Mum's been to Iceland, or "round Iceland with a cucumber"
Sep 25th, 2008, 01:45 PM
#61
well, thanks to all for the positive feedback.
Maggie - you're too kind. if our government gets its way lawyers like me are going to be redundant so I may need to find another string to my bow!
Astein, - next time, i promise to listen harder to what you have to tell me - and only go to places that you've already tried. It's Newfoundland this year isn't it?
FainaAgain, - water fountains appear to be pretty sparse in european airports. for the avoidance of doubt, however, I meant from the TAPS in the aforesaid facilities, NOT from the toilet bowls.
regards, ann
Maggie - you're too kind. if our government gets its way lawyers like me are going to be redundant so I may need to find another string to my bow!
Astein, - next time, i promise to listen harder to what you have to tell me - and only go to places that you've already tried. It's Newfoundland this year isn't it?
FainaAgain, - water fountains appear to be pretty sparse in european airports. for the avoidance of doubt, however, I meant from the TAPS in the aforesaid facilities, NOT from the toilet bowls.
regards, ann
Sep 25th, 2008, 02:20 PM
#62
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Thanks for another adventurous episode, Ann! Sorry to read about the demise of the cucumber, however. I was sure it was going to save the day, somehow, or at least survive until the end. But its presence made for a great title and it deserves a prize for that alone.
Sep 25th, 2008, 02:28 PM
#63
Hi moolyn,
yep, me and that curcubit had got quite attached. But as we'd come to the [premature] end of our self-catering, it seemed that the time had come for us to part.
given the state of the "fresh" produce available in Iceland, it probably had several more weeks left in it - who knows - it may still be gracing someone's fridge!
regards, ann
yep, me and that curcubit had got quite attached. But as we'd come to the [premature] end of our self-catering, it seemed that the time had come for us to part.
given the state of the "fresh" produce available in Iceland, it probably had several more weeks left in it - who knows - it may still be gracing someone's fridge!
regards, ann
Sep 25th, 2008, 02:36 PM
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Hey Ann!
We actually end up with Nova Scotia... sort of a last minute decision. I'll let you know how it goes.
You're right that food was always an issue, but we didn't have a single bad meal (expensive, but food was good). Even burgers at the gas station were freshly made with good fries and cold beer.
The most memorable was eating at a truck stop up north. Nobody spoke English, drivers were coming in and out to get new loads, ER was on the TV (in Icelandic), the Talking Heads were on the radio... it was quite surreal... though, everyone was nice and they shared the giant bowl of salad and pudding that was layed out for the truckers.
We actually did OK at the supermarkets... we picnic (while hiking or similar) so we picked up cheese (which was quite good), fruit (good but expensive), bread (from the local bakery that most towns seemed to have), smoke trout or salmon (always good) and hard boiled eggs from the guesthouse breakfast. Add to that a bottle of wine or a beer (cheap at the supermarket) and we were set. Otherwise, it would have been very catch as catch can along the road.
Loads roads are definitely an adventure, but I got to play World Rally Car driver in our little Citroen. Even helped dig a big Toyota minivan out of a snowbank near Dettifoss (it was some Italian tourist we met at dinner the night before).
We actually end up with Nova Scotia... sort of a last minute decision. I'll let you know how it goes.
You're right that food was always an issue, but we didn't have a single bad meal (expensive, but food was good). Even burgers at the gas station were freshly made with good fries and cold beer.
The most memorable was eating at a truck stop up north. Nobody spoke English, drivers were coming in and out to get new loads, ER was on the TV (in Icelandic), the Talking Heads were on the radio... it was quite surreal... though, everyone was nice and they shared the giant bowl of salad and pudding that was layed out for the truckers.
We actually did OK at the supermarkets... we picnic (while hiking or similar) so we picked up cheese (which was quite good), fruit (good but expensive), bread (from the local bakery that most towns seemed to have), smoke trout or salmon (always good) and hard boiled eggs from the guesthouse breakfast. Add to that a bottle of wine or a beer (cheap at the supermarket) and we were set. Otherwise, it would have been very catch as catch can along the road.
Loads roads are definitely an adventure, but I got to play World Rally Car driver in our little Citroen. Even helped dig a big Toyota minivan out of a snowbank near Dettifoss (it was some Italian tourist we met at dinner the night before).
