Homeward bound.

The weather in Reykjavik was cloudy in the evenings, and also on our last day, so our Aurora viewing trip was off the agenda........but we still had our visit to the Blue Lagoon to look forward to.

The Blue Lagoon is a famous thermal spa area not far out of Reykjavik where it can be snowing outside (in our case sleeting) and you are warm as toast in the blue, silica laden waters of the lagoon.
It is located in an old lava field and the rocks piled up like chocolate crackles to form the structure of the lagoon.

It's quite eerie with thick steam and haze constantly rising up off the blue water.

All around, outside the lagoon, the lava fields are covered in this very delicate moss that, given the climate, takes many years to grow. The Icelanders are very careful of their environment and have built walking paths through the lava fields to protect what is a delicate ecosystem.... and quite a strange sight.

I'm glad Wendy Allan took this wth her phone out of the car window as we arrived at the centre. Clearly I was daydreaming or something.

And the "swim up" bar is fairly popular!

It was a relaxing couple of hours and an experience we would otherwise not have had but it was also the end of our time in Iceland and we were all a bit morose as we headed back to our hotel in Reykjavik to pack for our flight out the following day.

To Oslo.

As per usual, a travelling day is just that.....travelling.
Packing, checking the room, checking out, getting to the airport, checking in, security check (and pat down!) board plane, de-ice plane, fly in cramped conditions, arrive, de-plane, collect luggage from the carousel (relief when you see it coming up the chute) taxi to hotel, check-in, dinner, bed.....a travel day.

But we were in Oslo, Norway..... somewhere we had never been and it was covered in a blanket of snow! We arrived late and couldn't see much, especially through the panoramic windows in the revolving restaurant on top of the hotel.....which just allowed us to see high fog on the 34th floor! Luckily the food was fantastic....something about Michelin?

Our "lay" day in Oslo consisted of a spin around the old part of the city, the shopping strip, the Royal Palace, the National Library, markets and the harbour front. Even in the fog, snow and cold it is clear that it is  quite a beautiful, vibrant and a "well to do" city with many up-market shops and outlets.....and we did find a significant Christmas market with stalls and an ice skating rink.  There seemed to  hundreds of preschool age children in small groups on an excursions learning  to skate. It was also busy with many  locals drinking Gluhwein and eating all sorts Northern Hemisphere delicacies. The markets and the city were quite busy as there were only a few days until Christmas and the weather didn't seem to bother them at all. Although one local did apologise for what it had "turned on" for us....... but that is travel in winter.

Tiny Tots running around the rink getting the feel for the ice.

The palace gardens were very wintry and even in the old parts of the city near the National Library and the National Theatre there were parks and paths and little corners of the streetscape that made it look very European Christmassy......and attractive..... in a wintry sort of way.

On the way to the Palace

It seemed to be trying to snow...... but mostly it was fog and drizzle. It wasn't very cold exactly   about zero - two degrees but we did need to rug up when outside walking around. This creates its own issues when stopping for coffee and cake ......as dressing and undressing and then dressing again a number of times during the day is quite a chore!

We just happened upon this small park near the National Theatre .....and a local apologised for the weather as he walked through my first shot!

 The Palace was grand...as palaces generally are but would have looked much grander I'm sure if we could have seen its scale and the beautiful gardens.

Statue of King Karl Johan in the grand driveway to the palace. Wendy Allan  tried to get us in but the guard on duty, in full military regalia, would have none of it.

The harbour was eerie with the thick blanket of fog and ice and snow all over the docks ......which added to the "ambience" of our Oslo experience.

It was slippery and slushy, but we made our way around a good part of Oslo before we were pooped and had to stop.........just as we found  another Christmas market....which sold ale....which we drank....while the girls inspected the merchandise. Sounds fair!

A quirky Christmas market housed in a traditional Norwegian type tent with a local theme, and a fire pit...and lots of reindeer products.

Well the Winter Wonderland Tour has been marvellous, adventurous (well for us) and a whole lot of fun, but eventually all good things come to an end .....and so has this trip.

We enjoyed ourselves immensely, learned much, experienced more and wore ourselves out.....which is the way it should be when you travel to foreign places and take yourself out of your comfort zone.
We crammed a whole lot of experiences (mostly new ones and some very fancy ones for Wendy and me) into the 32 days we were away .....and this last picture says it all.

