Photos! Just a couple of albums that were recently added to our Picasa page.
Birding trip to Saltee Islands. The Saltees are just off the southern coast of County Wexford. They are known for their breeding colonies of birds that spend most of their lives at sea. Amazing Experience!
4th of July - a little barbecue fun.
Two for one blog posts!
Thursday 23 July 2009
Iceland 440: Days 4-6
The end of the week was not quite so jam-packed with fun. We slowed down into a more relaxing vacation pace.
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Another lie in and another day of mixed weather. We decided this was the morning for a big breakfast. But we were to be betrayed by the vagrancy nature of the restaurant biz - guide-book recommended breakfast establishments were no longer there. We ended up at a place called Tivoli on the main shopping street and had the worst meal of the trip. You can't win them all!
We headed to the Iceland National Museum. This is a bit of a walk which was good after the greasy breakfast. We found a great map of Iceland in City Hall then through some of the more lived in neighborhoods of the city.
The museum is in a very strange building - 1970's-trying-to-be-art-deco office building look. But inside is very well done. The exhibit that made the biggest impressions was the outline of the settler boat on the floor, so you could see just how small it was. These people sailed from Scandinavia in something not much bigger than a van. The settler artifacts in general were interesting and extensive. There was also a recreated settler house - one room for living, sleeping, cooking, eating. Amazing to compare that to the two of us in a house with nine rooms effectively (10 if you throw in the garage - no of course the car doesn't live in there!).
The last exhibit is a look at modern day Iceland. Basically it looks like a pack rat's attic exploded - it is just long low tables with records, toys, kitchen utensils, all the modern conveniences and gadgets.
After a browse in the lovely gift shop, it was back out to the cold for another afternoon dusk walk. We had decided that we would have an at-home night. We borrowed a movie from the hotel (Night at the Museum), picked up a vast array of sushi and arranged to enjoy the roof-top Jacuzzi.
The arrangement of the Jacuzzi turned out to be the one bad experience that we had at the hotel. There was a miscommunication between members of the staff resulting in a conversation that I'm sure the staff member thought was pretty normal. To me, a non-Scandinavian who has worked in hospitality, it was pretty gruff. No matter though; all was soon remedied.
In the end it was worth the trouble - sitting in the hot water, snow falling off and on, enjoying some Viking beer, looking around at the city scape including the famous Hallgrimskirkja (under renovation so we'll have to go back to visit it), cooling off a bit. We then went in to gorge ourselves on terrific fresh sushi and lull ourselves into a dreamy state with a mindless movie.
All was set for an early night, but then Slim had a realisation. He was 30 minutes from 40, and this was not the mood to start that next decade. So, out of the pj's, into the layers of warm clothing and out into the quiet night. We didn't have much time so opted for Cafe Rosenburg; that had been our first stop on our Runtur and was just around the corner.
We found another piece of guide-book misinformation. The place was jammers! Icelanders aren't supposed to drink at all during the week. Wrong! There was even live music. A singer doing several covers and some Icelandic numbers (for one of the songs everyone got quiet and shushed any talkers - beautiful and slow but we have no idea what it was about).
So, what to drink. Well, we're in Iceland - a traditional Icelandic favourite of course! Brennivin, potato schnapps flavoured with caraway and Viking chasers. Happy 40th Slimmie!!!!
Shortly after midnight, our singer started up a familiar tune - Britney Spears' Toxic, adding another highlight to the evening.
A couple drinks later and we were back in our snug little apartment. But we had toasted the birthday boy in Icelandic style!
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
A very relaxed birthday. Slept late, snack breakfast, then out for a day of exploring the city. We tried to follow a self-guided, walking tour but ended up just going where the mood took us. Soon the mood turned to lunch. We had not yet enjoyed the Scandinavian specialty - hot dogs. We headed to the best in town which happened to be a shack on the waterfront, crunchy onions and all. Next was some shopping, including finally getting new Christmas stockings. Then back to the hotel to get ready for the birthday dinner.
I chose a traditional Iceland restaurant for dinner. I went for lamb carpaccio, arctic char and a death by chocolate dessert. Slim went for Langoustine Bisque and the Christmas buffet. I have no idea what he at - it was a never-ending line up of some very strange looking things honestly! He seemed to enjoy it though. I went all out on the candle!
One last task on the way back to our hotel. I can never resist making a snow angel, and this trip was no exception!
Thursday, 18 December 2008
Home again, home again. Late flight meant a relaxed morning of little more shopping and another Scandinavian favourite for lunch - smorrebrod - a Copenhagen discovery. Two shuttles, a scenic drive to the airport with a little snow and sun, one more Vikings and french fries at the airport, dinner at Heathrow (the multi-national Giraffe), midnight drive from Cork then great, big hug for the kitty. Another great adventure!
Thursday 23 April 2009
Iceland 440: Day 3
This becomes harder and harder to write. As I type now, I'm sitting at the front of our house in our new camp chair (our thoroughly-enjoyed camp bench finally gave up the ghost), enjoying a beer and soaking in some April sunshine. We are hoping against hope that this is not the last sunny day we see this summer!
Monday 15 December 2008
Monday, finally time to catch up on our sleep. Only being able to say that on a Monday makes it a good Monday. Out at the crack of dawn, we tracked down a guidebook‑recommend bakery. Lovely coffee, danishes and a ham and cheese Panini for Slim. Another cup of copy was tempting but we had plans. We headed out of the city centre to the Perlan. This is the city's water storage facility but one of the silos has been converted to a museum dedicated to the Icelandic sagas.
