, and GPS so we could navigate to other places that weren’t on the route. We even choose to take a different route on one if the days after a bit of research the night before. I always had my phone at the ready, too. 1310 pictures and 13 videos! This of corse is for the entire month, but it feels like a good precentage are of Iceland!! Ending mileage...17,746. So, 2159 miles in basically 6 driving days, since the first and last days weren’t really travel. Hats off to George...he drove most of them, and was my hero for driving that really windy day in the Southeast!

Well, there must be other forces that don’t want us to leave, either! We were delayed boarding (mechanical issues), then once we finally boarded and got the push out, we went right back in. Good thing I don’t go to fear about these things! Evidently ‘the small engine that starts the big engines doesn’t work. So, this truck pulled up, started the big engines, and away we went!

Bye bye, Iceland! It’s been GREAT getting to know you and your friendly, happy people! 

Day 7 continued... never a dull moment!

Well...we did it! We found REAL puffins! We took this boat (the little one in front, not the grey one in back) out to an island about 15 minutes outside of Reykjavík. There we saw 1000s of puffins! They were mostly flying, all around us, with flocks in the water and more on the island. It was neigh impossible to get good pictures, as they’re surprisingly small, we couldn’t get close enough before they flew away, and the boat was rocking pretty heavily in the substantial waves. 

So, you’ll have to zoom in to see how adorable they are!

Here’s a flock on the water, just lifting up. I got a video of them flying past us, but videos won’t post on this blog. 

These are such funny little birds! They’re small, a little under a foot tall. They’re really bad flyers, so they have to flap like crazy to get lift-off(and that always flying into the wind), and keep flapping to stay in the air. I saw one trying to lift off, get caught by a wave crest, and take a nose dive into the wave! Awe...

They are, however, terrific divers. They dive up to 60 meters to get their food- sand eels, which are about 5” long.They catch bunches with each dive. 

They spend most of the year up in the Greenland Sea up North of Iceland, out in the water. In late May, they come to land to breed and nest. They dig 2 roomed burrows...one room for the single egg they lay, the other for all the....rubbish. The mom and dad mate for life, which is 20-25 years, but they only get together during this time. The dad arrives first at the same nest each year, cleans it up and does any remodeling needed, then she arrives. After she hatches their egg, they take turns till it hatches. Then....get this....after it grows to maybe a teenager (late August), they bring it a whole pile of food...and leave! As soon as it’s finished with this stockpile, it must leave the burrow to hunt for itself!  They all seem to leave within a few days. Well, their reputation of super cute is well earned, for sure! 

Here’s the Harpa preforming arts center from the water. The windows kind if resemble fish scales! It’s still one the most impressive buildings I’ve ever seen. They give tours, but I’ll have to wait till our next visit.

As we’re walking back to the car, we spot a volcano museum. They have a couple of films we watch...one on the formation of Iceland, the other about a couple of recent eruptions. You’ll remember the eruption of 2010 that stopped European air traffic. Iceland has eruptions every 5 years or so. People here are as accustomed to them as Foridians are hurricanes! 

So now we’re just driving around town...and run into the Geothermal heated beach. The beach is manmade, in a sheltered part of the shoreline, and is heated by excess geothermal water from the city’s heating system. 

The circle under water is ‘the hot tub’. Evidently it’s only heated in the day, and we’re here after 8:00pm. 

We’re back at our hotel for a nightcap before turning in. I’m going to try closing the curtains early and trick myself into thinking it’s nighttime so I can get to sleep. Otherwise, I’m likely to be up quite late...again!

Iceland Day 7: Nothwest Iceland

First, Happy Birthday, Mary!!! 

If the SE side of the island was a windy blast, this side is definitely the lee...sunny, only breezy, and delightfully warm- 8C at 10:00am.

This island- Drangey- is so far as close to puffins that we have gotten, or at least knowingly. I thought I saw some on the South side, but they were so far away I wasn’t sure. So, the search continures.

We drive by this church, meant to look like a volcanic crater. I see it! 

We have NOT figured out what this sign means!🤫

I do declare...Everything is Bigger here!

We’re never too far from a waterfall. This one is Glanni waterfall. Locals believe elves and trolls live here. So, supposedly do salmon, who jump up these falls. We saw none of any of these, but are drinking in the sunshine! I’m shedding jackets...it’s a whopping 16C! 

Still windy aloft!

We’re also never far from mountains, or lupine!

We keep hearing about ‘The Sagas’, so I figured it was time to learn about early Iceland history. During the ‘Settlement’ period, Vikings came over from Norway in the ships we’ e learned about a few weeks ago. They settled around 930AD to 980AD all around the island. The Sagas tell the (usually larger than life) stories of these first settlers. Some Sagas involve dragons, or bulls as big as mountains, but they also tell who settled where. Family trees of Icelanders are traced  back to these Settlers! Not long after this period began the parliament, where new laws were decided, and old ones recited (until later, when they were written down).

Well...we’re getting closer! We found this one in a bird museum hanging out with a bunch of other migrants!




This morning we went down to a marshy lake that was close to our hotel. The bird population was impressive! whooping swans, Slovenic Grebes, Arctic Terns (which we’ve been warned about...they’ll peck your scalp mercilessly if you get close to their nest), and so many more that we’re unfamiliar with. It’s the height of the migratory breeding center, so it was amazing to hear the caucaphony of sound!

Icelanders are definitely good with tunnels! Here’s a 6k tunnel UNDER  the fjord about 1/2 hour North of Reykjavík!

As we approach Reykjavík, even this far out, the traffic increases. This entire week, as soon as we got out of the main tourist area if the Golden Circle, we could usually pull out onto the road without waiting for any traffic. It got to the point we almost didn’t even have to look...but of course we did. Yes, the season is just starting, but it seems most people opt to stay for a much shorter time. I must say, I’m glad we took the road (much) less traveled!

Phew...full circle and back at our first hotel! We have a TV again! A heated towel rack! All the luxuries! 

And now, out we go for our evening adventure. We have a surprise in store....stay tuned!!!