No, none of us won the $5K. Alas, guess I'll have to keep working.
In our last episode, we visited Amsterdam, and left off having just got on the ship. our room is nice, directly beside the Bridge. We have a nice window, and a ton of extra room due to our location on the ship.
Our table mates are two couples from South Africa (three of the four had grown up in Zimbabwe). One of them is apparently a famous opera singer in South Africa; I have a feeling though she won't be belting out any songs at dinner. Since we were in port until midnight on Sunday, they offered a 20% discount at the specialty restaurants, so we took them up on the offer. Dear Lord, so much food. We started off with saffron risotto balls, crab cakes, calamari and beef ravioli. For course 2, I had the Tuscan Onion Soup, Kent had seafood stew, and Margaret had a salad.
Courses three and four were served together. Kent and I both had lobster alfredo, while Margaret enjoyed spaghetti bolognese. We all had steaks for our fourth course (I had a delicious filet mignon), and then moved on to desserts. Creme brulee, chocolate fondue with strawberries, pineapple, marshmallows, brownies and bananas, and chocolate-hazelnut gelato. Needless to say, we were stuffed by the end of dinner.
As I said, Warnemundde is a small town used as the gateway to Berlin, which is a little under three hours' train ride away. We didn't go to Berlin, so we just walked around the town for a bit. Not much to see, so Kent and I ventured by train to Rostock, where we saw a few gorgeous churches dating to the late 1200s, One of them houses a pipe organ housing over 5700 pipes, and an astronomical clock that's been working since the 1400s, and not only displays the time, but also month, day, year, zodiac sign, phases of the sun and moon, and date of Easter (through 2017).
Today's another day at sea, and we've been doing our best to rest up, as we are in port for the next five days in a row! We have Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg (overnight) and Tallin, Estonia, before our next day at sea. Its a jam-packed schedule, but one well worth it.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Amsterdam, the City of Canals, Pot and Prostitutes
Sorry for the lengthy delay in posting. It took us this long to buy an internet package so we could start posting.
If I recall correctly, when we last left off, we had just arrived in Amsterdam, lugged our suitcases through the cobblestone and bricked streets, and set up camp in our houseboat. The only thing planned for Tuesday night, our first in Amsterdam, was a tour of the Red Light District. Guess what happened? Yep, it rained. Poured, actually, and the tour was cancelled. So, we waited out the storm, wandered a bit and called it a night.
Wednesday, we began the day by touring the Anne Frank house. Margaret, being the genius she is, had secured us advance tickets. So instead of waiting in the long line stretching around the block, we rang a bell, were buzzed in, and immediately began our tour.
To give just a bit of history, Anne Frank's father, Otto, owned a business selling spices and pectin for making jelly. The Netherlands had been neutral in World War I, and were unprepared for the Nazis. It took less than a week for Germany to conquer the Netherlands, beginning a five-year occupation. In order to save his business, Otto Frank transferred ownership of his business to an "Aryan" collegue, and sent out word that he and his family were fleeing to Switzerland. In reality, he had prepared the annex of the warehouse for his family's hiding. While the office employees knew of their hiding, those working in the warehouse did not.
After touring the office and warehouse, you come across the secret entrance to the annex, hidden behind a bookcase. Stepping into the annex, you immediately get a sense of how small the living space was for those eight people. Four rooms, none of them large, windows blacked out. And for two years. I simply can not imagine. Despite all of the horrors of WWII, it amazes me that this girl could remain so hopeful. In the end, Otto was the only member of the Frank family to survive WWII and return to Amsterdam.
Having purposefully left most of our time in Amsterdam free, we did a bit more wandering, had lunch, and returned to the houseboat for a rest, and made another attempt at touring the Red Light District.
