Iceland, Departure Day: No more waterfalls

Well, we've been home for almost 24 hours, time to pull out the laptop and tell you the end of our story.

During the wee hours of the morning on Thursday (around 1:30), we received a text (and the "bing" woke all of us up), telling us that our 8:30 flight was actually now leaving at 12:30, then a second notice half an hour later updated that to 12:40.  So we reset our alarms and tried (unsuccessfully) to sleep a few more hours.  We still had to return our rental car by 9:00, so we couldn't lay in bed too long.

Breakfast was similar to all Scandinavian breakfasts: coffee and tea, slices of bread, slices of meat and cheese, slices of cucumber and tomato, muesli and cornflakes, pourable yogurt, jellies, and juice and milk.   You are evidently supposed to add the yogurt to the cereal, then add jelly and mix it up.  I just put milk on my muesli (muesli is just unbaked granola).  This particular muesli was very boring.  Some are more interesting with nuts/seeds/dried fruit added.  We even found a crunchy muesli at the store that we particularly liked.  They also have little sandwiches for breakfast with the bread and other items.

Then we drove the few minutes to the airport to return the car, shuttle to the airport, check-in, security, then WAIT.  Because they had delayed our flight, we were each given a voucher for 2500 Krona (just less than $25).   We browsed the gift shops for awhile and played foosball, then got food).  Shelby liked Joe and The Juice, a coffeeshop/juice bar which also served sandwiches.   Joshua didn't like the looks of it and went to a different counter where the cashier helped him to use up almost all of his vouches.  He ended up with a chocolate-filled croissant, a muffin, two yogurts, and orange Fanta and sparkling lemon water.  The rest of us had sandwiches and fancy fruit drinks but didn't use up the entire voucher (you couldn't save the rest to use elsewhere).  My power shake was particularly yummy.  They use whole fruit and then juice and blend it as you wait.  

Then to our gate.  Joshua and I plugged in our phones, and we settled in to wait.  Then they named a list of people to come to the desk.  Shelby was one of those names.  So I went with her.  The flight attendant was snippy and took her passport then told her to go get her bags.  I asked what it was all about, she wouldn't tell me, so I said that I was her mother and would be staying with her.  She asked Shelby's age, then turned away when I told her that Shelby was 17 (underage).  Shelby came back and they took us to a waiting area.  One man told us that it was a routine screening, but that we had to wait for a particular security screener to come.  Soon, they started loading the first people onto the plane (those with children and priority card holders) so I went to get my bags.  When I returned, the security person was there.  He took us to an area where I was asked how old Shelby was and if I was her mom.  They said that it was a random screening.  A woman did a full pat-down of Shelby including skin swabs and he searched her bag including swabs.  Everything was good, of course, and we boarded.

We didn't get home until around 7:30, after taking the light rail and a bus (we didn't want to carry our bags the mile from the train station to our house).  Anneliese and Ana were still there, and Anneliese had a beautiful potted lily plant and a fancy box of chocolates and a welcome home sign (sweet girl!).

Anneliese left for work, Ana finished packing her car to go home, then Randy went to get grocries and a pizza.  We all dispersed to separate areas of the house.  Later on, we ate the pizza, watched a movie, then Randy and Joshua went to bed.  Shelby and I stayed up talking with Anneliese who had just arrived home from work.  Whew!

In the airport, we talked about what we were looking forward to at home and what we would miss about Iceland.  It was interesting and helped bridge the gap.

Time tomorrow for cleaning the house and starting to water and  tame the jungle in my garden (seriously, much of it is taller than me; I'll go in with shears and loppers poised since I don't own a machete).

Iceland, last day: No waterfalls? Are we still in Iceland?

Today isn't technically our last day, we will be in Iceland until 8:30 tomorrow morning.  But is was our last day to day something other than sit in the airport.  We spent the day in Reykjavik before going to a guesthouse in Keflavik, a few minutes from the airport.  I think is it called a "guesthouse" because there are shared bathroom facilities and an available kitchen.  I doubt anyone stays here more than one night.  It is right near the airport, so I think it is more of a first night after arriving or last night before departing kind of place.  Nothing wrong with it, in fact, I am sitting in the sun-filled lounge next to our room writing this on a comfortable couch.  It is very quiet other than the cars speeding by outside to and from the airport.

