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The mouse munches her way through far off lands: The Christams Edition

The mouse munches her way through far off lands: The Christams Edition

Old Dec 9th, 2016, 09:09 AM
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The mouse munches her way through far off lands: The Christams Edition

I'm going to try something new- posting as I travel. The last time I got back from a long trip like this one, I never got around to writing a report.

The traveller: 30 something museum and food lover.

Lodging: mixture of hotels and hostels

Challenges this trip: I don't generally travel in the winter. Hoping for no flight delays! I'm also generally a slow travel advocate, but this is my first chance to travel to Europe...and my itinerary just sort of grew. And grew and grew, like the Grinch's heart

Also, it's been a fall besieged by Murphy's law. To the point that I'm having waking nightmares about every ridiculous thing that could go wrong overseas. Positive thoughts!

New stuff to try out this trip:
IPad mini- has replaced my nook.
Rick Steves clothesline
Birkenstock boots
Columbia omniheat jacket
Delsey suitcase- it turns out that one week of winter clothing takes up a lot more space than one week of summer clothing. Loaned my carryon to a relative and my favorite duffle pack is not as large as I remembered. Whoops.
Vacuum bags
Pacsafe purse
Money belt

I suspect that I packed too much. But carryon wouldn't have been feasible anyway with my injured arm. And the "expendable" stuff was either the boots (leaving me only lime green trimmed athletic shoes for dining) and winter layers. Well, will have to see.

For better or worse, I'm off! Come along with me...first stop: Iceland!
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Old Dec 9th, 2016, 12:48 PM
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I'm looking forward to your report!

Lee Ann
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Old Dec 9th, 2016, 12:56 PM
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me too!
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Old Dec 9th, 2016, 12:56 PM
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Birkenstock boots-love those. Have fun.
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Old Dec 11th, 2016, 09:35 AM
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Chapter 1: Iceland, land of proud Vikings who first became violent farmers, then peaceful peddlers of puffins.

It was a long flight, but Icelandair is very pleasant to fly with. Their seats are a bit narrow but I will take that if it comes with leg room. I usually fly Delta, and I really can't do standard economy with them. Iceland air comes with free water upon boarding and I actually had room to stretch my legs. I landed at 7 and unfortunately we were held up a bit by the fact passengers enroute to Munich has a shorter connection than planned. I missed my bus to Blue Lagoon and as I was not inclined to wait an hour, I chose to get a taxi.

As it turned out that was a good choice, because BL is magical that time of day. There are relatively few people and for the first hour, I could feel like enormous sections of the pool were all mine. I really enjoyed the sauna, waterfall, and steam cave.

By the time jet lag kicked in, It was 1130, so I went for my free sparkling wine and a bowl of the langoustine soup at LAVA. The soup was heavenly, although expensive.

Practical information: I got the comfort package, and I think if I went back, I would't bother spending the extra money. A disadvantage to this is that if you have their flip flops, towels, and bathrobes, it's very difficult to pick out yours from everyone else. The water is very hard on your hair- they tell you that, but don't underestimate that. Don't worry about wearing contacts in the pool- if you do any ocean swimming, it's pretty much the same thing. If you are really there to relax, you may want to upgrade to premium. I did not get to see their lounge, but I can tell you that the relaxation area for us common folk is not very relaxing. Lots of talking. Very busy. I enjoyed it nevertheless. If I was not getting off a red eye flight, though, I will say that I probably would have gone to one of the town pools instead.

Around noon, I caught the bus to Reykjavik. The landscape is amazing. Piles of lava rock with moss growing in clumps. It's the sort of landscape that can make you think that trolls and elves walk among us. Loft Hostel is essentially everything you want in a hostel. Great location in the pedestrian area. Individual lights and plugins. The lockers are more like hotel safes, very small. No communal computers, but front desk will print things for you. No laundry, which would be annoying if I was staying longer. Elevators, clean bathrooms, bar , breakfast, frequent events on the calendar. One of my roommates was less impressed; she said the communal kitchen was not very clean, so you may want to consider that if you stay at hostels to cook. I stay at hostels for a hot shower; their showers are terrific. Also, they sell mulled wine in their bar and that may account for a lot of my good opinion

I crashed for a few hours and then headed out for food.