Sep 25th, 2008, 02:55 PM
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Ann,
For some reason I keep picturing the Travelocity roaming gnome commericials with a cucumber playing the part of the gnome... very disturbing!
You definitely should have gotten photos of the cucumber visiting all of the major sites.
For some reason I keep picturing the Travelocity roaming gnome commericials with a cucumber playing the part of the gnome... very disturbing!
You definitely should have gotten photos of the cucumber visiting all of the major sites.
Sep 25th, 2008, 03:48 PM
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"I meant from the TAPS in the aforesaid facilities, NOT from the toilet bowls." - I was only joking... till I realized my mistake! US "toilet" and British "toilet" are not exactly the same!
Hats off to being divided by the common language
Hats off to being divided by the common language
Oct 2nd, 2008, 12:35 AM
#69
DAY NINE
Now that we’d escaped the world’s worst self-catering chalet, and found [we hoped] somewhere rather better to rest our heads for the next two nights, we were free to resume our holiday. One of our ideas for the two days [now one] we’d been scheduled to spend on the unpronounceable Snaefellsnes peninsular [it’s that 2nd S that caught me out every time] was to take a whale watching trip, and despite my lack of sea legs, after the huge success of yesterdays’ ferry journey, I was all in favour. [We’ve been on similar trips in north America and south Africa, as well as sometimes seeing minke whales off the Cornish coast, and there’s always a thrill when you first spot the water-spout or splash from a tail or fin.]
Also run by www.seatours.is, the whale-watching boats set out from Olafsvik, about 30kms further west along the north coast of the peninsular, and tickets can be purchased either from the tourist information centre [a very swish renovated building near the harbour] or on board, if they’ve got room. We had phoned ahead to book our tickets so we needed only to pop into the tourist office and pick them up, which worked out at about £40 each – not cheap, but then we were used to that by now. [Btw, the phone calls we made on our UK mobiles in Iceland worked out very reasonably, considering the convenience they gave us of being able to book trips and our emergency hotel in advance]. There was loads of parking next to where the boat was tied up by the quay, [and in Iceland, no fear of the car or its contents being nicked whilst we were at sea] and we were quickly on board. The welcome was slightly off-putting, especially for bad sailors for me and DD – “how are you and here’s your sea-sickness tablet”!
To take to not to take? – well, we reckoned they knew what they were talking about, and as we weren’t going to be driving or using heavy machinery for the next few hours [the trip takes about 4 hours altogether] so we took. And were glad we did.
Now that we’d escaped the world’s worst self-catering chalet, and found [we hoped] somewhere rather better to rest our heads for the next two nights, we were free to resume our holiday. One of our ideas for the two days [now one] we’d been scheduled to spend on the unpronounceable Snaefellsnes peninsular [it’s that 2nd S that caught me out every time] was to take a whale watching trip, and despite my lack of sea legs, after the huge success of yesterdays’ ferry journey, I was all in favour. [We’ve been on similar trips in north America and south Africa, as well as sometimes seeing minke whales off the Cornish coast, and there’s always a thrill when you first spot the water-spout or splash from a tail or fin.]
Also run by www.seatours.is, the whale-watching boats set out from Olafsvik, about 30kms further west along the north coast of the peninsular, and tickets can be purchased either from the tourist information centre [a very swish renovated building near the harbour] or on board, if they’ve got room. We had phoned ahead to book our tickets so we needed only to pop into the tourist office and pick them up, which worked out at about £40 each – not cheap, but then we were used to that by now. [Btw, the phone calls we made on our UK mobiles in Iceland worked out very reasonably, considering the convenience they gave us of being able to book trips and our emergency hotel in advance]. There was loads of parking next to where the boat was tied up by the quay, [and in Iceland, no fear of the car or its contents being nicked whilst we were at sea] and we were quickly on board. The welcome was slightly off-putting, especially for bad sailors for me and DD – “how are you and here’s your sea-sickness tablet”!
To take to not to take? – well, we reckoned they knew what they were talking about, and as we weren’t going to be driving or using heavy machinery for the next few hours [the trip takes about 4 hours altogether] so we took. And were glad we did.