Goodbye Winter Wonderland Tour......it's been a blast!

Geothermals, Geysers and Gallivanting on Glaciers

This last couple of days have been the type of days that live in your memory ........for ever.
Red letter days,  where the events are so special they form part of the "highlights reel" of your life.
In fact they were just OUTRAGEOUS!

Iceland has a reputation for the extreme. Extreme weather, extreme landscapes, extreme  outdoor activities, and over the past couple of days we experienced our fair share of extreme ........and a bit more!

Our first excursion day was on a private tour of Iceland's famous Golden Circle drive of waterfalls, geysers and glaciers in our hired "Super Jeep" with our very knowledgeable Icelandic driver, Inge. We set off at 9.00am (in the dark) to see where the Icelanders held their first parliament in 974 which happens to sit on the fissure between the Eurasian and American tectonic plates.....that just happen to be separating .......at about 2cm per year. A bit hard to see in the dark but it was interesting to note that there were people snorkelling (in dry suits because of the cold) in the lake that fills the void. 

When I asked Inge why?...he said......"so they can say that they have!" Fair enough I thought.

A very grainy picture taken on the phone in the dark but this is the point where the two tectonic plates meet...and the lake below is where they snorkel.....which is a bit extreme I think.

From there we skated along the road ( I do mean skated) to or next destination which is a famous geyser. It is an interesting location as it iswhere the volcanic aspect of Iceland is really apparent, where the underground activity is on show....and quite a show it is wth the geyser spouting water about 30 metres into the air on a regular basis. There is a constant stream of steam from a number of vents and the unmistakeable  smell of sulphur in the air. The water bubbles up through fissures in the earth with boiling, steaming water ......and the signs on the path say don't touch, 80 - 100 degrees! I was tempted to though, because while waiting for the geyser to blow it felt like my fingers were being frost bitten.

But, the most exciting part of the excursion was yet to come, as we were heading into the mountains to go snowmobiling on the Langjokull Glacier. 

Now the roads in the mountains of Iceland during winter are narrow, icy and treacherous at the best of times but we hadn't bargained for the extra degree of driving difficulty caused by blizzard conditions. Well, I call it a blizzard when the snow is driving in sheets and visibility is zero....I mean zero, zilch, nothing..... no can see.... and there is no road to speak of but a few stakes in the ground marking where it should be....... four feet under a fresh drop of snow. 

At one stage I was calling out to Inge when I was spotting for him, that there are stakes on the left...and another one...and another one. Good he said, the stakes are supposed to be on the right but the snow is still too deep to cross back over on to the road.

"Are we anywhere near the road??????" I asked looking at the arrow well off the green line on the satellite screen map.

"Nearby" he calmly replied.........what?

When we were bogged (yes, that's correct, stuck up to our running boards) he got out and reduced the pressure in the tyres......from 10psi to 5psi.....and then to 3psi and voila, the tyres bit into the snow and we were off again. I was amazed but it appears that it is nothing here to be bogged a bit occasionally...... it happens all the time and it is all in a day's travel in these parts. Interestingly, Inge told us that they use these type of vehicles just this way in the Antarctic as well.

Anyway, wild ride to our destination aside, we got to the snowmobiling place with snow piling up all around us .....could't see a thing and the instructor calmly informs us that "yes, it's a white out" (apparently this is normal from time to time) but that's OK and we were all going to be skidooing up on to the glacier ...........just as arranged.

Normal is a relative term I think.

Our skidoos lined up ready for the adventure.

As you can see, we were suited up in waterproof, windproof overalls with helmets and goggles. Getting into these suits in itself was quite a trial and, with our coats on underneath, we all felt a bit like Michelin Men. 

After our very brief briefing on how to manage the skidoo and what to do if we get lost (what!) we headed out into the blizzard, the "white out", the frozen sky falling on us in sheets. We  started our skidoos....turned on the handle bar heaters ....adjusted our goggles and then started roaring up and on to the glacier. Well, more like follow the leader really, hoping like hell not to lose the group or drive over a cliff!

She really was enjoying it....you can tell by those eyes!

