Hattie and Bruce Travel

Norway Bound-On Top of the World

2007-11-30T17:03:00.001-08:00

On August 14, 2007 we traveled from St. Petersburg to Oslo. Bruce took this picture from his plane seat as we approached the Helsinki airport. Here we could just about see the top of the world. (One could readily imagine the North Pole not too, too far away...)

Norway-Oslo Airport Train to the City

2007-11-30T17:01:00.001-08:00

Here's Bruce with our bags ready to jump on the fast train that will take us from the Oslo airport to the heart of the city. So sorry this picture is fuzzy. I am not sure how this happened but at least you can see the clean and shiny place. Wow. It was great to be out of the grit of St. Petersburg. This was August 14.

Oslo Airport Gardermoen is 50 km (31 miles) north of the city. Keep in mind that a kilometer = .621 miles. It was really hard for me to do the calculations in my head all the time so I just doubled the number and we always got there faster than I had imagined.

Also you need to know that one US Dollar = 5.49 Norway Kroner. The train ride was $137 Kroner or about $25 USD each. This was just the first time we experienced Norwegian sticker shock. We knew this would be the case so we were ready for it.

Norway-Olso Harbor at Night

2007-11-30T16:59:00.001-08:00

A few hours after we arrived on August 14, we walked from our hotel to the Oslo harbor. This scene is why so many tourist find their way here in the summer. The tall ships are elegant, the water is pristine and in this place on the globe we found this light at 10 pm. Nice.

Norway-Dinner in Oslo

2007-11-30T16:42:00.001-08:00

Remember that we had just come from St. Petersburg. I was yearning for something lovely to eat and drink. About five blocks from our hotel we found this sweet wine bar which is a part of a restaurant where we later had a meal.

You can see that I'm having a Chardonnay and Bruce was trying a Pinot Noir. The shock was we ordered asparagus that cost $30 USD and the fish dish was $60. After 4 glasses of wine at $20 USD each we were full and happy and had left plenty of cash in this place. Actually, it was fine. They deserved it. It was all perfect.

Norway-Walk to the Laundry

2007-11-30T16:38:00.000-08:00

We had plenty of dirty clothes. Our guide book, Lonely Planet, listed a laundry that was about 20 blocks from the hotel. With the address and a map I took off to find this place that would make me feel so much better. It was raining. On my walk I did get lost but found help from a local. He said he was sorry that we had rain and also was sorry that Oslo's summer was over. Remember, it was August 14. He was right that it did not look like summer that day.

I was only three doors away from my laundry when I found this darling shop. Can you believe that the owner's name sounds like the English word, winter. I told him that he must be the favorite place during the long dark days of Norway's winter. He smiled and said, "of course."

By the way, when we first arrived in Norway I would ask people if they spoke English. Quickly I learned that they all speak English and I was insulting them to ask this question. There are only 4.7 million Norwegians. Imagine if they only spoke Norwegian? They wouldn't have many people to talk to. Norway is smaller than New York City, LA, Chicago, Houston or Philadelphia.

Norway-Roses

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These flowers would brighten up any dark winter Norway day.

Norway-Grand Hotel

2007-11-30T16:36:00.001-08:00

The Grand Hotel is famous. We are in the restaurant and these are its real windows facing the central street of Oslo's historic downtown. We stepped in to get out of the rain and it proved to be a great place to sit out the cloudburst.

Norway-Grand Hotel Trompe l'oeil

2007-11-30T16:34:00.001-08:00

While sitting in the same seat from which we took a picture of the real windows at the Grand Hotel, we took this picture of the opposite wall. It is painted to "reflect" the real windows. The trompe l'oeil is executed as if the date were 1920. The chef and wait staff are really real.

Norway-Oslo Charms

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This is a side street we discovered while exploring the city. This ally cafe was not serving outside since it was raining off and on.

Norway-National Museum Munch

2007-11-30T16:27:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of a postcard since we were not allowed to take pictures at the National Museum. The painter of The Scream, Edvard Munch, is Norway's most famous painter and many of his pieces are in this museum.

