From Reykjavik, With Love

Saturday is the last chance to squeeze in a "regular" day for us seeing as people seemed to start taking their Easter vacations on Thursday. In the Frommer's guidebook for Iceland, there is a section for "Suggested Itineraries" where various stays are outlined for travelers. Having seen a very fulfilling  1-day schedule which takes one to some of the "must-see" spots in Reykjavik, I decided that today was the day to execute it. Though we started the day later than we should have, we managed to head into town and check out this cozy little book-lined bohemian cafe across from the Culture House/Museum.

Grái Kötturinn

The menu is simple and satisfying: I order pancake with ham, cheese and cream-cheese and ADW has a more traditional eggs and bacon type of breakfast. The coffee here is some of the best I've had in the city and we even tried a carbonated fizzy malt drink.

We head out to the Culture House/Museum next. This museum/house is built in 1909 (I think?) and features transcribed and bound books of the 14th and 15th centuries; stored under low light  and behind glass. The exhibit even goes into the process of the vellum book binding of the Icelandic medieval times.

As ADW probably has worms with a penchant for processed fatty meats, we head to the best known hot-dog stand in the country: Baejarinns Bestu Pylsur to grab a snack. I don't think he's ever going to get sick of hot-dogs...

We browse some of the main tourist streets to pick up some more souvenirs for friends and family and make the effort to drop by the Hand-Knitting Association of Iceland where tourists visit to purchase hand-made traditional Icelandic sweaters and other woolen goods made from Icelandic sheep wool. If you're going to get yourself traditional Icelandic woolen gear, this is the place to go because their products are genuinely hand-knitted in Iceland and use authentic Icelandic wool--which is special in its own right.

The main Christian denomination of the Icelanders is the Lutheran sect and the most prominent church in Reykjavik is the Hallgrímskirkja. This towering architectural monument is one of the most visible and impressive sights in the city. While you either hate or love the architectural aesthetics, their elevator takes you to an unbeatable view of the entire city and surrounding area. The fee to go up is really reasonable and it seems that you can go whenever the church is open--even when the church store/ticket office, is not. I'll be stitching together a panoramic view sometime when I return.

Tomorrow we round up our trip by saying good-bye to the city of Reykjavik to head to our final tourist destination of Iceland: the Blue Lagoon. This geothermal spa is one of the top visited attractions in Iceland and boasts incredible therapeutic spa treatments for those with psoriasis or other skin conditions. Two of the Ottawa girls we met said that they came out and their entire bodies felt soft like baby bum. I feel that this is a necessary event as Icelanders are known for their outdoor geothermal pools, and are known to frequent these types of establishments even when it's raining or snowing out!

(**NOTE: I know, I promised lots of photos but the wi-fi is a bit spotty tonight. So, I'll definitely be getting something together once I return home :) )

Nearing the End of Our Trip

Since I've been busy blogging, I thought it would be good to give ADW a chance to post his thoughts on here too...

Iceland may not be the first destination to come to mind when planning for a trip during a long Canadian winter, but while many Canadians headed to warmer climates in anticipation for our own spring and summer, we headed to the North Atlantic island known for its Vikings and volcano eruptions.

I would describe Iceland as powerful and majestic, yet peaceful and understated. The beautiful landscapes - including mighty waterfalls, dormant volcanoes, and lumbering glaciers – remind us of the amazing geological forces that shape the face of our Earth. At the same time, this sparsely populated island does not have the same frenetic pace that we are used to in North America and allows one the time and peace to properly take it all in.

There are three highlights from the trip in particular:

1)     The horse riding trip through old lava fields was better than I had anticipated. For the last three months, I have been taking lessons at Greyden working hard on improving my riding skills, all the while restricted to the confines of a small arena due to the chilly winter weather. Finally, on our Icelandic horse riding tour, I was able to utilize these hard earned (albeit limited) skills out in the open and be a true horse rider! I was able to control my lively Icelandic horse, ride the Tolt, and experience the canter for the first time while riding through some truly amazing scenery. I’m really glad that the riding lessons have paid off and allowed me to truly appreciate our riding tour.

2)     Hiking on the glacier was a great experience. When I was younger, I had actually visited the Columbia Ice Fields and walked on that glacier, but I never truly understood what it was that I was walking on. Little did I know that glaciers are actually slowly moving, immense structures of ice that carve a path through the land. This time I was able to understand that I was walking on a true force of nature.

