Iceland, Day 4 - The Golden Circle... Indescribable Beauty

We spent day 4 (Tuesday) of our Iceland Honeymoon doing "the most popular tour in Iceland," The Golden Circle Tour. This tour hits all of the hotspots around the Reykjavik area, and gives just a small taste of the wonders that are Iceland.

The tour started with a trip to the (currently) largest geothermal power plant on Iceland - Hellisheidi. This plant provides the power and hot water for much of eastern Iceland, particularly Reykjavik. Iceland is powered solely by geothermal or hydroelectric power, which is amazing. There are no other types of power generation for the island. So the carbon footprint of Iceland is nearly zero (with the exception of gasoline powered cars and boats).

Turg and I at the Hellsheidi (the plumes of steam behind us are from the plant)

Our next stop was Þingvellir, which was the location of the Alþing, establishing the first Icelandic parlament (and perhaps the first parlament anywhere) in 930 AD. The valley is of significance because it is literally the place where two worlds collide - the North American and Eurasian plates collide right here. It makes the landscape both beautiful and extreme. The temperature in the valley was quite warm, the cliff faces sheer, and the water cold and crystal clear. It was positively breathtaking.

The ridge on the left is the North American plate and the ridge on the right is the Eurasian plate.

One of the gorges in the valley. Note the person in the left bottom of the picture for size reference.

A stream cutting through a different gorge.

The next stop was to Gullfoss, or the Golden Waterfall, where we had lunch and some time to explore the falls. The water that feeds into the falls is from Langsjökull glacier. The falls are enormous, and more powerful than Niagra. Several decades ago, the Icelandic government proposed building a hydroelectric power plant at these falls. However, a local young woman protested this, and threatened to throw herself into the falls if they went through with the plans. Even though the bill was passed to build the powerplant, it was never put into place because of the conviction of this young woman. The woman´s decendants now run the cafe at the falls where we had lunch... talk about taking up a business opportunity.

(I have to mention one thing about lunch - lunch was a traditional Icelandic meat (read: lamb) soup. We really didn't expect that much since it was, you know, a touristy cafe. But the bus driver really recommended it. I'm so glad we got it - it was positively delicious. American roadside-tourist stands selling food could learn from these people... okay, back to the tour.)

Gullfoss

Don't we look oh, so touristy

And here's a short video showing the power of the falls:

Back on the bus, and off to the Geyser geothermal area. Now, this is not just a valley of geysers. This is the home of THE Geyser, the one by which all other spouting geothermal fountains are named. Unfortunately, the thermal spring that is Geyser no longer spouts regularly - it only goes off when there's some sort of seismic activity in the area. Fortunately, there is a spouting spring called Strokkur.

Strojkkur finishing a spray

Of course, in my brilliance, it didn't occur to me that, although I could watch this video vertically in the camera, there is no way (that I've figured out yet) to rotate it online... so enjoy watching the geyser Strokkur going off sideways...

There was also this very unique dual spring, which is connected together. But one half has clear hot water while the other has an opalescent blue water, similar to what´s at the Blue Lagoon. It's stunning to behold, particularly since these two springs are connected, yet the waters appear to remain separate.

Clear waters to the top and opalescent blue on the bottom.

The final stop of the day was Ska´holt church, which was the ancient seat of the Icelandic bishops. The church was quite charming, and there was a cellist there playing music when we arrived, making the experience quite haunting.

Ska´holt Church

The image of Jesus on the wall is created from a mosaic of tiles. The effect is meant to give the onlooker the impression that Jesus is coming through the wall... note the cellist in the right bottom - the sound of his cello added a haunting tone in the church

Next up - Ahhh... the Blue Lagoon

Day 3, Part 2 - Solstice Day in the City... Endless Light

We spent the rest of Solstice Day just tooling around the city, taking photos and exploring. Reykjavik is such a colorful city with such warm people.

The view from just down the street of our hotel. Covered by the clouds is Mt. Ejsa, which is the mountain that guards the city.

