Day 5: Nesjavellir and Around

Dear Reader,

Isn't Nejavellir a beautiful town?

OK...well...town is a loose definition. But there was our hotel, a power plant, and a house within sight of each other. In Iceland, outside of Reykjavic, that's as close to a town as you're going to get.

Barrett and I took the morning to walk around the most active geothermal area in the country, which just happened to be around our hotel. Iceland's hiking trails are marked like ski trails. Educational/Easy trails are green. Blue trails are moderately exhausting, and black trails make you cry for your mommy.

We stuck to greens for our first outing, but don't let that fool you. If you get off of these greens, you'll be boiled like an egg!

Hot? Cold? Both? Barrett finds a glacial stream joining thermal waters. You can tell which stream is thermal by the abundant amount of greenery growing out of it.

After trekking around our hotel the whole morning, we decided that after lunch would be a good time to visit some other "towns" that were in our guidebook. The most interesting one we happened across was picturesque Skalholt. Granted the entire town consisted of 5 church buildings and a farm, but I could almost pronounce it. Victory!

Skalholt was the religious center of Iceland for hundreds of years. It fell into ruin from multiple fires and recent preservation efforts have rebuilt the church, excavated the foundations of previous buildings, and supported the building of a small museum. The interior of the church is crowned with a multi-hued mosaic of Christ.

Also of interest on the grounds are the remains of a sod house and two stone knights (they're really Catholic Bishops), and a tunnel out of the church basement (good for passing from building to building during harsh winters and being sneaky).

On the way back to home and food we stopped to make some new friends, and then called it a night to rest up for summiting the nearby volcano and tackling some black hiking trails.

Icelandic ponies came to the island over a thousand years ago. Those same horses have evolved into today's breed without the introduction of any outside horses. Consequently, the ponies are unique. They even have an extra gait that all other horses lack. It's a speed between a trot and a canter. These ponies were all too happy to let me pet them, but I fear they were disappointed by my rude lack of carrot or apple.

Tomorrow volcanoes!

Till then dear reader...

At Long Last!

Dear Reader I have missed you!

The internet at my house has been more unpredictable than a seven year old in the grocery store after a six-pack of Coke and three boxes of candy. Nobody move. Remain perfectly still. We're working on it...so without further ado...

Day Four: Ridin' Back

After a long day's drive out to Hofn, we had to make another long day's drive back to get Phech and Chara to Keflavik to catch their plane home. But as I'm sure you've already gathered, Iceland is just too beautiful to drive without stopping. We did manage to keep it down to only two stops. And I grabbed these sweet pics from the car.

Our first stop was Skogar Falls, known as the Black Waterfall because of the incredible basalt rock formations that it tumbles over.

There's a gorgeous park at Skogar with a great camp ground that we'd love to go back to! It's also a starting point for trips out to the glacier. A definite must on Iceland 2.0.

Our second stop was at...

...yeah well, you try to say it. Not only were there more amazing basalt rock formations, but apparently if you hang around here long enough you can hear the elves sing. Christian elves! They sing hymns!

Phech and I didn't see any elves, but we did see some very strange human looking creatures.

After we dropped our friends off at the airport, it got very quiet... Sad to say goodbye to such fine people. But we are soooo going to do this again!

Barrett and I drove to our hotel in the thriving metropolis of Nesjavallir. OK...so..."thriving metropolis" might be a bit of an overstatement. But there was our hotel, one house, and a power plant. For Iceland that's a big town!

The hotel was in a gorgeous location, so we stuffed ourselves and rested up for a couple days of hiking and sight seeing in the most active geothermal area in Iceland.

As long as the internet behaves, I'll post more soon. Till then dear reader...

Day Two, Part One: The Golden Circle

This title might get you thinking...

Wait just a minute! What's all this part one business? Pick the good parts and get on with it lady! We haven't got all day.

The problem with picking the good parts is that there were so many of them. During this time of year the sun never really sets in Iceland. Oh sure, it goes below the mountains, but there is sunshine 24/7. And when you're in a place as gorgeous as this, you can't stay indoors or go to bed at a decent hour.

Oh. Well in that case, get on with it then!

Thank you. I will...

Day two got kicking with lots of caffeinated beverages and picking up the rental car. We were headed to The Golden Circle, a trio of Iceland's marquis natural wonders.

First on the list, Thingvellir National Park. Iceland had the world's first democratic parliament. Snore inducing? Not quite! They chose the most incredible location for tribal chieftains (aka Viking-esque men) to meet and talk a little policy, on the shores of a glacial lake where two continental plates (North America and Eurasia) are very slowly drifting apart.