What can I say about this little part of Amsterdam? Begin with history I guess. Prostitution has long been a part of Amsterdam's history. The prostitutes even donated a cross for a spire on St. Nicholas Cathedral. As it turns out, St. Nicholas is the patron saint of both prostitutes and sailors. Convenient, eh? Anyway, the prostitutes in Amsterdam are unionized, quite effectively. When a law was passed requiring prostitutes be routinely tested for STDs, the union fought the requirement as unconstitutional, arguing that if prostitutes must be tested, so should anyone who regularly comes into contact with body fluids. The Court of Justice sided with the prostitutes.
In an effort to combat the spread of STDs, a prostitute, who is part of the union, that contracts HIV is provided a fully subsidized apartment if she agrees to give up prostitution. In addition, condom use is required, though its basically impossible to enforce. Its estimated about 45% of the prostitutes in the Red Light District are HIV-positive.
As we walked through the RLD, I felt sort of awkward. I mean, here we are, wandering past these women selling their bodies, and we're on an organized tour of it all. I guess its just a part of life in Amsterdam. In fact, we passed by both a daycare and a Christian youth hostel, both surrounded by windows. There is also a theatre which shows 8 different live-sex acts, and apparently encourages audience participation. Eww. Thus ended our day Wednesday.
Thursday, we ventured to the Van Gogh museum, which was quite interesting. I hadn't realized he was only 37 years old when he killed himself, and had only sold one painting in the course of his lifetime.
Margaret and I spend the afternoon following the walking tour in the Rick Steves' guidebook. Amsterdam got its name from the damming of the Amstel River, where Dam Square is now located. As Rick Steves puts it, "Amsterdam is a bold experiment in freedom." Nearly nothing is illegal as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. Historically, Amsterdam was an important center of trade, and had one of the first successful stock exchanges (which originally was more of a commodity exchange, where physical goods were traded). The country had traditionally been a democratic society, but had a monarchy imposed by Napoleon. After Napoleon's defeat, the powers that be decided to retain a monarchy in the hands of a noble Dutch family.
Amsterdam was beautiful, and its amazing how one street can be bustling with tourists and shoppers, and the next street over is as quiet as a suburban neighborhood. There's not a whole lot of vehicular traffic away from the main streets and area around Dam Square/Centraal Station, except for the large number of bicycles. The tram system is fairly easy to figure out, and you never really need a car (or a taxi, for those of you cheap skates).
Finally, on Friday morning, it was time to head to the ship. We'd been travelling for six days already, and had not even gotten on the ship yet! Yes, I was cheap, and insisted we take the tram. The powers that be were against me, however, when a delivery truck side-swiped a tram two in front of ours, and we got kicked off. So yes, in the end, I relented, adn we took a cab to the port.
Boarding was a breeze, and we made it on to the Celebrity Constellation. Both Saturday and Monday were days at sea, with a stop in Warnemunnde, "Gateway to Berlin." More on that later (though, not much more, since we didn't actually go into Berlin). But, its almost time for Bingo...gotta win that $5,000!
I hope everyone is recovering from the earthquake and hurricane. Seriously, if you have any more natural disasters between now and next Thursday when we get home, I may just stay on the ship, or in Amsterdam, or Iceland. Any of the three would be fine.
Stay tuned for tales of fun on the ship, and a few from Germany too!
If I recall correctly, when we last left off, we had just arrived in Amsterdam, lugged our suitcases through the cobblestone and bricked streets, and set up camp in our houseboat. The only thing planned for Tuesday night, our first in Amsterdam, was a tour of the Red Light District. Guess what happened? Yep, it rained. Poured, actually, and the tour was cancelled. So, we waited out the storm, wandered a bit and called it a night.
Wednesday, we began the day by touring the Anne Frank house. Margaret, being the genius she is, had secured us advance tickets. So instead of waiting in the long line stretching around the block, we rang a bell, were buzzed in, and immediately began our tour.