A quirky street to the sea

Hallgrimskirkja church - the tallest structure in Reykjavik. Awe inspiring to behold. The stature on the right corner is Lief Eriksson, discoverer of North America

Below are various views of the city from the top of the church bell tower:





One thing I go have to mention about being up in the bell tower... As with nearly all church bell towers, this one tolled the time every quarter hour. We reached the bell tower not long after the last one, and quickly forgot that in 15 minutes, it would go off again. So, we're standing up there, innocently taking pictures, when all of a sudden... *GONG!!!! GONG!!!!* HOLY SHIT! Scared the bejezzus out of both of us. The bell was separated from us by only a few inches of wood plank. And even though we KNEW that in 15 minutes it would go off again, nothing could prepare us from being startled our of our skins. It was hysterical... every time.

And now a Solstice Day message from Turg...

Next on our travel adventures... The Golden Circle

Day 3, Part 1- Solstice Day in the City, The Rotted Shark Experience

June 21. Solstice Day. The longest day of the year. And the day where the sun pretty much does not set around these parts (technically, it does set, but th sky doesn't get dark). We spent the day tooling about the city, taking the time to enjoy the sites we didn't get to enjoy during our previous day's "Not So Much" City Tour.

We walked down the Reyk coastline from our hotel to the downtown area, where we stopped for lunch at Cafe Loki, which serves traditional Icelandic fare, including the famous "Rotted Shark."

The Menu - note how Rotted Shark is nicely called "strong tasted shark"

My Dish

The "Rotted Shark"

As requested by Phineas and Adrian... video of The Rotted Shark Experience:





I'll just let you all chew on that one for a while...

Next, Day 3, Part 2 - The Beauty of Reykjavik and Unending Light.

Day 2 - Searching for dinner (aka, Whale Watching)

I jest... Day 2 in Iceland was all about a city tour and Whale Watching (with a short detour to Puffin Island).

The city tour was really not all that. It was more like a city and outskirts tour, and at such a frenetic pace, we really didn't get to enjoy anything in particular... that and the fact that our tour guide was the polar opposite of Husky (i.e., so unengaging that we were falling asleep). So I won't get into this tour at all... we did a better exploration of the city ourselves - more on that for Day 3.

The highlight of Day 2 was our evening Whale Watch, with a short detour to see the puffins on Puffin Island. There are many types of whales that inhabit the Icelandic waters at this time of year, but the most common is the Minke Whale (aka, Day 1's lunch). On our way out we stopped to look at the puffins.

Puffins are also known as the "Clown Bird" because of their cute/funny looks and the awkwardness of their persona. Let me explain. See, puffins are pretty darned good flyers, once they get IN the air, that is. The problem is the take-off... especially the water take-off. They are NOT good at lifting themselves out of the water. There's a lot of paddling going on with their feet underwater and a whole lot of frantic flapping with their wings. In person, it is really, really HILARIOUS.

Look at the concentration on this little guy's face... it's as if he's saying, "FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!!!!" (photo courtesy of Turg)

Turg got some great shots of the puffins and other birds with his snazzy new telephoto lens... check out the Flickr page for all his shots.

The whale watching portion of the ride was really quite exciting. Whale breaches on the water surface are only somewhat predictable. So, there's lots of staring at the water, looking for a characteristic swirl and just plain guessing. A typical breach sounds kind of like this: "Okay... there are the swirls... it should be com... THERE THERE THERE!!! 1 o'clock! COMING UP AT 1 o'clock!!" It was like that for an hour - extremely exhilarating. Our guide, Ragnar (seriously, these names kill me), was really cool and fun.

This is really as much of the whale as Turg could get a shot of by the time he had his camera aimed at the right spot.

The boat captain, and Ragnar and me doing our best "Blue Steel"

We loved the whale watching so much, we're probably going to do it again. And hopefully we'll spot more whales.

After the whale watch we stopped and got some lobster soup (again) to warm ourselves up, followed by a quick bite at a Tapas place (Tapas with an Icelandic twist), where we has some escargot, lobster and *ahem* smoked puffin...

I know, we're terrible people. But everything is sooooo tasty.

Next up... Solstice Day in the City.

Day 1, Part 2 - Mmmmm.... Beeeer

So, what would a trip to Iceland be without a little drinking? Iceland is world renowned for their drinking culture. What do you do when the daylight doesn't end? You drink, of course. And those endless winter nights? How do they get through those?? More drinking! So, we decided that the first tour of our first day in Iceland should be to educate ourselves about, you know, beer.