Breakfast was included in our hostel stay (as well as sheets!).  So we arrived about 10 minutes before it ended and ate.  Randy and Joshua wanted to see the cathedral, Hallgrimskirkja, so we drove there and parked.  It was all white inside--very pristine looking.  When we arrived, the organist was playing the organ very loudly with inspiring chords and it fit the soaring ceilings and whiteness.  Randy pointed out that the outside columns are hexagons and represent the basalt that is all over Iceland from the volcanoes.

from the neighborhood

They have a special donation fund for cleaning the
5,275 organ pipes!

A statue of Leif Eiricsson (who discovered North
America--or Canada, at least).

Then we walked around the area by the harbour.  It is a very cute area with many little shops and houses.  In one area, we noticed a lot of painting of the buildings, in a (mostly) tasteful way.

the neighborhood

Shelby attacking Joshua with an ax

Joshua

The edges of the parking ramp are painted

This is a store--I've said that several times while we've been here,
with a "sorry, but ..." first.

interesting building

Icelandic Culture House

A statue of Ingólfur Arnarson, the first Icelandic settler.
There are a lot of the saga references in the statue, but I won't get
into that here.

Weird, but true.

Pretty store!

The doorway on the corner is framed by two brightly painted dragons.

A house

The house's courtyard

The side of a building (it says Mind Games--in English)

sod roof

We found a geocache box in this.  It's still there,
waiting for some lucky geocacher.

A sculpture

Next we walked to the Harpa, which is a very new building that seems to be like a convention center.  It has meeting rooms, banquet halls, a theater, and a restaurant.  It is very modern, but also quite pretty.  Joshua enjoyed taking the elevator up and down the five floors to look at it.

Then we walked back to the car, had a snack, and drove.  We happened upon a small church, Neskirkja and went in.  It was very quiet with a few people sitting quietly in pews, so I felt conspicuous taking photos.  I took a few and we left.  Next to the church was a school--perhaps a church-affiliated school.  The buildings were adorable!

Joshua having fun with his snack

The floor of the church

The original gate post

The school next to the church

We tried to go to the botanical gardens.  We followed the map, but when we got there, they weren't there.  A local said that they were there but couldn't tell us how to get there!  So we had Joshua and Shelby decide what we were going to do.  They decided on the National Museum of Iceland.  We were there last time we were in Iceland, but we didn't really remember much of it.  The museum is well done with a lot of displays and a LOT of information, but it doesn't really lead you through it in a logical way.  The audio guide might have helped with that, though.  So we saw parts of it, and the touch room was what the children enjoyed the most.  In there, they could put on old-time clothes.  There were wooden toys as well, related to things in the museum.

Shelby

Shelby and Joshua

A model of an old settler's home

the inside

An actual boat

Then we headed to our guesthouse.  After we put our bags away, we went to dinner at a place listed in a guide book that Randy found at one of the hostels.  Olsen Olsen serves burgers and fries with names from the American 1950s music.  They had four menus in English so we shared them with another table.  After we had all ordered (with special add-ons and subtractions like no tomatoes, add fried onions, etc.), the cashier pointed to a sign and told us that the four burgers, two orders of fries (very large), and a 2-liter bottle of pop cost only 45,000 kroner total.   Better than the other places we had checked out.  So we ate, then returned to relax and take showers.  We need to leave around 6:45 tomorrow morning.  Luckily, breakfast is included and that is available starting at 4:00 am!  Plus they have a 24-hour desk clerk.  They are definitely set up for airport arrivals and departures!  They will even drive you to the airport or pick you up.  It is definitely going to be hard to fall asleep early tonight and wake up early in the morning.

 

Iceland, Day 10: Another waterfall? Must be Iceland

Today we drove the short distance to Reykjavik with a very circuitous route, sometimes driving to and from on the same road.  Many things to see in a small space.

One thing I haven't mentioned is the shoe thing.  Many people request or hope that visitors remove their shoes when they enter their home.  I'm not sure about other places in the country, but it is very common in Minnesota.  I'm not sure if it is because of our Scandinavian heritage, or the sand and grit that get carried in on winter shoes and boots, or what reason.  When I visited Sweden a few years ago, it is expected that you remove your shoes when entering a person's home.  In fact, the children do it when entering the school building at many schools.  (It was adorable to see a pile of small children's shoes just inside the building!).  The leaders of our group warned us before we left, but we have that same rule at our house, remove your shoes.  When we have an open house or party, we don't, but if someone asks, we very politely say yes, we would prefer if they did.  At every hostel here, there has been some sort of rack at the door and signs requesting that you remove your shoes.  It keeps the floors clean and dry, protects the hard wood floors, etc.  At our newest hostel in Reykjavik, we did not need to, but it is a very large, multi-floor urban hostel.  (of course, we did once we entered our room!).