To give just a bit of history, Anne Frank's father, Otto, owned a business selling spices and pectin for making jelly. The Netherlands had been neutral in World War I, and were unprepared for the Nazis. It took less than a week for Germany to conquer the Netherlands, beginning a five-year occupation. In order to save his business, Otto Frank transferred ownership of his business to an "Aryan" collegue, and sent out word that he and his family were fleeing to Switzerland. In reality, he had prepared the annex of the warehouse for his family's hiding. While the office employees knew of their hiding, those working in the warehouse did not.
After touring the office and warehouse, you come across the secret entrance to the annex, hidden behind a bookcase. Stepping into the annex, you immediately get a sense of how small the living space was for those eight people. Four rooms, none of them large, windows blacked out. And for two years. I simply can not imagine. Despite all of the horrors of WWII, it amazes me that this girl could remain so hopeful. In the end, Otto was the only member of the Frank family to survive WWII and return to Amsterdam.
Having purposefully left most of our time in Amsterdam free, we did a bit more wandering, had lunch, and returned to the houseboat for a rest, and made another attempt at touring the Red Light District.
What can I say about this little part of Amsterdam? Begin with history I guess. Prostitution has long been a part of Amsterdam's history. The prostitutes even donated a cross for a spire on St. Nicholas Cathedral. As it turns out, St. Nicholas is the patron saint of both prostitutes and sailors. Convenient, eh? Anyway, the prostitutes in Amsterdam are unionized, quite effectively. When a law was passed requiring prostitutes be routinely tested for STDs, the union fought the requirement as unconstitutional, arguing that if prostitutes must be tested, so should anyone who regularly comes into contact with body fluids. The Court of Justice sided with the prostitutes.
In an effort to combat the spread of STDs, a prostitute, who is part of the union, that contracts HIV is provided a fully subsidized apartment if she agrees to give up prostitution. In addition, condom use is required, though its basically impossible to enforce. Its estimated about 45% of the prostitutes in the Red Light District are HIV-positive.
As we walked through the RLD, I felt sort of awkward. I mean, here we are, wandering past these women selling their bodies, and we're on an organized tour of it all. I guess its just a part of life in Amsterdam. In fact, we passed by both a daycare and a Christian youth hostel, both surrounded by windows. There is also a theatre which shows 8 different live-sex acts, and apparently encourages audience participation. Eww. Thus ended our day Wednesday.
Thursday, we ventured to the Van Gogh museum, which was quite interesting. I hadn't realized he was only 37 years old when he killed himself, and had only sold one painting in the course of his lifetime.
Margaret and I spend the afternoon following the walking tour in the Rick Steves' guidebook. Amsterdam got its name from the damming of the Amstel River, where Dam Square is now located. As Rick Steves puts it, "Amsterdam is a bold experiment in freedom." Nearly nothing is illegal as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. Historically, Amsterdam was an important center of trade, and had one of the first successful stock exchanges (which originally was more of a commodity exchange, where physical goods were traded). The country had traditionally been a democratic society, but had a monarchy imposed by Napoleon. After Napoleon's defeat, the powers that be decided to retain a monarchy in the hands of a noble Dutch family.
Amsterdam was beautiful, and its amazing how one street can be bustling with tourists and shoppers, and the next street over is as quiet as a suburban neighborhood. There's not a whole lot of vehicular traffic away from the main streets and area around Dam Square/Centraal Station, except for the large number of bicycles. The tram system is fairly easy to figure out, and you never really need a car (or a taxi, for those of you cheap skates).
Finally, on Friday morning, it was time to head to the ship. We'd been travelling for six days already, and had not even gotten on the ship yet! Yes, I was cheap, and insisted we take the tram. The powers that be were against me, however, when a delivery truck side-swiped a tram two in front of ours, and we got kicked off. So yes, in the end, I relented, adn we took a cab to the port.
Boarding was a breeze, and we made it on to the Celebrity Constellation. Both Saturday and Monday were days at sea, with a stop in Warnemunnde, "Gateway to Berlin." More on that later (though, not much more, since we didn't actually go into Berlin). But, its almost time for Bingo...gotta win that $5,000!