The tour itself was at one of the larger (and oldest) breweries in Iceland. You gotta love a tour that begins with your tour guide welcoming you with, "How about a beer before we begin??" Well, twist my arm.

Beer...

Our guide, Husky (don't know if that's how you actually spell it, but he did say, "like the dog"), was fun and entertaining, taking us on a historical journey of Icelandic drinking culture... which is both long and storied, and quite odd actually. Like the US, Iceland went through a prohibition period in the 1920's. Unlike the US, when the ban was lifted, Iceland did NOT lift the ban on beer. Wine, sure. Hard liquor? Absolutely. Beer? No way. Beer was not legal for import, sale or purchase in Iceland until 1989. Seriously. '89. They could make and "export" (read: sell it to the foreign air base and embassies) beer, however.

The beer that was "exported"

What did Icelanders do to get alcoholic beer? They produced non-alcoholic beer and added spirits to it! Yeah... this did not taste very good.

The green can is the non-alcoholic beer... mixed with spirits? Well, not so tasty.

We took a short tour of the brewery, where we all donned some lovely hairnets...

Don't we look attractive?

Husky in a hairnet

And ended the tour with a shot of the traditional Icelandic Schnapps, Brennivin aka "The Black Death." Traditionally, this shot is drunk out of a horn. Not the tastiest shot in the world... hints of caraway or cumin. Certainly not like the schnapps that I'm used to, but it wasn't bad.

Ska'l!

Finally, we ended with something sweet and non-alcoholic. Apparently, Icelanders mixed a malt drink with an orange soda, and it's drunk on holidays (Christmas, Easter, etc.). I'm not a soda drinker, but I have to say, the combo was quite yummy.

Surprisingly yummy combination.

That was the end of the wonderful history of Iceland alcohol consumption. Is there any practical application for this knowledge? Not really. But, hey, it's alcohol, so who really cares.


We ended Day 1 with a really wonderful meal at Vox Restaurant in the Hotel Nordica. Local ingredients, a little molecular gastronomy (strawberry snow, anyone?), and an overall really delicious meal. I probably would have enjoyed it a whole lot more if I wasn't falling asleep (seriously, between the jetlag and the endless light, my body is confused - it's getting better though).

The next chapter in our Iceland adventures... City Tour and Whale Watching.

Day 1, part 1 - Moby Dick on a Stick

We've been in Reykjavik for 1.5 days now, and I have one comment - OH MY GOD IT'S COLD! I know, I know, it's Iceland. Well, it's not freezing (about 12 degrees C), but compared to the 80-90 degree F weather we came from, it was a bit more shocking than I had expected. I'm sure by the end of the week I'll be fine. The other bit that, again, more disconcerting than I had originally expected, is the constant light. I'm sure I'll need more than a week to get used to that. All I have to say is, thank goodness for darkening curtains.

So on our first full day in Reyk, we only had one tour planned late in the day (more on that later), so we simply wandered around the city for the morning. We woke at 8am - my body was screaming at me, "What in the hell are you getting up at 4am for?!?!" since we're obviously not quite over the jetlag yet. But after breakfast, we wandered out into the city. It was cloudy and chilly, but the walk was pleasant. We stopped here and there to take pictures (nothing fabulous due to the cloudy day), but Turg and I quickly agreed that it was perfect weather to stop at Saegrefinn (The Sea Baron) for their lobster soup. Again, one of those great hole in the wall places that's been around for ages that locals and tourists alike love to go to because the food is simply that good (and inexpensive).

Mmmmm... Lobster Soup

The lobster soup was everything that we expected and more. It was delicious, rich and the lobster so tender that it melted in your mouth. Definitely the thing for the drizzly day. But as we were sitting there eating, the couple next to us was served this wonderful smelling kabob. (Vegetarians, turn away right now) "What is that??" we asked. It was whale. Seriously, whale - or Moby Dick on a Stick, as we've seen around town. Well, when in Iceland...

Moby Dick on a Stick

I have to say, the whale was really quite good. It's heavy, kind of a cross between tuna and a beef steak both in taste and in texture. It had the briny-ness that one would expect of something out of the sea, but the meatiness of a mammal. Although, one would think that eating whale meat would be verboten, as was explained to us by a later tour guide, whaling, along with other types of fishing is done in a sustainable manner. After centuries of whaling, a ban was put into place on hunting whale. This ban had unexpected consequences - it depleted the cod and smaller fish population on which Iceland is almost wholly dependent, since the whale population grew so much. So now, they've reinstituted whale hunting (on non-endangered whale only) in a certain fishing radius, and with strict quotas to maintain sustainability of both the whale and fish populations. Okay lesson in sustainability over.