Grillmarkadurrin for dinner (or rather, appetizers)

Sliders- reindeer, lobster, minke whale. Reindeer turns out to be absolutely delicious, and if I return there, I would get the reindeer entree.

Chicken wings- Cucumber salsa, peanut butter sauce.

Minke whale steak- I'd read previously that is tasted like a cross between beef and fish. True. Much like swordfish, it has that substantial meaty texture. Much like tuna, it is served blue, so if that is a turn off for you, give it a miss. Very good.

Although I think this place could make anything taste good. I also ordered veggie skewers, and those, also, were delicious. I was seated at the grill bar next to a couple from Pittsburg. The lady and I agreed that the cocktails were dangerously good, and that watching the chefs prepare the food was risky, because then you wanted to try everything!


The next day, I ate breakfast at the hostel (very decent) and headed out around 10. Still dark, which was odd, but luckily Reykjavik is very pretty in the dark. I walked up to the Hallgrimskirkja, but as it was Sunday, it was closed for services. Lovely from the outside. The statue in front was gifted to Iceland by the US. I learned later that the US had a big impact on Iceland because there was a military base here from ww2 until 2006. Iceland regards itself peaceful and neutral so the people voted to not renew the military contract. Iceland won its independence from Denmark in WW2 also because the Nazis occupied Denmark. One of the more interesting aspects of Icelandic culture is that they are nonviolent. No security except (of course) at the American embassy. The police are famous for first not carrying guns and second their Instagram account. The culture also emphasizes equal rights- feminism, gay rights, etc. There is crime- but mostly seems to be corruption scandals involving money. When they want to protest something, they gather near the parliament building with pots and pans. Twice in the last decade or so, a crowd of 30,000 has effectively moved up the vote due to scandal. 30, 000 is the size of my hometown- it does not sound like a huge number until you consider that the entire population of Iceland is around 330,000.

Anyway- the above came from the very nice high school teacher who served as the tour guide of my noon city walks tour. I also learned a lot about the Icelanders love of football and the fact that the streets are warmed by hot water pipes. In fact, the skate park that becomes a skating rink during the winter- they have to continuously increase the ice because the sidewalk underneath it melts the ice. Very nearly everything in Iceland is expensive- except of their hot water!

Legends, gods, elves, fairies- thick on the ground and prominent in the culture. Around the city there are projections of sheepish looking trolls on the buildings. I saw them my first night and found out the next day that the trolls are the sons of Gryla, a terrible ogress. As the story goes, the sons would raid the towns and steal naughty children as their mother really enjoyed a nice pot of child soup. But Gryla died 50 years ago, and to make up for their past sins, the 13 Yule Lads (Iceland's Santa) leave gifts for the children. The projections are part of scavenger hunt for children.

The Icelanders are a mix of various races. The first settlers were Vikings- younger sons who left to find a new home. They stole women from primarily the Celts and came to Iceland to farm (no places to rape and pillage, you see). The guide said due to the small population, there is a database, "The book of Icelanders" that people can consult to prevent too close interbreeding. She joked that the database gets the most traffic on Sunday morning. How much of that is true, I don't know- I suspect she was pulling our collective leg as the oldest written source of history is also called the book of Icelanders. But it was a big hit with the group. She also sells "beer mittens"- essentially a mitten with a beer can hole instead of a thumb- on behalf of an elderly neighbor lady. I've been on several city tours and she was one of the best guides I've seen.

My favorite stop on the tour was probably the pond. It plays a big part in the lives of the locals, and I enjoyed hearing the guide's personal experiences living in the city. I also enjoyed watching the whooper swans.

On the more sober side...one of the reasons Iceland is schengen but not EU is because of their animal controversies. They hunt and serve in restaurants both puffins and minke whale. Iceland is one of 3 countries that still hunt whale. My tour guide said that she rarely eats either- more popular dishes among the locals include Sheeps head, testicles, horse. After the tour, I sampled my way through the little market in the opera house- I absolutely recommend cod liver and smoked lamb and anything dairy based but NOT shark. The flavor- or rather the aftertaste- is indescribable.