You might remember that in 1994 and in 2004 paintings by Munch were stolen. The 1994 thieves were caught and the paintings retrieved. The 2004 creeps are still at large and the painting still missing.

Norway-Oslo Bikes

2007-11-30T16:26:00.001-08:00

The city leaders in Oslo are trying to get people to ride bikes. It's not working.

Norway-Oslo Palace

2007-11-30T16:11:00.001-08:00

The Norwegian 1814 constitution transformed Norway from being an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy.

This means that the King has mainly symbolic power while the prime minister and law makers are elected democratically.

This is the King's home which you can see is built on a rising slope and it is is just a couple of blocks from the center of the city.

Norway-Olso Ferry Ride

2007-11-30T16:09:00.001-08:00

We took the ferry from the Oslo harbor over to the Norsk Folkemuseum.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Geranium

2007-11-30T16:04:00.001-08:00

A perfect window sill.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Door With Iron

2007-11-30T15:58:00.001-08:00

This door looks strong and like you would have to be invited to get in. I think the ironwork is fabulous. This door could be three or four hundred years old.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Carved Door

2007-11-30T15:56:00.001-08:00

Nice work.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Bruce on Break

2007-11-30T15:54:00.001-08:00

Guess Bruce is resting during our self-guided tour of the Norsk Folkemuseum.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Upscale Home

2007-11-30T15:52:00.001-08:00

This is a rich guy's house. That is not the rich guy, that is Bruce.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Slate Roof

2007-11-30T15:51:00.001-08:00

You can have slate and sod.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Traditional Home

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This looks comfy but it is very small compared to the way we live today.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Sod Roof

2007-11-30T15:44:00.001-08:00

I love roofs.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Roof Up Close

2007-11-30T15:40:00.001-08:00

This is a sod roof. You can see there is a wood roof, edged with stones then filled with sod that produces grass and flowers. Too cute. But I read that cooking in a home with a sod roof requires that the cook keep an umbrella over her food preparations. This keeps the dirt that falls from the roof from spoiling your dish.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Home

2007-11-30T15:37:00.001-08:00

I thought I might move in.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Street

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Notice the stone foundations. That's Bruce but I have no clue what he is doing.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Windows

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Yes, there is grass growing on this roof but I wanted you to see these sweet windows. We went inside these old homes and everything is wood and so small. Low ceilings, small rooms and tiny windows made it easier to keep warm. Makes sense.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Tile Roof

2007-11-30T15:14:00.001-08:00

I just love this tile roof.

The buildings at the Norsk Folkemuseum make it easy for visitors to see how the Norwegian people lived and worked prior to the industrial revolution.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Stave Church

2007-11-30T14:56:00.001-08:00

Wikipedia says, "Religion in Norway is overwhelmingly Protestant (Evangelical-Lutheran) with 82.9% belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway. Early Norwegians, like all of the peoples of Scandinavia, were pagans believing in Norse mythology; the Sámi having a shamanistic religion. Due to the efforts of Christian missionaries, Norway was gradually Christianised in a process starting at approximately 1000 AD and which was substantially finished by 1150AD. Prior to the Reformation, Norwegians were part of the Catholic Church with the conversion to Protestantism occurring in 1536."

Wooden, or Stave Churches, were built as Norwegians became Christians.

Norway-Bruce Having Fun

2007-11-30T14:47:00.000-08:00

Bruce was having a good time talking to the docent at the Stave Church. I thought he looked so handsome I just cropped out the docent.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Docent

2007-11-30T14:38:00.000-08:00

Here's Bruce with the docent at the Gol Stave Church which was moved to the Norsk Folkemuseum so that tourists could see a stave church up close and personal without leaving the greater Oslo area.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Stave Church Entrance

2007-11-30T14:15:00.001-08:00

Jorgen H. Jensenius, a local architect who specializes in surveying and researching medieval wooden churches writes at stavechurch.org. His homepage is titled, Medieval Wooden Churches in Norway. He says that, "10th-century missionaries to Norway concerned themselves with establishing chapels, churches and other ecclesiastical centers." In other places I read that there were over 1,000 wooden, or Stave church buildings, but today there are only 28 left in the country.

