Month: October 2017

Sorry fans but yesterday was just too busy to post.  We didn’t get home from the game until after midnight and I actually slept briefly on the ride home (thanks so much for driving, Larry).  We had a great start to the morning when Mariette made us luscious spinach omelettes for breakfast.  Then Larry and I headed to South Bend, Indiana for the big game with arch rival Notre Dame.

We stopped off to pick up Larry’s friend Bill and his wife Pat.  They have a daughter who plays in the USC Marching Band and wanted to see her.  Traffic was not too bad and the navigation was easy thanks to all the help we got (via text messaging) from Patrice’s cousins Paula and Tim.  They guided us to the perfect spot and even saved us a great place to park on the street.  Now if I could only get them to do that for the USC home games.

We then walked to the stadium and campus where Tim and Paula gave us the grand tour.

I was very pleased to see some of the fall colors on our way to the campus.

 

On campus, we got to see the famous golden dome.

I also very much wanted to see “We’re Number One Moses”.  I have to admit I didn’t even know this existed until Paula and Tim told me about it during their recent visit to Los Angeles.

And finally the structure that defines Notre Dame football and their stadium, “Touchdown Jesus” or as Tim referred to it, “T.D.J.”

Then it was on to the game.

This has been a great trip.  We had planned a wonderful time in New York followed by discovering new adventures in Iceland.  Then a stop in Chicago to visit with friends (Mariette and Larry) and relatives (Tim and Paula) and culminate the trip watching my Trojans defeat Notre Dame in South Bend.

Let’s just say, New York, Iceland and our visits with friends and relatives were great.

Off to the airport soon.  It will be good to be home for a while.  We don’t leave town again until October 31st.   More about that later.

 

Yesterday’s flight into Chicago was great.  I can recommend Iceland Air to all of you. The seats were comfy, flight attendants friendly, food fantastic (Lamb chops), flight smooth (and on time) and best of all we had WiFi over the Atlantic Ocean.

We arrived into O’Hare International Airport at 6:15 PM.  Customs went relatively smoothly.  As usual my Global Entry was accepted without question but Patrice’s was singled out as a problem.  I asked what the customs agent wanted to know and she replied “Nothing”.  “Was that nothing like “Don’t annoy me anymore than I am annoyed” or “They didn’t want to know anything?” “They didn’t ask me anything” was her reply. Ugh.

My friend, Larry, picked us up at the airport and we met up with his wife, Mariette at a local restaurant where we watched the final game of the National League Championship Series (LA Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs). You know if it is baseball season I have to include a game into our trip.

Larry and I have known each other since we went to college at USC.  I have heard that the USC – Notre Dame football game at South Bend is a real experience. Many of my friends have gone to many of these contests but neither I (nor Larry) have ever attended the game. So now you know the real reason for this trip. As I recall the planning for this trip  went something like this:

Robert: “Patrice, how would you like to go to Iceland?”

Patrice: “I’D LOVE TO.  THAT SOUNDS SPECTACULAR!”.

Robert: “The direct flight from LA is very long so how would you like to go to New York  for a few days. We can get partly adjusted to the time change and then the flight from New York to Iceland is only about 5 hours”.

Patrice: “NEW YORK! WHAT A GREAT IDEA! LET’S GO!”

Robert: “What do you think about flying from Iceland to Chicago and seeing Larry and Mariette on our way home?”

Patrice: “I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT IDEA. IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE WE HAVE SEEN THEM, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. I COULD ALSO VISIT MY COUSINS WHILE WE ARE THERE.”

Robert: “Would it be okay if Larry and I go to the SC – Notre Dame game?”

Patrice: “oh………….. okay”

So here we are in Chicago and tomorrow Larry and I will see the Trojans battle the Irish.

Fight On!

Prior to traveling to Iceland I heard from numerous people about what a beautiful country it is.  I also heard that the people are very nice.  All our experiences have confirmed those statements.  Of course it is hard to judge a population in general when you are mostly in contact with people working in the tourism industry because, of course, those people are going to be kind, courteous and helpful.

