Blogs from Iceland, Europe - page 150

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Europe » Iceland » Southwest » Reykjavík May 14th 2006

New York is known for many things but not its' Danish. I longed for the inanely decadent mille-feuille pastry I had in Scandinavia, layers of sheer pleasure. Plus a visit to Iceland is crucial to escape the distractions of Manhattan. So this "Lover of the Arctic Circle's" search for ephiphany abroad brought me to the northernmost capital in the world. "Reykjavik" named by the first settlers, the Vikings in 800AD, the "Land of Smoke" (which is actually the steam rising from the ground in underground geothermal hot springs with 300-700 degree F. waters.) I consulted the U.S. State Dept. website to check for travel warnings before I left. There are no terrorist or crime threats here, but I would have to deal with frequent volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and they warn that several tourists per year fall ... read more
Colorful Homes in Reykjavik 101
Reykjavik 101 Street Scene
Rooftops

Europe » Iceland May 4th 2006

Like all things in this world, Iceland, I would imagine, is a place that not everyone would find awe inspiring. We, however, did. Here's the best we can do in words and photos to describe an experience that was indescribable. We flew into Keflavik airport on 4 May, 2006, greeted by friends - Sonny & Nichole - who had arrived the day before us. Our capacity flight from Sanford to Iceland was a long and cramped seven hours and we were able to snatch about two hours of sleep over the duration. Despite the 6AM local time and accumulated exhaustion, there was a rush of exhilaration when the wheels hit the tarmac. We were told it would be like flying over the surface of the moon and while neither one of us can attest to that ... read more
Keflavik2
Keflavik4
Keflavik5

Europe » Iceland May 1st 2006

After a five hour flight from JFK we landed in snowy Keflavick at about 6:00 am eager to get our trip started. The guy at the Budget desk gave us a double upgrade, so we drove out with a Suzuki Vitara for the price of a Volkswagen Gulf Wagon (USD 230). Our first stop was to check out the thermal springs and electrical plant near the blue lagoon, which was our first sighting of the hot water springs which are so common all over Iceland. After checking out the water, figuring out that we couldn't take a dip, we moved on to a beautiful little town on the end of the Reykjavik peninsula called Grindavik, where we went shopping and stocked up on basic supplies of Coke and Tissues, after which we found the towns pool ... read more
Lost...
Gullfoss
Icelandic Horses

Europe » Iceland April 22nd 2006

Hotel: Nordica +Golden Circle +Thingvellir +Geysir +Gullfoss +Blue Lagoon We planned on visiting the Golden Circle today. This is the popular tourist circuit from Reykjavik that takes in the historical site of Thingvellir, and the natural wonders of Geysir and the Gullfoss waterfall. We lucked out with the weather today as well, as it was supposed to be clear all day.... read more
Thingvellir National Park
Strokkur geyser
Blue Lagoon (Bla Lonid)

Europe » Iceland » Southwest » Reykjavík April 20th 2006

I'm not sure if this counts as a pit stop given I never actually got off the plane. And I know..I know...I'm not racing The Amazing Race so I promise to leave Phil out of future entries. But as we flew in, it felt like I had been here before. Then I realized I was remembering some seasons ago, TAR episode where one of the destinations was Iceland. Living vicariously through the racers has definitely skewed my own reality. Only now I can comment from a window seat view rather than a TV screen many miles away. Instead of pitching a tent in the freezing cold (OR throwing my partner down on an icefield WWF style) I was trapped in an uncomfortably hot plane where a kid vomitted as a result. However Iceland seems just as ... read more

Europe » Iceland » Southwest » Grindavík April 18th 2006

The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa where you can pay to go in and deepen and immerse yourself in a lagoon filled with steamy hot water (about 100 F or 40 C) from nearby Svartsengi power plant. Why blue ? because of high concentration of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria). These bacteria could not thrive as the tempt cool in the air. It claims that the dead algae in the lagoon combined with silica mud can be cured certain kinds of skin condition. On that day in mid-april when I was there, the air tempt is cold (about 45 F) and the water tempt is hot (98 F). Make an appointment to have a silica in-water spa treatment in the open air lagoon. Laying down on a wooden bench subimmersed in hot water, you are pampered with ... read more

Europe » Iceland » Southwest » Nesjavellir April 17th 2006

Today taking the Golden Circle trip to visit some of the most famous natural attractions of Iceland. Got picked up at the guesthouse at 8 AM and the tour starts a few minutes before scheduled to depart at 830 AM. We are leaving the cosmopolitan behind on route to the Nesjavellir power plant. We are passing vast areas of snow-covered ground as the winterly cold season is still upon us. It is a beautiful lanscape of snow-covered peak mountains and nature blended together. very scenic. It is seemed untouched and is still like as in its original stage as of the early days. The Nesjavellir power plant opened in Sept 1990 by ultilizing the extremely forceful steam pouring out from the deep holes in the borehole field 2000 meters below the ground to generate electricity. It ... read more

Europe » Iceland » Southwest » Reykjavík April 16th 2006

Arrive in Reykjavik in the early morning. It is cold, tempt 32 F degree, occasionally snow shower. I asked myself why I travel from a warm place (70s F at Baltimore to 30s in Iceland). Did not sleep much throughout the flight. Iceland is only 4 hours ahead of NYC Eastern standard time zone. It is quite a long walk from disembarking the aircraft to the customs and to exit to collect the luggages. There are other flights from the US arriving here (from Minneapolis and Boston) arrving at the same time. There are few carousels working nonstop to deliver the luggages to their rightful owners. Make sure to wait at the right carosel assigned for your flight. Don't know where I can buy the airport-to-city shuttle ticket. The tourist information is not open yet. Locate ... read more
arial view of Reykjavik

Europe » Iceland April 15th 2006

Day 10: April 15 - Reykjavik, Geysir, Guilfoss Accommodation: University of Iceland residences (Couchsurfing.com) So today was the first day I was going on a tour in Iceland, which I booked on the internet before I left Australia. The jeep usually picks up at hotels but I gave the address and they said they’d pick me up at 8:30am. So I got out there a bit earlier and I waited and no-one showed up. About 8:45am I called the booking office to ask what the deal is and they said my tour had been cancelled, but they declined to actually contact me about it. Although at the last minute they were able to fit me onto another tour so that was alright. Luckily the jeep hadn’t left yet and they called the driver to pick me ... read more

Europe » Iceland » Southwest » Reykjavík April 14th 2006

Day 9: April 14 - ENGLAND - London; ICELAND - Reykjavik & Keflavik Accommodation: University of Iceland residences (Couchsurfing.com) After leaving Toronto airport at 8am I arrived in London Heathrow airport at what was actually 8am UK time but I was still on Canadian time which was 3am for me, so in waiting for my next flight some 5 hours later I was very tired and tried to catch a nap. Heathrow Terminal 2 wasn’t as inviting as I hoped it would be, and the rain seemed to be following me in most places I visited, but I managed a bit of a nap. I got on my Icelandair flight just before 1pm and I was very excited about finally getting over to Iceland and my first actual European country (not really counting the UK which ... read more




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