Since missionaries came into Norway from Europe, it is assumed that, "the wooden churches of Norway from medieval times are a complicated mixture of different European and Middle Eastern traditions, together with the older local building practices of Norway."

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Stave Inside

2007-11-30T13:59:00.001-08:00

The Lord's Supper is depicted with oil on wood. This work was done in 1216 if I read my Norwegian correctly. Really.

I was trying to find the date and could only find information about this Stave Church on web sites that are written in Norwegian.

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Stave Roof

2007-11-30T13:52:00.001-08:00

So charming. When I look at this picture I think that the craftsmen who created this roof were hoping that this place would bring our thoughts to God. The detail and precision seem respectful. What do you think?

Norway-Oslo Norsk Folkemuseum Stave Roof and Sky

2007-11-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

Medieval church still pointing up.

Norway-Finally Our Own Car

2007-11-30T12:48:00.001-08:00

Here is Bruce with the lovely young man at the Hertz rental counter in the Oslo train station. He was so darling and he told us we must come back to Norway in the winter and visit his home town which is in the northern part of the country. I said it must be really cold and he said yes it is cold but it is beyond-imagination-beautiful. OK. Just because of him we just might go to Norway in the winter next time we're on one of those around the world trips.

It is now August 17 and for our entire around-the-word trip, which started on July 20, we had traveled via planes, trains, taxis, boats, buses, pedi-cabs, private cars driven by chauffeurs, moving sidewalks and on foot. This was to be our only road trip with a rent car and of course the reason was to get out of the city and into the glorious countryside of one of the world's most spectacular places. So here we go. The inspiration for this came from Anthony Ham, co-author of our guide book, Lonely Planet. He said, "I'd start off in Oslo then drive the southern coast to Arendal, Kristiansand, Stavanger and on to Bergen."

We were happy to get the car and to be free to go and do and stop or not stop. We had no hotel reservations which was fine except we did end up with one bad room. Oh well, one out of five wasn't so terrible.

Norway-Road Trip Stop One Arendal

2007-11-30T12:26:00.001-08:00

Arendal was our first stop on our road trip out of Oslo. It is about 160 miles from Oslo and we took the exit off the main road just to see what we would find in this little town. Well, it turned out to be the ideal that one holds in the mind about a Norwegian coastal town. You can see its big blue harbor surrounded by strongly constructed commercial buildings and homes.

According to one web site, "The most glorious period of the town history was during the sailing ships era, in the 18th and 19th century. It was at one time one of the largest and most important towns in Norway. Its wealth was based on shipping, with the surrounding iron ore mining, iron works and timber providing the most important trade."

Norway-Arendal Harbor Visit

2007-11-30T12:04:00.001-08:00

Here's Bruce chatting with the bartender. She does this job in the evening and during the day she takes care of senior citizens who are ill or home-bound.

The Arendal habor is so beautiful at this moment in time that we thought we might find a real estate agent.

Norway-Windshield Bridge

2007-11-30T11:55:00.001-08:00

Norway has spent big bucks to make it possible for its 4.7 million people to drive around the country.

You can see a tiny patch of blue sky in the upper right of the picture and that made us happy. Bruce didn't feel well and insisted on driving because the roads were narrow and I think we forgot to make me an official driver on the rent car.

Norway-Windshield Tunnel

2007-11-30T11:51:00.001-08:00

The tunnels in Norway are nice and clean and well-lighted. We lost count of the number of tunnels we went through but Bruce said the trip would have been impossible without them.

Norway-Tunnels and Waterfalls

2007-11-30T11:28:00.001-08:00

There are 900 tunnels to help people get around what is a mountainous terrain and there are waterfalls around every bend. These granite mountains must have been hard to blast through but the Norwegians are tough and good with dynamite. The tunnels along with the ferries make the flow of goods and people efficient.