At our last  hostel

But before the hostel, first Þingvellir.  There was a parliamentary meeting in Iceland held here once per year for purposes of governing the land, beginning in 930 CE and ending shortly after they fell under Danish rule.  The chieftains made the laws.  There was a law speaker who would recite one-third of the laws each year as well as any new laws at the Law Rock (Lögberg).  Until the 12th century, Iceland did not have a written language, so all of the laws were memorized and shared orally.  Yikes, I can't imagine trying to remember all of them!  In the 12th century, written language came to the people of Iceland.  There were stone foundations left in the earth and each year, when they gathered, the people would stretch out fabric on wood supports above these foundations for their houses while at the assembly.  The legislative body (Lögrétta) was also the highest court of law and they ruled on some legal disputes at the assembly as well.   During world war 2, most Icelanders wanted independence from Danish Rule.  Some felt that they should wait until after the war, others thought that they should do it right away.  The immediate people made it happen and on 17 June 1944, the modern Iceland Republic was founded at the ancient Law Rock at Þingvellir.  The area lies along the juncture of the American and Eurasian tectonic plates so is subject to volcanic activity and earthquakes.  Also, the river in the area had flooded several times causing problems.

The main area

The church that was added when they adopted Christianity.

Inside the church (I love the colors!)

Old graves in the cemetery.  Many are from the 17 and 1800s.

(for a little girl)

Flowers I found that look like salvia, but aren't salvia that I've seen before
and have different leaves.

One of the stone foundations

The water where they drowned people for some crimes.

More interesting flowers

Wonder why the area flooded?

Finally convinced them to pose and smile!

Shelby wouldn't join into the game!

Super clear water

I have begun a collection of funny signs in Iceland.  Here are today's:

After Þingvellir. we went to the Gullfoss waterfall.  It is the most well-known waterfall in Iceland (probably because it is so close to Reykjavik).

 After that, we visited the town of Geysir with, you guessed it, a geyser!  It shoots higher than Old Faithful (but not as high as the geyser at Steamboat Springs).  It also shoots more often, but not regularly.  It was probably about 10-15 minutes tops between each eruption.

After this, we went into Reykjavik and found our hostel, then got groceries.  We all have memories of being at this hostel, even Joshua who was only 5 at the time.  After dinner (there were 5 people at two adjacent rangetops, all trying to cook at the same time), we went to the thermal pool next door.  It is heated by underground thermal springs.  The entire pool is only about thigh-deep (depending on how tall you are!), but very warm and outdoors.  Icelanders have no problems with modesty.  You undress in the large locker room, carry your suit to the showers, shower in gang showers, then put your suit on there.  After swimming, you must remove your suit, shower, and dry off before being allowed back in the locker area (there are people watching to ensure each of these steps is taken).   There were a few individual showers for those more modest, but few people used them.  At the first pool we went to, they had the same routines, but no one watching to ensure that you follow them (except showering before entering the pool).  There was one older woman, a tourist, who was very uncomfortable about using the large locker rooms at that pool.  The Reykjavik pool was very busy with a lot of people there.  We all remembered parts of it from the last time we were here.  It has a large water slide that even Randy and I tried, with areas of colored lights and areas of complete blackness in it.  It has red and green lights at the top to indicate when the next person can go instead of the usual practice of waiting until the previous person has reached the bottom before your turn.  There are tons of foam floaties and balls to play with.  Adjacent to the pool are hot tubs, super hot tubs (ages 16 and older) and a cold tub--5 Celcius (about 40 degrees Farenheit).  Double brrrr.  It was already cold getting out of the pool into the cold outside air to go to the locker rooms.  At least the showers were nice and warm!  I wasn't allowed to take my camera inside there (she sent me back to the locker room), so I don't have any photos.  Randy snuck his phone in, so he has a few shots he took quickly so that they didn't notice.  You'll have to check out his blog to see those.

We have tomorrow in Reykjavik, then go home the following day.  I think most of us are looking forward to having some of our summer.  Leaving so early this year didn't give us a chance to have a break between school and vacation.  We've had fun, but we're ready to go home (except for part about the heat and humidity of a house without air conditioning).  

Oh, a note on Icelandic pronunciation.  Like many languages, they code their vowels so that they know how to pronounce them.  In English, you have to learn a bunch of silly phonetic rules (or use the old stand-by rule of trying both sounds and going with the one that sounds right!).  ∂ makes the short, or unvoiced, "th" sound (like in "think") and Þ makes the long, or voiced, "th" sound (like in "that").