Iceland

Welcome back, and thanks for visiting.  

On August 22, we were blessed to once again return to one of our favorite places, Iceland. If you are into adventures in the wilds, this is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

So the population of Iceland is just under 400,000. About a third of the population live in the country’s capital and only major city, Reykjavík (pronounced “Rayk • yah • veek”).

The currency is the Króna, which has an exchange rate that is a crazy at 140 to 1. (One US dollar is worth $140 Króna.) On the surface, that sounds like a great deal, but everything is so expensive here that the exchange rate doesn’t even matter. So, to put things into perspective, while a beer and a burger will run you about $40, dinner for two will be in the neighborhood of $25,000 Króna, or approximately an arm and a leg… No, seriously, it is kind of a kick, because all of the price tags are rectangular here, in order to accommodate all of the extra zeros.

One last thing. Iceland has no armed forces. Strategically, NATO provides all of their military.

Moving on. Years ago, in 2016, I did a crazy thing. I bought two tickets for 8 days in Iceland, from Groupon of all places. It included air transportation from NYC, a hotel room, and daily breakfast. I also bought the optional excursion package, which provided airport transportation, and a full day excursion to various places around the island every day of our visit. 

Lastly, it provided a late night excursion to see the Aurora Borealis (a.k.a. the Northern Lights).

This turned out to be a great deal, and several years later, we traveled to Africa for 10 days using Groupon. Unfortunately, after COVID, they appeared to have significantly scaled back their International travel offerings.  

We learned a lot on that trip, and while today’s visit is only for two days, I would like to share some of our experiences with you from that trip before telling about today’s trip. 

So I learned 3 things on the night we saw the Northern Lights. One, Aurora is the Roman goddess of dawn, and Boreas is the Greek god of the north wind. Henry the name. 

The second thing I learned was that when you book a tour to see the Aurora, always book it for the first night of your stay, using a guide that has a guarantee. This will ensure that if it is cloudy or something, they’ll push your reservation to the following night. (Our took 4 or 5 night before the weather was clear enough to even go out. 

The last thing I learned was, it is dang cold in the hills above the North Atlantic at 1:00 in the morning in Iceland in February. Coldest we have ever been, but boy was it worth it. Awesome site!

Iceland is a small island in the North Sea. It was created by never ending volcanic activity, and is constantly growing. It has many underground geothermal pools, which are used for many things. 

On one of our excursions, we visited the Svartsengi power station(pronounced “See-ling-gah-fedl”, go figure). located near the famed Blue Lagoon, 370 acre facility generates all of the power for the entire peninsula, which is home to Reykjavík, some 30 miles away. 

This geothermal power plant works by tapping into the underground hot springs/steam vents, which are used to turn massive generators which produce electrical power. 

So here is the kicker. After turning the generators, the super-heated water is piped under the highways leading back to town, then under the downtowns street and sidewalks. This eliminates the need to plow. (Trust me when I say, this country gets a lot of snow, so this endeavor is absolute genius. 

So now, we have all this excess hot water in the underground pipes. What does one do with this after melting the snow on the roads? Easy. The situation resolved itself every time someone in city takes a shower. That’s right, they plumb the hot water right to the houses, resulting in free hot water! Also of note, geothermal energy is used to heat nearly all Icelandic homes.

One big problem though. The temperature of underground thermal pools is constantly in flux. (After all, by definition, the heat is generated by underground volcanic activity, right?) 

Well, our friends at the geothermal plans devised a solution for that too. Perhaps you have heard of the aforementioned Blue Lagoon. Drawing nearly a million visitors a year, this is Iceland’s  most famous tourist attraction. 

So basically, the Blue Lagoon is a giant lake filled with the water released by the nearby geothermal power plant. The attraction is packaged in such a way that it is basically a fancy spa, featuring an outdoor lake (with a bit of an indoor section as well).  Everyone gets a bracelet for ordering, and they have a swim-up bar, or the playboy bunnies will wade out to you with a floating tray of drinks. I don’t recall what they were, but they were all blue. (How apropos.)

They also have special (slightly raised) walking deck all the way around the big!) lake, and a couple Chris-crossing the lake here and there. I say “special” because these are only for the lifeguards. And the gals will appreciate this. All the lifeguards are Icelandic blonde adonisse, wearing swim trunks and (at least in February) really awesome, sun-zero fur lined parkas. (I liked the coat so much, I had to have one, until I tracked one down the following day and saw the price tag. Yikes! Ironically though, the price is the same today as it was in 2016. Go figure.)

One of my buddies told me that the Blue Lagoon was a “do not miss” excursion, and he was spot on. Karen said it was the best “exfoliation” she ever had, and all she had to do was walk around in the warm water for several hours. 

Okay, while we are on the subject, I am goin to fast forward to current events for a second. Knowing that we had two days in Iceland, we had originally planned to spend one day in Reykjavík, and one day at the Blue Lagoon. 

In researching it, we found that there are now several similar places much closer to the city, and we decided to try one of these instead. However, as our arrival grew closer, we learned that these springs differed from the Blue Lagoon, because they were not water from the power plant, but we’re hot springs similar to the ones in Jemez. 