Oct 2nd, 2008, 03:42 AM
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Ann - I am really enjoying your trip report.....Iceland has always appealed to me!
Just for curiosity sake, taking into account airfare, accomodation, food and car hire, did Iceland work out more expensive than South Africa?
Just for curiosity sake, taking into account airfare, accomodation, food and car hire, did Iceland work out more expensive than South Africa?
Oct 2nd, 2008, 09:22 AM
#72
Hi allyB,
once you are there, SA can be much cheaper. obviously, if you stay in high end hotels [especially the safari ones] all the time, then it'll cost you. but there are loads of much more reasonable options.
for example, the Radisson was £100 per night per room, [these are June/July and therefore low season prices] whereas the glymur [the expensive hotel we ended up in due to my internet c..up] was nearly twice that.
as for food, you could get a really good meal for £10-15 each; it was at least twice that in Iceland. and car hire!!!! it was about £100 per day for a decent 4WD car, which whatever others might say, was essential. I don't remember how much car hire in SA was , but it was nothing like that.
the flights were much more for us, of course, coming from SA, but IMHO you get much better value.
regards, ann
once you are there, SA can be much cheaper. obviously, if you stay in high end hotels [especially the safari ones] all the time, then it'll cost you. but there are loads of much more reasonable options.
for example, the Radisson was £100 per night per room, [these are June/July and therefore low season prices] whereas the glymur [the expensive hotel we ended up in due to my internet c..up] was nearly twice that.
as for food, you could get a really good meal for £10-15 each; it was at least twice that in Iceland. and car hire!!!! it was about £100 per day for a decent 4WD car, which whatever others might say, was essential. I don't remember how much car hire in SA was , but it was nothing like that.
the flights were much more for us, of course, coming from SA, but IMHO you get much better value.
regards, ann
Oct 2nd, 2008, 10:29 AM
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I'll second much of what Ann wrote...
SA is definitely cheaper once you're there. Even staying at a high-priced private game reserve (Kwandwe for 5 nights... booked thru a SA company and paid for in Rand... saved us about 50%), we spent less money 'on the ground' in SA. The flight, however, was about double the cost.
That said, the difference between the two overall was probably less than 20%. It's not like Iceland was double.
I'll disagree with Ann on one point... you can get away with a 2 wheel drive car. We hauled our little Citroen over the worst Iceland could throw at us... we even helped dig/pull a couple of big SUV's out of snowbanks around Dettifoss. It really depends on how comfortable you are on the kind of rutted up 'goat tracks' that you find in some areas of the country. The key on most of the roads is to find the speed at which the ruts cause the least vibration... usually it's about 5 or 10mph faster than you think you SHOULD be going (plus watch a couple of World Rally Car events before you head over to get yourself in the right frame of mind).
The poor little thing ended up covered in about 2 inches of mud, but it saved on gas and rental fees and the area on top of the dash made a great picnic table.
SA is definitely cheaper once you're there. Even staying at a high-priced private game reserve (Kwandwe for 5 nights... booked thru a SA company and paid for in Rand... saved us about 50%), we spent less money 'on the ground' in SA. The flight, however, was about double the cost.
That said, the difference between the two overall was probably less than 20%. It's not like Iceland was double.
I'll disagree with Ann on one point... you can get away with a 2 wheel drive car. We hauled our little Citroen over the worst Iceland could throw at us... we even helped dig/pull a couple of big SUV's out of snowbanks around Dettifoss. It really depends on how comfortable you are on the kind of rutted up 'goat tracks' that you find in some areas of the country. The key on most of the roads is to find the speed at which the ruts cause the least vibration... usually it's about 5 or 10mph faster than you think you SHOULD be going (plus watch a couple of World Rally Car events before you head over to get yourself in the right frame of mind).
The poor little thing ended up covered in about 2 inches of mud, but it saved on gas and rental fees and the area on top of the dash made a great picnic table.
Jan 8th, 2009, 01:13 PM
#76
I'll disagree with Ann on one point... you can get away with a 2 wheel drive car. We hauled our little Citroen over the worst Iceland could throw at us... >>
and I'm going to disagree with astein in a petty tit for tat sort of way! i wouldn't dream of trying to get over those goat-tracks in any thing less than a 4-WD. Though I do agree that going a bit faster than your instinct is telling you to is a good tactic - if nothing else, you spend less time being shaken to bits.
