Day: October 17, 2017

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.