It actually  turned out to be an amazing, unforgettable experience. After a while, and with encouragement and reassurance from our guide who was constantly rounding us up, we started to relax and enjoy it for what it was....riding a skidoo on the Langjokull Glacier in Iceland......OUTRAGEOUS! 

Being silly in the caldera during our stop. We were really happy that guide was so relaxed, making snow angels and taking photos of us all.

We stopped for a break and a play in the caldera of the volcano that the glacier sits over and before we knew it we were riding like pros.....leaping over snow mounds, bouncing off snow covered rocks and going hell for leather on the flat bits.......hoping not to drive flat out off a cliff!

And these are the conditions we had to drive home in!

I did ask Inge if we would have to stay the night because of the "blizzard"  and he assured me that no... he was going home and we were all going as well. I really can't explain the ride down the mountain....but for what seemed like a couple of hours it looked something like the picture below.
All in a days work for an Icelandic guide.

Snow blind. How we got through this I don't know....but we did.

Day Two Excursion.

We were really "beat" at the end of the day...... but fronted up again for our visit to the other side of the glacier to see the iconic "points of interest" towards the north of the island. We set off again before dawn (which is not hard when dawn is 11.30am) and saw a geothermal plant utilising the hot water bubbling up naturally to generate heat and power for the residents of the island. Ninety percent of homes in Iceland use this boiling water to heat their homes and 100% of their electricity comes from steam generated power which is generally drilled for, down to about 2000 metres. Iceland is the only country that is completely fossil fuel free for power generation. Pretty impressive.

This plant utilises boiling water coming naturally to the surface from deep in the earth. It was hot, smelly and strange.

From there we went to see some waterfalls that have formed from water flowing under the ground, through the lava fields.....again a strange phenomena but without the sulphur smells.

In the snowy conditions they did look mighty impressive, blanketed in snow and with icy stalactites dripping off cliffs everywhere .....

The river flows swiftly and the waterfalls come from under the ground....very unusual!

.......but not as impressive as what we were about to experience.....the Langjokull Glacier again....but this time from the other side.

None of us had any idea of what to expect when we booked an Ice Tunnel experience......or for that matter, that we would be driving in "white out with no actual road" conditions again. But after yesterday.......well, let's just say that it was another "memorable" ride.

After we had cleared the rough, rocky lava fields and started to climb up on to the glacier, we ran out of road.......there was no road....just miles of flat snow with a few stakes in the ground and a satellite screen on the dash providing directions.....refer to "snow blind"picture........yes, same, same.

The view coming off the glacier in the afternoon.....heading towards that more distinct road (track) in the distance.

When we did eventually reach the tunnel....it was just a huge pipe sticking out of the snow....but inside it was just the most marvellous, interesting and memorable thing. A tunnel drilled out over two years, deep into the glacier to allow people to see the inner workings of this mighty natural thing. It is 35 metres deep but the glacier is 200 metres deep and it just gives us a taste of how it works. Always at zero degrees, the compacted snow eventually turns to ice at about 30 metre down. It is constantly moving over the volcano it covers and it is the second largest in Iceland and one of the largest in the world.
It appeared after the ice age during the mini ice age about 2000 years ago and they estimate that by 2160 it will be gone....just like it was between the ice ages.

Again, it was an experience really difficult to put into words so I'll provide a few pictures with explanations and hope it provides some idea of what it is like to be deep into a glacier.

The entrance tunnel. It was completely invisible until we just happened upon it....thanks to the satellite tracking in the vehicle.

Wendy, ready for another adventure.

One of the tourist vehicles...an eight wheeler with huge tyres and chains on two of the wheels for better control.
Two of these came up after us, taking quite a while to climb up the glacier.

Are we really doing this? About 70 metres further down we had our briefing regarding safety etc, put on our crampons (it is an ice tunnel after all) and headed deep into what appeared to be Jules Verne territory.

It's is an impressive piece of engineering that requires constant maintenance because of the movement of the glacier.

Us in the chapel. The phone was really the best way of taking photos in the gloom of the tunnel.

The guide singing in the chapel to demonstrate the echo.

A large crevasse. I couldn't help but think of  books I've read like "Touching the void" and "Mawson" where people have fallen into crevasses and survived. Remarkable!

