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Published: October 13th 2022
The Iceland Discovery tour by Intrepid Travel came to an official end with checking out of the hotel on Monday, 03 OCT 2022. I had previously booked a stay at the Reykjavik Downtown Hotel for before and after the tour, but, after spending one pre-tour night there, I cancelled that post-tour reservation and made a reservation for the tour contracted hotel, Fosshotel Barón, Reykjavik. Shopping and dining opportunities in the neighborhood are much greater, and I didn’t have to use my bed as a desk! With a checkout time of 1130, I took my time packing my belongings in anticipation of being assigned a different room. Lesson learned, ask first and act later. The desk clerk left me in the same room as I had while under contract with Intrepid Travel. Back up to Room 318 to unpack my belongings.
Four of the Iceland tour group members (with Monday available for fun stuff) agreed to meet at FlyOver Iceland, an “attraction with motion seating & a wraparound screen, simulating flight over mountains & glaciers.” We all had heard good reviews and were not disappointed. Although photography is not allowed on the attraction itself (a restriction that usually prevents the attraction
Whales of Iceland – Reykjavík, Iceland
The Life-Size Models Are Impressive ...from getting my recommendation), FlyOver Iceland is definitely at the top of my “man-made must see” list while in Reykjavik.
The weather forecast on Tuesday, 04 OCT 2022 was the least promising by far and was designated a “housekeeping” day; while Wednesday, 05 OCT 2022 had the best forecast of the four post-tour days and found three neighboring attractions on my agends. A taxi ride brought me to the first, the
Whales of Iceland, the largest whale museum in Europe, which features life-size models of 23 whale species that have been seen in Icelandic waters, as well as man–made skeletons of a select number of whales. I found the attraction both interesting and educational, and I left with a new perspective and appreciation for these mysterious giants. It’s on my “try to make the time” list.
Next on my list (a 200 meter walk away) was the
Reykjavík Maritime Museum. This attraction is located by the old harbor, in a building that was originally built as a fish freezing plant, and chronicles Iceland's dramatic relationship with the sea and how the ocean formed a nation as well as how the survival of that nation depended on generations of brave fishermen heading into
the unknown. Exhibitions and artefacts highlight how the methods of catching and processing fish transformed the industry into a science that helped create a modern nation. I have visited several maritime museums in America, but the Reykjavík Maritime Museum holds lessons and equipment that a) isn’t found in its American counterparts and/or b) predates the fishing industry in America. I gained a new perspective. It’s on my “see if you have time” list.
The next to last stop for the day was at the
Saga Museum. The first exhibit, Iceland in the Making, explains how Iceland rose out of the ocean on the volcanically active Mid-Atlantic Ridge that separates the Eurasian tectonic plate from the North America tectonic plate. The island was thrust up by a series of massive eruptions some 15 million years ago and, since it is still in the process of formation, remains one of the world’s major volcanic hot spots. A large proportion of the country is mountainous with almost no vegetation and is habitable only because of the Gulf Stream, a warm current that issues from the Bay of Mexico. Without the Gulf Stream, the country would probably be uninhabitable. Other exhibits feature Icelandic sagas
including historical figures like Ingolfur Arnarson (#4), Leifur Eiriksson, son of Eric the Red) (#7) and Snorri Sturlusson (#13). Exhibit #14 tells of the impact on Iceland of the disastrous 14
th Century Black death, the most devastating pandemic in human history, which claimed between 75 and 200 million people. There are 17 exhibits on display that are enhanced with a personal audio narrative which allows the visitor to inspect the diorama while enjoying the historical audio lesson and, then, to pause or replay the narrative as necessary. The museum is unique in that respect, well-done and informative and is on my “make the time if possible” list.