Bostongal - hello again. I just met you on another thread.
I realise that I broke off mid boat trip. how remiss of me. Ann's new new year's resolution: finish iceland trip report before we go to Krakow. [don't get your hopes up - it's in april!].
regards, ann
and I'm going to disagree with astein in a petty tit for tat sort of way! i wouldn't dream of trying to get over those goat-tracks in any thing less than a 4-WD. Though I do agree that going a bit faster than your instinct is telling you to is a good tactic - if nothing else, you spend less time being shaken to bits.
Bostongal - hello again. I just met you on another thread.
I realise that I broke off mid boat trip. how remiss of me. Ann's new new year's resolution: finish iceland trip report before we go to Krakow. [don't get your hopes up - it's in april!].
regards, ann
Feb 18th, 2009, 09:33 AM
#78
BACK TO THE TRIP REPORT.
DAY NINE continued, aka "The ups and downs of travel".
My experience of boat trips has not always been good - in fact i enjoy about 1 out of 10. so after the joys of yesterday's ferry ride, i had no great hopes for this trip, especially as previous whale watching journeys had been so good. The first part of the journey out towards the chilly atlantic didn't disappoint [or rather it did] as it was predictably boring, so we took advantage of the free tea and coffee, and looked smug when those who hadn't taken the offer of the sea-sickness tablets looked increasingly green about the gills.
After a while we went up on deck, just for something to do, and enjoyed a great diving show from some passing gannets who were doing what they do best, which is diving vertically from an improbable height into the brimy foam, and coming up with a fish. and then doing it again. After that occasionally someone would shout that there was a fin "at two o'clock" but really there was very little to see and the time for the boat to turn round and return to port in order to pick up passengers for the afternoon trip was fast approaching.
our spirits were also dampened somewhat by talking to another english family who'd got free tickets having been on the boat the day before and seen nothing. then just as we were giving up hope, there was another shout, there just ahead of the boat was a pod of killer whales or orchas, possibly as many as 8, adults and calves. we stayed in the area for about 30 minutes or so, and so far as we could tell, the orchas were very comfortable with our prescence as they made no attempt to move away. The sun came out so we took loads of snaps, most of them rubbish, and even at £5 an orcha, it was well worth it.
of course, the boat did eventually have to turn round, but even then the whales followed us for a while. in truth, we didn't see much else of interest, but it didn't seem to matter.
when we got back into port the weather was on the turn, and it must be said that our impression overall of the snaefellsnes peninsular was not a good one. in fact the nadir [probably of our whole trip] was reached when we tried to explore a track off the main road which was supposed to lead up onto the glacier, and I was trying to reverse the car and
ended up almost sending us over the edge of a cliff. for some reason [tiredness after that dreadful night's non-sleep?] I just could not turn the steering wheel in the right direction, and for the first and only time in my life I had to get out from behind the wheel and hand over to DH who was being somewhat less than patient. the shame! the expletives deleted!
the rest of the journey to the our emergency hotel was completed in that polite and frosty silence which I'm sure you all know only too well, with DH giving every appearance of being asleep [I was driving again] and me both seething inside, and hoping like hell that the hotel, which was coting about twice what we'd paid everywhere else, it live up to expectations.
we got there after about 2 hours drive, and so far as we could see through the rain and mist, it looked OK, though the outside wasn't exactly pretty. The inside however, was a different kettle of lamb soup and I could feel us all start to relax as soon as we stepped into reception. Even DH started to smile. Warm and bright, with lots of local artifacts it immediately felt like home, and before we'd said who we were, we'd been greeted warmly and offered tea or coffee. Then after the obligatory guided tour, we were shown to our rooms [not adjoining, but the kids don't need that anymore and we certainly don't]. this was more like it. split level with a view over the fjord [if you could see it] there was a downstairs sitting area with a telly, tea and coffee making equipment and wet-room, and upstairs very comfy bed with a great view. Heaven - see http://www.glymurresort.com/
to entertain us indoors there was a library, free internet access and a fabulous lounge with the view; outside there were twin hot-tubs, and robes for visiting them. DH went for a nap, and me and the kids sat and read and then used the hot-tubs - we weren't going anywhere else that day.
in the evening we decided that we'd try the restaurant, and were very glad we did - the food was definitely a cut above virtually anything else we had in Iceland, though at the price it should have been. i suppose that it worked out at £40 a head including glasses of wine as opposed to a bottle. This is definitely a hotel I would recommend to honeymooners or those who want to splash out for a couple of days or so, but not for a long break as it's rather a long way to anything else!
