Iceland, Norway & Finland - April 8 thru May 11 2019

My brother George and I are heading to Iceland, Norway, and Finland.   Our first stop is Reykjavik, Iceland.  We left Detroit on Monday, April 8 and arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland on Tuesday, April 9 at 6:55 a.m. (Iceland time). First leg of the flight was to JFK in New York, from New York it was a 5 hour flight to Reykjavik, Iceland.  I hope my old body can survive this trip without any mishaps!  Icelandic is the official main language, but so far we’ve been able to speak English to everyone.

Our planned itinerary in Iceland - the land of fire and ice

Googled Flag of Iceland 

Flags I saw flying Iceland were not rectangle
Red symbolizes Iceland’s volcanoes, white represents ice and snow, and blue represents the Atlantic Ocean.

Reykjavik, Iceland April. 9 - 12, 2019

The tourism industry in Iceland depends heavily on foreign labor.   We took a Hop-on hop-off bus and the driver was from Gdańsk, Poland, very nice fellow with whom we had a nice conversation.  Apparently there is a very large Polish group helping Iceland and also themselves with the opportunity to make more money.   We’ve also met people from Lithuania, Turkey and Morocco.

It was a 45 minute bus ride from Kefvlik Airport to Reykjavik Residence hotel/apartment where we stayed until Friday, April 12.  The hotel is located 5 minutes from the North Atlantic,  and within walking distance to the city center.

View from the walkway of our hotel

Hallgrimskirkja Evangelical Lutheran church - visible from almost anywhere in the city  

Great views of Reykjavik from the  Church

Reykjavik means “Smokey Bay”

Harpa concert Arena

Harpa Concert Arena at night with intermittent changing lights - George thought it may have been designed to represent the Northern Lights.

We came across groups of high school seniors who celebrate their graduation by dressing in groups of all kinds - this group of penguins asked for a kiss on the cheek. There were groups of Ninja Warriors, rabbits, Star Wars fighters and others. They were enjoying themselves roaming the streets of Reykjavik!

George & Anne in the Ice cave exhibit at the Perlman.  It was cold and brought back memories to me when Allan and I went thru a real cave in the Swiss Alps many years ago

Ring Road drive to Akureyri - Saturday, April 13, 2019

Leaving Reykjavik the weather looked ominous, fortunately the further we traveled on the Ring Road the weather improved.

Walking to the top of a volcano crater - quite a workout for Anne,  but not for George!

Our travel group - a wonderful, generous group of Indians who shared their homemade vegetarian 

food with us, a real treat.  Our group also included two ladies from France, one from Germany and 4 from the Philippines who were unable to,join us until Sunday.

Capital of North Iceland - Myvatn - Sunday, April 14, 2019

We left Akureyri this afternoon.  We drove along the Eyjafjootour fjord, the longest fjord in Iceland.   Our first stop was the beautiful Gooafoss, the waterfall of the Gods. We then stopped at the bizarre lava formations at Kalfastrond where it was SUPER windy and I thought I would be blown down.   Our last stop was the geothermal  baths at the Myvatn Nature Baths that contain a unique blend of minerals, silicates and geo-thermal micro-organisms.   The warm soothing waters made my skin feel so soft and refreshed our spirits.  We spent the night at Hotel Laxa located in an area with virtually no light pollution - unfortunately did not see the Northern lights, but beautiful sunset and sunrise.

Waterfall of the Gods

George walking around the rim of the lava crater

Lava Labyrinth, Hot Springs & Travel East - Monday, April 15, 2019

Lava labyrinth at Dimmuborgir, “the dark castles” and where various trolls are said to live.

Beautiful waterfall

Bubbling mud pools

East Fjords, Iceland - Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Unfortunately today was a rain day and we were driving through areas where the fjord landscapes were to be spectacular.   We made the most of our day.   We saw many herds of reindeer, amazing how they blend in with the landscape.  Not spectacular photos, but we enjoyed it any way!