Some background on the sagas. These stories are the oral history of the founding of Iceland. They have been handed down since around 1000 AD. They were actually written down starting around the 1200s. it is said that they Icelandic language has changed so little that most people can actually read them in the original old Norse. I've heard conflicting stores on whether that is true or not, but it is true that the Icelandic language has changed very little over the years. Slim and I have since our trip read Egil's saga. There is not as much about the first families of Iceland as I thought there'd be. And there is s still a lot of going back and forth to Norway. It is however as full of battles and pillaging as you'd think it would be.
Anyway, back to the Perlan. The top deck of the Perlan is open and offers an outstanding view of Reykjavik and the surrounding water. We stepped out on to the deck and were instantly blasted by a sudden squall that had blown in. The temperature was just around freezing, so the moisture that was falling was instantly formed into tiny ice daggers. Thousands of them flew at our exposed skin as we tried to make our way around for the 360-degree view. We fought the wind for a few minutes but soon found a door to get back inside. We decided to then head to the top story café for a very nice cup of soup (delicious and refillable for one price – where are we?).
Then into the museum. The museum is basically a series of tableaus with wax figures bringing the sagas to life size, if not quite to life! It is well done, but I most enjoyed the video at the end showing how they made the wax figures using locals as models.
We found a scenic way back into town enjoying a large park with a series of mostly frozen ponds. At the city end of the pond, the water is kept from freezing – not sure if it is purposely or not – but it is the winter home of several ducks, geese and swans. One of the docs was an Eider, a beautiful duck not found this close to civilisation normally. We were of course very excited by that.
Again cold and a bit peckish, we stepped into a café that overlooks the little city park. Café culture is central to Reykjavik, maybe not as central as it is to Parisians but pretty close. We decided a coffee with a little something special and a savoury crepe were just what was needed. The coffee came in a large carafe laced with kahlua – perfect!
Dusk was falling, and we headed back to the apartment, not quite caught up on our sleep…
Tonight's menu: tapas. After dressing for dinner and studying our map, we walked down to the city centre and found our place. It was on the lower floor of a building and felt subterranean, but in a cozy, homey way. We were seated in a table on the raised section at the back offering a few of the entire restaurant.
Sangria? Yes, please! Slim ordered the taster menu while I chose a few treats from the tapas menu – meatballs, potato with paprika and fish. (Additional courses for Slim: turkey, reindeer.)
Feeling the need for a little cold remedy for me, we headed to one of Reykjavik's two Irish pubs. We just can't stay away from them! We were looking for hot whiskey's – the prefect cold medicine. We entered the empty bar and interrupted the bar gal's enjoyment of CSI Vegas. We asked for hot whiskeys and got blank looks. She asked if it was just warmed up whiskey, ah, no. Her friend was also at the bar and with his translation assistance, we taught her how to make the quintessential winter Irish drink. I mean, she works in an Irish bar in Iceland, this is really essential knowledge.
Satisfied, warmed and sleepy, we headed back to our sweet Room with a View.
Monday 15 December 2008
Monday, finally time to catch up on our sleep. Only being able to say that on a Monday makes it a good Monday. Out at the crack of dawn, we tracked down a guidebook‑recommend bakery. Lovely coffee, danishes and a ham and cheese Panini for Slim. Another cup of copy was tempting but we had plans. We headed out of the city centre to the Perlan. This is the city's water storage facility but one of the silos has been converted to a museum dedicated to the Icelandic sagas.
Some background on the sagas. These stories are the oral history of the founding of Iceland. They have been handed down since around 1000 AD. They were actually written down starting around the 1200s. it is said that they Icelandic language has changed so little that most people can actually read them in the original old Norse. I've heard conflicting stores on whether that is true or not, but it is true that the Icelandic language has changed very little over the years. Slim and I have since our trip read Egil's saga. There is not as much about the first families of Iceland as I thought there'd be. And there is s still a lot of going back and forth to Norway. It is however as full of battles and pillaging as you'd think it would be.
Anyway, back to the Perlan. The top deck of the Perlan is open and offers an outstanding view of Reykjavik and the surrounding water. We stepped out on to the deck and were instantly blasted by a sudden squall that had blown in. The temperature was just around freezing, so the moisture that was falling was instantly formed into tiny ice daggers. Thousands of them flew at our exposed skin as we tried to make our way around for the 360-degree view. We fought the wind for a few minutes but soon found a door to get back inside. We decided to then head to the top story café for a very nice cup of soup (delicious and refillable for one price – where are we?).
Then into the museum. The museum is basically a series of tableaus with wax figures bringing the sagas to life size, if not quite to life! It is well done, but I most enjoyed the video at the end showing how they made the wax figures using locals as models.
We found a scenic way back into town enjoying a large park with a series of mostly frozen ponds. At the city end of the pond, the water is kept from freezing – not sure if it is purposely or not – but it is the winter home of several ducks, geese and swans. One of the docs was an Eider, a beautiful duck not found this close to civilisation normally. We were of course very excited by that.
Again cold and a bit peckish, we stepped into a café that overlooks the little city park. Café culture is central to Reykjavik, maybe not as central as it is to Parisians but pretty close. We decided a coffee with a little something special and a savoury crepe were just what was needed. The coffee came in a large carafe laced with kahlua – perfect!