Turg with the proprietor of the Sea Baron

The next chapter of our travels... BEER!

Land of Fire and Ice... and awesome Hot Dogs

We are here. YAY!!!!

We landed at Keflavik Airport a little after 11pm local time (7pm EDT) - about 30 minutes earlier than our scheduled arrival. This was actually a good thing, since it took a while to get through security (just like when you check in at the airport - same deal, only you're trying to leave). We picked up our luggage and found our shuttle (which was easier than I thought, since the guy was standing at the exit with a paper with my name on it... never thought I would ever be one of "those people" with a driver waiting for them at the airport - it was kind of cool).

Our driver (heehee, "Our Driver")was named Arri, and he was totally cool, friendly and funny. The ride into Reykjavik was really enjoyable because of him - Fun Fact (he said that a lot): Arri apparently learned how to speak English watching a lot of TV and movies... which he proved to us by doing all sorts of really funny accents ("GET TO THE CHOPPA" a la AR-nold). It was also kind of surprising to hear the word "lardass" uttered with an Icelandic accent.

Well, lots and lots of chatting we got to talking about how hungry we were (it was dinnertime according to my tummy), and mentioning that we wanted to get a hot dog.

Now, I have to pause for a moment to explain. Apparently, Icelanders LOVE hot dogs. And there is a place near the harbor in Reykjavik that apparently sells the best hot dogs in Iceland. It also happens to be open until 3am for the late night revelers. So when we said that we wanted a hot dog, it was not only because we wanted to try these apparently amazing meat in casings, but because it was the only place that we knew would be open when we arrived. Okay, back to the story.

So we tell Arri that we want to get a hot dog, and his eyes just light up - "Oh, Baejarins Bestu!" Why, yes, that's exactly where we want to go. Well, he offers to take us on a slight detour... instead of dropping us directly at the hotel, he would take us through the city center, show us some places and bring us to the hot dog place (told you this guy was cool). Needless to say, we were thrilled, because that meant we would not be wandering around a strange city at 1am looking for a hot dog shack in a parking lot. As a thank you, we told his we would buy him a hot dog (there's no tipping in Iceland). He took us up on that without thought or hesitation.

So, he drove us through downtown, pointing out good places to eat, fun bars, his favorite clothing store, and some "sleazy" places to eat while we're out drinking (his misuse of the word "sleazy" was both adorable and confusing, until we figured out he meant "greasy," then it made sense) - good places for a "sleazy" pizza or burger while drunk. And it so happens that several of the places that we had heard we should try by the guide books and Travel Channel were also some of Arri's favorite place, so we knew that we were in for some good stuff.

Anyway, we finally got to the hot dog place. And I am so happy Arri offered to drive us there, because there would be NO WAY we would have been able to find it. It is, quite literally, a shack in a nondescript parking lot. But the hot dogs (with everything) were truly awesome - skin with a nice snap, great flavor (there's lamb in the dogs), soft bun and great toppings (the fried onions gave it some great crunch). So good that both Joseph and I went back for seconds... and will definitely be coming back for more during our stay.

Baejarins Bestu - see? Shack in a parking lot.

Half eaten second dog

Turg and Arri

A perfect end to a long day of travel... now where's that Thermal Pool?

Dusting myself off... aka blogging Iceland

*cough cough cough* Helloooo???? Whew. How did it get so dusty around here? Oh, yeah. That would be because I haven't been around that much. Right. Well, life got in the way of a lot of things recently. Trip to Boston (where I met my new great-niece -- her name is Aly Rose, by the way), several trips to the homestead in Brooklyn, and overall crazy at work has kept me away.

But now I'm back (at least for a little while) to fill this space with pictures and stories of our upcoming trip to the Land of Fire and Ice (or the Land of the Unpronounceable Volcano, if you prefer), ICELAND!

Why Iceland? Why not Iceland? I mean, there are volcanoes, and hot springs, and glaciers, and geysers, and puffins, and best of all Thor's Woods! (although, Thor's Woods is currently covered in ash, so that trip will be played by ear). Turg and I are planning to post our adventures here (with some photos), along with more photos on Turg's Flickr page.