As for the night, suffice to say that it was as different from the night before as could possobly be imagined and peaceful marital relations were resumed!
Tomorrow - anyone know where to get a tyre repaired in Reykjavik?
DAY NINE continued, aka "The ups and downs of travel".
My experience of boat trips has not always been good - in fact i enjoy about 1 out of 10. so after the joys of yesterday's ferry ride, i had no great hopes for this trip, especially as previous whale watching journeys had been so good. The first part of the journey out towards the chilly atlantic didn't disappoint [or rather it did] as it was predictably boring, so we took advantage of the free tea and coffee, and looked smug when those who hadn't taken the offer of the sea-sickness tablets looked increasingly green about the gills.
After a while we went up on deck, just for something to do, and enjoyed a great diving show from some passing gannets who were doing what they do best, which is diving vertically from an improbable height into the brimy foam, and coming up with a fish. and then doing it again. After that occasionally someone would shout that there was a fin "at two o'clock" but really there was very little to see and the time for the boat to turn round and return to port in order to pick up passengers for the afternoon trip was fast approaching.
our spirits were also dampened somewhat by talking to another english family who'd got free tickets having been on the boat the day before and seen nothing. then just as we were giving up hope, there was another shout, there just ahead of the boat was a pod of killer whales or orchas, possibly as many as 8, adults and calves. we stayed in the area for about 30 minutes or so, and so far as we could tell, the orchas were very comfortable with our prescence as they made no attempt to move away. The sun came out so we took loads of snaps, most of them rubbish, and even at £5 an orcha, it was well worth it.
of course, the boat did eventually have to turn round, but even then the whales followed us for a while. in truth, we didn't see much else of interest, but it didn't seem to matter.
when we got back into port the weather was on the turn, and it must be said that our impression overall of the snaefellsnes peninsular was not a good one. in fact the nadir [probably of our whole trip] was reached when we tried to explore a track off the main road which was supposed to lead up onto the glacier, and I was trying to reverse the car and
ended up almost sending us over the edge of a cliff. for some reason [tiredness after that dreadful night's non-sleep?] I just could not turn the steering wheel in the right direction, and for the first and only time in my life I had to get out from behind the wheel and hand over to DH who was being somewhat less than patient. the shame! the expletives deleted!
the rest of the journey to the our emergency hotel was completed in that polite and frosty silence which I'm sure you all know only too well, with DH giving every appearance of being asleep [I was driving again] and me both seething inside, and hoping like hell that the hotel, which was coting about twice what we'd paid everywhere else, it live up to expectations.
we got there after about 2 hours drive, and so far as we could see through the rain and mist, it looked OK, though the outside wasn't exactly pretty. The inside however, was a different kettle of lamb soup and I could feel us all start to relax as soon as we stepped into reception. Even DH started to smile. Warm and bright, with lots of local artifacts it immediately felt like home, and before we'd said who we were, we'd been greeted warmly and offered tea or coffee. Then after the obligatory guided tour, we were shown to our rooms [not adjoining, but the kids don't need that anymore and we certainly don't]. this was more like it. split level with a view over the fjord [if you could see it] there was a downstairs sitting area with a telly, tea and coffee making equipment and wet-room, and upstairs very comfy bed with a great view. Heaven - see http://www.glymurresort.com/
to entertain us indoors there was a library, free internet access and a fabulous lounge with the view; outside there were twin hot-tubs, and robes for visiting them. DH went for a nap, and me and the kids sat and read and then used the hot-tubs - we weren't going anywhere else that day.
in the evening we decided that we'd try the restaurant, and were very glad we did - the food was definitely a cut above virtually anything else we had in Iceland, though at the price it should have been. i suppose that it worked out at £40 a head including glasses of wine as opposed to a bottle. This is definitely a hotel I would recommend to honeymooners or those who want to splash out for a couple of days or so, but not for a long break as it's rather a long way to anything else!
