France 2010

June 7 Mont St Michel, France

I thought I was on a holiday!  Not sure this morning as the alarm went off at 5 am so that I could catch a 7.13 train to Mont St Michael, not far from Pontorson.

Train ride was not too bad!  Arrived at station and had time to check into hotel, it is only a 5 minute walk, book train ticket for next day and then catch the bus the Mont St Michel.  All in 45 minutes!

The bus ride did not take 15 minutes.  

Very close, and damn is it impressive on the drive up to it over the causeway.

This is an Abbey that started construction in about 700 AD and has been added to ever since.  An amazing place.   The Abbey is at the very top, built on a mountain!  Strange as it appears to be 1 of maybe 3 rocks in the area.  And since then a town has built up around the base of the Abbey.  

Very touristy now but the buildings are great!  I was told that it would take me 20 minutes to get to the top!  Again, I amaze myself, took 10 and that is only because of all the people, younger I may add, were stopping on the steps on the way up!  It is a mixture of 11th to 19 century architecture.

This has been added to my list of places everyone must see!

Took way too many pictures!  If you want to see them you will have to ask!

Very busy place, at one point I counted 20 tour buses in the parking lot!  Which is hilarious as in Pontorson, there is hardly any one around!

Could not resist this picture!  Notice the warning!  This has the 2nd highest tides in the world, next to the Bay of Fundy and the car parks do flood, cars have been carried away!

June 6 Caen, France

Caught the bus!  And was #3!  A few people on the  bus off and on over the next 1 hour 10 minutes.  A couple of guys from the US on bus.  Alabama and Texas.  Great to talk to them.  Now I thought I was playing alot by ear but these 2 were more so.  At least I knew where to to to get to Juno Beach.  These 2 were headed to Omaha  beach (the US landing site) but had no idea where it was!  They got of the bus with me and after some wandering around ended up getting a cab the next 20 km that the people at the Juno centre arranged.  Turns out all the staff at the centre are Canadian!  What a great summer job!

While they were waiting for the cab, we headed down to look at the beach where the Canadians landed on June 6, 1944!  Not sure how to explain the feeling other than very overwhelming!  The thought on landing on this beach, fully exposed, and heavy protected - I  can not imagine!

I attended the ceremony honouring the landing.  Was very good.  Last year the PM was here, but this year the Minister of Foreign affairs. 

A Calgary regiment had installed a large gun, so this was dedicated, and this is where the wreaths were laid!

The ceremony lasted about 1 1/2 hours, after which I wandered around the site more.  During the ceremony a few old planes flew over, not sure what kind but one did look like it could have been a bomber of some sort.  

Some remaining bunkers.  Would have been great to have taken a tour, but that was at 11 am and i could not get there in time!

Over all was a great day and I am glad that I went!

Got back to the city about 8.30 and found something to eat.

Got back to the hotel and Skyped Donna and Jim.  

I have to laugh at the technology now compared to that when travelled with Lola 20 years ago!  Phone calls home then cost a fortune and did not happen very often, now can Skype with video for free!  One of the US guys, got on his cell phone to get directions, we would have just kept asking people!  I am travelling with a laptop, uploading digital pictures to a website, and maintaining a blog!  hahhah  The last time I would have had a pen and paper!  Prebooking hotels on line instead of walking in!

But some things do not change!  Still need to have maps, still go to Tourist information, still get lost (maybe I should have got a GPS as well) and still make notes with pen and paper, 

and still travel with the Lonely Planet travel guides!

June 5 Caen, France

The Hotel Pariesen is old and run down, but clean.  And the desk clerk did speak very good English.

Had breakfast 6 euros of bread, butter and jam, bit expensive but very good coffee.

Bought bus ticket, still bus # 20, and headed off for a bit of a walk.  Lots of people heading in one direction, so followed them, does this make me a stalker?

Well ended up in the local market!  Everything you could imagine!  Clothes, shoes, jewelry, and fresh and frozen meat.  Apricots seems very popular!

Most shops seemed to be run by Middle Easterners.  The market was right next to the University of Le Havre, very new looking, and in brick!