While waiting to board our flight back to the USA I would like to share some of my observations of this country.  Beautiful doesn’t begin to describe it.  The Northern Lights, glaciers, waterfalls, geysers, mountains, oceanfronts, fjords, lakes etc., etc., etc.  The views are spectacular.  Someone once told me, “Greenland is ice and Iceland is green”.  At this point I can identify the latter as definitely being true.

Due to the fact that the vast majority of the energy being produced is by renewable thermal power (those volcanos are powerful) the air is pristine.  Not like in LA where we can see what we breathe, here the air is without pollution.

Water here is also very clean.   We have been told (and I have no reason to doubt it) you can drink straight out of the the streams (of which there are many).  In the USA you can’t even do that at Yosemite National Park which is the closest thing to nirvana you can find in California.

If you are thinking about moving to Iceland let me tell you a few things before you start packing your bags.  If you come from California, do not pack anything but your ski clothes.  This place is cold.  No, let me rephrase that.  THIS PLACE IS COLD!  Be prepared to wear a heavy coat, thermal underwear, wool hat, scarf and gloves.  And that is in the summer.  Notice the clothes this store exhibits in their “Waiting for Summer Since 1926” display,

Speaking of the summer you can enjoy the “midnight sun” since there is daylight almost 24 hours a day.  In addition to that treat be prepared to “enjoy” the winter where you will experience almost 24 hours of darkness each day.  As one local phrased it, “My favorite DAY in Iceland is Summer”.

Iceland is slightly smaller than the state of Kentucky (39,768 sq miles versus 40,409 sq miles) yet the population is only about 340,000 (there are about 4.4 million Kentuckians).  About 2/3 of the population live in the Greater Reykjavik area (Reykjavik and the six municipalities around it).   So if you take a drive out of this town you are alone.

But with smallness you do get charm.  Reykjavik does have charm.  For example how do you like these traffic lights?

 

 

You need to look carefully but you will find little figures on signs around town.  See below the super hero and troll standing guard on the visitors.

A cultural curiosity is that Icelanders do not expect tips.  Clearly they accept and are very grateful for tips, but tipping is not part of their culture.  One thing I liked was that at every restaurant a large bottle of water is set out for your use.  I am a big water drinker and hate to search for a server when I need a refill.   That is not necessary here.  See below.

The only thing I found distasteful about this country (not including the weather which I just write off as a personal weakness) was the graffiti.  I was very surprised to see the extent of it in Reykjavik.  No one could give us a good explanation or tell us of a city plan to rid the walls of this unpleasant “artwork”.  See below, needless to say, we saw a lot more than just this small sample.

Are you ready to move?  Then all you really need to learn to say is “ég tala ekki íslensku” which means, “I don’t speak Icelandic”.  Actually all you really need to say is I don’t speak Icelandic because everyone here speaks English and many of them speak it a lot better than many Americans.

We land soon in Chicago.  This tour is called Broadway Lights and Northern Lights but actually the reason for it was just an excuse to route through Chicago on the way home.  More about that tomorrow.

 

I left you last night just before dinner and yes we had horse again.  This time it was spectacular, served with a very tasty red wine sauce.  Patrice said, “Enough about the horses!” but I just had to show you.

Okay, enough about last night and enough about horse.  But speaking of food, today we went on a walking food tour.  You know how we love those food tours (Memphis, Boston, Nashville, London).  Prior to arrival the Hilton staff was very helpful in assisting us develop our tour of the city.  One thing they recommended was the Reykjavik Food walk (https://www.thereykjavikfoodwalk.com/).  This was an awful day for a walk, light rain and 32 mph winds.  I had seen film of people walking at extreme angles against stiff winds but had never been one of those unlucky fellows.  Today I joined the club.  In spite of the conditions the tour was a big success.  We met some delightful travelers from Canada, Germany, New Zealand and from various parts of the USA.  Our guide, a native Icelander of course, walked us around town filling us with interesting historical facts (some of which we had heard before) and filled our tummies with wonderful food.