I hope everyone is recovering from the earthquake and hurricane. Seriously, if you have any more natural disasters between now and next Thursday when we get home, I may just stay on the ship, or in Amsterdam, or Iceland. Any of the three would be fine.
Stay tuned for tales of fun on the ship, and a few from Germany too!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Journey to Amsterdam
Alas, Tuesday it was time to bid adeiu to Reykjavik and move on to Amsterdam. Both Maggie and I woke up earlier than we needed to (before 4am), because, for one, we didn't want to miss our flight, and for another, it was freaking light outside. Believe it or not, we were ready 20 minutes early for our 5:30 shuttle.
Check-in and security at the airport went smoothly, we got our VAT refund, had breakfast, found Kent the smoking lounge, and boarded the plane. This particular plane was older and not renovated. American airlines would tell you to suck it up. Icelandair, however, apologized, gave us a free snack and personal Sony PSPs loaded with games, TV shows and movies for our flight. Not too shabby, eh?
We land in Amsterdam, figure out we can't use all ATMs because Americans don't have "chip & PIN" cards, hunt down a bank, get cash, buy our tickets to Centraal Station and make our way to the train...or should I say the wrong platform. Of course, being us, we JUST miss the train after we figure out which platform to be on. We wait for the next train, make our way to Centraal Station, figure out which tram we need to be on, and find the office to check in.
After check-in, guess what time it is?!? That's right kids, another round of Chris, Kent & Maggie lugging their luggage through the cobblestone streets of a European city. We wander down the wrong canal, but eventually found our digs for the next three nights...a houseboat! Yes, you read that right. We rented a houseboat on the Keizergracht canal, which is HUGE. Don't worry, I have pictures.
We rest up, find a cafe for lunch, where we people watch for a bit, went grocery shopping, etc. and generally rest up. So far, Amsterdam has been nice, and there are two days of stories to share. One thing I've learned is that, for me, Amsterdam is a lot like Rome, in that you could spend hours or days just wandering the city, finding a bench, and people watching. I'm definitely going to have to return for a less structured trip. Coming up next post: our shenanigans in Amsterdam!
Check-in and security at the airport went smoothly, we got our VAT refund, had breakfast, found Kent the smoking lounge, and boarded the plane. This particular plane was older and not renovated. American airlines would tell you to suck it up. Icelandair, however, apologized, gave us a free snack and personal Sony PSPs loaded with games, TV shows and movies for our flight. Not too shabby, eh?
We land in Amsterdam, figure out we can't use all ATMs because Americans don't have "chip & PIN" cards, hunt down a bank, get cash, buy our tickets to Centraal Station and make our way to the train...or should I say the wrong platform. Of course, being us, we JUST miss the train after we figure out which platform to be on. We wait for the next train, make our way to Centraal Station, figure out which tram we need to be on, and find the office to check in.
After check-in, guess what time it is?!? That's right kids, another round of Chris, Kent & Maggie lugging their luggage through the cobblestone streets of a European city. We wander down the wrong canal, but eventually found our digs for the next three nights...a houseboat! Yes, you read that right. We rented a houseboat on the Keizergracht canal, which is HUGE. Don't worry, I have pictures.
We rest up, find a cafe for lunch, where we people watch for a bit, went grocery shopping, etc. and generally rest up. So far, Amsterdam has been nice, and there are two days of stories to share. One thing I've learned is that, for me, Amsterdam is a lot like Rome, in that you could spend hours or days just wandering the city, finding a bench, and people watching. I'm definitely going to have to return for a less structured trip. Coming up next post: our shenanigans in Amsterdam!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Southern Iceland: The Day of the Super Jeep!
