Reykjavik and Beyond

September 1, 2006-Hi Hi!
(photos:City Hall,
Typical houses
Hallgrimskirke,
Fault line,
Blue Lagoon)

Hi-hi! That is the greeting around here. It sets a friendly tone for a people that out-Norwegian the Norwegians as far as being taciturn. But when they party they take it seriously. Of course they do. They’re a serious people. In summer the revelry starts near midnight and goes until 5 AM. Somehow it doesn’t bother David and my earplugs have been great. Our fellow travelers aren’t so lucky.

My emails are more interesting when things are a bit off. Let me tell you about this hotel. I called it Spartan. Fodor’s calls it “basic.” When I woke up this morning before I opened my eyes I thought, “How nice. It is a sunny day.” David was up and I heard him chuckling. The “sun light” was really from the overhead light. One control switch is low on the headboard right where the pillow hits. I’d inadvertently turned it on. I had another rude awakening when I did the math and figured out that the sandwich David had at the Grill House restaurant last night cost $20.

The engineer in our group had to have someone from the desk help him close his window. It wasn’t obvious. Others needed assistance using the remote on their T.V. There’s an external receiver attached to the bottom of the set that needs to be pointed in the direction of the remote. Theirs was rotated a bit to the side. Our toilet paper holder fell of the wall and our spigot and faucets rotate when turning the water on or off. They fixed that but now the floor drain the sink water goes into overflows. Breakfast was an augmented Red Roof Inn affair but all I eat is cereal and yogurt so I was happy. But there is something wonderful at this hotel that we didn’t have anyplace else. They have a broadband Internet connection in each room. It’s pure luxury to be able to access it without having to wait in line and hope there’s a place to use the jump drive to upload my journal.

We all did laundry last night for the last time on the trip. We all hated it. I was wondering if Grand Circle could contract with a laundry to do our stuff at the midway point in a trip. I know our clothes aren’t clean after 3-4 washings and inadequate rinsing. No matter how much I tried there was still soap left behind. My ankles are breaking out from the residue. It’s so gross!

Out In The Town

Ellert picked us up at 9 AM, a civilized time. I started our walking tour of the city wearing three jackets and gloves. I could see my breath. By the end of the day I was walking around in just a long-sleeved shirt. The high today was 68. The Gulf Stream moderates the climate so it usually doesn’t reach above the mid-70’s or below the high 20’s. The Blue Mts. is their main ski area but snow has been scarce the last few winters. Most of Iceland is below the Arctic Circle so there’s no tundra or permafrost.

At first I thought Ellert was dour and humorless but he has a dry sense of humor that can catch me off guard. He rolls his “R’s” as most Icelanders do making them sound Scottish when they speak English. He’s about our age and 6’7” tall at least. His mother just retired two years ago. She’s 101. He kept us busy all day and into the evening. We don’t see him again until the farewell dinner tonight. Then he picks us up for the airport on Sunday.

Reykjavik means steam bay. It’s no wonder that’s its name. Steam vents are all over the place wafting sulfrous aromas into the atmosphere, homes, water, and hotel rooms. Ancient history tells about a Norwegian who sailed off to find new territory. He threw two throne poles that were carved like our totem poles into the sea. He decided to settle where they landed. Guess where? He didn’t stay long. Irish monks followed in 537 and a colony of hermits developed. Leif Ericsson discovered Iceland and the Americas but conveniently forgot about the latter. Ellert asked us when Columbus Day was and we knew that. When he asked when Leif Ericsson Day was we didn’t even know there was one. It’s Oct. 9. The Greeks spoke of such an island and Roman coins were found here. In 1750 the town as we know it today was settled. In 1783 there was a huge volcanic eruption causing a global change in weather. Forty per cent of the people in Iceland died. Compared to that eruption Ellert said that Mt. St. Helen was a burp. While under the Danes the capital of Iceland was Copenhagen, but they managed to achieve a peaceful separation and remain friends today.

We reached City Hall by walking over a footbridge. The building is a modern structure erected in 1981. There’s a relief map of Iceland in the lobby and we looked at our route for the day. It was ambitious. We wouldn’t return until 5 PM.

Our next stop was Hallgrimskirke, a monochromatic poured concrete cathedral. It was stark and sterile inside but there was elegance to the soaring 100+ foot high vaults. The overall effect made me feel I was inside a glacier. The stainless steel and blond wood organ rose to fill two-thirds of the space from the ceiling down. But it seems that Icelanders are as religiously observant as most Scandinavians…not.

What to do with ugly storage tanks that are part of the central city heating system? The hot water tanks that marred the landscape bothered one architect enough so that he designed a dome to cover them. It’s now called The Pearl. That was our next destination. The view from the top is the best in town and the interior of the building now housing the tanks is a work of art worthy of a concert hall. In fact they were setting up for a concert. This month there’s an international film and jazz festival. We were told that Matt Dillon and Marisa Tome are in town for the festival and to film their next movie.

When the water heating the buildings is discharged, it’s run underground in pipes that heat sidewalks and parking lots in winter. No need to shovel. The average heating and electric bill here is $110/month. Read it and weep.