For those who love to see food on my blog look ahead.  For those who do not, please divert your eyes, the following images might be very disturbing.

Next we had a dessert but it wasn’t dessert.  We were told we were about to be served Rye Bread Ice Cream.  It sounded disgusting and the only thing that made me happy was that we were sitting in a warm place.

Next we got to once again experience the Icelandic Hot Dog.  Our tour guide, Anna, said it had 85% lamb, 10% combo of pork and beef and 5% of unknown body parts.  Here is a video of Patrice starting to eat her hot dog.  You can’t hear what I am staying because of the intense wind (also see Patrice’s hood blowing) and you also get a glimpse of our guide.  Here is the link to the 13 second video  https://youtu.be/4xaYcAqoRWU

Finally we got to enjoy dessert.  I was too exhausted at this point to hear what we were eating.  Let me just say sugar and butter were definitely involved.  See below.

The food tour was great and I strongly recommend you sign up if you plan to visit Reykjavik.  Patrice and I rank it second among our food tours.  We still think the BBQ tour in Memphis ranks number one (https://www.tastinroundtown.com/).

Tomorrow we leave for Chicago the so called “Windy City”.  Hah!  Whomever called it that has clearly never been to Reykjavik.

No I am not talking about Shakespeare (referring to “Richard the III”, Act 5, Scene 4 of course) but rather the Icelandic delicacy of horse meat.  WE DID IT!   As you might recall our guide, Denis, made us reservations at Steik Husid (AKA Steikhúsið or Steak House).  Last night was our chance to put up or shut up.  We saw horse on the menu and inquired if it was available; “Oh yes” was the answer.  Is it fresh and where does it come from?; “Yes it is fresh, we get it from a farm in the south of Iceland”.  Is it cooked?; “Yes it is cooked”.  We decided to take the plunge and order the horse.  As a back-up we each ordered another entree.

While waiting for our horse to arrive some new friends happened to walk by.  We had met them at dinner a few nights earlier.  They are a charming couple from New York city and we had a delightful conversation with them.  When they walked by the Steak House, they stopped and waved to us.  Once I realized who was outside I frantically motioned for them to come inside and visit.  I am sure they thought I was just being friendly but in reality I needed someone to help me with this horse.  As you probably already know I am not the most adventurous person.  I needed some external courage (and I don’t drink alcohol).  Although we don’t know these New Yorkers very well they seemed like they would help push me in the right direction.  Patrice and I explained that we had ordered some horse and invited them to try it with us.   They are definitely a couple of people who are much more adventurous than me.  They accepted our offer without hesitation and seemed grateful (when it was I who was truly the grateful one).   The moment of truth arrived when our server brought us our order of horse.

We all agreed the horse was not all that different from other meats we have eaten.  The whole psychological thing about eating horse or any other meat for that matter gets to me.  I am sure I would be a vegetarian if it wasn’t so much work.  When you come right down to it, I am a lazy eater.

Enough about last night, let’s move forward to today.  This morning we went for cinnamon rolls at a place recommended by our New York friends.  The place is called Brauð & Co. (Braud and Company for people like us).  We arrived before the cinnamon buns were baked but just in time to watch the buns being prepared.

If you want to see the baker cutting the rolls, check out this video.  He is like a machine.  The link to the 15 second video is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiRlwPtMWyo    Try to see the fly who just avoids becoming part of a cinnamon roll.  Actually I suppose that would have been part of two cinnamon rolls.

After filling our tummies we headed off to the Perlan Museum which is located at Öskjuhlíð, 105 Reykjavík.  It is very easy to find because it is near the corner of Bústaðavegur and Flugvallarvegur.  If you can’t find it on your phone just ask anyone, people are very helpful.