My final stop was at the Reykjavik Fish Restaurant (so the sign reads), Tryggvagata, which got my attention as the taxi drove past it on the way to the Whales of Iceland. I had the Fish Soup which was good, but not outstanding. Pre-tour, I visited a sister store located at Frakkastígur 12 (I stumbled upon while walking the area near the Fosshotel Barón) whose signage hawks “Fish & Chips.” Again, the fish and chips were okay, but not outstanding. A taxi delivered me back to the hotel. (FYI Uber and its
Reykjavík Maritime Museum – Reykjavík, Iceland
As One Would Expect, Navigation Is a Major Theme other iterations do not operate in Iceland, but the taxi fares are reasonable.)
Thursday, 06 OCT 2022 found me heading to the National Museum of Iceland. The Museum's permanent exhibition,
Making of a Nation - Heritage and History in Iceland, is “intended to provide insight into the history of the Icelandic nation from the settlement to the present day. The aim is to cast light on the Icelanders' past by placing the cultural heritage preserved by the National Museum in an historical context, guided by the question: What makes a nation?” The focus of this exhibit is on pre-16th Century Icelandic history.
The first of four temporary exhibits,
from mire to metal, chronicles iron smelting from bog iron that was crucial to Iceland. The use of metallurgical furnaces called bloomeries were used to smelt iron throughout the Middle Ages, but, thereafter, the practice steadily declined until it was completely abandoned in the 17th or 18th century. Another temporary exhibit,
In the eleventh hour, examines Iceland’s turf houses. Only a few of Iceland’s turf houses were still inhabited in the 1970s, after serving as the primary form of housing for more than a thousand years. It was an Icelandic
architecture student in Copenhagen in the 1970s who initially spurred the Danish architecture schools to set out and document a representative selection of the Icelandic turf farms before it was too late. Another temporary exhibit,
Saga of Hofstaðir, Unearthing the Past in North Iceland brings to the masses what has been learned at Hofstaðir in the district of Lake Mývatn, north Iceland. Extensive archaeological excavations have been carried out over the past three decades at Hofstaðir, including a hall or longhouse (one of the largest structures ever excavated in Iceland) where people gathered on social occasions and one of the oldest churchyards unearthed in Iceland where whole families were laid to rest in the cemetery. Indeed, the face of one of the women buried at Hofstaðir has been reconstructed using DNA technology, and a drawing of her is included in the exhibition. Perhaps, because Iceland was the first country to elect an openly gay female Prime Minister (Johanna Sigurdardottir, in office from 2009 to 2013), or perhaps for some other reason, officials included a temporary exhibition titled
Rainbow Thread which deals with queer history in Iceland. Their words, not mine. All five exhibits are well-done and are worthy, however, and
rightfully so, most exhibits would be of more interest to an Icelander than the average foreign tourist, giving the museum an overall rating of “see if you have extra time”.
Friday, 07 OCT 2022 was “return to Mesa AZ” day for me. I had a 4 AM wake-up to get me to Keflavík International Airport (KEF), 45 minutes from Reykjavík, in time for a 9 AM departure for JFK Airport in New York, New York. Everything went without a hitch and on time. At JFK, I had to retrieve my checked bag before passing through passport control and U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the International Terminal, Terminal 7. Makes sense to me. Even the inexperienced traveler knows that arrivals and departures are usually on different levels of an airport. International airports (as well as train stations) usually have different terminals for international and domestic flights. Many airports with multiple terminals have a shuttle train or monorail to travel between terminals. That shuttle service is usually on yet a third level of the airport complex. At one point, I had done the “up one level and down two levels” dance several times. With two suitcases in tow, I didn’t
see a nearby elevator and decided to use the escalator. The old (like JFK) escalator has narrow treads that are not wide enough for the larger of my two suitcases. I can’t relate the exact sequence of events, but the large suitcase fell into the old man, and he took a backwards tumble on the escalator. My feet were towards the top side with my head at the bottom end of the escalator and a 44-pound suitcase laying across my midsection. Immediately, someone hit the emergency stop on the escalator, and 4 or 5 people, including a 20ish security officer, were there to assist me. I had landed on the edge of the escalator “step” and had a horizontal linear sore spot in the upper ass region after the event but suffered no legitimate injury. I thanked everyone and went on my way TO THE ELEVATOR. A (senior, I suppose) security person in his early 50s caught up with me and inquired about my welfare – I think the lawyers might have encouraged him. I told him the only thing I injured was my pride. We laughed, and he departed. I was a very, very lucky 74-year-old.