Walked a few of the back streets looking for something to eat.  Ended up in a Middle Eastern restaurant.  Lots of really good looking food but nothing small.  Had Couscous Poulet!  Was excellent but sure it could have fed 3 people there was so much!  Large bowl of couscous, then another of vegetables (potatoes, onion, carrots and celery in tomato broth) and then both thighs and legs of a chicken!   Learned that you do not ask for Coke!  You need to ask for Coca Cola!

Was told that it is a very hot day, 25 or 26.

Back to bus depot, and tried to get on the #20 - wrong bus!  I need the next one!  It was #39!  Oh well, a 90 minute ride, for 75 km, and I arrived.

Traveling with the computer made so much easier as I had got smart! and got directions last night!  Only had about a 20 minute walk, and no scenic tours either!

Got to hotel and had a shower and off to find out how to get to Juno Beach tomorrow for the D Day ceremony.  Got 2 sources, both said Bus #3!

This is a pleasant city!  The city centre has a lot of walking streets just for shopping, and plenty of people out and buying!  I think that maybe they only close to cars on Saturdays!

Visited the Ducal (Caen) Castle, which was started in 1066 by William the Conqueror and then added to over the centuries!

Also saw St Pierre Church.  Undergoing restoration.  Originally build in 12 & 13th century.  Roman Gothic.

Wandered plenty up and down the Streets.  Amazing that many of the streets were closed to cars!  All pedestrian traffic and all the shops open until about 0 pm.  There were many streets this way and appears that much is going on to improve the road by laying cobble stones!  Looks great.

Saw the Abbaye aux Hommes. another built in 1066.

I am tired again!  Lots of exercise, so should be ready for the Inca Trail when I get there!

June 4 Le Havre, France

Arrived in Le Havre, Normandy coast of France at 8 am and very tired!

And also very confused.  I thought I was just getting the hang of which way cars would be coming at me as I crossed the street, and now that has changed again!  Confused more....... or is it still?

Walked into the city, about 30 minutes, to the Tourist information.  Got directions and took the 30 minute walk to Hotel which turns out should have taken may 20 minutes!   But when I looked at the walk tour map of the city, turns out I had seen most of it!  This is a quiet city, not really that big.  Interesting though,  Many of the buildings were built in the 1950s as part of a planned architectural design by Perret!  In his favourite medium - concrete.  Does not look that bad.  Rebuilt as it was destroyed during WWII.

Not really much left of the old buildings.  The area is now a World Heritage site.

I had been told that finding someone with English would not be a problem!  Well I need to find out how to get to Caen, by train.  No one at train station could asnwer me but one very nice lady had enough English to know where I wanted to go and that I had to go to the bus station.  oh oh  Well she showed me where it was, just around the corner.  And then the lady there had very little English as well, but able to work out the time for the bus.  Bus #20 (remember this number)

Walked around and saw a few of the sights, the new apartments, the bridge over the canal.  Decided to have lunch.  So went to the local grocery store bought a fresh baguette, cheese, and a small bottle of wine and had a picnic on the beach!  Very nice!  This it the first day I have been out without bringing a jacket, although have been in shorts for a while!.  Was great.

Then headed off to check to see if i knew anyone at Normandy Week.  A sailing regatta for the next 3 days.  Only J80, FAR and J83 (I think).  They were way out of the harbour sailing in some very nice looking wind!

Then continued down the beach.  Great place, although mostly rocks.  Interesting as 100s of little wood shacks on the beach.  Look like people keep their beach stuff there!  Those and of course the various and many bars, restaurants and pubs!

Walked along for about 30 minutes, and turns out that Monet based some of his paintings on this area!

I maybe got a bit too much sun, but the cold beer helped that!

London and Portsmouth

London Top 10

1.  Pub walks

2.  Tower of London

3.  Pub Walks

4.  Tower of London

5.  Henry VIII personal equipment protecter

6.  Pubs

7.  Tower of London

8.  Side streets - with pubs

9.  Beer

10.  Fish and chips

June 3 London

Caught the train to Portsmouth, about a 2 hour ride.  Uneventful, except did see a castle on a hill just outside of Barnham.