After soaking up some national history (and clearing myself of being a witch, they would drown you at the bottom of the falls back in the good ol' days), we headed to our second stop, Geysir.

Now Icelanders are lovely people, but as I mentioned previously, their national tongue is quite difficult. All geysers in the world are named after this one, but they say it like gay-sir. Yes I am, and proud of it! You might reply. But they're really just talking about geo-thermally heated water that turns to steam and blasts out any cooler water trapped above it, so don't get too frisky yet.

The government there is a big believer in social darwinism. While there might be paths to keep you from trampling nature, there are not any blockades or ropes to keep humans out of harm's way. The idea being that if you are dumb enough to get close to the boiling hot water then you probably need to learn a lesson and nobody is interested in paying your medical bills afterwards. We actually saw a group of kids get totally drenched (the water had cooled, so no worries) when their parents urged them to stand on the down-wind side of one of the geysers for a picture. Everyone laughed and ran away from the water without the thought of a lawsuit crossing anyone's mind. How do attorneys here stay in business?

The third and final stop on the Golden Circle tour was Gullfoss, the mother of all Icelandic waterfalls!

The dot standing on the cliff above the massive rush of water is actually Barrett. Mother Nature made us feel pretty tiny that day.

After all of our hiking, oohing, and aahing we drove an hour to what was reported to be the best lobster dinner in all of Iceland. Reports are true!

A starter of lobster bisque, 2 pounds of lobster for 3 people to share, and delicious slices of chocolate cake should have equaled a total food coma. But it was only 10pm, and the sun was still shining. Time for an hour and a half hike to a thermal river! But that is a blog for another day...

Happy Reading,
Megan

Day One: Reykjavik

Day one of our vacation was technically not “day” one. It was more like “day and half” one or “thirty eight hours without real sleep” one. If you’re thinking, “Geese...Barrett looks rough without sleep. Megan really shouldn’t let him play with swords in that condition, even if he is wearing a helmet,” have no fear. Despite my sleep induced haze, I didn’t walk off with a well armed gnome or let Barrett dress for battle in the streets of Iceland’s capital. This fine fellow was keeping watch outside of one of the many tourists shops in Reykjavik.

Wondering how to say Reykjavik? Icelandic is terrifically hard to pronounce (thank the Lord they all learn English in school). It’s like this: Ray-key-ah-vick. Ray of sunshine, Key to the door. Say, “ahhhh.” Short for Victor. Names only got harder from there.

Iceland is 5 hours ahead of Oklahoma. We did our best to stay up all day so that we would adjust to the time change while we slept that first night. So when you’re incredibly tired, there’s only one thing to do in Iceland that makes any sense. WALK ALL OVER TOWN AND HIKE TO THE HIGHEST POINT YOU CAN FIND.

We got our tourist on with two of my favorite people in the world! Phech and Chara! Tried and true friends from our Boston days, who still admit to knowing us in public. Well...at least in foreign countries where they don’t know anyone.

We checked out Hallgrimskirja with a wicked viking statue of the first European to discover America, Leifur Eiriksson. This striking design is a combination of the traditional Icelandic church shape and an abstract representation of lava flow (with a generous sprinkling of steroids. This building is huge, and can be seen over 12 miles away!)

We then hiked out to a building called the “Pearl.” It houses a viking museum and rotating restaurant, but was described in our guide book as looking like one of the cups of Barbarella’s bra. Now there’s a movie that empowers women and a comparison I’m sure all Icelanders can be proud of. But really the best thing about the Pearl was the spectacular view from the roof top deck.

We ended the first day with dinner and walk along the ocean front. The Sun-Craft looks out over one the many little bays surrounding the city. If the landscape isn’t surreal enough for you, the sculpture certainly tickles the imagination.

OK...well, that last section was only partially true. I ended the day falling asleep on a park bench when I was supposed to be focused on finding a way into the spa by our hotel. After that we decided it was time to hit the hay and get ready for a big day tomorrow that would include waterfalls, continental rifts, and steaming blasts of hot water. I love it when things explode on vacation, just not the volcanoes please.

Taking One (or four) for the Team

Where to begin dear reader? Where to begin?

How about...Belgium! Home to dear friends, delicious chocolate, and really really (did I mention really) great beer.


Now if you've ever been out with me for a night on the town, you know that I am not a cheap date. I don't drink beer. I prefer a good Pinot Noir or a nice mixed drink with spanish flair: mojitos, palomas, etc... But rarely ever beer. Dear reader, I have been converted. Belgians, specifically Belgian monks, know how to do beer. Our first night at Emily and Jack's place was started off and wrapped up with a beer tasting. What I mean is we taste the whole bottle, and some of the beers (such as the blue St. Bernardus bottle) have an alcohol content of 10.5%. So after "tasting" the four beers to my immediate right in the picture, I was having a wonderful cultural experience. Another fun thing about Belgian beers is that each beer has its own special glass. Some glasses make the bubbles do certain things. Others are shaped to build the head and still others to discourage foam. There's a real art to it.