However, this island is made up of over 100 volcanoes, including active one less than 30 miles from town. That being said, we also learned that there were recent issues where the temperatures in these springs shot up to dangerous levels. When I was younger, Danger was my middle name, but as I have grown older, I shorten it to “dang”. So, needles to say, my response was simply “I’m out”.

The ship had offered several excursions to the Blue Lagoon, but they cancelled them shortly after the ship set sail in December when a volcano near the power plant erupted, jeopardizing the plant and the Blue Lagoon itself. 

The eruption was short-lived, and a number of months ago, the Blue Lagoon reopened and third party companies began offering excursions. Many of our shipmates signed up to go, and some even scheduled sunset visits. How cool is that?

Well, it turned out to not be so cool after all. The volcano erupted while they were in the lake, and they were emergency evaluated out! In the dark. In their wet clothes. They were terrified and miserable during the drive back to the ship. (Oh yea. I forgot to mention that this summer was the coldest, nastiest summer weather on record. We are talking really cold, and unbearable wind speeds. And that is during the daytime!)

Of curse, there are always some wild bunch folks. Take a look at this picture of several of our buddies. While everyone else was runny away from the area, they just happened to be driving nearby, and convinced the driver to turn around so that they could take advantage of the photo opp. 

Okay, a little bit more history from the 2016 trip. We enjoyed pretty much every excursion we went on during that trip. Most notable was the awesome Icelandic ponies. These little horsies are the descendants of the ponies the Vikings (wikings, hee, hee!) brought to the islands in 900 AD. to protect them from viruses and such, no other horses are allowed on the islands, and if a farmer takes one off of the island, it can’t come back. They are very unique and very friendly. 

Also we visited many waterfalls, each more awesome than the next. I had brought my crampons (ice climbing shoes) and (in spite of Ms. Karen’s chagrin) I was able to climb up the icy trail alongside of one of them. Very exhilarating. 

We also visited an Old Faithful-like hot springs. It was a bit dicey, in that there were not any safety rails present.

People were walking up, leaning over, and looking straight down the vent in-between eruptions. What are you gonna say. “Tourist!”
😉

We also visited the valley where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates come together. (Or more accurately, the plates are drifting apart.) Pretty cool stuff. This is the only place in the world that you can see this (without a submarine anyway).  

The valley between these plates is historical. Legend has it that each year, the leaders of each Viking tribe would meet in the valley and barter, settle their differences, and whatnot. 

We also had lunch at a farmhouse in a (Valle Grande-like) valley that had experienced the island largest volcanic eruption ~20 years earlier. They had a giant billboard in the parking lot that showed what the valley looked like before the eruption. It was devastating.

And the giant photograph with the  same valley in the backdrop was a stunning site. Nice tour!

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a mall that was at the cross-roads, but kind of out in the middle of nowhere. The guide didn’t explained, but basically said he had a surprise for us. The mall kind of reminded us of Winrock back in the olden days. when we got to the middle of the ground floor, he explained that the mall had been famed several years earlier because an earthquake. It had left a 2-3 foot crevasse through the middle of the mall. They patched up the walls and the roof so you could not tell, but they fixed the floor by filling the giant crack with a transparent resin. You could stand right on it and look down into the darkness. (You could not see the bottom…) cool!

While visiting the Viking museum, they had several awesome exhibits that depicted a famed Viking warrior that I wanted to tell you about. (Fair warning, this part  is a bit adult-oriented.) 

So, the various tribes came and went from the island, and often-times raided each other’s villages. And they were nasty little buggers. Often they would raid the villages when they knew then village’s men were at sea or off herding   their critters. They would do this in order to steal their food and their women. 

Now, keep in mind that this is like 1000 AD, and of course, folks did not have the lifespan that modern-day folks enjoy. 

So, that being said, there was this old grandma-age Viking woman (wiking voman?) that was in the village with the other (presumably younger) women. She was (for lack of a better term) one “tough old broad”, and she fought back. 

Quick with sword, and even quicker with her mouth, she taunted the raiding party as she fought them off while running up the hills. Her swordsmanship was daring and deadly. The poor Viking men had never seen anything like her, as she egged them on and cut them down. 

On several  occasions, she was overpowered, and her grisly death was imminent. So she did what any respectable grandmother would do when cornered by murderous thugs. She yelled naught phrases at them, and pulled her shirt up to distract them with her, um, well, you get the idea…

As their mouths drop in momentary disbelief, she dropped them in their slimy tracks. It is said that she felled 30 men before being slain. 

All I can say is that while it was a very good exhibit depicting several battle scenes as you walked through the meseum, but as the saying goes, “I’ll never be able to unsee that!”

Before moving on, one last story from 2016. So, one of our excursions took us far from the city, to the country’s southern-most village of Vik í Myrdal, home of Reynisfjara beach, better known as “Black beach.” 

While many parts of Iceland were used to film the HBO series “Game of Thrones”, Black beach is absolutely stunning. Its caves, and the three basalt rock formations just off of the coast are the stuff legends are made of. 