So, if there are still any of you out there in the blogosphere still listening (I know, I've been gone for a long time), check it out here, and on Flickr to see our Iceland Adventures. We fly out of JFK on June 18th. So hopefully, things will start popping up soon thereafter!

Ska'l!

Great Aunt x's 2!!

JP and Cyn had their little bundle of joy 8 weeks early, last Thursday, April 1. The yet un-named baby girl is 4lbs 7oz and 17 inches long. She'll be in the NICU for a little while, but according to Cyn she's doing well.

Just by happenstance, I'll be going up to Boston for a meeting on Thursday, and will be there the week. I was going to bring the Peanut her birthday gift and late Christmas gift. And a baby gift for the expectant little one. But, that gift has now become a "welcome to the world!" gift.

So now, the current count: I have 4 nephews, 2 nieces (plus 1 by marriage) and 2 great-nieces.

*pictures and a name once I know*

Snowpocalypse 2010, Part Deux - The Blizzard Edition

Well, another foot of snow fell yesterday since the weekend. We did not lose power this time, and were definitely more prepared in case we did.

We did a good job. Piles are much bigger.

A foot more on the deck.

This snow storm was much different than the previous two we've had this season... not as much snow but an incredible amount of wind, making it much more dangerous all around because of the lack of visibility and white-outs. There were moments yesterday, while looking out the front window, where I could not see the end of the driveway - it was THAT bad.

Our neighbor (with the end house) allowed us to start throwing snow on his yard because our piles were getting too high!

But the sun is out. The driveway is shoveled. The street outside is plowed (what it looks like outside the neighborhood is a mystery).

Look ma! The pile is taller than me!

The front of our house is the icicle house of horrors!

I've been home as the gub-ment has been closed for the past 4 days. I think we'll be open tomorrow, just in time for a 3 day weekend.

As of 2pm yesterday, the 2009 - 2010 winter is the snowiest winter on record. The numbers were revised upward a bit this morning, since it continued to snow until 10pm last night. Apparently, the official total at BWI airport for the season thus far was very nearly 80 inches! Holy crap!

That's 27 inches currently in our back yard... it was over 30; there's been a little settling down.

You think Thor will jump into that waist-high drift to my right? I think he may get permanently lost...

Snowpacalypse 2010 - Some Thoughts and Lessons Learned

The snowfall this weekend was a doozy. We got 25 inches measured in our front driveway. I know more fell in the area (Dulles Airport apparently measured over 30 inches). But I woke up this morning feeling pensive... there are certainly things that sucked about this weekend. But there are many more things now that I am truly grateful for. And some things I learned.

I am grateful that:
- I have a wonderful husband and dog, who kept me warm when we lost power and heat.
- While we lost power and heat, we did not lose hot water, and were able to take a hot shower.
- Our homeowners association was on top of the plowing and the roads were clear enough such that when it got too cold that...
- We were able to get to a hotel, that looked the other way when we told them we were bringing the dog.
- We lost power for only 40 hours. I have too many friends who are still without electricity and whose streets are not plowed. I'm thinking of you.
- The Federal Government was wise enough to close for the day to allow the roads to be cleared more properly... so that it's safer for everyone.
- For the little things - like heat, or a warm drink after shoveling in the cold, or a hot shower, or a hot meal.


Things I learned for next time:
- Always do laundry before the snow comes. It would suck to run out of socks and underwear with no way to replenish (I came dangerously close).
- Make sure the firewood is stocked. We really rationed our wood, using it only to dry clothes, etc. But it would have been nice to use it to simply keep warm.
- The garage is a great fridge in the winter when there's no power.
- All cell phones and Blackberrys should be fully charged at all times - they are the lifeline to civilization right now. Turg and I rationed the power on those too - always having at least one off, so that we had a backup for when another died.
- Lighting a bunch of candles can actually warm up a room pretty significantly - not like a roaring fire, but noticeably enough that we were grateful for it.