Picture it. Iceland, late August. The day starts out dreary and slightly rainy. Fortunately, being a Murray/Hart, I'm used to this on vacation. After a quick visit to the bakery across the corner for some delicious pasteries, our Super Jeep arrives for our tour of southern Iceland. When I say super, I mean the tires came up to around my waist. Yes, I have pictures. Unfortunately, its a difficult process getting them online through Maggie's Netbook, so they may have to wait until Facebook.
Alas, back to our tour! We booked this particluar tour because, at most, there would be five of us (plus the driver). As it turns out, it was just us three. Yay private tour! We head back out onto Route 1, which hugs the coast, taking us by the Christianity Lava field, so named because the eruption occurred in 1000AD at the time the Icelandic people were adopting Christianity (without bloodshed, might I add). The lava is now covered in moss, which apparently in time will digest the lava rock to form soil, but this takes a long time.
Our first stop is a waterfall which, while not tall, carries the largest volume of water of any in Iceland. It was certainly impressive. Its also not going to be around much longer, as Iceland is preparing to build a hydroelectric dam over the falls. Next, we travel to Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that created such havoc around Europe last year. This is where the Super Jeep came in handy, as we raced across streams created by the melting glacier. We finally came to the edge of the glacier which, let me say, was amazing. HUGE. You can absolutely see the hole in the size of the glacier, which could probably fit an airplace, where the water was gushing out during the eruption.
Next, we visited another waterfall, which was 180 meters (around 550 feet) tall, falling over a cliff, allowing you to walk behind. Following lunch, which consisted of Minestrone soup with french bread, we took the Super Jeep to the black sand beach (stopping to play around in a downed U.S. Navy plane). But, perhaps the best part of the day was going to actually walk up to a glacier, and climb around the edge of it. Again, pictures will come.
After getting back to Reykjavik, dinner was had at Hambourgerafabrikkan, where I had a delicious Lamb burger. We then packed up, went to bed, and woke up early early early the next morning for Amsterdam. That, my friends, will be another story for another day.
Alas, back to our tour! We booked this particluar tour because, at most, there would be five of us (plus the driver). As it turns out, it was just us three. Yay private tour! We head back out onto Route 1, which hugs the coast, taking us by the Christianity Lava field, so named because the eruption occurred in 1000AD at the time the Icelandic people were adopting Christianity (without bloodshed, might I add). The lava is now covered in moss, which apparently in time will digest the lava rock to form soil, but this takes a long time.
Our first stop is a waterfall which, while not tall, carries the largest volume of water of any in Iceland. It was certainly impressive. Its also not going to be around much longer, as Iceland is preparing to build a hydroelectric dam over the falls. Next, we travel to Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that created such havoc around Europe last year. This is where the Super Jeep came in handy, as we raced across streams created by the melting glacier. We finally came to the edge of the glacier which, let me say, was amazing. HUGE. You can absolutely see the hole in the size of the glacier, which could probably fit an airplace, where the water was gushing out during the eruption.
Next, we visited another waterfall, which was 180 meters (around 550 feet) tall, falling over a cliff, allowing you to walk behind. Following lunch, which consisted of Minestrone soup with french bread, we took the Super Jeep to the black sand beach (stopping to play around in a downed U.S. Navy plane). But, perhaps the best part of the day was going to actually walk up to a glacier, and climb around the edge of it. Again, pictures will come.
After getting back to Reykjavik, dinner was had at Hambourgerafabrikkan, where I had a delicious Lamb burger. We then packed up, went to bed, and woke up early early early the next morning for Amsterdam. That, my friends, will be another story for another day.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Tidbits on Iceland
Its 4:30am, I'm wide awake, already showered, sitting here waiting for Kent and Margaret to wake up (sleepy heads). I'm not sure if its excitement over Amsterdam, paranoia not wanting to miss our flight, or a mixture of both. But, I thought I'd share some interesting tidbits we've learned about Iceland.