As for the night, suffice to say that it was as different from the night before as could possobly be imagined and peaceful marital relations were resumed!
Tomorrow - anyone know where to get a tyre repaired in Reykjavik?
Apr 20th, 2009, 07:29 PM
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What? Wait! Is there more? How does one get a tyre repaired in Reykjavik?
Just happened to stumble across this post. I laughed about the title and have been reading it on and off for the last few nights. DH has enjoyed the snippets I've read to him as well.
Just saw you have a post on your latest trip to Italy. Am going to save up for another time. Thank you for the wonderful and hilarious posts. Also, I now have some material with which to formulate an answer for DH's question, "Why would anyone want to visit Iceland?"
Just happened to stumble across this post. I laughed about the title and have been reading it on and off for the last few nights. DH has enjoyed the snippets I've read to him as well.
Just saw you have a post on your latest trip to Italy. Am going to save up for another time. Thank you for the wonderful and hilarious posts. Also, I now have some material with which to formulate an answer for DH's question, "Why would anyone want to visit Iceland?"
Apr 21st, 2009, 01:38 PM
#80
hi ellens,
glad you're enjoying it. the title is [you probably guessed this] a tribute to Tony Hawks' "Round Ireland with a fridge", so i can't take any plaudits for originality.
Here goes with
DAY 10
the day dawned or rather crept in drizzly and miserable, so we decided to take a day trip to Reykjavik and explore the museums etc. it was a fairly boring 90 minute drive along the busiest roads we encountered in the whole trip before we hit the town and luckiy DH's map-reading skills were up to finding our way into the centre. As it was DH navigating, we were bound to spend a not inconsiderable amount of time looking for a parking spot we didn't have to pay for. this accomplished, our luck ran out because it was apparent that one tyre was considerably lower than the rest, and getting worse. a slow puncture was diagnosed, and the only remedy would be a tyre repair.
were we going to spend all day looking for a tyre replace outfit? or go and enjoy ourselves? having secured a free parknig spot, the answer was obvious so ignoring the gentle whistle coming from the tyre, we headed off into town. truthfully, although Reykjavik is big compared to other places in Iceland, London it isn't. I suppose we wandered around for about 30 minutes til the rain started again, and we decided to make for the nearest museum. this turned out to be the National Museum of Iceland and if you only do one museum in the whole of Iceland, make it this one. it is airy, well-laid out, has a great cafe, AND has explanations in Icelandic and English. [tough if you're french of course!] for me, the most fascinating part was the DNA research into the origins of the Icelandic people; the men turn out to be Scandanavian, but the women are Celts. all those tales of raping and pillaging turn out to be true! but there was loads about boats, fishing, clothing [with costumes to try on and be photographed in and not just for the kids] the parliaments, etc.etc. a really great 2-3 hours.
after than we had a late lunch in the cafe [served by some bloke from Brum who turned out to speak about as much Icelandic as us] and after purchasing some postcards in the gift shop, we went off to look round any bits of Reykjavik we'd missed. which turned out to be not very many.
as all the restaurants we walked past were even more expensive than the one back at the Glymur, and we wanted to see the Saga Museum and Perlan just outside town on the way back to Borganes, we couldn't put off the busines of the tyre any longer, so after a quick flip round the cathedral [lift to the top out of order] we went back to the car, and limped to the nearest petrol station, where the kind attendants gave us directions to the nearest tyre repair place. this turned out to be back along the ring road [which follows the sea wall, more or less] and past the viking monument. asy enough to find, and after some waiting about, the chap said he'd repair it in an hour or so. what to do? if we waited that long, the Perlan would be shut, so rather than hang about, we decided to drive out to the Perlan and hope that it wouldnt' prove so fascinating that we missed our slot back at town.
