Blogs from Iceland, Europe - page 4

Off on a two day bus tour of the south of Iceland. First stop is in the mountain range outside of Reykjavik, where there are yet more steam vents – literally hundreds of them. They are used for power, but they are also used to pipe hot water to Reykjavík for heating and bathing. Most Icelanders’ hot water is piped straight out of the ground. Even travelling dozens of kilometers it is still scaldingly hot! Next is Þingvellir ('ll' is prnounced 'tl', and the letter þ is a soft "th". So it's prnounced thingvetlir. þingvellir is a special place for two reasons. It has been the home of Icelandic democracy since the 900's, the original parliament, where it remained until almost 1800. It is also the point at which the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates ... read more

A bus day. Starting with a very quick tour of the city (the city isn’t huge and big buses aren’t allowed in the tight inner-city streets). A stop at the imposing and austere Hallgrimmskirkja. It is the tallest building in Iceland and dominates the city landscape. Lutherans aren’t exactly renowned for having fun and this shows both on the inside and the outside. We pass myriad monuments to Icelanders – it doesn’t take much for them to drop a statue or devote a building in memorial to citizens who in other countries would be otherwise forgotten. After the city tour, we head out to the Reykjanes pensinsula, back towards the international airport at Keflavík. For the record the consonant combination 'fl' is pronounced 'pl' in Icelandic. So it is pronounced Keplavik. You are starting to sound ... read more

Some menus from our trip.... From the Reykyavikur restaurant "Fiskfélagið" = "The Fish Company" Rock salted beer glazed salmon & langoustine salad, fennel jam, frozen cucumber, Icelandic kryddbrauth (rye bread) Grilled beef rib eye and pork cheek, sweet onion jam, pepper sauce, bearnaise paste and fries Blueberry skyr mousse & blueberry muffin with caramelised almond, yoghurt skyr paste and home made marshmallow (skyr is a cultured cheese sort of halfway between mascarpone and yoghurt) From the Greenlandic buffet: Sashimi of Greenlandic halibut Greenlandic shrimp (very small but very tasty; when unpeeled almost universally pregnant) Dried fish (no thanks - like chewing on a rubber tyre but not as nice) Sushi with shrimp (yum) Smoked whale (looks like dark prosciutto) Salted scallops Halibut terrine Mussels Mattak (whale blubber) Seal soup (f... read more

We went to a waterfall. It was the biggest in Europe. There was another one. It was kind of little. We climbed rocks. It was fun. We went to a volcanoe. I had water in it. It was fun. We went to a lava field. There was a lot of rocks. It was fun. - Sofia Journal Entry Aug 14, 2012 This morning we did not get up to early, but took off for some other really cool places. Daddy had told me that our 2 days in Myvatn would be filled with lots of places that had cool landscapes or seemed like it was from a different planet, just like yesterday, and he was right. Our first stop were to see two incredible waterfalls. Daddy decided that we would see it from the "better" side ... read more

Some stories begin in the middle and work their way backwards ……this story begins on day two of our trip with us soaking in the healing waters of the Blue Lagoon, Iceland discussing the events of the previous two days. The Blue Lagoon, along with the excellent hotel of the same name would prove to be the best medicine for these two weary travelers. These waters are heavenly and the rich mineral content of sulfur and silica are said to have medicinal value, especially to those suffering from psoriasis. We found them to be utterly relaxing and if they do indeed possess extra value due to their content, all the more reason to hop in and enjoy. The waters are courtesy of the nearby geothermal plant, which takes the vented water from the ground all for ... read more