The entire island is about the size of Kentucky, and has about 325,000 citizens, or roughly as many people as Arlington and Alexandria combined. A full 2/3 of those live in the capital of Reykjavik, the only real urban area, meaning the rest of the country is very sparsely inhabited. Despite its name, Iceland actually receives relatively little snow, due to the Gulf Stream, and has a fairly steady temperature year-round. Highs in the winter average the low 40s, in the summer, mid- to upper-50s.
The island rests on the mid-Atlantic ridge, and is a hotbed of volcanic activity. There are anywhere between 20-30 active volcanos in Iceland, with four "major" ones (we all remember the havoc caused by one of those last year?), one of which is overdue to erupt.
The society is very liberal. They have universal health care, yet the world has not come to an end. there are two prisons, with a total of 140 current inhabitants; it would be as if there were ony 140,000 total prisoners in the U.S. penal system (there are about 2.5 million). There is no poverty, no extreme wealth. Basically, there's lower and upper middle class.
The language is...odd. There are 36 letters in the alphabet, and some of the words can get ridiculously long (more on this later when we talk about volcanoes and glaciers). They say its the fourth hardest language to learn, after Finnish, Hungarian and Mandarin Chinese. I can see that.
OK, time to get ready...more to come!
The entire island is about the size of Kentucky, and has about 325,000 citizens, or roughly as many people as Arlington and Alexandria combined. A full 2/3 of those live in the capital of Reykjavik, the only real urban area, meaning the rest of the country is very sparsely inhabited. Despite its name, Iceland actually receives relatively little snow, due to the Gulf Stream, and has a fairly steady temperature year-round. Highs in the winter average the low 40s, in the summer, mid- to upper-50s.
The island rests on the mid-Atlantic ridge, and is a hotbed of volcanic activity. There are anywhere between 20-30 active volcanos in Iceland, with four "major" ones (we all remember the havoc caused by one of those last year?), one of which is overdue to erupt.
The society is very liberal. They have universal health care, yet the world has not come to an end. there are two prisons, with a total of 140 current inhabitants; it would be as if there were ony 140,000 total prisoners in the U.S. penal system (there are about 2.5 million). There is no poverty, no extreme wealth. Basically, there's lower and upper middle class.
The language is...odd. There are 36 letters in the alphabet, and some of the words can get ridiculously long (more on this later when we talk about volcanoes and glaciers). They say its the fourth hardest language to learn, after Finnish, Hungarian and Mandarin Chinese. I can see that.
OK, time to get ready...more to come!
Iceland or, the Stopover on the way to Amsterdam
I should start out by explaning our trip to Iceland. I've gotten several comments on how random it is. Yes, it is completely random. When we first started looking for airfare to Amsterdam, we found that Icelandair was by far the cheapest option. As it turns out, as a means of attracting tourists, they offer a free stopover in Iceland either on your way to Europe or on your way home. So, we figured, why not?
I had never seen a geyser before, and now I've seen the one all geysers are named for. As it turns out, this was the first geyser ever discovered. The man who discovered this phenomenon named it after it favorite horse. No, really. So tha name of this particular one is Geysir, and the name stuck apparently. Its pretty awesome, watching the water swell, sink, swell, sink, then form this little bubble immediately before erputing. Wait three to five minutes, and do it all over again!
In short, Iceland is awesome, and totally deserving of being a tourist destination i
n and of itself. We've already started thinking about coming back. After getting off the plane (shortly before 7am without having slept the night before), we took a taxi straight to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa about 40km from Reykjavik. Upon arrival, the doors were locked. They didn't open until 9am, but we had reservations for a breakfast buffet at 8. In short, we were confused (and, if you know tired Chris...grumpy). Kent managed to find his way to the back door, through the kitchen, and let us in. All without running into a single soul that worked there. Odd.