Also went through the grape growing area of Docking, the same (?) that saw from one of the Pub Walks (see they are a good thing!)

Took a half hour walk from the harbour area to the ferry terminal to drop off bags.  Then headed back to harbour and toured around the Historical Navy base.

Here they have the HMS Victory and HMS Warrior on display.  Spent a far bit of time in the Victory.  This is Admiral Nelson's ship for the Battle of Trafalgar!  Amazing place, and there is now way I could sail in a boat like that!  I think I was able to stand up once!  Victory was launched 1765.

The Warrior was launched in 1860, as the first iron/wood boat, powered with both steam and sail!  14 knots under steam, 13 under sail and topped out at 17 for both!

The propeller can even be retracted into a well to reduce the drag.

While on the Warrior, 3 guys ran up the exit ramp and jumped into the water from the boat.  Water must have been cold!  But it did cause several police to show up.  I don't think they caught them!

Interesting as there were a few still hanging around the harbour area, now maybe they were just drunk, but I will swear they were speaking some foreign language as I had no idea what they were saying!

Wandered around and ended up in a huge shopping plaze.  Very flashy!  Several warehouse outlets as well.  Best part, got 2 pasties for 2 pounds!  They were closing shop for the night!  Very good as well!

Ferry was scheduled for 11 departure, but did not leave the dock until almost 12!  Maybe I am getting a bit old for overnight trips just to save a nights accomadation!!!  50 pounds for ferry!  Got a bit of sleep.  Was a bit worried as there were at least 3 bus loads of middle school kids terrorizing the station, but they were on another ferrry.  Saved.  I ended up with a different group!  Almost 2!  Surprising as all the service shut down during the night!

June 2 London

Last day in London!!!

Off to Vietnam Embassy to pick up my visa!

Walked to Buckingham Palace and around Victoria Fountain in front of Palace.  Lots of people around.  Not able to get a tour as they do not start until July.

While there, the police stopped all traffic.  A black car went by, not sure who was in there but they waved, will just pretend it was the Queen, waving to me, of course.

Walked through St James Park, on way to the Churchill Museum and the Cabinet War rooms. This is actually the place where they met!  It is a huge underground set of rooms!  Reinforced to protect against the air raids.  The displays are great and some of the formats are excellent.  They have a moving time line, where you can get the details of events, right down to the day, with some copies of documents.  Very well done.  One particular Churchill quote caught my eye - "I never get indigestion from eating my own words"

I then headed to Westminster Abbey, as I was not able to get inside the last time I went by.  Only had an hour though.  There are a lot of famous people buried - kings, queens, PM, and event Sir Issac (Newton) that is!  And he is right up beside the altar, with Charles Darwin on the other side of altar.

June 1 London

To Oxford Square and Oxford St, the main shopping area.  Wandered through Caenaby Road, SOHO and Bloomsbury areas heading towards the British Museum.

British Museum has a lot of ancient history - Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, British, North American, actually the world.

Great displays 

then through Russel Square and Bloomsbury Square.  Down Chaning Road toward Leicester Square area, through China town

Walked by many theatres - tribute to Queen and Mouse Trap (the Agatha Christie, 58 years in the showing)

Caught a couple of underground trains to the Victoria station

May 31 London

Bank holiday, which is a stat holiday.  Lazy morning after the BBQ  last night.  Very thirsting this morning, I guess I did not have enough wine last night!

Today off to do another pub walk!  You can not get any more civilized than that!  Stopped at a pub in country for fish and chips!  They were great!  Went very well with the beer!  Then off on a walk.  Part of North Downs way.  Followed a river (really a stream) for a bit, which has had a gun powder factory along it!  The factory did blow up we were told.

Lots of "reminders" - grinding stones, pipes, tracks, tubes, and old walls and dams.

Then continued around fields of grain, along some roads.  Great walk.  Ended up at a church on the top of the hill!  Great views.  The hard part was done, a gradual up hill.  All down hill of here.  Walking back saw a few llamas in a pasture including some young ones!  They had been sheared.

London

May 30 London

BBQ today.  Had a great time, although the Pimms and wine tasted way too good!  