To cleanse my palate, I headed off to Icelandic fish and chips for a beer and tusk, one of the daily specials. Yum.

I stopped briefly at the art museum and enjoyed the artwork of Erro. Picture chaotic, popular culture images drawn rather like comic book characters. Big, bold, bright. Hitler, Eva Braun, American military action, especially Gulf War, Japanese military, Maoist movement, Donald Duck, Simpsons references included. The wars (especially WW2) left a lasting impression on Erro and he expressed that sense of chaos in his art. From a description on the wall these images "lead us to reflect on the stammerings of history, responsibilities of governments, and the absurdity of war". (Excellent, but due to some graphic sexuality, some folks may not consider it child friendly). In the next room is a visual introduction of the Yule Lads- cute! There were a few exhibition halls upstairs but it was the type of exhibit that there is a spackled patch of wall on display ..and a three paragraph explanation of the "deeper meaning". So, not really my thing!

I visited the settlement (872+\-2) exhibit last as it was open late. This was really interesting as generally Viking exhibits aren't common in North America. I went to one in BC but many of those artifacts were reproductions. Anyway, the museum is centered around the remnants of a longhouse. They did an excellent job of designing the museum, and while it's fairly simple, it's also detailed and interactive. I had wondered about the dating of the settlement and the name prior to my visit. The most important method they used to date the site was tephronology- there's a layer of ash around the building but not under it from a massive volcanic eruption in 871 AD (they know this because the tephra matches ash found in the Greenland Ice Cap.) The name is even more interesting. The Sagas are a collection of Viking legends that tell the story of the settlement of Iceland. Supposedly the founder had discovered the country in 874. Icelandics hold these stories in high regard- to be a patriot means to believe in the Sagas. The discovery of the settlement of course contradicts the Sagas, so plus/minus 2 was added on to placate the more patriotic folks.

Finished my night with a hot dog from the famous hot dog stand (which tasted like it came from a real animal). I don't even like hot dogs, but I find myself daydreaming about that one when I get home. And a mulled wine, oh yes.

Final notes: I was happy with my two nights as Iceland was just a chance to recover from jet lag for me. However, if you're considering visiting, you probably need 3 to make the most of Reykjavik and more if you want to do any of the all day tours. The only thing I didn't do on my list is the National museum and I'm a bit bummed about that. But Iceland is definitely on my return list. Other thing- people repeatedly say on this forum and others that Iceland is very expensive- and that is very true. Reykjavik has the feel of a large town, but the food and activities are more along the lines of what I would expect to pay in Boston or NYC.

Next Chapter: a painfully early flight and my first town in Germany.
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Old Dec 11th, 2016, 11:34 AM
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There is crime- but mostly seems to be corruption scandals involving money. >>

funny - there are quite a few murder mysteries based in Iceland. this made me look up the murder rate in Iceland which is indeed very low:

http://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/ne...t_murder_rate/

I wonder why they write about it so much then?

anyway, great TR, mm, and thanks for bringing back memories of Iceland, albeit we were there in the summer when it was so light at 11pm that you could sit outside and easily read a newspaper.

We didn't get to the settlement but we did spend a few hours at the National Museum, and it is very good. Perhaps the most interesting exhibit was the one about the ethnic origins of Icelanders - their mitochondrial DNA shows that the men were Scandinavian, but the women are Celtic - so all those stories about raping and pillaging as they went to and from Iceland and Denmark turn out to have been ...true.
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Old Dec 11th, 2016, 11:47 AM
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Funnily enough, I think I may know the answer to your Icelandic mystery thing. They likely belong to a subgenre known as known as Scandinavian noir. It's all about atmosphere and Scandinavia culture which Iceland has in spades, so I suspect that Iceland is an exotic locale for the subgenre. Additionally, the books are often set in small remote towns- again, very Icelandic. (I love mysteries but cannot handle the grimness of the noir. I have tried, because they've become very popular and are generally well written. But very, very bleak)
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Old Dec 11th, 2016, 11:48 AM
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Great report. We've been to Iceland twice in the past 3 years. Never got out of Reykyavik, but feel the need to. We heard the same stories from our walking tour guide both times we took it. We went to public pools/spas in town and were glad we did. Got a great deal at the Hotel Frón both times (50€ a night and a lovely hotel) and found a marvelous Turkish restaurant (the first and only in Iceland) where we ate very reasonably. Also found that great Rasta café down by the harbor and ate well there inexpensively. Love that city (unlike you, though, took two bites out of the hot dogs from that famous place and tossed them in the wastebin).

