Blogs from Southwest, Iceland, Europe - page 40

When planning our trip, we knew our layover in Iceland on the return would be a welcome bonus. After a 4 1/2 hour trip from Paris, we reached Iceland at 9:30 am. We had 7 hours before flight home just enough time to see the famous Blue Lagoon. There was a bus outside the small airport to take passengers to and from the Blue Lagoon so we bought tickets and set out on the 10:15 bus. It took about an hour to get there after all stops, 40 minutes longer than advertised. It was a rainy day and we did our best to see the terrain of the fascinating island best we could. When we reached the Blue Lagoon, we could see the lava rock terrain and geothermal waters. We had never been to such an ... read more

We have a new dear companion, and her name is Suzy. She is small but full of energy, and raring to go whenever we are. She's a Suzuki 4door automatic and we can't get enough of her. Thank goodness for the sweet angel Icelander at the Budget rent a car, who upgraded us from a manual to automatic free of charge, allowing Brian and I to trade out driving responsibilities. Thus far, the workload has been entirely on his shoulders. Yesterday we drove around the Golden Circle......a favorite circuit just outside of the city with some of Iceland's most photographed areas. Our first stop was Pingvellir (pronounced THingvellir...we think), an old meeting place for Norsemen, and Parliamentary sight. Here you can also see the tectonic plates sliding against one other (we didn't, but supposedly you can). ... read more

The first flying day was quite successful. As usual, when the planning is particularly chaotic, the actual events are very smooth. As of yesterday, all the flight planning for the trip to Reykjavik were ready - I found a flyable route through England and Scotland, and decided to have s top in Wick, on the Northern tip of Scotland. And the weather forecasts looked fair as well - some clouds, but no serious problems to be expected. So I filed my flight-plans last night, and all was ready for an early departure this morning. But when I checked the weather this morning, nothing was well - WIck had clouds so low that even an instrument arrival was not possible, and the outlook for the day was not positive either. And all England under clouds and rainy ... read more

Sitting at the airport in Iceland preparing to go to London after yet another flight delay. At least this one is only an hour and a half. We got up at 5:45 am to drive around the National Park where we saw hot springs, a geyser, and waterfalls along with goats, horses, mountains, rivers, snow, and oceans. Gena, Sam, Margaret, and I have had so much fun here that it is hard to believe that we are splitting up tomorrow for the week. I am off to Budapest tomorrow afternoon to visit my friend Tanya from Mock Trial who is studying law there and meet up with a few fellow law students currently studying in Budapest. ... read more

Reykjavik If there's an Icelandic equivalent to Pele, someone must have given an offering of Icelandic vodka because Grimsvotn stopped spewing, the ash cloud over Iceland headed for Scotland and I was able to make my flight with only four hours of delay. Reykjavik reminds me of a touristy town in Japan (like Hakone): very cute, clean, and the people are unfailingly polite. And there was a karate dojo in my hotel! I think it's called “Thor's Hammer.” The food in Reykjavik was so fresh, especially the fish. I didn’t try the sushi, but I’m sure it would have been amazing. I made the big mistake of arriving in Reykjavik in shorts and later leaving the hotel without my winter coat. It was less that 10 degrees Celsius (in the 40s in Fahrenheit). ... read more