The Nazis occupied Norway for five years and I am standing near a monument that described a battle fought and lost here by the Norwegians.

Norway-First Fjord

2007-11-30T11:24:00.001-08:00

Here I am when I saw my first Norwegian fjord. Bruce stopped the car because I was dying to see it. We were too far away to get a good fjord picture but is one coming up so just hold on to your hat.

Norway-Ferry Travel

2007-11-30T11:01:00.001-08:00

Here we are on the ferry from Stavanger to Alvestad on the road to Bergen for the second night of our five-day road trip in Norway.

Ferries are important here because there is so much water. In case you are wondering how much water there really is, I'll tell you that there is 15,626 miles of coastline. And keep in mind that this is just the Western side of the country as the Eastern border is shared primarily with Sweden then there is a bit of shared border with Finland and Russia.

This ferry is large and had a cafeteria plus a children's movie room. It was raining or we would have taken more pictures. Remember, it is August 17 and summer is over.

Norway-The Perfect Fjord Photo

2007-11-27T14:46:00.001-08:00

Geirangerfjord captured by Frédéric de Goldschmidt and posted with permission for us to use at Wikipedia. Thanks Frederic. This is what a fjord picture should look like. Love the snow on top of the mountains, too.

A fjord is a narrow inlet or estuary between cliffs or steep slopes. And, Merriam Webster says an estuary is a water passage where the tide meets a river current; especially: an arm of the sea at the lower end of a river.

This means that each fjord has a sea opening but also a river feeding into it. Norway has one of the longest and most rugged coastlines in the world, and some 50,000 islands off the much indented coastline.

Our guide book, Lonely Planet, has an article written by National Geographic that says it selected the Norwegian Fjords as the world's best travel destination ahead of the Alps, the Galapagos Islands and the Great Barrier Reef.

Norway-The Flag

2007-11-27T14:33:00.003-08:00

This came to be the flag of Norway in 1821. The colors copy free countries in the 19th century, like Great Britain, France and the United States. The cross is borrowed from Denmark and Sweden.

Norway-Bergen Fjord Boat Departing

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This is our White Lady tour departing the harbor.

Norway-Bergen's White Lady Sightseeing Ship

2007-11-27T14:22:00.001-08:00

Well I broke my rule. That rule is, don't go on a bus or a boat trip if I can't tell the driver to take me home right now. I was so excited to see more fjords, I mean the ones that you see in the guide books, when the tourist office suggested we take this four-hour tour we did it even though it meant I had to break my rule.

We did meet a sweet Italian couple and Bruce bought us a bottle of wine. However, it was so boring I would never recommend this trip even though it is very popular. I guess it is popular because it departs from the very busy Bergen harbor where all of us suckers are hanging around.

Norway-White Lady

2007-11-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

We took this ship to get up close and personal with the fjords. This cruise goes out of Bergen's harbor.

Norway-Bergen Harbor Commercial Row

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This is probably the most photographed street in all of Norway. I am standing on the cobblestone and happy I have on good walking shoes.

Norway-Bergen Harbor Row

2007-11-26T20:48:00.001-08:00

Our guide book, Lonely Planet says, "Bergen's oldest and most enchanting quarter runs along the eastern shore of Vagen Harbour. Once a major commercial center for northern Europe the long parallel rows of buildings with stacked-stone foundations and reconstructed rought-plank construction run back form gabled fronts facing the wharf."

Norway-Harbor and Hills

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Here you can see the hills rising from the harbor.

Norway-Bergen's Vagen Harbor

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Another view of Bergen's Vagen Harbor.

Norway-Bergen Harbor is Amazing

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Yes, this is a real place. This is not a painting. Good job, Bruce!

Norway-Bergen Harbor Charm

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Bruce took these wonderful pictures of the famous harbor. I just couldn't leave any of them out since they all give you a unique angle.