An amazing experience

A stunning thing.

It was marvellous, exciting, memorable and beautiful.....unlike anything we have ever seen or done..... and the only one of its kind in the world.

What a huge couple of excursions they have been ........... just OUTRAGEOUS!

A land of "Fire and Ice"

As we approached Iceland from the south east, the coast came clearly into view. What was really striking was the magnificent snow capped mountains looming large in the background which,  I'm pretty sure, was the Myrdalsjokull Glacier. It's hard to be certain but, from checking the maps, that's what it seemed to be to me...and that's what I'm sticking to.

This is not my photo as we were "shoe horned" into the centre seats, but it is what we could see "rubber necking" out the windows near us.

After collecting our bags in their very new, modern airport we met up with Mike & Wendy in our winter tyred vehicle (for us Aussies, they are tyres with small metal studs protruding to give grip on icy roads) and headed to our cabin at Selfoss about an hour and a half away in the countryside. 

On the way to picking up supplies before going to the cabin we noticed that the local churches decorate their cemeteries with lights on the gravestones......quite interesting and something we have never seen before, so we investigated further and found that it occurs here during Advent. We were told by the local minister that it is a custom that stems from the very superstistious nature of the Icelanders. He also told us to be very careful as Icelanders are maniacs on the road and on the beaches...huge waves can pounce on you at any time.......really!

Fascinating. As you drive through the countryside the church graveyards are lit up with these lights on the crosses and headstones. Of course we had to have a closer look...albeit briefly as it was freeeeezing!

Sunrise over our cabin...10.30am

The cabin was really comfortably warm, cosy and well appointed. It is located 15kms away from the nearest settlement so it is also in a really good spot for Aurora watching......but unfortunately the activity level was not high during our stay. The nights were clear and we saw a glow on the northern horizon but no dancing gossamer curtains like the display we saw in Canada. Maybe later in our stay.

This shot taken outside our cabin door with the Aurora glowing on the horizon. Not a great photo but it gives an idea of how we are located......in the boondocks.

But, people visit Iceland for its natural beauty, the unspoilt, pristine landscapes and the scale and majesty of of its mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, rivers, volcanoes....and the Aurora Borealis. And so did we.

The landscape of the south coast of Iceland is quite majestic and unlike anything any of us have ever seen. From the time we left the airport we were struck by the nothingness, the intensity of the colours from pinks and mauves to blue, hazy grey and we were all silenced by its starkness.....a real snowy, frosty, icy winter starkness......not a tree or paddock or softening element anywhere.......it was mesmerising. 

There is an element of truth in the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words and I think that is what is appropriate here. I usually feel that a narrative supported by pictures provides a fuller understanding to a story or an account.....but Iceland is different......quite different.

In this case I'll provide a brief overview of what we did...and then let the pictures try and provide an insight into this incredible place.

We wasted no time in starting our exploration of the south coast of the island, setting out at 10.00 am the day after we arrived. Ten O'clock is quite a reasonable hour to begin....but it was still before dawn!  It was really interesting that the dawn lasted over an hour with sun up at about 11.30am (the way it really should be according to Wendy A.) and sunset about 3.30pm ....and the twilight lasts quite a long time...between an hour and two. The sun poked up above the horizon to about 15-20 degrees tops, and then slowly traced a very short, shallow arc across the sky....almost as if it was saying.....no, too hard I'll just make a minimal appearance....which of course it did. In between time it was normal daylight (about 3-4 hours worth) but the "between" hours, the twilight hours had the most magnificent colours.

On the road at 10.30am. This is dawn...first light lasted about an hour. As we crested the rise in the road we saw this and couldn't believe our eyes. Luckily Mike is very tolerant and found places to stop for photos ops all along the way. I'm afraid I may have "pushed the friendship" a bit there with the number of requests!

The road is really icy and dangerous. The white line is indistinct because it is covered in ice and the studded tyres cause the roughening of the surface. There are few opportunities to stop on the side of the road as it is quite risky..... very slippery and easy to slide off into the ditch.
I was trying here to capture the vastness, the openness....the emptiness of this place....and ended up slipping and doing the "splits" in the middle of the road!