3)     Ok, so this is not a specific “highlight” per se, but there is no tipping in Iceland! I have never been to a country where no tips are expected and I like it. A lot. I have no problem paying for good service because I believe good service should be rewarded, but I do have a problem with the entitled North American attitude that a good tip is expected regardless of the service. I am particularly irked when I pay using a card machine and it prompts me to enter a 25% (!!!) tip. The service here in Iceland has been impeccable and I have no major complaints. I really appreciate that our servers and tour guides take pride in doing a good job without expecting a tip afterwards. Kudos for helping us have a great time and I wish we could import this attitude to North America.

I have really enjoyed my time in Iceland and although it is not an in-your-face exciting place to visit, it has won me over with its majestic scenery, amazing experiences, and great culture. This is a place I would like to come back to visit again in the future.

And because ADW is a keeper of factoids, here's a list of facts that he compiled because he thought they were interesting...

A few interesting facts about Iceland:

-     99% of the electricity here is generated by clean sources. 20% from geothermal heat and the rest from hydro-electric

-     The water here is extremely clean and tap water tastes as good, if not better, than the bottled “spring water” that we can buy back home

-     Reykjavik is considered to have the best hot-dogs in the world, and yes they sure are tasty!

-     Icelandic is the name of the country’s language, but it is actually the same ancient Norwegian language used by the first settlers over 1,200 years ago. Icelanders can read ancient Norwegian texts, but Norwegians can not since modern Norwegian has evolved while Icelandic has remained the same

-     Iceland reads and publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world

-     The world’s first openly gay prime minister was elected in Iceland in 2010

-     Many people in Iceland believe in hudulfolk, or hidden people, which include elves, gnomes, dwarves and trolls. Sometimes when driving in the country side, you can see small little colourful homes in the hillsides which are made by people (I’m assuming) for elves

-     Iceland has no standing army, but it is a NATO member. It is currently Canada’s turn to defend Iceland and we have six CF-18’s currently based at Keflavik for a 5-week rotation

We're almost done our trip and I'm sad to be leaving tomorrow but rest assured that there will be at least 1 more post before we leave here--with plenty of photos!

Icelandic Vikings and Their Steeds

I took up horse-back riding lessons a few months ago and I've been hooked since. I spend most of the week looking forward to going and after I complete my lessons, I spend the following days thinking about when I'd go next. So, on this vacation to Iceland, it's not a surprise that I took the opportunity to ride an Icelandic horse. You might wonder why this breed is different than the ones you're seen. The Icelandic horse is a unique horse breed that was developed in Iceland by the Viking ancestors.

Vikings first brought over their Scandinavian horses to Iceland in the 9th and 10th century when they were settling in Iceland. These horses are long-lived and hardy. Take for example, my horse today, Litll Kall (which means "little man") who's 20 years old yet moves like he's well under 10 years old! As his name describes, he's a little dude and he happens to be the smallest of the entire herd here.

Despite their small size, they are considered horses by their human guardians. They are sturdy looking little horses that have well-proportioned heads with straight profiles and wide foreheads. Their neck is short and muscular with a long back. They also all seem to have these full flowing manes and tails that make them look like movie stars with a permanent stylist.

Blesa was ADW's equine friend for the day

That's Blesa who's a young horse (7 years old) who's mane and tail was not anywhere near as long and flowing as Litll Kall's which looked like his head-toss could turn heads to be mesmerized at how lovely he is.

Litll Kall and I waiting to get out into open space

Most of the horses we ride back home typically have 4 standard gaits: walk, trot, canter/lope, gallop. The most notable thing about Icelandic horses is not only their little size or flowing hair, but the fact that they can naturally perform their famous gait, the tölt; which is a 4 beat gait that is very similar to a really fast walk pace. Unfortunately both ADW and I had epic photographic failures today and while it was our most enjoyable day, it was also the one which we had the least number of photos and videos to show for it. However, with this day and age, almost anything can be found on the internet. With the magic of the internet, I give you an example of the tölt. Look at him go!!

After experiencing the non-gaited horses typically ridden, this has got to be some of the most fun on a horse I've had. These equine friends are lively (see, not stubborn or lazy), fun and safe to ride. Their tölt is a funny rocking side to side motion that is incredibly smooth to sit through.

