Þingvellir

Þingvellir National Park is one of the most heavily touristed places in Iceland. Despite being a busy place, we couldn't not visit - especially considering that my dad and I are complete and total science nerds.

 

A lot in Iceland works on the honor system. You need to pay a few dollars to park at the national park, but the system is automated - no one is there to check and there is no printed receipt (though you do type in your license plate number.)

Þingvellir, pronounced think-vek-leer, is stunningly beautiful and full of important Icelandic history.  For us on Mackinac Island, 1780 is historic, but Iceland's first government started meeting on this site in 930. Just let that that sink in for a minute - 930!    

 

The park lies within a rift valley - where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are moving apart.

 The geography is stunning.

One of the most interesting parts in the park is Stekkjargjá. A place where you can actually walk down in the rift. (I know; the science geek in me could hardly contain my excitement!)

In addition to the first Parliament meeting in this area, historically witches were drown in the lake and a number of criminals were put to death here.

The teacher in me could not resist taking this picture. For all those times my students asked me if understanding the metric system was actually helpful: yes, it is. Thanks to my working knowledge, I understand that I really don't want to walk the 1340 meters or the 1470 meters (both about a kilometer a half, or almost a mile) to the nearest bathroom. I think I'll hop in the car instead...

Rescue Boat - Icelandic Style

My husband (and a number of other awesome people) volunteer on Mackinac Island's Rescue Boat - I thought they might appreciate seeing one of their Icelandic counterparts...

The Ásgrímur S. Björnsson is owned and operated by the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue (sometimes referred to as The Accident Prevention Company.) It sounds like ICE-SAR and its volunteers keep fairly busy, especially in the winter. They have a great program to help keep tourists safe up in the highlands; you can meet with them and register your trip. That way they know where you'll be, or at least where you're supposed to be. Plus, you can rent a personal locator beacon to use if you get into any trouble. At eight euros per day, or €50 per week, it sounds like a great deal.

This ship is one of 13 vessels ICE-SAR uses.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ísbúð

Ísbúð, pronounced Es-booth, is Icelandic for ice cream. The name of the shop, Ísbúð Vesturbæjar, means West Village Ice Cream Shop or West Iceland Ice Cream Shop, depending on which translate program I use. One of their locations was just a quick walk down the street from our house and made for a perfect evening out. Everything I read before coming to Iceland said that ice cream is the favorite treat of Icelanders, so I wasn't surprised when we found this place jumping.

First you choose what kind of ice cream you want - old or new. Don't ask me how they are different - we weren't able to do a comparative taste test - yet. There were too many people in line behind us, so we went with our server's suggestion.

Next, do you want a cone? If you do, do you want it dipped? Or, do you want it in a cup with toppings? Or would you prefer your toppings to be blended in with the ice cream (like a DQ Blizzard)?

For blended treats, the sizes ranged from 1/4 of a liter all the way up to the giant one liter size.

For the 1/4 liter size, you choose three scoops of deliciousness to get mixed in. (I chose three scoops of chopped up Mounds bars.)

In Iceland they love licorice, so there were numerous licorice options (shredded, gummy, chocolate coated, big chunky pieces, tiny little pearls - you name it, they had it.)

Just watch out for the powder that looks like malt - it is most definitely not malt! It's a salted licorice powder that is incredibly strong. We tried suckers in Amsterdam that were filled with the stuff and quickly learned that, how shall I put it... it was an acquired taste. (Translate that to, I thought it was awful, and that's putting it mildly. I've been told that most Americans can't stand the stuff.)

It may not look like it, but I'm holding the 1/4 L size - the smallest blended option!

The ice cream was slightly different from Americtan ice cream. It wasn't as sweet and it had a slightly different texture - almost like it was made with more milk and less cream. Either way, we all thought it was delicious and the kids have already asked when we can go back.

My Kind of Shopping

This week we were lucky enough to find the Iceland Red Cross Second Hand Shop. It was a lovely little shop complete with a rack of second hand, hand-knit Icelandic sweaters.

The prices were significantly higher than second hand stores in the US, but the used sweaters were much less expensive than the new ones. 

Today 8,000 Icelandic Króna (ISK) was equal to $65.64. A new sweater, of the same style at the Handknitting Association of Iceland's shop was about 28,500 ISK (about $233.00.) The new sweaters were gorgeous, but we wanted to check out the used ones before we bought something new.

I'm glad we checked out the Red Cross shop. My mom found two sweaters, I found a shawl and I enjoyed getting a peek at just how creative Icelandic knitters can be.