Dusk was falling, and we headed back to the apartment, not quite caught up on our sleep…
Tonight's menu: tapas. After dressing for dinner and studying our map, we walked down to the city centre and found our place. It was on the lower floor of a building and felt subterranean, but in a cozy, homey way. We were seated in a table on the raised section at the back offering a few of the entire restaurant.
Sangria? Yes, please! Slim ordered the taster menu while I chose a few treats from the tapas menu – meatballs, potato with paprika and fish. (Additional courses for Slim: turkey, reindeer.)
Feeling the need for a little cold remedy for me, we headed to one of Reykjavik's two Irish pubs. We just can't stay away from them! We were looking for hot whiskey's – the prefect cold medicine. We entered the empty bar and interrupted the bar gal's enjoyment of CSI Vegas. We asked for hot whiskeys and got blank looks. She asked if it was just warmed up whiskey, ah, no. Her friend was also at the bar and with his translation assistance, we taught her how to make the quintessential winter Irish drink. I mean, she works in an Irish bar in Iceland, this is really essential knowledge.
Satisfied, warmed and sleepy, we headed back to our sweet Room with a View.
Sunday 5 April 2009
Iceland 440: Day 2
Sunday, 14 December 2008
3am to bed, 10am to rise – not too bad.
Our first excitement of the morning was opening our curtains to our terrific view. It was dark when we got in Saturday evening, so we had no idea what was in store. It was a cold crisp morning, the sun was shining and in front of our little apartment was Reykjavik's bay framed by snow-covered mountains. My favourite spot in the apartment was quickly discovered.
But there was no time to linger, as we had another busy day in store. First up was Reykjavik's weekend market. This is basically an indoor swap meet with small farmer's/fishermen's market attached. We wandered past stall after stall after stall of attic liberations. We also got to taste the Icelandic specialty - Hákarl. This is a kind of shark or skate (we've heard conflicting stories) that is fermented, in the ground for several MONTHS! We had heard that it was vomit inducing, but it wasn't quite that bad. I'd be perfectly happy not to experience that flavour again, ever in my whole life, but my breakfast did not instantly make an unwanted appearance. Even the market parking lot offered stunning views!
Back to the apartment to put together a picnic then it was time for Slim's first birthday presie – a very special tour of Iceland's most famous sights. We headed down to the lobby to meet our guide, Christian, and were awed by our transportation.
Heading out of Reykjavik, we got the very sad story of how the world's economic crises was affecting Iceland. New stores that would never open and cranes that would lie still. But the surrounding scenery was stealing the show including tiny churches set in snow covered hills and the adorable Icelandic ponies.
Our first stop was þingvellir (pronounce the first letter as 'th' in 'thing'). This place offers a triple whammy: the longest, continually running Parliament in the world was founded here, the North American and European continents are wrenching away from each other and it is so beautiful. You can't actually stand on both continents here though – they are across a lake at this point in the chasm. The other amazing thing here was the temperature drop – from 0 C in the city toaround -10 out here. We were very grateful for our puffy coats.
Next stop was Geysir. This is the geyser from which the word originates. Unfortunately it is pretty dormant these days, only shooting off steam once every three to five years. However, don't despair, the geyser just a few feet away, Strokkur, goes every three to five minutes – very handy for the tourists.
Just one more natural wonder on the list: Gulfoss. This is a huge double water fall – not tall but wide. The other really interesting thing about it is that it flows into a big chasm at a 90-degree angle. So you look over the edge of the chasm with the edge of the waterfall facing you.
The other thing that struck me about the sight was the lawsuits waiting to happen aspect. This would not fly in the US in a million years. I did not want to go down the last bit of the trail as it is basically a sloping skating rink with a single, flimsy-looking rope separating you from the rushing, freezing-temperature water.
We hiked up to the top of the ridge that overlooks the whole scene then joined our guide and freezing fellow tour takers (Aussie cum Londoners who did not bother to bring their puffy coats for the weekend – not recommended) for a hot cup of coffee.
The final destination on the tour was Stokkseyri, a small fishing village on the southern coast. The sun was well down by the time we got there. As we came into town, Christian showed us an old fishermen's shack. In the winter when farming wasn't possible, the men would travel to the coast to fish. They would all cram into tiny sod shacks to sleep, drawing lots to not be the person sleeping by the door (as he would be most likely be frozen to the door in the morning).
We then headed to Við Fjöruborðið for a fantastic langoustine dinner. We were the only ones to enjoy this lovely meal – our fellow tourists were vegetarian and our guide had developed a shellfish allergy (after enjoying so many great meals here). Very sad for them as it was delicious.
We were back in Reykjavik about 90 minutes later, well satisfied in every way. And ready to catch some zzzzzzz's!
(More photos here).
3am to bed, 10am to rise – not too bad.
Our first excitement of the morning was opening our curtains to our terrific view. It was dark when we got in Saturday evening, so we had no idea what was in store. It was a cold crisp morning, the sun was shining and in front of our little apartment was Reykjavik's bay framed by snow-covered mountains. My favourite spot in the apartment was quickly discovered.