South Coast of Iceland - Wednesday, April 17, 2019

It was another rainy and long day for us today. We had a better view of the reindeer today.  Our first spot was the black diamond beach near the glacier.   Chunks of ice from the glacier lay on the beach and in the water, beautiful & clear!

George on the Black Diamond Beach

We hiked to this glacier

Beautiful moss on lava creates a unique site and it feels like soft carpet when you walk on it.

  

Seljalandasfoss waterfall where we walked a trail behind the falls

Anne & George behind the waterfall - we got soaked, but it was fun!

Golden Circle, Iceland - Thursday, April 18, 2019

Another rainy day, but we were not disappointed!  We visited the Fridheimer Farms (Peace Farm) where we toured an amazing eco tomato greenhouse and learned about the beautiful Icelandic horses who are the only horses that have five different gaits compared to the three gaits of horses (walk, trot, and gallop)  Icelandic horses have the tolt which is a sped up version of walking, but more impressive because the horses lift their front legs up high, and only one foot touches the ground at any time. The other gait is the flying pace - we saw a rider holding a glass mug of beer while her horse did the flying pace -and the beer never spilled out!   They say it feels like you are sitting on a couch when the  horse does the flying pace! Then Eyrun, our tour guide and driver, took us to an area where ravines caused by the earth’s movement between the American plate and the Eurasian plate fill with melted water from the Langjokukk glacier.  The water has traveled underground for decades thru the porous lava rock and that filters the water.  Eyrun filled out water bottles from one of the ravines and we had delicious cold water! Then we went to another beautiful waterfall, Gulfoss. Our next stop was the most amazing views of the split in Iceland between the mid-American rift and the Eurasian plate - a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Pingvellir. You can only see the edges of the rift above sea level between both plates in Iceland.  It was awesome to see the enormous power of Mother Nature that caused these rifts and continues today.   A unique & educational way to end our tour and say goodbye to Eyrun and our great tour group.

Icelandic horse demonstrating gaits

Eyrun filling my water bottle

Oslo, Norway - Friday & Saturday, April 19 & 20, 2019

We arrived in Oslo, Norway on Friday, April 19 and the weather was beautiful - blue skies and sunshine - T-shirt weather and a welcome change from windy Iceland.  We are staying in an Air B&B apartment until Thursday when we join our tour group. A few photos from the first couple of days.

First views of Norway from the plane

Den Norske Opera & Ballet 

“She Lies” sculpture installed permanently in the water & floats amid the fjord around its own axis according to the tides

Oslo - Sunday & Monday, April 21 & 22, 2019

Easter Sunday in Norway and we have blue skies, sunshine & t-shirt weather.   We rode the Hop-on Hop-off bus on Easter Sunday stopping to hike up to the Holmenkollen Ski & Jump Tower, and then the Vigeland Sculpture Park.   We had a nice fish soup, reindeer and salmon dinner for Easter at the Cathedral Cafe.  Norwegians do celebrate Easter and stores are also closed on Easter and Easter Monday.  The mode of transportation here is electric scooters and bicycles.  On Monday we strolled the Akerselva River from the city center.  The River walk us about 5 miles long.   We did a good portion but not the whole walk, but did see lots of waterfalls.

Holmenkollen Ski & Jump Tower

.

Vigeland Sculpture Park

Strolling by the Akersalve River

Nice waterfalls all along the path

Oslo Peace Prize center

Lillehammer, Norway - April 23, 2019

Another beautiful day in Oslo. Today we took a 2 hour train ride to Lillehammer where some of the 1994 Winter Olympics were held.  Nancy Kerrigan won the silver medal for figure skating here.   Lillehammer is a quaint tourist town with lots of hills to walk.   We visited the Maihaugen, an historic town of how people lived in the 17th century.   Peer Gynt, the play by Henrik Ibsen, was inspired by a real or legendary person living here.  It was a nice train ride and enjoyable stroll thru the town.

Train to Lillehammer - punctual, quiet and scenic

Lake Mjosa - Norway’s largest and deepest lake

Town of Maihaugen

Scenic view of town

Picture of the map of Europe in the schoolhouse of the town

Lake Mjosa - returning to Oslo on the train