Circle of fun

Today was our tour around the "Golden Circle" of Iceland.

Old lava flow covered with snow.

Tomatoes growing in a greenhouse heated with geothermal.  This particular grower provides 18% of Reykjavik's tomatoes (and cucumbers).

Gullfoss (Golden Falls) waterfalls.

Yep, us in front of Gullfoss.

More Gullfoss.

Strokur (The Churn) erupts every 5-7 minutes.  We saw several very impressive eruptions, including a triple one.

At Iceland's original parliament site (I have to look up the name).  This is the edge of the North American tectonic plate.

Old lava flow.

Tomorrow we'll go to the Blue Lagoon before heading to the airport and home.  It has been a great vacation but I am ready to be back home in my own bed.

A fun fact

We were chatting with our tour guide this afternoon and asked her how to say the two most important words in any language, please and thank you, in Icelandic.  What she told us was surprising until we thought about it for a bit.  The word for thank you is Taak and there is no word for please.  Iceland was settled by Vikings and what respectable Viking would ever say "please"?

Please, may I plunder your village? Why, thank you!

So there it is, only one magic word in Icelandic, and it isn't please.

Reykjavik or bust!

That's sort of what it felt like yesterday.  Eight hours on the train, fed within an inch of our lives, then an hour and a half ride through London rush hour traffic with a driver who went fast whenever he could, even if only for a few feet.  This followed by a 1+ hour wait in the security line at Heathrow, a late flight that left late, and we got to our hotel room at 2 am. Whew!

We woke to clear, sunny, blue skies this morning...just beautiful.  Today we went on a three hour tour of Reykjavik, a three hour tour and the weather never started getting rough ;) It is an interesting city and a blend of old and new.  The modern building below is the new city conference center and performing arts complex.

These vehicles go off-road and onto the glaciers.  Tomorrow we go on the all day golden circle tour and will see Geysir, the namesake of geysers, as well as the Gullfoss waterfall.  Can't wait!  We are also signed up for northern light alerts.  If the northern lights appear, the front desk will call us and we'll come down to the lobby in our jammies to watch.

Lochs 'o fun

Another day, another train ride.  Not really, but it does feel that way at times.  We came in from Edinburgh on the train on Tuesday afternoon.  Our first order of business was to find the neighborhood laundromat to arrange for clean clothes.  We weren't smelly (yet) but it is very nice to have a suitcase full of clean clothes.

The hotel, the Columba, is located right next to the river Ness just off the main road/bridge through town about a 10 minute walk from the train station.  As a side note, Columba was an Irish missionary who brought Christianity to this part of Scotland.  He is also one of the very first observers of Nessie.  That's the story here anyway, and they're sticking to it!

Today we took a city bus out to the Culloden battlefield and toured the visitor center and battlefield.  It was cold, windy and wet today, the same as on the day of battle we were told.  It was very interesting and very moving.  What makes it especially interesting is that if Bonnie Prince Charlie had won, there probably would not have been a Seven Years War between England and France, taxes might not have been so outrageously high, and who knows, America might still be a British colony today.

 

This afternoon was an organized bus tour/cruise to Loch Ness and Castle Urquhart.  No monsters, just beautiful scenery and another castle to scramble around in.

Tonight is our last night in the UK, tomorrow is another train ride to London, then Heathrow and off to Reykjavik!

Edinbrrrrrah

We took a six hour train ride from London to Edinburgh, which isn't pronounced like it is spelled.  It looks like Ed-in-burg but is pronounced Ed-in-burr-ah.  The brrrrr part is still holding true for this trip, it's cold, wet wnd windy here too.  There has been a strong east wind all across Britain and that results in the conditions we've seen.  According to BBC weather that isn't going to change anytime soon so we'll just stay bundled up.  Hooray for layers!
A hop-on hop-off bus tour helped us get acclimated quickly.  We spent quite a bit of time in the castle, and then walking the Royal Mile down to Holyrood Palace and back up the hill again.  We ate lunch at the White Hart, the oldest pub in Edinburgh.

Rail fun

We made our way to King's Cross Station this morning to catch a train to Edinburgh.

It was a smooth ride but a little limited for leg space.  We got here a little after 3, checked in and headed back out to have a look around and get some dinner.  Our hotel is very near Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile and Scottish National Museum.