Norway-Bergen Harbor

2007-11-26T19:32:00.001-08:00

Norway-Bergen Hotel

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The building on the far left with the copper turret is our hotel. Remember that we had no reservations for our road trip which meant that we had five nights when we had no idea where we would sleep. When we got to Bergen we had a little trouble because it was parent's weekend for the University of Bergen which has 16,000 students and a downtown campus. Oops. This hotel turned out to be wonderful and our room had walls of glass with shades that blacked out the light. We slept so hard that we nearly missed the breakfast buffet that came with the room!

Norway-Bergen Town Center Statue

2007-11-26T19:05:00.001-08:00

I am trying to look like a Viking. Do you see the guy right behind me? This is a statue featuring the "faces" of Norway over time. I liked the Viking best.

Norway-Bergen Creole Cafe

2007-11-26T18:47:00.001-08:00

This blog format is crunching my pictures so it is hard for you to see that on the green awnings attached to the red brick building it says, Louisiana Creole Cafe. Bruce was standing near the statue in the foreground and just started talking to a man nearby. He turned out to be the owner of the building and the owner of the restaurant. He goes to New Orleans at least once a year to study the cuisine and bring back the recipes he serves here in the old capital of Norway. He said that his motivation was to provide residents and tourists with an option that makes him stand out in the crowd. What a smart small business owner.

Norway-Bergen Bridge

2007-11-26T18:40:00.001-08:00

This is a bridge over the waterway coming into Bergen Harbor. It is so new and contemporary it stands in stark contrast to the old city.

Norway-Ferry

2007-11-26T18:35:00.001-08:00

Do you see the tiny patch of snow? Well, it is August so I guess it stays there all year. Norway is watery and rocky. It is full of tunnels and ferries. You cannot be in a hurry.

Norway-Eidfjord View

2007-11-26T18:30:00.001-08:00

From the deck outside our hotel room we snapped this picture. This is the reason people go to Norway. It is all stunning and rich with texture, color, water, rock, foliage and crispy air.

Norway-Eidfjord Magic

2007-11-26T18:22:00.000-08:00

From our hotel room you see the water with a boat then the mountain rising. Wow. Too bad the sky was not blue. Guess you need to go to Norway in July. We are on the famous fjord with the same name as the town, Eidfjord.

Norway-Lovely Bedding

2007-11-26T18:13:00.001-08:00

In our hotels in Norway the bedding looked like this. There was never a king bed only the twins pushed together or a queen. Now that I think about it we only had a king bed in Beijing, Hong Kong and Dubai. That's three out of eight cities. In St. Petersburg we had a double bed. Kinda cozy.

Norway-Hopperstad Stave Church Outside

2007-11-26T12:46:00.001-08:00

This is a stave church building. Buildings like this were typical in the 12th and 13th century and are made entirely of wood and without nails. We found this in the town of Vik and were told that it dates back to 1130 and that it is one of the oldest stave churches in the country.

Norway-Hopperstad Stave Church

2007-11-26T12:29:00.001-08:00

Inside the church we found this intricate wood carved canopy. The pastor stands under this to read the scripture. The painting depicts events in the life of Christ.

Norway-Sheep on the Road

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Remember, the summer is over. This was a very cloudy day so this picture is a bit dark but we saw this scene many times so I thought it was important to our story. We are on the road from Eidfjord to Gol on August 19 and we spotted many sheep. They always made us smile. They seem to own the land including the road.

Norway-Sheep Running

2007-11-26T12:05:00.001-08:00

These are Norwegian Dala sheep. There are about 140,000 of this breed in Norway today and we think we saw them all. Well, we saw hundreds. We are in the middle of the country and what feels like a high plain. This is rocky with plenty of grass so the sheep seem to have plenty to eat. At about.com I read that nearly 70% of Norway is uninhabitable and covered by mountains, glaciers, moors, and rivers. This seems to be a great place for sheep.

Norway-Sweet Sheep Face

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What a sweet face.

Norway-Sheep Wool

2007-11-26T12:02:00.001-08:00

Can't you just imagine a beautiful cozy sweater?

Norway-Sheep in Profile

2007-11-26T11:56:00.001-08:00

I know. I took a lot of pictures of sheep.