Icicles of Death

And because some shit is just too perfect:

Yesterday, after being home for a couple of hours without power, we decided to call-in our outage again to the power company (as suggested on the radio). I went through all the menu options, typed in our account number and got the following message: Pepco crews are currently working in your area to restore power. The estimated time for restoration is approximately 4pm. (it was 3:15pm when I called). I had the phone on speaker, looked at Turg and said, "Hey, 4pm!" and hung up. Literally one second after I hung up the phone, everything in the house powered back on. Stunned, I look at Turg and he says, "You should have called them sooner!"

They are forecasting another 6-12 inches of snow for tomorrow night to Wednesday. We know what we need to do to hunker down. I love the snow generally. But this is exhausting.

**UPDATE** Now they're saying 10-20 inches. I'm already tired thinking about the shoveling we'll need to do...

Team Building...

As we hunker down for DC Snowpocalypse 2.0 or 2010 or whatever people want to call it, I pose the following:

Q: How many engineers does it take to build a 5'6" tall snowman?
A: Apparently, it takes 4. In just under an hour.


We call him "Lumpy."

I can't wait until Monday to see how much he's buried... and how much bigger we can build another.

I'm still alive

But I am buried in work. I'm essentially doing 2 jobs at the moment, until I can get the rest of the old documents off my desk. Then I can concentrate on being boss lady (well, middle management, but who's counting).

Everything has been both wonderful and hectic at the same time. The holidays and New Year's passed in a blink, and I'm shocked that February is next week. At some point, it'll slow dow, right?

Snow Day!!

There are plenty of benefits to working for government... who knew that one of them was snow days? That's right. I have a snow day* today. It's like being a kid again!

This was the deck near the end of the storm on Saturday night.

I do have to say... after 3 hours of digging out the car. It's nice to not have to go anywhere.

*I won't mention that I actually took this week off anyway to get last minute Christmas stuff done, because the snow day essentially means I don't have to take a vacation day. Which is always a bonus.

Happy Birthday, My Husband

I love you.

It's that time of year!

This was my favorite Christmas song as a kid. It was only when I moved to Maryland, and didn't hear it for a couple of years did I realize that this is a New York thing. No one I knew from outside the New York Tri-state area had ever HEARD of this song. Thank goodness for the internet!

Happy Effing Noo Yawk Christmas Everyone!

Happy Friday!

I'm with CawfeeGuy...

and am extremely upset and disappointed with the outcome of the Gay Marriage vote in New York.

I only hope, that people will listen to Sen. Savino from Staten Island... truly listen to her words. I listened. And I cried. Because she is right.

Who's having a birthday? I thought is was Thanksgiving...

Yeah, yeah. I know. These are the wedding cupcakes. I just want a cupcake, okay?

Huh? Wha? How did it become late November?

It's been a busy couple of months 'round these parts. Far more busy than I could have imagined... Right after getting back from my mini vacay after getting married, I learned that I got the promotion that I interviewed for. I was really happy, excited, stressed and totally bummed out at the same time.

The first three reactions are pretty obvious. Of COURSE I would be happy and excited for this new opportunity. Of COURSE I would be stressed because of all my new responsibilities and because I would, essentially, be doing 2 jobs until they hire someone to take my old position. But bummed out?

Let me explain. When we moved to our new offices, so far away from our old office (and more importantly, home), one consoling fact was that I would be sharing the hallway with all of my crazy friends. See, the office is build in 2 sections with a main atrium in between. Because of the way the offices were distributed, our division got offices on both sides of the atrium, with the majority of the group on one side of the atrium. So, a bunch of us plotted to choose offices on the OTHER side. And once we moved in, it became exactly what we had hoped - a hallway full of misfits, where crazy would break out at any moment, and where laugher was the rule versus the exception (oh, and because of the personalities, we are also able to get all our work done too).

Well, one of the things that had to happen when I got promoted to management was that I had to move into a "management" office, i.e., an office in the main group with everyone else. I begged and pleaded to stay where I was. There were plenty of members of my branch on that side of the building. It was "quieter." I would be able to work more effectively. Nope. I had to move. I was able to delay it a couple of weeks... but it could not be avoided. And so came the fateful day...

And the day I moved, I had some "help" from my friends... who would occasionally steal some things back from the cart I was using. I know. Wah wah. I got a promotion. There are consequences. But I truly feel like I'm missing out on the fun. Which I guess is part of the point of management, huh? But I miss them. And the joy. And laughter... across the atrium. But I know they miss me too...

*sigh* It makes me sad too.