May 29 London

Up early and off to watch Dad and daughter run in a Park Run.  Happens every Saturday morning at 9 am.  No charge, and completely run by volunteers!  About 120 to 150 runners!  Dogs, and people of all ages, sizes and abilities!  Was a great event!

Lazy rest of morning!  It is Saturday, so had breakfast then later headed out on the way to do a walking trail in the 'country'.  But raining fairly hard so stopped at a pub.  Very nice, not just the beer, the pub too!  Maybe too much so!  Pillows on couches, and potporri in the toilets!

Then decided to do the walk no matter.  The rain basically stopped.  The walk is the Box Hill walk, which overlooks the town of Docking.  On the hillside there is also a winery!  The walk started off very easy, slowly walking down a grassy slope!  Perfect for a beginner ski run and tobogganing.  The tobogganing does happen.  

Grass was very wet, but oh well.

Then along a creek with a bridge and then the Stepping stones across the creek.  Very nice.  Maggie the dog went for a bit of a swim and then off we went.  Well this was the tough part!  Well that gentle easy slope was now many steps to get back up the hill!  Wow!  Got the heart going, but maybe more importantly, it did not stop it!!!!

Was great exercise!  And the scenery is great, so green at the moment!

Did make it to top, with out incident and the view was worth it!

Then off to another pub, very near a horse race track.  Have to try the beers!  Big derby (pronounced Darby) next weekend, so the set up was already on the go.  They actually have 'horse and rider' crossings, not pedestrian.  And they are set so a ride on horseback can easily push, very high!

May have to stay a long time here, there are just too many beers left to taste test!

Curry from local take away and movies, very nice relaxing night!

May 28 London

Up and off to the Vietnam embassy, and the best part was that I did not have to stand in line!

Headed off to Tower of London.  Got a bargain here.  Different places have 2 for 1, but as single you pay the full price.  I was about to buy my ticket and a woman asked if I wanted to buy the other half of hers!  Perfect.  Worked great!

Tower of London is amazing!  Arrived just in time to get a tour, guided by a Beefeater!  He was very good.  Interesting as the only way to become a Beefeater is to have service in the forces at a certain level.  Beefeaters also must live in the Tower compound!

This is also where many of the Crown jewels are kept.  You are able to walk around and see the various crowns, staffs, sabers, and lots of other gold pieces!

Other places of interest - the chopping block for beheadings, the rack for quartering, and armoury for the cannons, and of course Henry VIII's armour for jousting, and foot battle.  Lots of little places to explore, a lot of steps and low door frames, stone of course, but I some how did not bang my head once!!!!!

Over to the Tower Bridge!  This was great at you actually get to walk across the Thames on the (blue) walk ways, looking both upstream and down.

They also let you into the engine room and have a display of the old steam engine that raised and lowered the bridge!  Very interesting.  Thanks Tom, as I had some idea as to how it worked!

Then wandered around the area.  Neat little streets.  Walk by the city hall which looks like a ball that the slices have slipped!

Then walked across Millennium bridge which is for foot traffic.  This is the bridge that had to be redone as it bounced too much when used!

The bridge leads to St Paul's Cathedral, which was closed by the time I arrived.

Then headed back to house!

London!

May 27 London

Later started each morning!  Did not leave the house until about 11.30!!!!  

Headed to the Vietnam Embassy to start the visa process, only to find out they are closed, I was reading the wrong schedule!  

So instead headed into Kensington Gardens and the Kensington Palace.  Walked around the park.  Saw the Albert memorial, Royal Albert Hall, and the Princess Diana fountain.  An amazing park!

Then into the British Museum where they had some amazing displays of dinosaurs, whales, dolphins, fish, elephants (but not pink) etc.  The building itself was a work of art!

Seems to be a lot of Darwin, so that will be good when get to Galapagos!

Then into the Albert and Victoria gallery!  Here they have many sculptures from 300 BC on!  Oh I know, way too many museums and galleries!  But they are everywhere and they are free!  The magic word!