But there was no time to linger, as we had another busy day in store. First up was Reykjavik's weekend market. This is basically an indoor swap meet with small farmer's/fishermen's market attached. We wandered past stall after stall after stall of attic liberations. We also got to taste the Icelandic specialty - Hákarl. This is a kind of shark or skate (we've heard conflicting stories) that is fermented, in the ground for several MONTHS! We had heard that it was vomit inducing, but it wasn't quite that bad. I'd be perfectly happy not to experience that flavour again, ever in my whole life, but my breakfast did not instantly make an unwanted appearance. Even the market parking lot offered stunning views!
Back to the apartment to put together a picnic then it was time for Slim's first birthday presie – a very special tour of Iceland's most famous sights. We headed down to the lobby to meet our guide, Christian, and were awed by our transportation.
Heading out of Reykjavik, we got the very sad story of how the world's economic crises was affecting Iceland. New stores that would never open and cranes that would lie still. But the surrounding scenery was stealing the show including tiny churches set in snow covered hills and the adorable Icelandic ponies.
Our first stop was þingvellir (pronounce the first letter as 'th' in 'thing'). This place offers a triple whammy: the longest, continually running Parliament in the world was founded here, the North American and European continents are wrenching away from each other and it is so beautiful. You can't actually stand on both continents here though – they are across a lake at this point in the chasm. The other amazing thing here was the temperature drop – from 0 C in the city toaround -10 out here. We were very grateful for our puffy coats.
Next stop was Geysir. This is the geyser from which the word originates. Unfortunately it is pretty dormant these days, only shooting off steam once every three to five years. However, don't despair, the geyser just a few feet away, Strokkur, goes every three to five minutes – very handy for the tourists.
Just one more natural wonder on the list: Gulfoss. This is a huge double water fall – not tall but wide. The other really interesting thing about it is that it flows into a big chasm at a 90-degree angle. So you look over the edge of the chasm with the edge of the waterfall facing you.
The other thing that struck me about the sight was the lawsuits waiting to happen aspect. This would not fly in the US in a million years. I did not want to go down the last bit of the trail as it is basically a sloping skating rink with a single, flimsy-looking rope separating you from the rushing, freezing-temperature water.
We hiked up to the top of the ridge that overlooks the whole scene then joined our guide and freezing fellow tour takers (Aussie cum Londoners who did not bother to bring their puffy coats for the weekend – not recommended) for a hot cup of coffee.
The final destination on the tour was Stokkseyri, a small fishing village on the southern coast. The sun was well down by the time we got there. As we came into town, Christian showed us an old fishermen's shack. In the winter when farming wasn't possible, the men would travel to the coast to fish. They would all cram into tiny sod shacks to sleep, drawing lots to not be the person sleeping by the door (as he would be most likely be frozen to the door in the morning).
We then headed to Við Fjöruborðið for a fantastic langoustine dinner. We were the only ones to enjoy this lovely meal – our fellow tourists were vegetarian and our guide had developed a shellfish allergy (after enjoying so many great meals here). Very sad for them as it was delicious.
We were back in Reykjavik about 90 minutes later, well satisfied in every way. And ready to catch some zzzzzzz's!
(More photos here).
Sunday 15 March 2009
Iceland 440: Day 1
I know that this is long overdue. You will have to forgive me though as this is very difficult for me to type this.
You see, I spent most of my Christmas break writing a long, detailed log of our trip to Iceland. I worked on it for several hours over the course of several days. Then when I had about three-quarters of it done, I decided to just publish the first half and finish the rest later. As I went to break it up, the free (you get what you pay for) blog host that we use erased it. I’m not kidding. I know that this sounds like the dog ate my homework, but truly this is what happened. And as I started to tap the ‘Back’ button to try to recover it, autosave kicked in and saved a blank page.
So, I will bravely try again. But you should know that the original was insightful, well-written and much funnier.
For those of you that have no patience for blogs (TShay), here is the quick link to the pictures.
For those of you that are chained to a desk and need a virtual vacation, here is the play-by-play.
Sunday, 14 December 2008
We left on a typically-Irish dirty day. The rain and wind soaked me as I left my building and got a taxi to Slim’s office – the taxi queue is across the street from my office! But we made it to Cork in good time to enjoy a sandwich before heading east.
No, I don’t need to check a map; you can’t fly directly from Ireland to Iceland (although the history of the islands is actually pretty closely connected – more on that later). So, we flew through Heathrow. We had a couple hours layover and were lucky enough to land at and depart from the same terminal (Heathrow veterans will understand how nice that is). So we had time for a nice dinner and pre-shopping planning (what we would buy from duty free on the way back). I had a lovely steak pie with blue cheese and Slim had a burger. Both were topped off by some lovely British bitter.
We arrived in Keflavik at 11.30pm. We were not able to land exactly on time due to a snow storm which made us giddy with anticipation. In the lights from the airport, we could see the snow covered ground and were thrilled. Our winter vacation was off to a perfect start.
After some shopping at duty free (arriving passengers are allowed to stock up before leaving the airport – so nice) and waiting in a long line at the only ATM in the terminal, we were out in the snow grabbing a taxi. I booked an airport hotel for our first night as the airport is an hour’s journey from Reykjavik. We probably would have still been awake after an hour’s bus ride, but I had another plan as well for our first full day.
Besides, we would have missed our first amazing site. I had read how important light is to Icelanders. So important that they decorate their gravestones. Sorry, never did get a photo of this, but we passed a graveyard that first night where many of the headstones were lined with Christmas lights. We did not figured out if this was just for Christmas or something that they just do. It was quite a site though.