Throughout the excursion, the guide pointed out the many large farms along the way, and noted that the farmers always left “the back 40” unmowed. He explained that this was because Icelandic folklore suggested that families of trolls lived in the tall grass. Tradition was such that these large areas of undeveloped land were left alone, because that was the families belief, and they lived in harmony with the trolls. And needless to say, the trolls would wreak havoc upon the farms should they invade these areas where the trolls slept by day. 

You see, legend has it that the trolls only come out at night, and they roamed the lands far and wide, return each night just before sunrise. 

And, as everyone knows, should a troll not make it to their mountain cave, or the tall grasses of the back 40, and we’re caught out in the sunlight, they would be turned to stone. Oh my!

So as we gawked at the beauty of black beach, the guide pointed out the large, medium, and small black rock formations just off of the coast. These columns are thought to be the remains of a family of trolls. The father, mother, and their baby were unable to return to the tall grass before being overtaken by the sunrise.  Their stony remains are forever trapped in the cold waters of the North Atlantic. Awe…
🙁

(They also believe that there are 13 Santa Clauses, but I won’t get into that.)

So here is the kicker. In hearing these tales, we knew we had to get our grandson (who was 6 at the time) a troll doll. We purchased him a little keychain size doll.  

He was scheduled to visit for  several nights upon our return. We gave it to him as we played  on the first evening. We told him the whole story, and asked that he made certain that he didn’t leave the troll doll out overnight, so as to ensure it wouldn’t turn to stone…

Well, you can guess what happened next. The following morning, as we enjoyed our coffee, here come little sleep-eyes down the steps. It only took minutes before he noticed the black rock on the family room floor. 

“I told you what would happen” I said. He was so sad. Grandma saved the day, and told him, “maybe if you put it in a dark place, it will turn back tonight. 

He rushed to put it in the kitchen cabinet, and checked throughout the day. Sure enough, it eventually turned back into a troll, and the game went on for days. 
🙂

Fast forwarding to the present. When we arrived in Reykjavík on the cruise, we had decided to just spend time in the city. And this is one cool city. One of our favorite sit-down restaurants is here, and I have been planning my return for years. 

They make a tomato-base seafood stew called Cioppino. It is made with fennel, white wine, butter, every shellfish you’ve ever heard of, and (of course) love. However, I am required to issue a disclaimer when sharing this recipe. Once you have tasted this, other soups will just be, well, soup… “Just sayin’.”

So, lunch was pretty good. He had lots of other items on our to do list, but, it was bitter cold, and the winds were viciousness. So our visit was shot lived. 

Karen was still frozen-dated the next day, so I was on my own. I had made a friend on my last visit, and her father in-law is a local celebrity. He is the islands only watch maker. Many of the watches that he makes are worn by celebrities world wide, including actors, sports stars, and kings. Truly works of art. 

So I made my way to J. S. Watch Company to meet the father in-law, Gilbert Gudjonsson,  Master Watchmaker. He also taught me that, for marketing purposes, all clocks and watches are always set to 10:10. This is because it gives the clock face the appearance of being happy. (The hands of the clock form a smile.) 

What a nice fella. He shared his company’s history, and taught me the role of the making of fine time pieces. 

After an hour of show and tell, and never ending stories of his regular adventures with celebrities, he showed me one of his precious treasures. It turns out that he is best friends with Ian Anderson, who I am sure everyone recalls is the front man for the 70’s band “Jethro Tull”.  It turns out that Ian gave him his Artley flute he played futon his 1979 US tour. He even had it engraved for his buddy. What a gift!

So I had hoped to see one of Gilbert’s Frisland Goð Special Edition watches. This is the nicest watch I have ever seen. It turned out that he did not have on to show, but what a nice day. 

This is all very ironic, because time has a way of standing still in the land of fire and ice.

A visit to town would not be complete without a stop at the famous Bæjarins Beztu hotdog stand. Servicing Icelandic hotdogs since 1837, these unique dogs are made with lamb, and the ketchup contains apples rather than tomatoes. Throw on their unique spicy mustard and crunchy sweet onion remoulade and you are good to go. 

Their little shack can put out hotdogs put out fast. They always have a long line, but it goes fast. And while they only have a handful of outdoor picnic tables, it is generally so cold that Olympic hotdog speed eaters can barely keep up with the speed folks are able to eat these bad boys. 

So, I will tell you a secret if you promise not to tell. The are open from 10am-1am, and while there is always a line, I always go at 10am, and there is pretty much no waiting, whereas at 10:15ish, you can expect a dozen people in front of you. Consequentially, I have only had these dogs for breakfast, but I’m sure they are just as outstanding for any meal. If you go, get two. You can thank me later…

Returning to the ship, I was grateful for my nice (albeit cold) day in Reykjavík. I reminisce with others on the ship, and enjoyed stories from others about their exploration of an ice cave. The next day  i read that an Iceland ice cave had collapsed,  injuring and killing some tourists. Scary stuff. 

Next stop, Canada. Hope you’ll join us in a few days for more stories about those adventures too. Have a great day. 

– Mike
“Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall.” – Ray Bradbury, American Author