Norway-Three Wondering Sheep

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We were inside our car driving very slowly to get a close look at these darling animals.

Norway- Sheep Spotting

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Notice the bell around this one's neck. I was not able to see if every sheep we saw had a bell.

Norway-Grand View

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You would not want to slip while shooting your picture.

Norway-Voringfossen

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Finally what I call a very nice picture. This majestic waterfall called Voringfossen is the most visited waterfall in Norway. The falls are 600 feet high. It is located in Eidfjord where we spent the third of five nights on our road trip through Norway.

Norway-Lovely Sod Roof

2007-11-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

This is the most charming roof I have ever seen. According to Green Roof, a web site by Eco-Roof Systems, "sod roofs and walls have been used for hundreds of years in Iceland. The sod roofs soon became popular throughout Scandinavia.

The Icelandic architectural style originated because of a lack of natural resources. People had to make do with the local materials of sod and stone. Roofs topped with soil and a layer of vegetation have been used throughout history all over Europe, as well as, by ancient tribes in America. Early settlers in Americas Western prairies took advantage of the technique, creating shelters with readily available materials. An updated variation of this system has become enormously popular again in Europe."

Norway-Life in the Country

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Upscale country living. I love this spread!

Norway-Souvenir Shop

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Bruce finds out that the woman who owns this shop lives in the mud house below.

Norway-Construction Methods

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Check it out. Very thick mud walls. Must be cozy.

Norway-Mud House

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This is a mud house in rural Norway.

Norway-Up Close and Smiling

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On our trip around the country we were finding great scenes, delicious food, solid roads, darling sheep and nice people.

Norway-Big Waterfall

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I wish this was brighter but we had a cloudy day. Yes, summer was over. The locals were complaining.

Norway-Summer Flower

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The delicate and the muscular in harmony.

Norway-Water and Rock

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On August 21 driving around the country it wasn't hard to stand in awe of God's order and splendor.

Norway-Departing

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Whew. We made it all around the southern tip and across the middle of the country without problems. Here's Bruce, the primary driver, happy to turn in the rent car and let British Airways pilots take over.

We are on the parking lot of the Oslo airport. And I can say that we were happy that we had a great visit to this extraordinary country and we were ready to go on to Iceland then home to our very own bed.

Iceland-Arriving

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We arrived in Iceland on August 22. One US dollar converts to 63 cents Iceland Kronur. The airport provides no-cost conversion so we used our time while waiting for luggage to get a few Kronur. In general we didn't use much cash during the entire trip as we used credit cards which was easier and provided an honest exchange rate.

Iceland only has 301, 931 people and over half of the population lives in the capital city, Reykjavik. This means Iceland has about the same number of people as the city of Toledo and fewer people than Tampa.

Icelanders speak Icelandic and are required to study English and Danish in school. The country was settled by a mixed stock of Norsemen from Scandinavia and Celts from the British Isles.

Iceland-Blue Lagoon

2007-11-25T15:44:00.000-08:00

We went straight from the airport to the world famous Blue Lagoon. We rented bathing suits and soaked in the geothermal seawater's active ingredients which include minerals, silica and algae. There was a mixture available we smeared over our faces. You should have been there as we forgot to take a picture of us covered in the white goop.

Iceland-Like the Moon

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Much of the country looks like pictures I have seen of the moon except that in August Iceland has a bit of green ground cover.

Iceland-Car Trouble

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We rented this cute car, not the cute guy, at the airport and drove it to our hotel in Reykjavik. The next day we left our hotel for our day-long drive into the country and in a couple of blocks we heard a rattle. Fortunately, National Rent Car had a location handy to us so we pulled in. The mechanic took it for a spin around the building, raised the hood and pulled out a handful of rocks. We were laughing so hard. He put it up on his lift and fished out more rocks then sent us on our way.

Iceland-Car

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This is the license plate on our rent car. Isn't it elegant that the abbreviation of Iceland is IS?

Iceland-Roadside Map

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We stopped to have a look at this map. Our road trip took about 7 hours. We drove from the city of Reykjavik to the Gullfoss Waterfall then back to the city by an alternative route which basically meant we drove in a big circle.