We awoke around nine the next morning to almost darkness, not complete, but close. We headed downstairs for our lovely breakfast. We seemed to have been the first arrivals, even though breakfast was almost over. When we walked in, the lights were very low and all was dead quiet. It felt like it was the middle of the night. A couple other guests then arrived and someone came out from the kitchen to turn up the lights. The spread was gorgeous – a variety of cheeses, meats, crackers, bread, fruit, yogurt, cereals and preserved fish. I did not partake of the latter; I’m not that adventurous when it comes to breakfast. Oh, and the coffee – delicious.
I could have lounged the day away enjoying that coffee, but Slim was anxious to find out what we were doing next. Quick repacking, settling the bill then into another taxi – to the Blue Lagoon. There are shuttle services that run between Reykjavik, the Blue Lagoon and Keflavik, but I did not want to be on someone else’s time schedule. Visiting the Blue Lagoon was a lifetime dream for birthday boy, so we made the most of it. The taxi ride was luxurious with leather, heated seats. We enjoyed the snow covered mountains and lava field on the way.
We arrived around 11am, checking in and procuring our rental towels and robes. Then we were off to change and shower. The Icelanders really hate the foreigners coming over and not showering properly because their pools are not treated with chlorine or other chemicals.
As we came out or our respective change rooms, I could see that the lagoon was just as I had imagined it. The pool is that perfect blue and the steam dances and floats off the water constantly.
We removed our robes and flip-flops in the just-above-freezing temperature (only figuring out at the end of the day the secret to avoiding this) and were in the water. The perfect, perfect water. The temperature of the water ranges from 98.6˚ - 102.2˚ and is so soft.
We explored the perimeter of the pool and found the ‘pudding’ section – the area at the back where the fine silt that has collected on the bottom. It makes you think that you are walking in pudding in a nice way. We spent a couple hours at a time in the water then would come out for lunch, some time in the relaxation room, a sit in the sauna or photos. Lunch was soup and a hot dog in the cafe, and we later enjoyed a beer while sitting in the bar area of the pool.
The average visit is two to two and a half hours. We were there for almost six! Oh yes, we made the most of our Blue Lagoon day!
We then gathered our many belongings (they have massive lockers there for bags with a very slick system of wrist-band identification that opens your locker and puts your purchases on your bill for checking out – it even monitors the three-drink limit for the bar area so you don’t get massively drunk and fall asleep in the water). We called another taxi, and we were off to Reykjavik.
As we got closer to Reykjavik, I began to worry. Had I made a good decision in my room booking? We were there for four nights and, it being Iceland in the winter, we were going to be spending more time there than one normally would in a hotel room. The taxi driver was not sure of the address, so we got to see the entirety of the main shopping street. When she finally pulled up to it, we still weren’t sure where it was. Very clandestine... The lobby is basically a hall, but with interesting black leather couches and wintery decor. After checking in, we did our best to cram ourselves into the elevator, in fact, there were two other people waiting for the elevator, but we sent them up on their own. As it was, we barely fit with our bags!
I needn’t have worried (as is almost always the case) about the room. Our little studio apartment was amazing. It matched the website perfectly which is always a pleasant surprise. We had a huge bathroom with Jacuzzi tub and sun shower, a tiny but functional kitchen, dining area and lovely decor. The location was amazing. We looked down on the main shopping street and the city centre was about three blocks down the hill. We were close enough to the action to partake but not so close as to be disturbed when we weren’t partaking. And the view! But we would not be able to see that until the next morning as it was well after dark when we arrived.
The only problem with our long day at the Blue Lagoon is that we were now hungry in Reykjavik on a Saturday night at the height of dinner hour. We wondered around the city for quite a while checking out menus and finally stumbled on the Fish Market. And what a stumble it was!
No reservations on a Saturday night in Reykjavik? It was December, but still the place was jammers! They had a couple of seats at the bar, overlooking the kitchen. Would that be okay? In a word, yes! Dinner and a show! The kitchen was organised and bright and no one was running around like crazy, despite what reality shows try to tell us. We had such a great time watching our food get prepared then delivered. The special of the night was an eight-course Christmas menu. Christmas menus are big in Iceland, so when in Rome... Eight courses of mouth-watering dishes on steal-worthy plates made their way at a perfect pace to our little corner. This is a definite case of 'pictures are worth thousands of words'...
Day of Blue Lagooning, a fantastic dinner, time for old people like us to go to bed! But wait, it is Saturday night in Reykjavik. This is no time for sleeping - it's Runtur! After a disco nap, we rallied ourselves, put on our hippest outfits and went out on the town - just after midnight! We first found the Cafe Rosenburg just around the corner from our hotel. A cafe by day, bar by night place with long tables and a live band. The band was great, and we acquired our first Iceland memento: their CD.
But, you do not linger on the Runtur, so we were off on the next adventure. We tried to follow some local looking group, but they headed out of town, so we made our way towards the town centre. After one more stop, we ended the evening at the English pub. The main attraction there was the wheel of beer fortune - a giant spinning wheel that cost about $12 per chance. There were several 'Sorry' wedges but also one, two, four or eight beer wedges. The big prize? A metre of beer. Great fun to watch, but seemed too close to gambling for us to participate (not being prudes, just that we don't gamble beer money).
I know you are thinking that sure I must be done. Seriously, what else could we do in one day? Just one more Reykjavik tradition - the hot dog night cap - dee-lish!