May 26 London

Not much exciting today!  Spent the afternoon at the travel agency office getting the trip organized!  About 5 hours after sitting down, the plans had been basically made.  Unfortunately can not make the Trans Siberian Railway as planned as you can only get a Russian visa while in your home country!  Too bad!  But instead I have substituted Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Jordan, Easter Island!  I think that is a good trade off!  Now just need to work out a way to get the money to them!

That is a challenge!

May 25 London

Caught the train into London centre!  Got lost a few (sort, if you do not count the going around and around and around in circles) (they have round abouts) times, but I got found as well!  I am sure that took me 2 hours of walking around in circles and more circles when it should have taken about 10 minutes.  Oh well, saw lots in the process.

Went to Westminister Chathedral.  Beautiful RC church.  Also took the elevator up the tower and got a great view of the city around the Victoria station.

Then off towards Westminister Abbey, but the streets were blocked off and could not get in.  Turns out the Queen was in the area, but I missed her.

Got lost a few more times, but found some very interesting back alleys and stairs.

Walked by Downing St, through the Horse Guards square, into ST James park, Trafalgar Square and then the the National Gallery!

Walked by Big Ben and then over the Thames to the London Eye.  This is a huge ferris wheel that takes about 30 minutes to go around!  Great views.  Before the ride they give you a FREE 4D short film, sort of riding on the back of a seaull that flies around the area showing the sights!  WEll done, got sneezed on by a dragon, caught bubbles from a party, but good thing nothing from the seagull.

Then met Kyra for an exploration of English beers/ales!  Couple of pubs, and then to the Canadian Pub.  Quick drink and then off.  Saw 7Dials, and Neals corner, a couple of great streets/areas.  Found a Moroccan restaurant, so had to stop to have a drink!  Then  off to a Belgian restaurant.  Mussels the specialty and they were very good.

May 24 London

Arrived last night, and had a great visit.

Spent the day wandering around Sutton city shopping area.  Very nice.  Interesting people.  Got saved from my sins a couple of times!  As if i really need that!  lol

Very easy relaxing day.

Reykjavik

Iceland Top Ten

1.  Eyjafjallajokull

2.  Icelanders

3.  Myvatn hot baths

4.  Blue Lagoon

5.  Viking, the beer!

6.  Glaciers and icebergs

7.  Tectonic plates

8.  Trying to pronounce Eyjafjallajokull - but i did not buy the t-shirt!

9.  All of the Lava rock, and not one lava lamp in sight

10. Iceland

May 23

Leaving today for London.  Bit sad which I guess is a good sign.  But still excited to be moving on!  Out for coffee, I will miss that!  Most has been very good.

And won't you know it, the morning is beautiful!  Clear blue skies and actually warm!  Relative, actually 12 degrees.  But very nice sitting outside at the coffee shop!  Hey, you can not beat free refills!

Met a girl on the bus on way out to airport.  From Norway and was here only since Thursday with a small group.  What a great place to spend a long weekend!  

Always fascinating meeting people.  She was amazed at how cheap the country was!  And here is me thinking that it was fairly expensive!  She said that the 7 went out for a nice dinner and the cost for all of them was about the same as for 2 in Norway!  ouch!  I will have to wait until I win the lottery before I get to Norway!  I think maybe she had, as she had just been to Sharm el Shek on the Red Sea, Egypt, for a beach holiday the week before!   

This is the plane to London.  Should I worry given the name of the plane is the same as one of the largest volcanos on the island.

May 22

Nice to be on my own time!  Headed out to visit the church.  Interesting as the structure is similar to churches but this one is made of concrete and stucco.  Inside is very nice with a monster pipe organ.  The Australians actually heard it being played but I was not that lucky.  Still very nice.  See the picture of the description.  Also there is a mini pipe organ.  After paying 500 Kr, you can take the elevator up to the 8th floor to have a look out.  You are actually looking out the clock face!  Take some more steps up and there is an open area to look out over the city in all directions.  The darker areas about the clock is where you are looking out.  Great views.

It seems that almost all the places have their own community pool.  No matter how big or small.  So went to one not to far away.   All heated naturally from the hot springs, a bit of sulphur smell but not too bad.  350 Kr to get in and 350Kr to rent a towel!  Just another example of what seems to be a confusing pricing structure!  Standard pool that seems to have been here for a while.  Lane pool, paddling pool and then 2 hot tubs outside with a stem room.  There is even a men's sunning deck!  Fake grass and lawn chairs.  Not many around.