The round trip was about 220ks or so, most of it through snow covered old lava fields jammed between the mountains, glaciers and the sea. There were numerous, quite small farming settlements and hamlets tucked into the mountains for protection from the severe elements....and invariably a little church, usually on a nearby hill. Apparently they are Lutherans here and the little churches are quite identifiably Icelandic by their shape and red roof.

A real advantage of visiting Iceland...and probably in winter, is the small numbers of tourists. This waterfall, Skogafoss is a major attraction and there were only a few people there. In fact, when we had a "cake & coffee" stop, we were the only ones in the restaurant! 

The sth coast of Iceland is famous for its black sand beaches...and vast vistas. This photo, taken from the lighthouse point at Dyholaey tries to capture the scale. The still water to the left is mostly frozen.

View in the other direction.... vast! We spent quite some time up here and luckily there were guide chains which didn't stop us slipping and sliding but did stop us hitting the deck. There were only a few visitors and some of them terrified us by ignoring the warning signs and going over the guide chains and out to the edge. I could see them thinking.... what would those old codgers know?

Ah the serenity....and magnificence!
A picture may say a thousand words but, no matter how good, will always struggle to capture the wonder of being immersed in such a landscape.

We came to the end of our planned visit to the sth coast at a small settlement called Vik where we had  a late lunch of fantastic fish for the others and a mouth watering traditional lamb soup for me.
Again, not many people there at all and, as with most things in life...timing is critical.
It was about 3.30pm and the sun was setting after its brief appearance ........and we were in the right place.......and the sight was just stunning!

There were long silences in the car on the way home. I put it down to a day of sensory overload.

Canals, Dykes and Bikes....but not Dykes on Bikes!

We finally got out of Florence and touched down at Schipol Airport (to sponatneous applause from the whole plane) late in the afternoon. Not to be misunderstood, we really liked and enjoyed our time in Florence but after two nights and nearly three days in limbo, camped at the Ibis Airport Hotel with nothing to do and nowhere to go (read cabin fever here) we were really, really ready to move on!

Farewell Florence!

Hello Holland!

By the time we arrived at our digs (and sorted out that were were late but still wanted a room!!!) it was getting quite late in the day. We dumped our gear and headed out to explore the old centre of Amsterdam which, given more opportunity, we are sure would be a very interesting place...... especially as we were located right on Singel Canal in a really nice boutique hotel. Unfortunately, because of the "travel troubles", we were only able to spend one short night and had to explore the little shops and restaurants in the dark.

Nice room in a lovely little hotel.

We were not prepared for how slippery it was, especially on the little curved bridges over the canals. Within minutes of leaving the hotel we were holding on to each other for grim life as we skated all over the pathway and the road. It was a case of whoops, whoops, whoopsies and I've got you, I've got you ...no I ain't got you!
There were flailing legs and arms everywhere.....a fair bit of cursing but we managed to stay upright when even the locals were struggling. One motor scooter, two push bikes and a pedestrian all hit the deck after sliding over on the ice within our first hundred yards!

It's on the top of the small curved bridges that is the worst and bike riders put their feet on the road to slide over the other side. It would have been funny to watch except we were concentrating so hard we didn't have time to even crack a smile......just to watch in wonder.

One of the many canals in the neighbourhood  still with a light blanket of snow on the boats and cars.

In the less than 24 hours we actually spent in Amsterdam we did manage to have a quick look around in the dark, have an excellent  feed in a "funky" little restaurant and grab a few quick photos to remember it by. 

A local cheese shop.....check out the wine labels...only in Amsterdam!

But that was about it because we were up at 6.00am to get to the airport!

During the night (2.00am to be precise) we got a message from the airline that, unfortunately, the flight that we were on, had tickets for since August and had checked in on line for was....... OVER BOOKED! 

Would we like to change flights?..........and if not .......it would be first in, best dressed at the check-in in the morning! 

Well, we  were fourth in line in the morning. There was no way we were going to miss this plane....I mean.... just no way! 

And as I finish this post we are at gate D83 looking at our purple plane (WOW Airlines.....really, any airline that is named after an "exclamation" should be regarded with some suspicion) ......and looking forward to the next part of our trip. 

Iceland, here we come!

Arrivederci Amsterdam.