Now don't be too worried. Even though the first day has taken five pages to detail, this thing is not really going to be a novel. The second day was also jam-packed. However, after that we took things a little easier. Oh, and yes, I will try to finish this before his next birthday…
You see, I spent most of my Christmas break writing a long, detailed log of our trip to Iceland. I worked on it for several hours over the course of several days. Then when I had about three-quarters of it done, I decided to just publish the first half and finish the rest later. As I went to break it up, the free (you get what you pay for) blog host that we use erased it. I’m not kidding. I know that this sounds like the dog ate my homework, but truly this is what happened. And as I started to tap the ‘Back’ button to try to recover it, autosave kicked in and saved a blank page.
So, I will bravely try again. But you should know that the original was insightful, well-written and much funnier.
For those of you that have no patience for blogs (TShay), here is the quick link to the pictures.
For those of you that are chained to a desk and need a virtual vacation, here is the play-by-play.
Sunday, 14 December 2008
We left on a typically-Irish dirty day. The rain and wind soaked me as I left my building and got a taxi to Slim’s office – the taxi queue is across the street from my office! But we made it to Cork in good time to enjoy a sandwich before heading east.
No, I don’t need to check a map; you can’t fly directly from Ireland to Iceland (although the history of the islands is actually pretty closely connected – more on that later). So, we flew through Heathrow. We had a couple hours layover and were lucky enough to land at and depart from the same terminal (Heathrow veterans will understand how nice that is). So we had time for a nice dinner and pre-shopping planning (what we would buy from duty free on the way back). I had a lovely steak pie with blue cheese and Slim had a burger. Both were topped off by some lovely British bitter.
We arrived in Keflavik at 11.30pm. We were not able to land exactly on time due to a snow storm which made us giddy with anticipation. In the lights from the airport, we could see the snow covered ground and were thrilled. Our winter vacation was off to a perfect start.
After some shopping at duty free (arriving passengers are allowed to stock up before leaving the airport – so nice) and waiting in a long line at the only ATM in the terminal, we were out in the snow grabbing a taxi. I booked an airport hotel for our first night as the airport is an hour’s journey from Reykjavik. We probably would have still been awake after an hour’s bus ride, but I had another plan as well for our first full day.
Besides, we would have missed our first amazing site. I had read how important light is to Icelanders. So important that they decorate their gravestones. Sorry, never did get a photo of this, but we passed a graveyard that first night where many of the headstones were lined with Christmas lights. We did not figured out if this was just for Christmas or something that they just do. It was quite a site though.
We awoke around nine the next morning to almost darkness, not complete, but close. We headed downstairs for our lovely breakfast. We seemed to have been the first arrivals, even though breakfast was almost over. When we walked in, the lights were very low and all was dead quiet. It felt like it was the middle of the night. A couple other guests then arrived and someone came out from the kitchen to turn up the lights. The spread was gorgeous – a variety of cheeses, meats, crackers, bread, fruit, yogurt, cereals and preserved fish. I did not partake of the latter; I’m not that adventurous when it comes to breakfast. Oh, and the coffee – delicious.
I could have lounged the day away enjoying that coffee, but Slim was anxious to find out what we were doing next. Quick repacking, settling the bill then into another taxi – to the Blue Lagoon. There are shuttle services that run between Reykjavik, the Blue Lagoon and Keflavik, but I did not want to be on someone else’s time schedule. Visiting the Blue Lagoon was a lifetime dream for birthday boy, so we made the most of it. The taxi ride was luxurious with leather, heated seats. We enjoyed the snow covered mountains and lava field on the way.
We arrived around 11am, checking in and procuring our rental towels and robes. Then we were off to change and shower. The Icelanders really hate the foreigners coming over and not showering properly because their pools are not treated with chlorine or other chemicals.
As we came out or our respective change rooms, I could see that the lagoon was just as I had imagined it. The pool is that perfect blue and the steam dances and floats off the water constantly.
We removed our robes and flip-flops in the just-above-freezing temperature (only figuring out at the end of the day the secret to avoiding this) and were in the water. The perfect, perfect water. The temperature of the water ranges from 98.6˚ - 102.2˚ and is so soft.
We explored the perimeter of the pool and found the ‘pudding’ section – the area at the back where the fine silt that has collected on the bottom. It makes you think that you are walking in pudding in a nice way. We spent a couple hours at a time in the water then would come out for lunch, some time in the relaxation room, a sit in the sauna or photos. Lunch was soup and a hot dog in the cafe, and we later enjoyed a beer while sitting in the bar area of the pool.
The average visit is two to two and a half hours. We were there for almost six! Oh yes, we made the most of our Blue Lagoon day!
We then gathered our many belongings (they have massive lockers there for bags with a very slick system of wrist-band identification that opens your locker and puts your purchases on your bill for checking out – it even monitors the three-drink limit for the bar area so you don’t get massively drunk and fall asleep in the water). We called another taxi, and we were off to Reykjavik.
As we got closer to Reykjavik, I began to worry. Had I made a good decision in my room booking? We were there for four nights and, it being Iceland in the winter, we were going to be spending more time there than one normally would in a hotel room. The taxi driver was not sure of the address, so we got to see the entirety of the main shopping street. When she finally pulled up to it, we still weren’t sure where it was. Very clandestine... The lobby is basically a hall, but with interesting black leather couches and wintery decor. After checking in, we did our best to cram ourselves into the elevator, in fact, there were two other people waiting for the elevator, but we sent them up on their own. As it was, we barely fit with our bags!