The Perlan is brand new having opened in July 2017.  They only have two exhibits but they are both very special.  First we entered what they call the Ice Cave.  They have constructed an ice cave in the building.  We were told that ice caves are “only” zero degrees centigrade but they keep the exhibit at minus 10° C in order to prevent the walls of the cave from melting.  Prior to entering they offer you a vest to help keep you warm.  “You don’t have to take a vest but we highly recommend it”.  I pointed to my heavy coat and asked if the guide really thought it was necessary for this brief 15 minute exposure.  “You don’t have to take a vest but we highly recommend it”.   I took a vest.

Inside they explain all sorts of information about glaciers, the ice formations and the lifeforms that exist within them.  Yes, organisms actually can live in the glaciers (but I don’t think they get good cell phone service).  While in the ice cave they encourage you to take pictures and even touch the ice.

After the ice cave we went to a very interesting interactive exhibit where the visitor learns about glaciers.  Finally we headed to the observation deck where you can see fantastic views of Reykjavik if the wind is not about to blow you off the platform like it was today.  The winds in this country are incredible and are the reason you experience what Icelanders call “horizontal rain”.

We then went back to the hotel.  Patrice was feeling a little guilty about our eating so she went to the hotel fitness center.  I too was feeling guilty, so I rested and then started writing my blog.  What do you know, it is dinner time now.

Gott eftir (“Goodbye for now”, according to Google Translate)

Last night we were up late trying to see the Northern Lights so we tried in vain to delay the start of today’s tour of the Southern Coast of Iceland.  Since we were unable to change the time, we were good campers and were dressed, fed and ready to go at 8:30AM.   Soon after, we were picked up by our tour guide Denis from Top Iceland Tours (www.topicelandtours.com).  We hopped into his very comfy Toyota Land Cruiser and were on our way.  Denis is 23 years old (24 in November) and drives like it.  To his credit he did offer to slow down but I was too meek to admit I was petrified.  Patrice was too sleep-deprived to be scared and she is naturally a much calmer person than I am (e.g. she loves roller coasters).  I told myself, “this kid is young, athletic and he does this all the time, Robert, you are perfectly safe”.  Of course being able to read the fine print on the license of the car in front of me is not my usual preference.   See below.

We arrived at our first sight (Seljalandsfoss) and it was a lovely waterfall with a walkway allowing you to view it from underneath.  This was nothing like the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls.  There you are given rain protective ponchos to prevent you from even a hint of a spray emanating from the falls.  Here you are on your own.  Everything is wonderful once you are mountainside and viewing the falls from behind.  Getting there you get drenched.  Patrice and I were bundled up with our heavy coats on top of two upper layers and our pants with thermal underwear.   Water was dripping from us in buckets and we were very cold. Denis on the other hand didn’t want to get his nice sweater wet so he took it off and just wore a t-shirt.  See below.

Denis then proceeded to take us to one magnificent sight after another.  His vitality and enthusiasm were amazing.  We got to visit the Eyjafjallajökull ice cap.  This mountain of snow covers a volcano that erupted in April 2010 and paralyzed a large portion of Europe due to the large amount of ash that was sent out into the atmosphere.

I am sure you have no idea how to pronounce the name of this snow mass.  Thanks to Denis’s help we know exactly how to pronounce it.  Simply say “I forgot my yogurt”.

Sight after sight was increasingly beautiful and Denis’s passion for his work made it all the more enjoyable.  He was great at taking pictures of us and showed us how to use the iPhone for wonderful panoramic views.  At one location some young ladies from Florida asked if we would take a picture of them.  Denis took their camera and instead of taking a quick shot and moving on he stepped beyond a protective railing and climbed on to the restraining wall, meant to keep people from falling off the cliff, to get a better angle from which to shoot.  See below.

In the car we talked about Iceland, Denis (born in Russia and came to Iceland at 6 years old) and his family (he works with his dad in tourism, mother is an award winning cake decorator, and younger sister is still in school).   Denis told us he used to be a gymnast and showed us this photo.