Outward Bound

We left town and entered the highlands. It was barren rocky terrain dotted with the occasional summerhouse. What we did not expect was a greenhouse. The industry is diminishing and most of that is going to Spain. But there was one left for tourists to visit. Ellert had just told us about a bread that’s very dense and made by steaming it for 24-hours. We bought some there and shared it with the others. It was very good. It tasted a bit like honey cake. As for the greenhouse, it was a yawn. Iceland is noticeably devoid of trees. Maybe that’s why a greenhouse is so exciting to them. Iceland was denuded early in its history and there are mostly shrubs left. There’s an effort at reforestation. Ellert amused us by saying that if you’rre lost in the forest in Iceland just stand up.

The Hekla glacier was more impressive. The volcanic mountain of the same name was thought to be the entrance to hell. The phrase, “Go to Hekla” has evolved to “Go to heck.” Volcanoes form craters and craters sometimes sink into the earth. The Kerid Crater was one such example. The water that filled the sinkhole was teal blue and bottomless. We took photos and I managed to get some rock climbing in so David could get a picture of me near the water.

As we drove on clouds were gathering and formed a low ceiling as we climbed higher. They looked as if they were within reach. We stopped at a geyser field and waited while the biggest one sprayed. It looked like an underground giant was chewing gum as the water receded and pushed up a bit. Then he started to form a big blue bubble and blow. That’s when it spouted. It was hard to catch the bubble on film. We waited through four eruptions and never succeeded. When we left we all shrugged our shoulders and said that if you’ve seen Yellowstone this was cute.

The waterfall stop was not Niagara but it was spectacular. Wind whipped down from the glacier but wasn’t frigid. It was however strong enough to push me off course as I walked up the steps to the viewing area. One hundred gallons of water crashed over the precipice every second. At the top there was quite a lovely scene with Icelandic horses (not ponies) against the backdrop of the glacier. We later stopped where we could see horses close up. A young girl was anxious to show us which one was hers and got him out of the herd. Icelandic horses are five-gaited and have a running walk as smooth as or smoother than a Tennessee Walking Horse. It’s a purebred import descended from the Viking age. There are no other breeds on the island. They cannot eat oats because they have a very small stomach and oats swell. They don’t like carrots or apples but prefer salted fish. They crave salt. They’re used for pleasure riding, herding sheep, and as meat.

A most impressive experience was being able to see Pingvalla where the fault line is between the Eurasian and North American plates. That’s where the ancient Icelandic Parliament met 1000 years ago. They met in the open for two weeks every summer and were led by a Law Speaker who’d memorized the laws. It’s now a UNESCO site. It was so lovely and emotionally charged. It was easy to imagine the colorful tents and temporary stone and sod houses they erected. Then I joked that they could set up bleachers and present a Light and Sound show like they do at the Sphinx in Egypt. Ellert said that Icelanders wouldn’t pay admission to attractions. They tried to charge a fee once and people stopped coming.

I slept on and off in the van. There was a lot of driving. Sometimes I awoke to glean some interesting information. Married women keep their maiden names. Their obligatory fire occurred in 1915 and most buildings date from then. Education in a state university is free. It costs $2-3,000 in a private university. Iceland has the second highest birth rate in Europe. It’s probably not a direct cause and effect but the shortest day in winter is only four hours and eleven minutes. When we passed a golf course I learned that there are ninety in Iceland and there’s an Arctic Open that tees off at midnight in the summer.

Blue Lagoon

On our return to the city I got a different perspective. From this angle it looked like a big place. We did a quick jump off and shot a photo of the house where Reagan and Gorbachev met and headed for the hotel. We had half an hour to get ready for the Blue Lagoon.

David kept referring to the Blue Lagoon as a place where people swim in industrial waste and he’s right. It’s the accidental by-product of an energy plant. It was the first geo-thermal plant in the world. Sea and fresh water were mixed and superheated. The steam that resulted was run through a heat exchanger and the condensation was used to pump into home heating systems. Surplus steam was used to make electricity. An unanticipated by-product of the steam was that when the condensation cooled and was let out into an area designated for run-off the chemicals in the condensed water settled to the bottom making it waterproof. The water had nowhere to go and kept collecting. A blue color resulted. There’s a small outlet today since the water keeps coming but the inventive Icelanders turned it into a spectacular tourist venue. We changed in locker rooms and the women compared bruised legs. We all had badges of honor from wrangling suitcases. We plunged into the refreshingly milky blue warm waters. Once underwater our bodies disappeared in the murk. The bottom was sand and silica. I was surprised that when I dug some up with my toes that it was black. It wasn’t very deep and we stood up and held our arms in the air from time to time to cool off. We stayed in about forty minutes then showered and ate in the cafeteria. We all re-showered when we got to the hotel. The sulfrous water wreaks havoc on hair. It also just plain reeks. It’s supposed to have curative powers but we were all doubting Thomases. This is a tiny country trying to build a tourism industry. The mountains are like the ones in our Southwest. They’re bare. This isn’t the Rockies. There’s little to show off that’s not surpassed by other countries. But they do have an interesting ancient history.

Tomorrow we’ll try to get a handle on the Viking past. I cannot believe there’s been no lecture or tour that included their history and legends. It’s one of the major reasons we came here. I’ll mention it as a criticism when I fill out the Grand Circle review form.

Toby