I needn’t have worried (as is almost always the case) about the room. Our little studio apartment was amazing. It matched the website perfectly which is always a pleasant surprise. We had a huge bathroom with Jacuzzi tub and sun shower, a tiny but functional kitchen, dining area and lovely decor. The location was amazing. We looked down on the main shopping street and the city centre was about three blocks down the hill. We were close enough to the action to partake but not so close as to be disturbed when we weren’t partaking. And the view! But we would not be able to see that until the next morning as it was well after dark when we arrived.
The only problem with our long day at the Blue Lagoon is that we were now hungry in Reykjavik on a Saturday night at the height of dinner hour. We wondered around the city for quite a while checking out menus and finally stumbled on the Fish Market. And what a stumble it was!
No reservations on a Saturday night in Reykjavik? It was December, but still the place was jammers! They had a couple of seats at the bar, overlooking the kitchen. Would that be okay? In a word, yes! Dinner and a show! The kitchen was organised and bright and no one was running around like crazy, despite what reality shows try to tell us. We had such a great time watching our food get prepared then delivered. The special of the night was an eight-course Christmas menu. Christmas menus are big in Iceland, so when in Rome... Eight courses of mouth-watering dishes on steal-worthy plates made their way at a perfect pace to our little corner. This is a definite case of 'pictures are worth thousands of words'...
Day of Blue Lagooning, a fantastic dinner, time for old people like us to go to bed! But wait, it is Saturday night in Reykjavik. This is no time for sleeping - it's Runtur! After a disco nap, we rallied ourselves, put on our hippest outfits and went out on the town - just after midnight! We first found the Cafe Rosenburg just around the corner from our hotel. A cafe by day, bar by night place with long tables and a live band. The band was great, and we acquired our first Iceland memento: their CD.
But, you do not linger on the Runtur, so we were off on the next adventure. We tried to follow some local looking group, but they headed out of town, so we made our way towards the town centre. After one more stop, we ended the evening at the English pub. The main attraction there was the wheel of beer fortune - a giant spinning wheel that cost about $12 per chance. There were several 'Sorry' wedges but also one, two, four or eight beer wedges. The big prize? A metre of beer. Great fun to watch, but seemed too close to gambling for us to participate (not being prudes, just that we don't gamble beer money).
I know you are thinking that sure I must be done. Seriously, what else could we do in one day? Just one more Reykjavik tradition - the hot dog night cap - dee-lish!
Now don't be too worried. Even though the first day has taken five pages to detail, this thing is not really going to be a novel. The second day was also jam-packed. However, after that we took things a little easier. Oh, and yes, I will try to finish this before his next birthday…
Monday 4 August 2008
Lovely Ladies of the Lijn
Copenhagen girls' weekend was brilliant!
Couple of my Holland America Line coworkers were in Copenhagen over the 4th of July weekend for a ship inaugural and had one evening and morning to play. So, I thought, why not jet over there! I spent a long weekend though, as it is still 6-hours of travel for me. In fact, I had my first experience with the Dublin night bus. My flight left very early in the morning. So I could pay for a $150 hotel room in which I would only sleep a couple hours or take the night bus on which I slept a couple hours! It leaves Waterford at 1:30am and arrives at Dublin airport at 4:30am. Very comfortable actually. Direct flight from Dublin was 2 hours though - awesome!
My overall impression is that I wasn't as blown away by Copenhagen as I have been by other cities. It was lovely, but a lot of the buildings were pretty blocky-dull-grey-bad 80's architecture. We went on a canal tour Sunday morning, which was a much better view of the city - many more of the historical buildings are along the canal. As well, the people are beautiful and the food was fantabulous.
I arrived late morning Friday, pretty tired, but okay. First on the agenda was food, and I found a cafe serving traditional Smorrebrod - delicious. These are open-faced sandwiches that you put together yourself; mine had roast beef, but smoked fish is more traditional. Then I walked, and walked, and walked! CPH is great for walking - tourist area is completely flat and pretty compact. When my feet got tired, I got on the canal bus - a flat little boat connecting the north- and south-canal city areas. When the rest of me got tired, I headed for my hotel - nap and shower, and I was ready for my Independence Day dinner.
By the way, view from my room was great: Tivoli with Sweden in the background!
Back to my Independence Day dinner. Hot dogs? No. Burgers? No. Tapas!!!! Okay, not traditional and not Danish, but I was a country girl in the big city, cut me some slack! And I was rewarded.
Saturday was another hot, beautiful day. I didn't mention that I forgot that the rest of the world has summer. I arrived Friday morning in my dark pants and black, long-sleeved t-shirt to mid-70s and humid! I had one appropriate shirt which got a lot of use.
I first explored the Carlsberg museum. The founder of Carlsberg brewery was quite the art collector, and his collection was the foundation for the museum. Some amazing works including mummies and the Kiss. Also a great central atrium for enjoying coffee and cake (for a mere $15 - I haven't mentioned prices - scary).
Time for lunch - maybe just a quick one, as breakfast was huge. Another CPH tradition - the hot dog stand. Next on the agenda was Christianbourg Palace, one of four royal palaces in the city. I chose this one because it has ruins of several older palaces in the basement and was built in Copenhagen's architectural Golden Age. The Prime Mininster resides there, but none of the Royal family. They do use it for state visits and dinners, so you have to wear these leather slippers over your shoes - classy!