Emily and Jack live in the town of Luven, the biggest college town in Belgium, where Jack is doing his post-doctorate linguistics research. The university is the oldest Catholic university in the world, operating for the last six centuries, and the town is beautiful.


The original city hall takes Gothic decor to a whole new level. Too bad they didn't spend more time on the sculptural program of the building. There just aren't enough little statues under stone canopies for my taste.


This jaunty little fellow is a fountain whose purpose is to denounce brainwashing through education. I agree schools shouldn't brainwash their students; the monk's beer does it just fine.


The university library was bombed in WWII. School libraries from around the world donated books to restock it, and now the names of all the donating libraries are carved into the edifice of the building in fancy script.

After a couple days of relaxing and eating delicious Belgian food (steamed muscles, pork shank, and Flemish stew), we were ready for our next adventure.

Welcome to Amsterdam!









We had a great time roaming the streets and crossing the canals of the city. I checked another souvenir off the list when I bought a pair of European skinny jeans. Skinny leg jeans are in style in the US, but the Europeans take it to a whole new level. It's like the 80's when you had to sew yourself into your jeans (or so I'm told), but nowadays there are zippers on the pants legs to save sewing time.

The redlight district (sorry no pictures) sneaks up on you. At least it did on this tour group of senior citizens that stumbled into it ahead of us. We thought it was a laugh and that seeing the shops and the scantily-clad ladies in windows was a must if you were going to say you'd seen Amsterdam. I'm not sure the white-hairs would have agreed.

The highlight (read as "art historical freak out") of the trip to A'dam was a visit to the Rijks Museum. The interior of the museum is being completely overhauled, so they have a "greatest hits" show up. 12 rooms of the highlights of the Dutch Golden Age, including Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals. We got to see Rembrandt's most famous work, "The Night Watch," and a couple of my personal favorites "Syndics of the Cloth Merchants' Guild" (basically a bunch of old rich dudes in period clothing, but geese it's great) and a self portrait where I think he looks like the orneriest old man ever. Vermeer is never a let down, and I was surprised at some of the what I would consider modern aspects of Rembrandt's and Hal's use of paint. Definitely a stop worth the 12 Euro.

After a couple days in A'dam, it was back to Belgium for some low key sight seeing. The dutch countryside is gorgeous, so we headed out in the car one afternoon and ended up in the town of Namur. Our first stop was the hill top and citadel of the ancient town.




I guess every good citadel needs a creepy old archer's tunnel. While it was fun to see how this place would have been defended in the past, I couldn't believe Barrett and Emily got me to walk into this long dark tunnel of a thing. I didn't know if I should be more on the lookout for ghosts or ferrel animals.


Another gorgeous view from the top without Barrett and me in the way.


The Chateau Namur is also at the top of the hill. It's a hotel and reception hall now. Anyone else thinking of the Shining? Anyone? This place looked so haunted on a cloudy day!


We didn't stoop to McDonald's, but sometimes you just need a fast food break. So we did it dutch style and hit the Quick Burger. They're obviously modeled after Micky D's, but not quite there yet.

After a little local research we decided to ditch Brussels and visit Antwerp.

Barrett and Emily pose for a quick picture at the impressive Antwerp train station.


The original building defies categorization and the subsequent additions for high speed trains makes it truly unique. Jack said he feels likes he's in the league of extraordinary gentlemen when his train pulls into the elevated platforms. And before you ask, I have no idea what "WINKELS" are or why they were on both my left and my right.


The Antwerp cathedral is home to a famous Northern European Renaissance triptych and had a Ruben's show up, but THEY WOULDN'T LET ME IN! We arrived five minutes after the last entry time. So after the ticket taker told me what an awesome show they had, he told me to come back tomorrow, which I couldn't. The worst was that I could see part of the show through the entry way glass, AND there were still people in there milling around. It wasn't closing time. They just weren't letting more people in. Arrgghhh! Art historian torture!


Who loves a gothic portal? I do! I do!


I have no idea what this building is used for, but I thought it was pretty. The statue is some unknown to me hero killing the Antwerp giant. I guess the giant deserved it.


More beautiful buildings on the main square in Antwerp.

We had a phenomenal time hanging out with Jack and Emily and added two new countries to our list. Now it's back to Italy for a couple days of family time till we head back to the US. The final Italy post is forthcoming, and we are getting excited to head back to Oklahoma and move into our new home.

Packing up,
Megan