n and of itself. We've already started thinking about coming back. After getting off the plane (shortly before 7am without having slept the night before), we took a taxi straight to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa about 40km from Reykjavik. Upon arrival, the doors were locked. They didn't open until 9am, but we had reservations for a breakfast buffet at 8. In short, we were confused (and, if you know tired Chris...grumpy). Kent managed to find his way to the back door, through the kitchen, and let us in. All without running into a single soul that worked there. Odd.Breakfast consisted of typical fruits, breads, eggs, bacon, and franks and beans. Of course it did! 9am rolled around, we got our passes to the Blue Lagoon, changed clothes, stored our luggage, and went out into the 50 degree weather. Brrrr.....let me tell you, I was excited they maintain the water at 95-105 degrees. We swam in the water, gave ourselves facials using the silica mud (yes, there are pictures, just can't seem to get them uploaded at the moment), and enjoyed ourselves until about 12:30. After changing clothes, it was time to head into Reykjavik! Except...
Little did we know Saturday was the annual Icelandic Cultural Festival, meaning, the central core of the city was closed to traffic. What does this mean? Yet another vacatio
n where Chris, Kent and Maggie lug their suitcases through a European city...uphill. Alas, we arrived at our home for the next three nights, Reykjavik4you apartments, conveniently located at the corner of Bergstaoastraeti and Spitalastigur. We checked in, wandered through the city, took a nap, and enjoyed ourselves.
n where Chris, Kent and Maggie lug their suitcases through a European city...uphill. Alas, we arrived at our home for the next three nights, Reykjavik4you apartments, conveniently located at the corner of Bergstaoastraeti and Spitalastigur. We checked in, wandered through the city, took a nap, and enjoyed ourselves.When I say festival, what I mean is the city is full of people, bands playing at nearly every corner, and just a hot mess. I'm sure it was great, if you'd gotten any sleep in the past two days. Maggie went to bed, and Kent and I wandered back out to stand in the cold for fireworks. I love fireworks, especially ones at 11pm when it hasn't gotten dark yet. But we had to get to bed!
Sunday was our day to tour the Golden Circle, the basic "Introduction to Iceland" tour everyone takes. There are four main stops...a volcanic crater, a huge waterfall, geothermal steam field with geyser, and a "rift valley," where the euroasian and north american tectonic plates are drifting apart. Along the way, we passed by a geothermal power plant that's capable of powering the entire country on a staff of...wait for it...two people. Yes, that's right, two. But, to be safe, and allow for sleep and vacations, it employs a total of twelve. So much for efficiency. We also learned that the "lowlands" used to be under the ocean during the last ice age, when the sheer weight of the glaciers caused the island to sink. I wish I could post enough pictures here to tell the whole story, but hey, I guess you'll just have to hear it in person!
I had never seen a geyser before, and now I've seen the one all geysers are named for. As it turns out, this was the first geyser ever discovered. The man who discovered this phenomenon named it after it favorite horse. No, really. So tha name of this particular one is Geysir, and the name stuck apparently. Its pretty awesome, watching the water swell, sink, swell, sink, then form this little bubble immediately before erputing. Wait three to five minutes, and do it all over again!
As I'm writing this, I'm starting to realize I'm not going to be able to tell every story I want to. I mean, we're just on day one here people, and I've told you about 3% of all of the amazing stuff we've seen and learned. Also, its getting late, and we have to get up in six hours to get our butts to Amsterdam. So, unfortunately, this is where the story will end for today. Below you'll find a few pictures from the Golden Circle. Yes, there are more. Many, many more. And most of you will probably have to sit through me telling the stories. Over...and over.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Baltic: The Beginning
Since everyone says I travel so much (but, of course, not too much), I decided perhaps I should start up a blog so y'all can keep track of me. Hopefully I'll be able to update throughout the trip, or at least off and on. So...let's begin!!
