#Reykavik Mornings

[reykjavik-mornings]

Reykjavik

[impressions-of-iceland]

Day 11 - July 3 Reykjavik

We got some delicious pastries from Brau∂ in the morning and  ate them in the Freyja kitchen.

We drove to take the COVID test for our re-entry to the U.S. We'd scheduled an appt at the testing center in Reykavik which was located somewhere east of us. When we got there, we were shocked at the long line (reminded Pam of long lines at American voting places). Surprisingly, It went relatively quickly. We spent 40 minutes getting our test. David had a particularly aggressive Q-tip wielding tester. Our results came back quickly by email, soon after we got back to our Freyja lodging.

We started wandering around the town at 12:30, taking photos of the Harpa Concert Hall building and the various painted streets.

After a couple of hours of walking around, we decided to head back to café Loki for lunch: meat soup, herring and plokkfiskur on rye bread, and a small bowl of rye bread ice cream with rhubarb sauce. Pam ordered that particularly to try the ice cream, which was like a delicious frozen bread pudding. Rhubarb was usually on the dessert menu in the few restaurants we visited. It was probably the season for fresh rhubarb, but maybe it's also one of the few dessert items they can grow and preserve for use all year.

After lunch we walked around "our" block and discovered the sculpture garden behind the Einar Jónsson Museum a few doors down from the Freyja. The statues were fascinating - mythological and spiritual.

We took a look at the volcano news and found out that there'd been a big increase in activity starting a day or two before. We thought hard about whether to hike back up the Langihryggur trail again but in the end decided against it. David was pretty tired from all the driving. Besides, volcanic activity at any particular time is so unpredictable. We decided to enjoy a relaxing evening instead.

[totalsoccer]

Southgate axes Greenwood and Foden over Coronavirus breach

VIDEO SHOWS: ENGLAND MANAGER GARETH SOUTHGATE SPEAKING AT A NEWS CONFERENCE AFTER DROPPING PHIL FODEN AND MASON GREENWOOD / B-ROLL OF ENGLAND TRAINING AND GREENWOOD AND FODEN TRAINING SHOWS: BURTON ON TRENT, ENGLAND, UK (SEPTEMBER 4, 2020) (FATV - MUST CREDIT FATV) 1. ENGLAND MANAGER GARETH SOUTHGATE 2. PHIL FODEN 3. MASON GREENWOOD REYKJAVIK, ICELAND (SEPTEMBER 7, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENGLAND MANAGER, GARETH SOUTHGATE, SAYING: "Unfortuantely this morning it was brought to my attention that two of the boys have broken the Covid guidelines in terms of our secure bubble, and so we had to decide very quickly that they couldn't have any interaction with the rest of the team, they wouldn't be able to travel to training, and given the procedures that we have to follow now they will have to travel back to England separately." REPORTER ASKING: "Is it correct they had girls in their room? They invited girls into their hotel room within the team hotel." SOUTHGATE: "Nothing has happened in the areas that we occupy in the hotel. We're still getting to the depths of all the information because, as I said, this was only brought to my attention a couple of hours before training. As you've seen, we've had to train inbetween, so I'm still getting to grips with the detail. But what is clear is that there was a breach of the Covid guideline. We've spent such a long time getting those measures in place and the whole squad have really followed that to the letter. We've had four tests in the period we have been together, our staff have done an incredible job of keeping that really secure and tight, which was so important both to get the games played but to also for the safety and security of our team and our staff. So in that respect we have no alternative but to do what we are doing." MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - JUNE 7, 2020) (CITYTV - DO NOT OBSCURE LOGO) 5. FODEN JOGGING BURTON ON TRENT, ENGLAND, UK (SEPTEMBER 4, 2020) (FATV - MUST CREDIT FATV) 6. FODEN REYKJAVIK, ICELAND (SEPTEMBER 7, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENGLAND MANAGER, GARETH SOUTHGATE, SAYING: "I think we have to treat every incident separately. These are two boys I don't know particularly well at the moment, so I can't speak in great depth. I've obviously got to try to speak with them later in the appropriate way. They've got responsibilities. They have apologised. But everything has happened so quickly that, I'm obviously speaking to you as was pre-planned, the rest we've got to get to the bottom of all the facts." BURTON ON TRENT, ENGLAND, UK (SEPTEMBER 4, 2020) (FATV - MUST CREDIT FATV) 8. ENGLAND TRAINING REYKJAVIK, ICELAND (SEPTEMBER 7, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENGLAND MANAGER, GARETH SOUTHGATE, SAYING: "I think at the moment I'm trying to take a lot of information in. They've obviously been naive. We've dealt with it appropriately. I think everything from there on... I recognise their age, but of course the whole world are dealing with this pandemic and there is responsibility on every age group to make sure that they play their part in keeping each other safe and not spreading the virus. We're certainly not underestimating how important it has been to try and keep that bubble as we have. BURTON ON TRENT, ENGLAND, UK (SEPTEMBER 4, 2020) (FATV - MUST CREDIT FATV) 10. ENGLAND TRAINING REYKJAVIK, ICELAND (SEPTEMBER 7, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENGLAND MANAGER, GARETH SOUTHGATE, SAYING: (ON CONSEQUENCES FOR THE PLAYERS INVOLVED) "I think all of those things are too early Rob (reporter asking question). Until I have all the information, until I'm totally aware of every situation then I don't think I should be making those sorts of comments. You know I'm a father with young children... young adults rather, I know young people get things wrong. We're not excusing that in this instance and we've got to assess eveything else moving forward." REYKAVIK, ICELAND (SEPTEBER 5, 2020) (ACTION IMAGES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE) 12. STILL OF PHIL FODEN KNEELING 13. STILL OF FODEN WITH COACHING STAFF MEMBER 14. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF MASON GREENWOOD 15. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF GARETH SOUTHGATE STORY: England manager Gareth Southgate said both Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood will play no part in Tuesday's Nations League game in Denmark after breaching COVID-19 protocols in Iceland. Speaking at a news conference on Monday (September 7), Southgate said they had both been isolated from the rest of the squad and would travel back from Iceland to the UK separately. Video footage emerged of Manchester City's Foden and Manchester United's Greenwood allegedly meeting girls in their hotel room after Saturday's Nations League win in Reykjavik. The footage came to light on Icelandic outlet DV after the girls shared videos on Snapchat on Sunday. Southgate also said that the right precautions had been taken while the team is still in Iceland so as not to put the Denmark game in Copenhagen game at risk. Both players made their full international debuts against Iceland, 20-year-old midfielder Foden from the start and forward Greenwood, 18, as a substitute. Like all of the England squad they were subject to strict COVID-19 health protocols to avoid Iceland's quarantine rules. These included not meeting anyone outside of the England squad and staff during the team's stay in Iceland. England's Football Association (FA) said they would be investigating the 'unacceptable' breach of protocols. "We've spoken to the Football Association of Iceland to offer our apologies for this incident and to ensure them that we are taking the appropriate steps," an FA spokesperson said in a statement. "We have also assured the Danish Football Union that all other players and staff members have been isolated within our group throughout this period." Manchester City issued a statement saying Foden's actions were 'totally inappropriate' and below the standard of behaviour expected of a City and England player. United also reacted to the news. "Manchester United are liaising with the Football Association and are disappointed with the actions of Mason Greenwood over this situation," they said. It is the latest off-field incident involving an England player in recent weeks, following Harry Maguire being given a suspended prison sentence by a Greek court after being accused of various charges following an alleged brawl during a family holiday on the island of Mykonos.