Toward the end of our day trip to the Southern Coast with Denis he did something that I captured on video.  I am not sure why this happened but I can say I am very glad I had my camera ready.  Otherwise I would not have believed what I had just seen.  The link to the video is:  https://youtu.be/V68Ux0OgWYE

During our tour we had mentioned that we had tried to get horse to eat but were told there has not been horse in the city for the past 3 weeks.  Denis was incredulous and put out the word with his friends looking for horse.  On our way back to the hotel, Denis informed us that he found a restaurant close to our hotel that served horse, they had some in stock and he had made dinner reservations for us.  More about horse tomorrow but for now, how about a 5 star rating for Denis and Top Iceland Tours on Trip Advisor?  I just saw we are not alone, they have 39 Trip Advisor reviews and a 100% 5 star rating.

Today was supposed to be a big day.  We were to fly back to Reykjavik, go on another Northern Lights tour and sample a dish that Icelanders love, “Icelandic Horse”.  Yes, horse.  But first, since we had an afternoon flight we had time time to walk around the lovely town of Akureyri a little more.  Next to our hotel is a church with a long stairway leading up to to the entrance.  We were told there were 135 steps.  Not that we didn’t believe them but we did our own count.

Once we made it to the top of the stairway we found that the church was having a service (imagine that on a Sunday morning) so we didn’t want to disturb the worshipers.  Instead we walked around the neighborhood and found some beautiful homes.  Each house was a single family dwelling and they had two numbers.  One indicated the address and the other was the year it was built.  See the two homes below, one built in 1926 and the other in 1928.  We were told this by one of the owners.

I previously mentioned how Iceland is rich with the natural resource of thermal energy due to the numerous volcanoes.  They manage to direct this hot water into pipes under the street preventing the roads from freezing during the winter.  Here is an example of a road being repaired.

Before leaving Akureryi I had to try their hot dogs.  I had heard they are a true delicacy.  We asked our guide to recommend a place were we could buy the best hot dog in the city.  He recommended a place not far from the hotel so we went there.   See below.

The dog was very good.  I was told it contained lamb, pork and beef.  I didn’t ask if it was the meat or other byproducts of those creatures.  But I did ask where else one could buy a hot dog in Akureyri and was told that the only other vendor could be found at the local gas station.

Then it was off to Reykjavik on our prop plane.  This time we went straight to the hotel instead of visiting the Blue Lagoon.  We are again staying at the Canopy Hilton.  The staff is great, they do the little things that make me so very happy.  See below.

We had a spectacular dinner at Grill Markadurinn (Grill Market).  We asked about the horse but our server said horse in not currently available.  Horse is not raised for consumption.  It is only available if a horse has to be destroyed due to an orthopedic or behavior problem (you just get to eat the horses who are either lame or have ADD).  Instead the server recommended we have the 8 course pre fixe meal.  How could we not agree?  My friend Joe always wants pictures of the food so here they are.  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the first course of Duck Salad (sorry Joe, I was hungry and forgot).

After dinner we went on a boat tour in search of the Northern Lights.  All we saw were Icelandic clouds.  Good news is that we are allowed to return for another trip for free.  So we can go nightly until we see the Northern Lights.  Allen and David: don’t expect me back to work until December.

We planned this trip during this very cold time of year so we could see the Northern Lights.  The daily presence of clouds and comments we have heard from other visitors has made me somewhat pessimistic that I would break my bad luck streak this trip.  Last night after dinner Patrice looked up and said, “I think those are the Northern Lights”.  I looked and didn’t see much.  But we walked further and searched for a relatively dark area of town and saw what definitely were the Northern Lights phenomena but not like what you see on picture postcards.  So I felt like a baseball player with an 0 for 30 slump who had just hit a little dunker in front of the outfielder, not a line drive but it was a hit to end the bad streak.  Tonight we tried again.  With the help of our guide we definitely saw the phenomenon.  It might not have been the equivalent of a grand slam home run but it was definitely at least a solid double.