Vacation officially began Friday morning, when, of course, I hadn't even started to pack for my 20-day vacation. But have no fear, I am the king of procrastination, and despite the distraction of lunch with Maggie and her mom, I finished packing an hour early. We decided to leave for the aiport rather early, given the threat of gridlock due to a random 9/11 motorcycle ride slated to pass by Dulles Airport right about the time we were planning to get there. So we left at 4:30 and arrived at 5:10 for our 8:40 flight. Luckily, I had concocted a scheme...
Most know I like to usually fly United, so this year I bought a membership to the Red Carpet Club. Basically, its a lounge where the offer free drinks (including rail liquor/beer/wine), snacks, and generally offer a quiter and more comfortable environment while waiting for your flight. The catch is, in order to gain access, you have to have a flight scheduled that day on a Star Alliance carrier (United, Continental, US Airways, among other worldwide airlines). Since Icelandair isn't in the Star Alliance, our flights didn't work. So what did I do? I bought a $500 ticket to Orlando for Friday night that was fully refundable. I checked in on that flight, used the boarding pass to get into the club, then called United from within the club to request my refund. Give me seven days, and I'll tell you if my scheme worked or was one, expensive lesson learned.
Our flight was slightly delayed, but not a huge deal. We board the plane, and as it turns out, we had "Economy Comfort" seats. Basically, they're first class seats, without the service (no meals, no free booze, etc.). Not too bad. Since I can't sleep on planes, I watched a couple of movies and TV shows and saw an amazing sunrise from 38,000 feet. Less than six hours later, we landed in Keflavik, Iceland. Unfortunately, Margaret discovered she'd lost her favorite pendant off of her chain, and we didn't find it. Not the way you want to start the vacation.
All of our luggage arrived, we breezed through customs, and we were off!
Since this was a lengthy post, I'll end it here. When we return, we'll begin our adventure at the Blue Lagoon, and I'll tell you all about Iceland. Hopefully, I'll also figure out how to post a few pictures.
Love you all, and keep checking in for updates!
Vacation officially began Friday morning, when, of course, I hadn't even started to pack for my 20-day vacation. But have no fear, I am the king of procrastination, and despite the distraction of lunch with Maggie and her mom, I finished packing an hour early. We decided to leave for the aiport rather early, given the threat of gridlock due to a random 9/11 motorcycle ride slated to pass by Dulles Airport right about the time we were planning to get there. So we left at 4:30 and arrived at 5:10 for our 8:40 flight. Luckily, I had concocted a scheme...
Most know I like to usually fly United, so this year I bought a membership to the Red Carpet Club. Basically, its a lounge where the offer free drinks (including rail liquor/beer/wine), snacks, and generally offer a quiter and more comfortable environment while waiting for your flight. The catch is, in order to gain access, you have to have a flight scheduled that day on a Star Alliance carrier (United, Continental, US Airways, among other worldwide airlines). Since Icelandair isn't in the Star Alliance, our flights didn't work. So what did I do? I bought a $500 ticket to Orlando for Friday night that was fully refundable. I checked in on that flight, used the boarding pass to get into the club, then called United from within the club to request my refund. Give me seven days, and I'll tell you if my scheme worked or was one, expensive lesson learned.
Our flight was slightly delayed, but not a huge deal. We board the plane, and as it turns out, we had "Economy Comfort" seats. Basically, they're first class seats, without the service (no meals, no free booze, etc.). Not too bad. Since I can't sleep on planes, I watched a couple of movies and TV shows and saw an amazing sunrise from 38,000 feet. Less than six hours later, we landed in Keflavik, Iceland. Unfortunately, Margaret discovered she'd lost her favorite pendant off of her chain, and we didn't find it. Not the way you want to start the vacation.
All of our luggage arrived, we breezed through customs, and we were off!
Since this was a lengthy post, I'll end it here. When we return, we'll begin our adventure at the Blue Lagoon, and I'll tell you all about Iceland. Hopefully, I'll also figure out how to post a few pictures.
Love you all, and keep checking in for updates!
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