source https://sports.yahoo.com/southgate-axes-greenwood-foden-over-141140617.html?src=rss

[fuss2019xmas]

Day 23 - Reykavik

Well what a 24 hours - where to begin. After a lot of hard work by Kaitlin we managed to get the last two seats from Singapore to NZ, regardless of what route we took with Singapore Airways. Now having to go via Brisbane with a 50 min connection time in SGP - will be interesting!!! Pete had to dip the credit card in a bucket to cool it down following the cost of the changes 😡😡😡 The morning saw us both feeling much better so tuck into a hearty breakfast. They did get the extreme weather forecast right - blowing an absolute blizzard outside. Shazz decides to stay in the hotel while Pete goes for a wander. Well five layers didn't even begin to cut the mustard, the cold and wind just cut through them so wasn't a long excursion outside. That afternoon Pete booked us into a Lava Tunnel tour, Shazz not overly happy about another trip underground. Drive for about an hour (in another blizzard) to the middle of no where. When we there get knitted out in hard hats, lights and crampons - Shazz not happy. Down under the earth we head into the lava tunnel. The spectacle down there soon took away any concerns. The power of how this was created was beyond belief and the spectacle beyond words. An amazing experience. Soon it was back to Reykjavik where the plans were for an early dinner, quiet pack up to be ready for a 0330 departure the next morning. Get to the Hard Rock Cafe again where Pete check e-mails etc - yep the phone goes berserk again from Icelandicair, due to a predicted extreme......... Wouldn't believe it!!!! This time however they had brought out flight forward seven hours now departing at midnight tonight. Bolt our meal down, back to the hotel - throw our gear into our bags and make the 1930 pickup. The airport is absolute bedlam - they had brought all the next mornings flights forward to midnight and all remaining flights were delayed until further notice. Take off just as another blizzard hits, but the crew not concerned soon we are tucking down for the short hop to Frankfurt looking forward to a 0510 arrival😀😀😀

[28fullmoons]

The Island in the North - Part Two

Here’s Part Two of my Iceland Trip.

(If you haven’t checked out Part One of my trip, click the link or just scroll. It’s just below. Don’t be lazy.)

Upon returning to Reykavik, we reset ourselves for a bigger trek -- driving to the glacier mountains at the eastern side of the island. Armed with maps, some local gorceries, and supreme optimism, we set out.

The sun as we left. It was 10:00AM.

(Nods to my NorCal peps)

We stopped by to take photos of completely frozen plants.

This waterfall, called Skogafoss, has a permenantly rainbow in front of it due to the sunlight hitting the huge amount of spray in front of the waterfall. It was also enormous.