Too bad we didn't get pictures of horses. There are 75,000 Icelandic horses in the country. To learn more just go to the web and type in Iceland + Horses.

Iceland-Two Sheep

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The sheep here in Iceland seem more sturdy than the breed we saw in Norway. Let me do some research.

Iceland-Magic

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Breath-taking land, water and sky. You should visit Iceland.

Iceland-Road Scene

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We were thinking Hawaii with a cold breeze as we drove into this countryside.

Iceland-Terrain and Geology

2007-11-25T15:07:00.001-08:00

Dr. Robert M. Stesky in his article on Iceland geology says, "Iceland sits astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, part of the world-circling undersea mountain system that is the locus of new crust formation. Iceland formed by the coincidence of the spreading boundary of the North American and European plates and a hotspot or mantle plume. As the plates moved apart, excessive eruptions of lava constructed volcanoes and filled rift valleys. Subsequent movement rifted these later lava fields, causing long, linear valleys bounded by parallel faults. These movements continue today, accompanied by earthquakes, reactivation of old volcanoes, and creation of new ones."

Iceland-Geysir Hot Springs

2007-11-25T15:03:00.001-08:00

I am waiting in the cold wind for this geyser to blow. It did but Bruce didn't get the picture. We tried several times so you'll just have to imagine a powerful stream of water gushing up 30-40 feet. We saw it. It happened. You'll just have to trust me.

Iceland-Gullfoss

2007-11-25T14:53:00.001-08:00

The end point for our road trip was the popular Gullfoss waterfall.

This photo is by Simon Cole and he posted it on Wikipedia granting permission to be used with proper credit which I am giving now.

He was there on a better day for taking pictures than we were as you can see from the picture I took from a similar point of view. The picture below that I took is at this same location. What a difference a day makes.

Iceland-Gullfoss in the Rain

2007-11-25T14:45:00.000-08:00

It was pouring and blowing rain but this is one of the most important spots in Iceland so we ran from the information center to get this picture. Bruce didn't mind me taking this of him since I wasn't going to pose with bad hair. Can you blame me?

Iceland-Windy

2007-11-25T14:33:00.000-08:00

On our road trip through the countryside we found stark terrain, inland lakes and plenty of wind. A park ranger took this for us. Yes, we are in a park, can't you tell?

Iceland-The Perlan On Top of the World

2007-11-25T14:11:00.001-08:00

This is us with with our newest friend, Svanberg Hreinsson. When we left the airport in our rent car we thought we had headed in the right direction but after several miles we considered the possibility that we could be going in the opposite direction of where we needed to be going. Thus, we turned in to the first building that looked as if there was someone inside to give us some help with our map. Bruce went in to find Svanberg and we have been friends ever since. We invited him to dinner then he took us to his home and we met his children. His wife was too busy preparing for her father's 80th surprise birthday party to join us.

We are on top of the world here. If you look at the globe and put your finger on Iceland you'll note that there's not much above it. This restaurant is built on top of six water towers which are at the top of the town so I figure I was having my birthday dinner on top of the world.

Iceland-Perlan Food

2007-11-25T14:03:00.000-08:00

I took this picture of Bruce's dish. Let me think...what is it?

The guidebook says Perlan is one of the top five rooftop restaurants in the world and Bruce tells me that this is Ahi and that it was fabulous.

This demonstrates why fine restaurants choose white plates. Doesn't the food look amazing?

Iceland-Perlan with Svanberg

2007-11-25T13:58:00.000-08:00

Svanberg was darling. He didn't even know it was my birthday and he brought me a gift. It was a small piece of art by a local painter who uses lots of paint and other objects to create a sculpture on canvas. It was three angels.

Iceland-Perlan with Svanberg Hreinsson

2007-11-25T13:46:00.001-08:00

What a birthday dinner!

As we ate we were rotating and in two hours one rotation is complete. Too bad it was a dreary, cloudy evening. It was August 23 and summer was over. The puffins had even left the country.