A WINTER WEEKEND IN ICELAND
February 1999.
Who would think of spending a weekend in late February in Iceland? We would. We had heard from fellow travelers that it is a great place to visit and we couldn't pass on the rates that were being offered by Icelandair, $300 per person for two nights and a good part of three days, including airfare, hotel accommodations, and breakfast. We would go to Reykjavik where we would stay in a hotel and from there we could take day trips to the various sights. It was just too good to pass up.
Icelandair offered that whole package via the Internet and gave us the choice of airports -- we chose Baltimore since it appealed to us more than JFK. Our first little surprise was that the $300 didn't include the assorted taxes and other fees that would be added on -- thus bringing the total closer to $400. Nonetheless, it was still cheaper to go to Iceland (or almost any place in Europe) than to fly to Denver or other places we wanted to visit in the US. So we paid for our tickets and waited for them to arrive, as promised.
Our next surprise was that the tickets never arrived and a week or so before our flight was to depart we began to worry. After numerous phone calls, and pleas for help, the tickets were finally sent to us by special delivery the day before our departure. While people had been very helpful during the ticket purchasing phase we found that the opposite was true with customer service after our tickets were paid for. Later we discovered that fellow travelers had similar experiences.
We were happy to be flying Icelandair. We had heard that its fares were very good compared to other airlines and that it was a good way to fly to various parts of Europe. One can stop off in Iceland for scenic tours or a visit of a few days without increased airfare. Fellow passengers who were traveling to Scotland or Scandinavia told us that they always traveled via Iceland and found it the best way to go.
The flight was smooth and without any problems and we soon (about 6 hours?) arrived in Keflavik, home of a large US Air Force base. The half-hour bus ride to Reykjavik went off without a hitch and our sight-seeing immediately began. What we saw reminded us of pictures of the moon that we had seen but with a lot of snow. In fact our guide told us that this was where Neil Armstrong went to practice walking on the moon. We also were told that people wandered from the designated areas that they might never be seen again. They might fall into holes or crevices in the earth's surface that were above hot springs and deceptively covered by ice and snow. What a vast and spectacular view of pristine whiteness as far as the eye could see. No trees anywhere. The air was crystal clear - except when cigarette smoke quickly ruined that freshness.
Reykjavik is the capital city of Iceland and half of the total population lives there. The size of Iceland is about 1½ times the sizes of Pennsylvania and the population is about 240,000 so you can tell that it is sparsely populated. In fact, it is very similar to Australia, in that almost everyone lives on the outer edges of the island, as the inner part is not inhabitable. (While Australia has the outback in the interior, in Iceland the interior consists of lava, glaciers, and desolate space.)
Our third and final nasty surprise came when we arrived at the hotel early in the morning after our overnight flight, only to find out that there were no beds available until later in the day and no breakfast to be had at the hotel. Our whole group was exhausted from jet lag and all anyone wanted to do was collapse into bed. Many people were quite angry and all of us were cranky. We found out that the breakfast that was to be included in our package price didn't start until the next day and there was no room in the hotel restaurant for us to sit and order breakfast. The best they could do was offer people some coffee. So we all sat around in the lobby for several hours trying to get comfortable in upright chairs, waiting for the last group to clear out and our rooms to be cleaned so that we could check in.
After that things became much better. When we settled in our room at the Esja Hotel we discovered that we had a breathtaking view of the harbor and the Esja mountains,formed from lava, across the water. The white-on-white was one of the most beautiful sights that we have seen. We were glad we were there in the spring when snow was on the ground and the mountains were covered with snow. It was beautiful to us. However, many people invited us to come back in the summer. We were told that during the summer the wildflowers, especially lupine, are lush and colorful.
After a much needed nap, we decided to spend the first day exploring the city on our own. That is always our favorite way to travel. We like to mingle with the residents and get to know them, eat where they eat and shop where they shop. So we started walking in the direction of downtown, about a half-hour walk, on snow-encrusted sidewalks.
Although the official language is Icelandic, almost everyone speaks English fairly fluently. In school, the children learn Icelandic first, study Danish as a second language (since they were part of Denmark until 1944), and English as a third language. In junior high or high school everyone must take either German or French. Therefore, almost everyone speaks at least four languages. That is humbling for those of us who can only speak one language, and seem to have no knack for learning others, no matter what our desire.
Our first impression of the city was that the setting was absolutely spectacular. We had about 10-11 hours of sunlight (more than we had expected) and we could see the snow-covered mountains in all different kinds of light, from sunrise to sunset. When we walked downtown we were impressed with the many baby carriages, with babies so bundled that you could’t see them. When mothers went into stores, they left their babies in the buggies outside the stores. That is typical in Scandinavia from what we’ve read and heard. It was nice to be somewhere that felt so safe.