Here you must take off your shoes prior to entering the change rooms and you must shower naked before entering the pool.  Same as all other places!

Then off and walking again, this time, off to the flee market.  Great place!!!!!  Lots of stuff resell goods of every shape and form.  Clothing, toys, shoes and the list goes on!  But also has a bakery, fish market and butcher.  Lots of dried fish, but have yet to try!  The Fish oil the one morning was enough to cure me!  Could taste and smell it on me all day!

Had to go out again at night!  Just to make sure I had acquired the taste for the local beers!  lol

May 21 

Slow relaxing morning of coffee with the last stragglers from the trip!  Very nice.  Enjoyed the breakfast again!  Yes I now eat breakfast, then nothing until the afternoon evening.  But still have lots of coffees!

In a new place the next couple of nights.  A guesthouse closer to the city centre, 101 Guesthouse.  Interesting place.  Several rooms, with shared toilets and showers, but it seems to be clean.  about $60 a night.  

Seems you have to have a truck like this.  Monster tires.

Off walking again.  This time for some more culture!  Over load!!!!  To the Natural Museum of Iceland.  This  covered all the history of the country.  Very interesting and an amazing display of artifacts.  Interesting to find out about the Danish and Norwegian control of the country!  Scary part is that this computer was in the museum!  Special artifacts!  Now I feel old as I remember using these.

Very relaxing afternoon.  Everyone is out this as the sun is shining and it is really very nice.  Light breeze that is keeping the temperature fairly cool yet, but still nice after all the rain and wind so far.

Spent a lot of time this afternoon sitting in a coffee shop enjoying the weather! People watching.  The women are dress up and the men are all over the map.  Very interesting.

Had a nap!  Had as planned to go out for night but had been told that nothing happens until 11 or 12 or 1.  Been a long time since I had been out or even awake at that time.

Did go out.  My 'guesthouse' is not far from the main bar street, and should note that I have a view of the ocean.  That is if you stand on window sill and lean way out!

Interesting as they seem to wander up and down the streets  with beers in their hands.  And the best part is they just put their bottles or cans down on sidewalk and guys come along and collect them!  Mostly fairly civilized even with no police around!  I got home a 1 am.

Reykjavik

May 18

Amazing how some things just never change no matter where you may be.  Feeling very much at home as got flipped the bird!  

Great morning, sun shining with a few clouds.  Nice after all the cloud and rain.  Nice for drive through a valley.

Visited a breeder of Icelandic horses, Varmilaekur, Skagafirdi, which have 5 gaits, standard horses only have 3.  This breeder has bred and trained 2 world champions.  Very impressive display of the horses.  Video of it but too big to post!  Interesting as if a horse leaves the country it is not allowed to return.  No horse or horse gear is allowed into the country for fear of disease.  A top horse can be 40 million kroner, $320,000

Drove by a private business boarding school.  Ironic that the company that they lease the property from went bankrupt and the school now leases from the bank.

Stopped at yet another geyser, remember it is the land of Fire and Ice!!!!  This the most powerful hot spring in iceland and Europe, with the surrounding lava fields dating back to 800 AD, just around the time of the first settlers.

Another waterfall!  Ah but this one is different!  The water seems to come out of the lava rock, and has the colour of glacial water, a blue. 

Visit to  a community that was developed around Snorri, 1100/1200 AD.  He was a rich man with his own hot tub, with a private tunnel to it from his house.  They have restored the area, right down to the wooden pegs in the door!

Last night as a group, so in the bar with Marena, Jonathon, Danny for drinks after dinner.  Mostly beer but did go for the local vodka shot, Reyka!

May 19

The last day!

Into end of a fjord where in WWII the British navy hid out.  Barracks are being restored.  This is situated near the old whaling station.

Then off to large lake!  Which is near the meeting of the 2 tectonic plates, NA and Eurasian.  This site is also the first meeting place of parliment, beheadings, and drownings, rituals and festivals. A very busy spot.  This picture of the split in plates.