We took the Viking Tour with Íshestar which is a ~6 hour intermediate ride broken into 3 hour blocks. The first half of the tour accompanies a much larger group of beginners and intermediate riders where we eventually split the groups into 2 and the intermediate riders work on getting some faster saddle time with their new little Viking mounts. After this first section, we return to the facility to drop-off the beginner riders and have a short lunch before getting ready to head back out again. We're lucky today because we're the only riders on this tour!! How excited were we when we heard we're getting a private tour with another guide.

We set out and we ride onto the 7000+ years old moss covered lava fields at tölt, walk and the occasional sneaked in trot. There are dozens more riders and horses out than usual, says our guide Alexa. Normally the paths are pretty empty but today, we are encountering equine and human traffic all over the path. Many adults and children take part in this initial spring outing and they are riding with several horses in tow. Horseback riding is a very popular activity in Iceland and many people enjoy time with their equine friends. Apparently it is customary for riders to take multiple mounts with them so they are able to change the horse, to give them regular breaks.

Many riders were out today, getting ready for their first spring rides

We continue our way through the ash and gravel paths and on the first major uphill, we're given the opportunity to ride the canter/gallop. I get these immediate flashes back to the times in the arena where cantering is still something I'm working on and makes me nervous. I figure, I'm out here once and likely the worst that can happen is I fall off and tumble through the cushiony moss fields. So we go. And what an exhilarating experience that was! Letting Litll Kall free to race up the hill at full speed was one of the most incredible feelings during this trip.

It wasn't until this point when I noticed how beautiful, peaceful, majestic and stunning the views are. Íshestar is only 20 minutes outside of Reykjavik but it's amazing that it feels like we've driven well out into the country to enjoy this ride. The views are truly stunning as you see the moss covered lava fields around you, being backed by huge expansive snow-covered mountain ranges in the background. To be surrounded by this view was breath-taking and swept me away from everything that living in a city is about.

We get some mini riding lessons from Alexa about riding the tölt properly as well as an opportunity to understand some Icelandic rituals such as the fall horse and sheep corralling. Icelandic horses live incredible lives here: they are working and food animals for the people but are also given extraordinary treatment of an annual 6 month vacation where they're set free to roam the highlands/country during the spring and summer and then rounded up again in the fall. This type of activity is unheard of in North America. Icelanders actually have this annual event where people get out and get inebriated with Brennivín and meet people; many of whom meet their spouses this way. I hope that one day I'm experienced enough to return and take part in this horse/sheep round-up. It sounds like an incredible experience outdoors.

Hot Water, Cold Water and Laws

We take a change of pace today and embark on a bus tour for a shortened version of the popular Golden Circle Tour. Instead of taking the full tour which would take much longer, we visited 3 sites today: Geysir, Gullfoss and Þingvellir.

The first stop is the area where we find Geysir and Strokkur. Geysir is the original fountain geyser which all geysers have been named for. It's no longer as active as it used to be so we do not expect to see any eruptions from it. However, we do have the opportunity to witness one of Iceland's most famous geysers, Strokkur. Strokkur impressively erupts for us every 4-8 minutes around 20 m high. Both Strokkur and Geysir are fountain geysers found in a part of the Haukadalur geothermal area where you would find other geothermal features such as mud pools, fumaroles, algal deposits and other geysers around it. The most notable feature is the steam rising out from the ground.

Strokkur erupting

After I return home, I'll be editing a video clip of an erupting Strokkur. It's impressive to watch because a large bubble forms over the centre and seconds later, the hot water of the geyser goes shooting through the air. It's truly an impressive occurance of nature to witness in person.

Our next stop is the "Golden Waterfalls" called Gullfoss. This natural waterfalls is another stunning display of water interacting with the earth. In some ways, similar in appearance to Niagara Falls (the Canadian portion because let's face it, it's the better side) but in its own ways even more majestic and amazing. The waters are not clear because of the sediment that is carved up from the glaciers making it murky brown--though today it looked pretty clear to me. This waterfall has an interesting history of a young woman named Sigríður Tómasdóttir who fought to keep the falls natural.