Buildings are very plain and utilitarian. Most houses were stucco and there were no shutters. There was little color except for brightly colored roofs. It was almost as if the whole area were a black and white photo, with painted in color for the roofs.
As we wandered around town and explored the sights we decided we better look for a place to eat. We were disappointed to find a couple of McDonalds's, a good place to find to go to the bathroom, but not our idea of where to eat in Iceland! After discovering restaurants with all kinds of food, but nothing that sounded particularly Icelandic, we settled on an intimate Chinese restaurant and had a nice meal and a very pleasant visit with our young Icelandic waiter. By then it was time to head back to our hotel.
The second day we went on the long bus tour, and the third day, we explored on our own again. The bus tour took us to Geysir,the site of a magnificent geyser. (If you look closely at it you can see the people standing around the base of the geyser.) The picture was taken from the window of the restaurant where we had lunch. We did not get off the bus close to the geyser, as the ground was very icy, and it would have been too difficult for Tom to walk back to the restaurant, where we would need to meet the bus again. However, we did have a close up view from the bus. The geyser erupts every 5 minutes or less. Our guide told us that the other two places one can see geysers such as this are Yellowstone National Park in the USA and in New Zealand.
An interesting note is that the geyser shown above, the Strokkur, is really a stand-in. The outstanding attraction in this area is the "Great Geyser" which had been erupting since the 14th century but quit after thousands of overzealous tourists poured stones and dirt into it to try to set it off.
Another stop on the 8 hour tour was "The Garden of Eden." Not having any idea what to expect, we discovered a series of greenhouses heated by thermal energy. Many were growing commercial crops, but we only visited the ones designed for the tourist trade. There were some interesting tropical plants inside, however, most space was reserved for refreshments and souvenirs. It was interesting to see another practical use of the natural energy source with which Iceland is blessed.
Another highlight of the tour was the Gullfoss waterfall formed from a melting glacier. Actually it is a series of multiple waterfalls. The photo can’t begin to do it justice. Again, if you look very closely, you can see people scattered on the left side of the falls.
Probably the most interesting part of the tour was the area where the Eurasian and American tectonic plates come together. The fissures in the earth are large enough for a person to fall into, and looking down, one can see that they go down for what seems to be an infinite depth. Unlike our litigious society, there are no guardrails or barriers, only the guide’s warning to be careful, lest we would fall in. We traveled across the edges of each of the plates several times, and spent time on the area in between. I can’t imagine what it would be like for a geologist to be able to see that area.
On our third day we explored the town on our own and did a little bit of shopping. We had passed up a chance to bathe in the Blue Lagoon which is supposed to be very healthy and about which we were given mixed reviews by those who had partaken. We were surprised that the one restaurant that we could find close to the hotel was a Mexican one. We had a delightful meal, while being bemused that the only Icelandic food we had was on the bus tour the day before. It consisted of fish dishes, of course, and a delicious potato/leek soup. But we had never expected to be eating Chinese and Mexican food in Iceland! So much for the food native to the region we look for when we travel.
One of the favorite attractions of tourists is the Icelandic horses that we saw along the road. Our guide made a point of telling us it is erroneous to refer to them as ponies, even though they are very close to the ground. Some tours offer people a chance to ride the horses. (If you look closely you can see the houses in background, giving you an idea of the housing conditions in this desolate area. Yet, even here homes are heated by thermal energy.)
Our one extravagant purchase was Icelandic sweaters that we found in our hotel gift shop. We kept looking at them and just didn't want to spend that kind of money for a sweater. But they called to us so strongly that we broke down. Boy are we glad. They are the best sweaters that we have ever owned and the price was less than half of what they sell for here in the stores, where they have become "all the rage".
We came home impressed with Iceland and are glad we went. It is also the most northern place we’ve been. Now we want to see Greenland sometime. We have a good friend who lives in Sweden and we are hoping to go see her sometime, so maybe we will go via Iceland when we do.
We met many interesting people on the trip, and exchanged addresses with one couple. They were neat people. They live in Virginia where she is a truck (18-wheeler) driver and he works in a Ford Motor plant. She weighs less than 100 lb. and has been driving a truck for 18 years. It was their first trip overseas and it was fun to travel with them. They were enthusiastic about everything and nice, fun people. Another couple was from the Washington DC area, they were Norwegian-Americans in their 80’s. They had a great attitude and were delightful. One young woman we met was on her way to Ireland where she was going to go to school for a year, and where her boyfriend lived. He grew up in Northern Ireland, and had traveled quite a bit. She was from York, PA, and is planning to become a psychologist, so we had an interesting chat. Another couple we liked a lot was from outside London. They gave us lots of ideas about traveling in Europe. As usual the best part of traveling is the people we meet.
And so good-bye until our next trip.