Celebrated 1000 years of Christianity in 2000.

There is another geothermal plant near the lake with supplies Reykjavik with hot water and power.  The water is piped about 30 km.

Then off to the Blue Lagoon, a 45 minute bus ride away.  This is the byproduct of the a different geothermal plant.  6300 kroner, $50.  Had a 2 hour soak.  Water is a milky colour blue, very nice.  They have buckets of silica sand all around which is used on the face!  Now I look at least 20 years younger!  At least that is what we told each other!  And of course that is true!

May 20

Able to get another night at hotel since I missed at the start!  Island Travel has been very accommodating.

Breakfast with a few from the group and some goodbyes as some head off.

Walked to the Perlan, just above the hotel, which has a Viking Museum.  Display was great showing an excellent history of the settling of Iceland.

A day of cultural experiences today!!!!!  I think this will cover me for the rest of the trip!

Went to the Reykjavik Art Museum. 2 exhibitions, a US nude photographer and a Icelandic artist.  Very colourful oils of famous people. (Erro).  An amazing complex, and no entry fee and no place for donations

The to Maritime Museum.  This is on the pier in a building about 5 years old.  Looks almost new and is huge!  They have the Odnin, an Icelandic Search and Rescue boat.  This boat was active in the Cod Wars, 3 of them, mostly with Britian over the fishable areas.  They now have a 200 mile perimeter.  Got an almost private tour of facility.  4 people and 3 guides.  One was a 2nd year Univ of Iceland history student.  Was interesting.

Then needed a coffee but on the way found the City library which had an exhibition of 2 Icelandic photographers.  Thomsen and Thomsen.  They took mostly family pictures as well as the changing landscape of Iceland.

and there is more.......

May 16, 2010

Another super day!

Drove over a lake with resident monster!  Supposedly related to Lock Ness, so that must mean related to Ogopogo as well!

The drive took us over the Highlands of the Island.  The bus driver even stopped to fill up the diesel tank, just incase we got stopped.  There had been snow the day before.  I am not ready for this!  Stopped at a road side stop, many had not seen snow before and were so looking forward to it!  A woman, her 2 daughters and a grandson (22 years) were on the trip and wanted to play in snow. Well got a little bit.  Needless to say and snow ball fight started!  Australians, Alabamans (?) and of course the Canadians!  Was a bit of new snow on snow bank, and they had a blast!  Got a few pictures.Very barren land - not many plants, no trees, but still a few ducks and geese.  Ash and rock!

Stopped at another geothermal plant.  Had a water cooler for some reason!  Never did find out why.  Interesting to see the stream steaming over the old lava flows.  The last eruption of Krefla was 1984.

Best part of day was the Myvatn hot baths!  Colour is amazing and the water was very nice, about 37 degrees celsius.

Over looked the largest crater on the island, Kroflu, that has a lava flow of about 50 km.

Took a long walk (very) around the pseudo craters close to hotel.

May 17

The walk I took with Margaret, Australia, has turned into an expedition!  Was about an hour, but has grown into an day long trek.  Had to wade through neck high water, with Margaret getting her feet wet, not me!  too funny, all in good fun.  Still was a great walk, a bit long, over styles and along the edge of the lake!

Stopped at a partially frozen lake!  (this means, it is cold!!!!)  Many had not seen.  Interesting as many would not go near ice until I stepped out on it, just a bit, and then the rest had too!  

Interesting that here people can own the lakes and rivers.  Surprised at that.

Saw a 200 year old farm along a fjord on the north end of lake.  Amazing that the machines and some of the methods of building, farming and living are very similar to us.  And visited a Church on the property.  Seems that many people just build their own churches!  I think that this many churches should do me for the rest of the trip!

Spent afternoon in Akureyri, a large city of 18,000, in the north.  A very nice town. 

We actually had the afternoon to ourselves.  Wandered around checking out some the stores and streets.  Went for ice cream!  It is 4 degrees!  Cold for ice cream but oh well.  

Tried to get some culture by going to the Art Museum, but closed on Monday.  That is enough culture for me!!!!!

Dinner with the Australians at local restaurant and as usual lots of laughs!