And yes, Icelanders do seem peculiarly fond of murder mysteries.

Looking forward to more!
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Old Dec 11th, 2016, 11:59 AM
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Ooh, Turkish food. Didn't even know there was one here. Surprised about your reaction to the hot dog though- like I said, I loath American hot dogs and the only kind I've enjoyed before are white hots from the east coast. I needed a hot snack on my walk home- it's entirely possible that it tasted so good because I was so cold and hungry! Sometimes state of mind determines taste, I think.

Hotel Fron is going on my list, thanks! That is indeed very reasonable. I feel a bit bad for my roommates tonight because of my early departure but all of the hotels I found were crazy high. It may be the time of year? Surprisingly it seems to be a very popular Christmas destination. It hadn't struck me as a kid friendly country before, but I think it's very versatile- would make either a great romantic getaway or family holiday.
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Old Dec 11th, 2016, 12:03 PM
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Both times we were there it was the end of April (beginning of "summer"- they have only two seasons, winter and summer, at least that's what our guides told us).

I think I'm just not a great fan of hot dogs in general. I wanted to like the ones in Iceland, but it wasn't going to happen.

The Turkish restaurant is called Meze, on the main shopping street (where the Hotel Frón is, too), the name of which escapes me right now.
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Old Dec 11th, 2016, 02:12 PM
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Enjoyed your report on Iceland marvelousmouse. I was there for 2 nights one July but was not as adventurous as you with the dining. Looking forward to more!
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Old Dec 11th, 2016, 09:23 PM
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Reporting in from the Iceland airport- if taking the flybus, know that it routinely runs 15-25 minutes late in picking folks up at hotels. I was half convinced that the hostel had given me the wrong address, so activated my precious precious data and gave the company a call. No problems. I did need to replace my lost ticket and had to wait behind a lady who, instead of calling flybus, had panicked, caught a taxi, and was in the process of ripping the desk clerk a new one. It may have worked in my favor, though- half price for replacement ticket- that was either good customer service (Icelanders are fairly pleasant and helpful) or the fact he was simply relieved to be dealing with a pleasant customer after the lady stormed off.

Anyway...the airport is very pleasant, largely automated and quick to get through but leave yourself plenty of time to get there. Got patted down for the first time in years- they have the metal detectors rather than the full body scanners, so if you mind pat downs, best remove your wire bra, ladies

And if there is something you wanted in town but didn't buy, don't worry, duty free shops carry pretty much everything and a lot of it is cheaper than I saw downtown. Managed to resist the Yule Lads wool figurines, but, alas, not the specialty food store. So now I have smoked lamb, and cheese and crackers for lunch, yum!
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Old Dec 12th, 2016, 06:15 AM
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We enjoyed Iceland too

Minke whale steak, shame on you. You can donate at http://www.seashepherduk.org/ to compensate

Iceland was invaded by the UK at the start of the WW2, soon after the US joined in they took over the occupation. Hence the base was not over-popular. The good news was the occupation triggered a major economic revival for the country and, of course, it saved many lives.

We were there during a pot bashing demonstration and it is impressive.

The "Islendiga-App" is to try and avoid those family gatherings where you discover the babe from last night is your second cousin. 'Bump the app before you bump in bed.' was the slogan I saw.

Iceland (the country) also called Lýðveldið Ísland is trying to sue the British supermarket Iceland for use of their name at the moment, let's be grateful that we don't have a supermarket called "Lýðveldið". Strange to think that Iceland (the country) once owned 70% of Iceland (the supermarket) bought out of the false banking gains of the 2006/7 period
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Old Dec 12th, 2016, 08:00 AM
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I knew the sea shepherd sounded familiar...sure enough, it's the crazies from whale wars. No thanks, shan't support vigilantes. It's always possible that I'm missing something...but my understanding was that minke aren't endangered? I am probably a barbarian for saying this but I really haven't got a problem with hunting and eating animals. I don't agree with sport/trophy hunting, and I don't like fur trade (the latter Iceland seems to be pretty into.) But that's about as far as I go towards the side of PETA.