The landscape varied as we made our way east.

Camero of The GBB(Golden Battle Bunny) again.

Soon, we enter volcanic rock territory, and the landscape took on another level of beauty.

You can see the glacial sheets from a distance.

With the last vestige of sunlight, we arrive at Jökulsárlón, the famous glacial lagoon marking the head of the Vatnajökull glacier. The glacier has been receding from the Atlantic Ocean, creating large chunks of ice floating out into sea.

It was quiet. Eerie. We watched the lake in slience, and drove on.

After a whole day of driving, we arrive at our destination, Hofn, a tiny, tiny fishing town on a penisula right beneath the glacier mountains. Checking into our hostel, we were exhausted, but soon we were re-energized by, again, very lively fellow travelers. (Aside: It is always a joy to meet other travelers on the road who shares in my passion of exploring the wonders of the world, swapping stories and memories for many lifetimes. Okay getting too poetic here). They were students, office workers, architect, teachers, artists, and two amateur photographers whose blogs I've secretly stalked ever since(if you're reading this, hi =]). Dinner plan was made and executed, and good times was to be had.

Best lobstar roll that I've ever had, in a no-frills restaurant with a killer view of the mountains in the distance.

The two photographers were convinced that the aurora borealis, otherise known as the Northern Lights, are going to appear that night. The aurora actually depends on how strongly the winds on the surface of the sun is, which was completely cool -- I suggest reading this wikipedia article here(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora) and nerd out a bit like I did. Anyways, I did see it faintly for a bit the night before, driving back to the city, but the forecast promised a stronger aurora, and we came back to the hostel, made hot tea, and waited patiently.

Sure enough, around 10:30PM, we hear someone yell, "the lights are out!!" A mad dash to our cars ensued, the whole 7-8 of us, and we drove out of town as fast as we can. Thirty minutes later, we parked our cars at the side of the road and looked out.

I'm sure most of you reading this have seen photos of the Northern Lights. Let me just say this. There's no real way of capturing the moment when you look out, and instead of the regular night sky, you was faced with an impossibly rich canvas of colors and lights, with silky, majestically shaded bands causally layered on top of each other. Save for the occasional car headlights, the surrounding was completely empty, and the lights took over, enveloping the landscape, and as we stood there, huddled against the remaint of car warmth, it was clear that we were seeing something truly beautiful.

(credit to Richard, who volunteered to take photos of everyone, despite some of the coldest arctic winds determined to turn us into icicles)

It was very tricky to take photos for the auroras, as you need to get the shutter speed just right for the extra-long exposure needed. This was the only good one I took:

Us back in the hostel, cold but elated:

The next morning, we said farewell to some of our newfound but dear friends, who continued their trek up north. For the first half of the day, we stayed near Hofn and explore some of the stunning landscape around.

We were soon driving near the edge of the world, it seemed.

Our Golden Battle Bunny was holding strong. I was really proud.

We took a little hike.

We needed to head back to Reykavik near midday. Not 20 minutes out, the snow that we've been so luckily avoiding starts to hit us. hard.

And the Golden Battle Bunny charged on.

The glacial lagoon, take two: with snow and cold Luda.

More glaciers, which my friend definitely walked to and proceeded to climb.

It became clear that we weren't able to reach Reykavik in time, so we decided to stay at a country hotel along the way. This was the view outside.

Inside the dining area. The floor was heated.

We spent the night soaking in the hot tub outside, sipping warm tea, and listening to the snowy winds.

Day 5, my last full day. We return to Reykavik near midday. I felt like like we left a year ago.

I spent the rest of day exploring the shops and streets in town. Being the fickle travel blogger that I am, not many photos was taken, but I managed to snap Hallgrímskirkja, the all-imposing tower church at the center of town(excuse the Vertical Pic(TM)). A very pelicular, yet gorgeous building.

From the streets.

Despite being the capital and the largest city in Iceland, Reykavik felt very intimate and rustic. Downtown was simply a few streets, lined with small shops, hot dog stands, and quaint multi-leveled bars. My time was short, but if you have more time there, I definitely encourage taking a full day staying in town and take in the laid-back vibe of the city. It'll be well worth it.

Thus ends my Iceland adventures. Without a doubt, one of the most awe-inspiring trips that I've ever had the privilege to take. Besides the sights that I saw and the friends that I've made, there was a sense of peace in my heart. A sense that my consciousness of what is out there has been expanded, and I was really, really happy.

One last stop before the airport. Much of been written and posted about this place, so I won't waste many more words here, besides to say that it was gorgeous, like everything else in this country. So from the Blue Lagoon, until next time.

[reykjavik-mornings]

Bolita the cat, 2016

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A dandelion in Bonares, 2016

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The palace of Charles V, 2017

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Carmen at Reykjavik, 2016

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The fisherman mural, near of the port of Reykjavik, 2016

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The little ballerina, 2014

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Madrid, 2016

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Livia Daniel, 2017

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Reykjavik, 2016

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Marta, 2016

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My mother at the beach, 2016