Blogs from Iceland, Europe - page 135

So. Iceland is crap. Now is a good time to come though, since the krona is at an all-time low! What that means for us on the skerry is higher prices - the US dollar is now at around 80 krona - a few weeks ago it was around 60, so that's 30% right there. The euro is at 125 - bfore it was around 90. Over 30% there. What this means for me is a huge fucking increase in travel costs this summer (unless the euro dips again -please, oh please let it dip). I had written down info on some museums and parks I want to visit, and so far the costs have risen at least 30%. Possibly even more in some places, since not all the countries I'll be visiting are euro-countries. I ... read more

Iceland was probably colonised on a dare. Literally, the only things there are volcanic rocks covered by ice. Actually, it's more like ICE. Well, that's the way it seems as you fly into the capital city Reykjavik. Placed directly above The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland is literally one gigantic lava field - well, a pretty cold lava field. The first day that we were there we checked into our hotel (nice and central with a view of the harbour - and many a corrugated iron roof) and went for a walk. The intention was to do the lonely planet self guided tour. The reality was -2 degrees and a gale. This kind of thing makes you stop looking for the old schoolhouse (now converted to a cinema) and makes you start looking for a cafe. One cappuccino ... read more

Day 1 Ever since reading Desmond Bagley's Running Blind, I have been fascinated with Iceland and in the summer of 2006 I finally had the chance to book the trip I wanted. We flew from Heathrow to Kevlavik, were collected at the airport by a taxi, checked into our guest house in Reykjavik and reported to the travel agency to collect the details about the trip. A series of guest houses around Iceland had been booked for us and the details of the trip were discussed in detail. Soon enough we stood outside and found a nice restaurant where they served the most delicious lamb with roasted potatoes, a first taste of a dish we would encounter many more times on this island. The next morning we collected our rental car, a tiny Chevrolet, and we ... read more

I just bought a ticket...and thus altered my original plan. I will now *gasp* skip Roskilde Festival. That's right, for the first time in six years I will miss Roskilde. I won't be going to Denmark at all. Instead - in the interest of saving money and time- I will fly directly to Berlin. I plan on hanging around eastern Germany for a bit, seeing the important Holocaust-related sights, jumping to Guben for the Plastinarium before rolling over to Prague to see commie-related things, Kutná Hora and eat weird cheesy things. From there it's on to Krakow for more Holocaust things, saltmines and the Museum of Insurance before heading to Hungary - Budapestto be accurate- for some more communism and weird museums, including ones devoted to phones, mail service, ambulances and catering. And goulash. Can't forget ... read more

Halló! Hvernig ert þú? Igual que la Tour Eiffel es para Francia o el Big Ben para Londres, el Blue Lagoon lo es para Islandia. Con todo lo bueno y malo que eso conlleva. Quizás no es el sitio más "íntimo" en Islandia pero si uno no se baña en sus aguas se estará perdiendo algo especial. A escasos 40 minutos en autobús de Reykavik, el Lago Azul está situado en una península volcánica modelada por protuberancias de roca negra cubiertas de musgo verde. Bueno, al menos así era en octubre ya que el tiempo cambia y hoy un manto de nieve nos ha acompañado durante todo el viaje. Sinceramente, ya sólo el viaje al lago merece la pena y es que es alucinante el cambio que uno experimenta al salir de Reykjavik. Pronto divisamos la ... read more