Then I got the text - the girls had been released. I headed back to the hotel and walked into a lobby filled with former coworkers (feeling gorgeous). Hugs and hellos all around, US treats, quick change, and we were off to a night on the town. We walked the Stroget to Nyberg, civilised hour with local beer then off to an Italian restaurant for a lovely dinner overlooking the canal.
A few beers later, we flagged down a couple bike-taxi's for a quick ride over to Tivoli. After much more walking, some of the group hopped on a roller-coaster while Eastside Queen and I held purses. After a week of almost no sleep, the girls were done, so back to the hotel.
Sunday morning we enjoyed our canal tour, then I had to wave goodbye to the bus. I had to fight some big homesickness and decided a bike ride was just the ticket. Little Mermaid up close, the Kastellet, Rosenbourg palace and some decidedly not tourist areas all made my list of destinations that afternoon. A sushi dinner topped off the weekend splendidly, and then Monday morning I headed back home.
It was such a treat have a weekend of being silly with the girls (don't get me wrong, Ireland has some silly girls; I just haven't connected with any of them, yet). I got my yearly dose of hot, sunny weather (to be fair, we've had a nice couple weeks in Waterford, but not even close to as hot). I got to add a country to my Europe list and see some very, very dear Seattle friends.
(Here is a link to all photos).
Couple of my Holland America Line coworkers were in Copenhagen over the 4th of July weekend for a ship inaugural and had one evening and morning to play. So, I thought, why not jet over there! I spent a long weekend though, as it is still 6-hours of travel for me. In fact, I had my first experience with the Dublin night bus. My flight left very early in the morning. So I could pay for a $150 hotel room in which I would only sleep a couple hours or take the night bus on which I slept a couple hours! It leaves Waterford at 1:30am and arrives at Dublin airport at 4:30am. Very comfortable actually. Direct flight from Dublin was 2 hours though - awesome!
My overall impression is that I wasn't as blown away by Copenhagen as I have been by other cities. It was lovely, but a lot of the buildings were pretty blocky-dull-grey-bad 80's architecture. We went on a canal tour Sunday morning, which was a much better view of the city - many more of the historical buildings are along the canal. As well, the people are beautiful and the food was fantabulous.
I arrived late morning Friday, pretty tired, but okay. First on the agenda was food, and I found a cafe serving traditional Smorrebrod - delicious. These are open-faced sandwiches that you put together yourself; mine had roast beef, but smoked fish is more traditional. Then I walked, and walked, and walked! CPH is great for walking - tourist area is completely flat and pretty compact. When my feet got tired, I got on the canal bus - a flat little boat connecting the north- and south-canal city areas. When the rest of me got tired, I headed for my hotel - nap and shower, and I was ready for my Independence Day dinner.
By the way, view from my room was great: Tivoli with Sweden in the background!
Back to my Independence Day dinner. Hot dogs? No. Burgers? No. Tapas!!!! Okay, not traditional and not Danish, but I was a country girl in the big city, cut me some slack! And I was rewarded.
Saturday was another hot, beautiful day. I didn't mention that I forgot that the rest of the world has summer. I arrived Friday morning in my dark pants and black, long-sleeved t-shirt to mid-70s and humid! I had one appropriate shirt which got a lot of use.
I first explored the Carlsberg museum. The founder of Carlsberg brewery was quite the art collector, and his collection was the foundation for the museum. Some amazing works including mummies and the Kiss. Also a great central atrium for enjoying coffee and cake (for a mere $15 - I haven't mentioned prices - scary).
Time for lunch - maybe just a quick one, as breakfast was huge. Another CPH tradition - the hot dog stand. Next on the agenda was Christianbourg Palace, one of four royal palaces in the city. I chose this one because it has ruins of several older palaces in the basement and was built in Copenhagen's architectural Golden Age. The Prime Mininster resides there, but none of the Royal family. They do use it for state visits and dinners, so you have to wear these leather slippers over your shoes - classy!
Then I got the text - the girls had been released. I headed back to the hotel and walked into a lobby filled with former coworkers (feeling gorgeous). Hugs and hellos all around, US treats, quick change, and we were off to a night on the town. We walked the Stroget to Nyberg, civilised hour with local beer then off to an Italian restaurant for a lovely dinner overlooking the canal.
A few beers later, we flagged down a couple bike-taxi's for a quick ride over to Tivoli. After much more walking, some of the group hopped on a roller-coaster while Eastside Queen and I held purses. After a week of almost no sleep, the girls were done, so back to the hotel.
Sunday morning we enjoyed our canal tour, then I had to wave goodbye to the bus. I had to fight some big homesickness and decided a bike ride was just the ticket. Little Mermaid up close, the Kastellet, Rosenbourg palace and some decidedly not tourist areas all made my list of destinations that afternoon. A sushi dinner topped off the weekend splendidly, and then Monday morning I headed back home.
It was such a treat have a weekend of being silly with the girls (don't get me wrong, Ireland has some silly girls; I just haven't connected with any of them, yet). I got my yearly dose of hot, sunny weather (to be fair, we've had a nice couple weeks in Waterford, but not even close to as hot). I got to add a country to my Europe list and see some very, very dear Seattle friends.
(Here is a link to all photos).
Thursday 10 July 2008
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