Earlier today we also had lots of fun exploring this very beautiful and very cold nation. We got to see some more impressive waterfalls.  First we went to Goðafoss (no that isn’t a typo) Falls.  Watch this 30 second video and find out why they call it the “Waterfall of the Gods”.  https://youtu.be/vDflxYxMjWM
Then we went to Dettifoss Falls.  These are similar in size to Niagara Falls but it was very cold and we also had snow flurries which made it hard for this Southern Californian to appreciate the natural beauty.  Here is an 11 second tidbit of this wonder: https://youtu.be/Jru6ZeOTtgI   By the way that isn’t static you hear on the videos but rather the sound of some very intense winds.

We then saw a very interesting phenomenon that is very common throughout Iceland.  We were at a land mass covering a volcano.  Deep underground the lava is in contact with sea water resulting in an agricultural equivalent of a tea pot.  See this 16 second video to get what I mean:  https://youtu.be/Z9zO1u5F_d0

I almost forgot.  We had a great lunch.  Check out this 23 video to see who we ate.  https://youtu.be/FmZafHup788

Tomorrow we return to Reykjavik.   See you then.

 

Today is a travel day and we leave Reykjavik and fly to the northern city of Akureyri in search of the Northern Lights.  We have been told that it is much easier to see the natural phenomena the further north you go and away from the lights of the city.  Unfortunately the weather forecast calls for rain and cloud cover which would make seeing the natural wonder an impossibility.   That is no surprise since as I previously mentioned we were unsuccessful in our attempt to see Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro and the total eclipse of the sun in Nashville due to fog and cloud cover.  Our friend, Mary, a reader of this blog, reminded me that we also missed out on a very special volcano in Costa Rica due to weather conditions.  We are getting use to hearing from tour guides, “If you had only been here yesterday”.  If we hear that again this trip I might be detained by Icelandic police.

We are currently sitting in the Reykjavik domestic airport (as opposed to KEF International Airport from which we arrived).  This place makes Santa Monica Airport look spacious.  For a 33 second tour (that would be a complete tour) see this video: https://youtu.be/tXyaModCIeQ

One interesting aspect of the airport is that it seems like everyone is speaking Icelandic.  Everywhere else we have been we have heard predominantly English spoken with occasional sprinkles of Icelandic.  Here I have heard zero English thus far.  It is a bit unnerving because the airport announcements that are in English are very hard to understand.  I hope I don’t have a similar situation as I did years ago when I was traveling alone in Spain.  I spoke to a ticket agent and grabbed my ticket then darted out of the station thinking I only had minutes to catch my train.  As I got to the train I saw it was empty.  I turned and saw the ticket agent running after me to explain that I was at the wrong train and I needed to wait about another hour for my train to leave.  My Icelandic is not nearly as good as my Spanish so who knows what will happen today.   I know what the reader is saying right now, “That is why he travels with Patrice”.

Signing off for now.  The next time you will hear from me we will be in Akureyri (I hope).

Back with you again.  We arrived in Akureyri after an uneventful flight.  Unfortunately upon arrival we were greeted with a thick cloud cover.  Prospects look dim for seeing the Northern Lights.  This morning we met some Canadians who were leaving for home today without accomplishing their goal of seeing the Northern Lights.  Misery might love company but it didn’t make me feel any better.

Akureyri is a lovely little town and I do mean little.  We decided to spend an hour or two  strolling around the town.  After about 20 minutes we were done.  We saw a number a restaurants and gift shops.  There wasn’t much activity at any of the stores except for one.  We saw what we thought must be a grocery store because there was a tremendous amount of foot traffic.  We decided to take a closer look and it turned out to be a liquor store.  We were told that Icelanders like to drink on weekends.  From the look of the activity in this store the people of Akureyri like to get an early start on the weekend.

Tomorrow night we are supposed to go on our Northern Lights tour.  If the chance of seeing the Northern Lights is slim, the trip will be canceled.  If that is the case Patrice and I will go to a local tavern and watch the locals partake in the Icelandic Saturday night drinking custom.  Possibly, we might even join in.

Please pray for clear skies for tomorrow night.  If the skies are not clear, you will have one sad correspondent writing home to you.