Land of the Midnight Sun

It's true, Iceland is the "Land of the Midnight Sun." I took this picture through my bedroom window last night, a little before midnight. It wasn't as bright as it is at midday, but it certainly wasn't what I would call dark either. I'd describe it as more like twilight - like it is on Mackinac at about 8:30 or 9:00 this time of year. This morning the sun was up again before 5:00, though I wasn't...

Getting There is Half the Fun, Right?

We're in Iceland! (Well, the kids, my parents and I are - my poor husband had to stay home.) I'm still pinching myself - we're really here!  All went well with the beginning of our journey to Iceland. The horse-drawn taxi was on time, we crossed into Canada at the Soo easily, and our flight to Toronto was early. And then we saw this in the Toronto airport:

Ugh! Cancelled... really?

So we walked up to the counter to investigate our options. While checking her computer the lovely Air Canada Lady looked quite perplexed.

"Hmmmmmmmmm. It's not cancelled," she said, "You're just going to stop in Newfoundland to refuel." She assured us the board was wrong and told where to find our gate. A while later an announcement came over the loud speaker:

"Due to the weather conditions in Iceland, there is a possibility the plane will be diverted. If that happens, the closest airport is in Scotland. The additional fuel we are picking up at Deer Lake is  to get the plane to Scotland, if necessary. We will keep you apprised of the situation throughout your flight."

So, we waited and listened for announcements. The Toronto airport is quite nice, so the wait wasn't bad at all. The airplane was another story. We flew on an Airbus 319M, which was the most uncomfortable plane I've ever flown on. My poor dad spent the entire flight with his knees wedged into the seat in front of him because there just wasn't room for his legs.  My dad is six feet tall, so I have no idea how they seat people who are over six feet tall on the plane. Luckily, my daughter and I had an empty seat in our row so we got to spread out a little. 

We made it; safe and sound, and after a little sleep we get to start exploring this amazing country.

Impressed

My daughter loves to draw. She often does it after dinner, when the screens have been shut off and everyone is settling down for the evening. She also loves to read. Recently she has started free-hand drawing some of her favorite book covers. I may be a little bit biased, but I think she's pretty darn good...

Bliss

My husband took the kids camping, near Cheboygan MI., this weekend. They had a blast fishing and paddling in the inflatable kayak. My daughter had such a zen moment out on the lake, she remained completely unaware of the nuclear devastation happening in Detroit...

Home

Both kids got home from camp yesterday. Yeah! 

One guess what I'll be doing today. Yup, about six loads of laundry. After hearing about the great week they both had though, it's 100% worth it.

Bird Kingdom Niagara

Bird Kingdom was on my son and daughter's "must do" list for Niagara Falls, and we were not disappointed. It was a splendid place to spend the afternoon. There were delightful displays of birds in their natural habitats as well as birds you could handle. The best part was, there was no additional charge to hold the birds. The kids were thrilled!

 

My favorite part was feeding the lorikeets. As soon as we were given the little had the cups of nectar, we were swarmed. It was great fun.

I Think We're Gonna Get Wet

As we got ready to board the Hornblower (the Canadian version of the Maid of the Mist) they gave everyone red poncho raincoats. They were going to help a little, but it didn't matter because we came prepared with full rain gear, including boots.

Heading down into the mist seemed like the perfect thing to do on a dreary rainy day at the falls. (Our only rainy day.)

The power of the water coming over the falls was even more evident when we viewed them from below.

 

It amazed me just how much wind the falling water created. I was very glad we packed our rain gear. If we hadn't, we would have been completely soaked. The mist combined with the wind, made it seem like an October storm. A wonderfully fun storm. Most of the other people were drenched from the knee down.

The Hornblower was a great experience. It made me think back to when I rode the Maid of the Mist when I was about 10. Good memories...

And actually, except for our hair, we stayed dry.

Watch Out

Beware of the wild dinosaurs roaming around Niagara Falls. The T-Rex especially; he tends to get quite testy if you refuse to share your Beaver Tail with him.

Delicious

If you visit the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and have a sweet tooth, be sure to stop at Beaver Tails. They make delicious pastries shaped like, what else, a beaver tail.

We had hoped to enjoy one for breakfast, but since they don't open until noon we had to settle for a mid-afternoon snack instead.

It was so big, the kids and I split one. It was delicious and well worth the wait.

Poetic Visions 2019

A month or so ago the Mackinac Island Public School students got a chance to exhibit their poetry, art and photography at the Poetic Visions of Mackinac exhibit. Both of my kiddos were happy to participate. Each piece of art and the corresponding poem revolved around the this year's theme - "The Seasons of Mackinac."

Both S and K chose winter as their favorite season; and they both won awards. S for his photograph and K for her poem. I was so impressed with all the work entered in the exhibit. The students' writing abilities have really grown over the past three years.