I took
AirTrain JFK to Terminal 5 for my domestic flight to Phoenix and had to go through the entire security and check-in process again. Makes sense to me. Anticipating as best I could at the hotel, I wore slip-on shoes in case that requirement surfaced, all pockets were void of non-essentials and Mr. Ain’t-Had-No-Ass-Since-Birth wore no belt and fought all day to prevent a public debut of his award-winning plumber impersonation. Here’s where Craziness B begins. First, the lines at every point along the way were incredible, yet there were idle scanners, passport stations and customs declaration positions. Second, and much to my surprise, I DID have to take off my shoes. After six airports in the last five months, that was a first for me in 2022. Good thing I wore slip-ons! Third, as I approached the 360-degree body scanner, I heard someone in the distance shouting, “Is this your backpack?” Not knowing at whom the question was directed and after not responding to the first two or three alerts, the agent monitoring the body scanner asked me. I looked in the direction of the “screamer” agent and saw him holding my backpack. “Take out the computer,” he said. The
agent at the “empty your pockets and take off your shoes” station mentioned everything imaginable except removing laptops from backpacks. “Don’t put your carry-ons or backpacks in a bin. Only small items go in a bin. Shoes don’t go in a bin.” I knew beforehand that the laptop removal requirement might come into play, but, as technology improves, the security requirements have become about as fluid as the COVID restrictions; and to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t thinking about how best to do HIS job. Out of line, remove the laptop and back in the queue.
I checked the larger suitcase, got my boarding pass and arrived at Gate 19 about 3-1/2 hours before boarding time. There was a sports bar across the way and bathrooms were nearby. Perfect! The boarding area was crowded, but the destination on the tote board was Jacksonville FL. I found an empty seat, people-watched for a half hour or so, observed the boarding process and waited for the tote board to display Phoenix. When I headed to the sports bar for a substantial meal, Craziness C ensued. I waited at the “Please wait to be seated” sign for 10-15 minutes before taking a
nearby two-person table where I could easily monitor the Gate 19 and relocate after boarding was underway. The adjacent table was serviced, but I was ignored, probably because I had ignored the “please wait…” sign. I relocated to a more central 4-person table (out of sight of the boarding area) and was asked to take a smaller table because it was busy. Disgustedly, I decided to opt out of a “substantial meal” for a prepackaged tuna sandwich and chips from the nearby “snacks store.” Upon my return to Gate 19, a mass exodus was underway. I asked what was going on and was told our boarding gate had been changed to Gate 1. The tote board at Gate 19 had changed from Phoenix to Las Vegas. Had I ordered, received and consumed a “substantial meal,” I might have missed the announcement and, perhaps, my flight. I made my way to Gate 1, found a seat and gratefully ate my tuna sandwich.
Any six-hour flight is unenjoyable by its very nature, but this JetBlue flight was about as “no frills” as any I have ever taken. That having been said, it was on time and uneventful. My friend Gary picked
me up and delivered me to my abode. My neighbor Alan came out, and we all chatted for a while. A lot had happened in the last 24 hours but, at the end of the day, all was well. Merely a cat nap between St. Louis and Albuquerque found me ready for bed by 10 PM local time. Many say, “It was good to be home.” My life since 2010 has been nomadic by design, making my take on being back in Arizona more akin to, “It was good to see Gary, Alan and the others again, and it was good to be somewhere warmed than Iceland in October, and it will be good to have time to prepare for the January 2023 cruise to South America and Antarctica; but, truthfully, I’d rather have kept on travellin’.”
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