From a legal standpoint, the issue is interesting to say the least. The detractors claim that no one eats whale anymore but if that were the truth the whalers would be out of business. Iceland and Japan claim it's a traditional, nationalistic part of their respective cultures. Demand and tradition aren't a particularly good argument for something, but "animal is cute and smart" isn't really a good argument against it in my book. I love pigs, and I hate the thought of selling them for fair, but bacon is so very delicious.

Whew. Got all serious there for minute. Apologies!

The bit about the app is hilarious. I was wondering a bit about illegitimate children. There doesn't seem to be a stigma against unwed mothers but I would think that would make tracing the family tree more difficult. Certainly adds a bit of extra unease to sex lol.

Any idea what they use sea cucumber for? It's sold dried, and I forgot to ask the clerk. So I'm curious about that

So was the supermarket named Iceland originally or did the Brits rename it?if it were the former in not sure I understand their grounds to sue. Is it a matter of trademarking? And how does a country sue a grocery store? That really interests me.
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Old Dec 12th, 2016, 08:47 AM
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Serious is ok, tradition is not a reason to do anything, traditionally we used to keep slaves and kill each other with stones. Tradition; the democracy of the dead.

Minke; there is an international moratorium on whale killing. (period). A few countries ignore the law. Minke whale meat is mainly eaten in Iceland by tourists as most Icelanders have stopped eating it. The rest (of the non minke whales) they catch is shipped to Japan, whose research vessels cannot catch enough.... The other big hunter is the Faroes who herd whale onto the shore with their traditional high power fibre glass boats so they can slaughter the poor saps in the shallows before shipping the stuff off to ..... Japan.

Sea sheppard are proud of not hurting any humans in their "vigilanty" activities unlike the Japanese whalers who normally seem to kill at least one of their own staff every year.

Anyway, enough serious, lets get on with the rest of the fun.

Iceland; I don't know when Iceland (the country) got its name in English. The Supermarket came along in 69. It is a frozen food business, ended up owned by the Iceland government who then sold it. Now they want to sell "Iceland flavour" in Europe and of course have run into consumer law. Should be a fun thing to watch in the spring.
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Old Dec 12th, 2016, 09:37 AM
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I thought that I read somewhere that the wife of the founder of Iceland came up with the name but I may just be imagining it.
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Old Dec 12th, 2016, 11:21 AM
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I can give you a bit of info about sea cucumber, Marvelous, as there is an active, though heavily regulated, fishery here in the Salish Sea in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, my next door neighbor is a commercial diver who harvests both Sea Cucumber and Sea Urchins from local waters. Both are shipped fresh to Japan. The dried muscle of the sea cucumber must be soaked for a couple of days before it is prepared for cooking, I understand.

I have eaten the Urchin roe, and find it palatable, but my fisherman neighbor has eaten the cucumber flesh and declares it "nasty", so I will abstain.

Here is a Wiki link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_cucumber_as_food
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Old Dec 12th, 2016, 11:25 AM
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Huh. Thanks nukesafe I didn't realize cucumber was harvested in PNW. I knew about the sea urchin- always hoping to find it at Pike place market because I LOVE it. Haven't seen it locally in a few years though.

I figured it needed to to be soaked but I couldn't figure out to what end. Glad I didn't buy it if it's nasty
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Old Dec 12th, 2016, 11:29 AM
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Read the link, lol. I don't know if you've read Terry Pratchett's books, nukesafe, but in Jingo, there's a turf war over a highly sought after fish/eel. It's sought after because it has a truly horrible taste so the test of true chef is to prepare dishes of it that contain no taste of it whatsoever. Sounds like sea cucumber
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Old Dec 12th, 2016, 11:50 AM
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I have, unfortunately, eaten sea cucumber and found it utterly vile. I've had sea urchin, though, in Morocco and loved it, though it was a bit salty. I love eel, at least the eel I've had roasted here in France from the Med,and lamprey, and of course smoked eel sushi.
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