NO CHANCE. The best bits were undoubtedly the artificial geysir in the foyer and the view from the top. the rest was rather tame ersatz Madames Tussauds. so it was no hardship to tear ourselves away and go back to sort out the tyre. the viking sculpture proved to be a very helpful signpost and we found the place amazingly easily. once it was done, [using a combination of our bad icelandic and his equally bad english] we had to pay. Frankly he could have charged us anything,and it was a nice surprise that the bill came to the equivalent of a very reasonable £20.
then it was back to the sactuary of the Glymur hotel and a relaxing dip in the hot tub before dinner. the menu hadn't changed, but we all had different choices; this might have proved difficult if one were staying for longer than two nights! then it was off to raid the library [some boks in english, many but not all very deep socialogical texts wich you don't necessarily want on your hols, but I'm being picky] enjoy our luxurious room and do a bit of packing before setting off on our last day. what a find.
tomorrow - Day 11 - mudbaths and alarm clocks.
glad you're enjoying it. the title is [you probably guessed this] a tribute to Tony Hawks' "Round Ireland with a fridge", so i can't take any plaudits for originality.
Here goes with
DAY 10
the day dawned or rather crept in drizzly and miserable, so we decided to take a day trip to Reykjavik and explore the museums etc. it was a fairly boring 90 minute drive along the busiest roads we encountered in the whole trip before we hit the town and luckiy DH's map-reading skills were up to finding our way into the centre. As it was DH navigating, we were bound to spend a not inconsiderable amount of time looking for a parking spot we didn't have to pay for. this accomplished, our luck ran out because it was apparent that one tyre was considerably lower than the rest, and getting worse. a slow puncture was diagnosed, and the only remedy would be a tyre repair.
were we going to spend all day looking for a tyre replace outfit? or go and enjoy ourselves? having secured a free parknig spot, the answer was obvious so ignoring the gentle whistle coming from the tyre, we headed off into town. truthfully, although Reykjavik is big compared to other places in Iceland, London it isn't. I suppose we wandered around for about 30 minutes til the rain started again, and we decided to make for the nearest museum. this turned out to be the National Museum of Iceland and if you only do one museum in the whole of Iceland, make it this one. it is airy, well-laid out, has a great cafe, AND has explanations in Icelandic and English. [tough if you're french of course!] for me, the most fascinating part was the DNA research into the origins of the Icelandic people; the men turn out to be Scandanavian, but the women are Celts. all those tales of raping and pillaging turn out to be true! but there was loads about boats, fishing, clothing [with costumes to try on and be photographed in and not just for the kids] the parliaments, etc.etc. a really great 2-3 hours.
after than we had a late lunch in the cafe [served by some bloke from Brum who turned out to speak about as much Icelandic as us] and after purchasing some postcards in the gift shop, we went off to look round any bits of Reykjavik we'd missed. which turned out to be not very many.
as all the restaurants we walked past were even more expensive than the one back at the Glymur, and we wanted to see the Saga Museum and Perlan just outside town on the way back to Borganes, we couldn't put off the busines of the tyre any longer, so after a quick flip round the cathedral [lift to the top out of order] we went back to the car, and limped to the nearest petrol station, where the kind attendants gave us directions to the nearest tyre repair place. this turned out to be back along the ring road [which follows the sea wall, more or less] and past the viking monument. asy enough to find, and after some waiting about, the chap said he'd repair it in an hour or so. what to do? if we waited that long, the Perlan would be shut, so rather than hang about, we decided to drive out to the Perlan and hope that it wouldnt' prove so fascinating that we missed our slot back at town.
NO CHANCE. The best bits were undoubtedly the artificial geysir in the foyer and the view from the top. the rest was rather tame ersatz Madames Tussauds. so it was no hardship to tear ourselves away and go back to sort out the tyre. the viking sculpture proved to be a very helpful signpost and we found the place amazingly easily. once it was done, [using a combination of our bad icelandic and his equally bad english] we had to pay. Frankly he could have charged us anything,and it was a nice surprise that the bill came to the equivalent of a very reasonable £20.
then it was back to the sactuary of the Glymur hotel and a relaxing dip in the hot tub before dinner. the menu hadn't changed, but we all had different choices; this might have proved difficult if one were staying for longer than two nights! then it was off to raid the library [some boks in english, many but not all very deep socialogical texts wich you don't necessarily want on your hols, but I'm being picky] enjoy our luxurious room and do a bit of packing before setting off on our last day. what a find.
tomorrow - Day 11 - mudbaths and alarm clocks.