ADW at Gullfoss

Gullfoss down stream

Our final site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site called Þingvellir. The site is of a historical, cultural and geological significance for Iceland. First, this area is near one of the more active volcanic areas of Iceland, Hengill which is part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge--the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet along this long mountain range. It is here where we realize that Iceland is actually widening (or perhaps splitting down the middle) because these two plates are actually moving away from one another. Historically and culturally, this is the site of the first parliament structure of the Icelandic people who had been meeting here regularly, to sort out laws, disputes and other matters.

Iceland is widening due to the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates

We weren't given a lot of time to look around and really discover the area but it's another UNESCO Heritage World Site. Perhaps later in the week when we have the opportunity to rent a car and drive the Golden Circle ourselves.

The Land and the Sea

Being on vacation and getting up earlier than I do while I'm at home just sounds crazy. I love to sleep and already have difficulty getting up most mornings so this sort of thing always sounds a little strange for me to do. Despite this, ADW and I get to the lobby and meet our guide, Valdi, who tells us about the tour planned for us today: a drive through about 2 hours east of Reykjavik to Eyjafjallajökull, then a little further east to the Sólheimajökull glacier; specifically to a tongue that extends down from its mother glacier, Mýrdalsjökull, Iceland’s fourth largest. The tour is expected to get us onto the ice field and learn about the glacier itself and the effect of the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010 on the glacier and its surroundings. We are also expected to make stops at the picturesque waterfalls of Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss.

But first thing is first: transportation. We are traveling by super jeep today:

ADW is beaming with excitement

The first notable stop is getting off the paved road to make our way to the (in)famous Eyjafjallajökull (to Americans, e-16) which erupted in 2010. Here, we see the remnants of the glacier and glacial lagoon that used to be found in this area. This stretch of the trip is our first taste of what a super jeep can do. We make a stop to stretch our legs while our guides deflate the giant bubble like tires so that they have more control while driving over the pot-holed terrain.

Deflating the giant off-road tires

We're told that when the eruption started, it blew off part of the glacier on top of Eyjafjallajökull and then filled in the lagoon--we are basically driving over the former lagoon!

We're all standing on-top of where the glacial lagoon used to be and that is what's left of the glacier!

What's left of the glacier

All the off-road super jeeps

Following this, we visit one of the most beautiful and best known waterfalls of Iceland, Seljalandsfoss. This falls is beautiful and you can get close enough to walk behind the falls for an unforgettable experience.

Seljalandsfoss

You can walk behind the falls!

We stop for a short lunch at the Country Hotel Anna where we are served meat soup with coffee. This is truly a delicious meal to warm the body and soul after wandering around the cold outdoors. Meat soup is a hearty Icelandic soup made from lamb and is similar to the beef and barley vegetable soup back home. The thing is, it's better.

Can you tell I'm really happy?

Following lunch, we head out for our glacier walk on the Sólheimajökull glacier. This is one of the smaller glaciers of Iceland and it measures about 7km across. At first glance, the glacier doesn't really look like a glacier because it's covered in a black soot--volcanic ash from the 2010 eruption. When we get our spiky crampons on, it's noticeable when you crunch into the ice and just stick.

All the glacier climbers getting geared up

ADW showing off his nifty ice pic

Our glacier guide making everything look easy

I'm ready to head out onto the glacier!

Our next stop is the last waterfall we'll be seeing on this trip, Skógafoss. This waterfall is thought to have been surrounded by a small forest but by now, it's treeless, like the rest of Iceland.

Skógafoss

I couldn't resist. He reminded me of a miniature Aspen!

As our last treat on this excursion, Valdi takes us to the South shore to stare Antarctica straight in the face: we are facing directly south, on the black ash beaches of Iceland.

A picture with our guide Valdi and his super jeep

Doesn't this photo make you want a super jeep too?

That closes our excursion walking on volcanos and glaciers for the day and leads us to a casual dinner at the Sea Baron (Sægreifinn) fisherman's hut. This place is very informal and their menu is a live menu where you pick the skewers of fish or vegetables you want. They're famous for their lobster soup which is simply delicious.

Nom nom nom!

That's whale on the left and plaice

For anyone who's curious, the whale is just delicious. It's got the consistency that is a cross between beef and good tuna. The taste is similar to beef with a hint of fish and the texture is a soft and lean beef. It's some of the best meat I've had since coming to Iceland.