ICELAND 2015

ICELAND 2015

We just returned from spending several days in Iceland.

Why Iceland?  We had stayed there for a couple of days in Reykjavik on a previous trip and wanted to see more of it. Now we have been there twice and still have not soaked in The Blue Lagoon, so we may go again someday.

We traveled with a company called gjtravel  (Gudmundur Jonasson Travel) and were pleased with the experience.  It was called the Grand Tour of Iceland and included the Golden Circle, the Ring Road and the West Fjords area.  Names were very difficult for us, but I will type them in this summary, just to be accurate.  Don’t ask me to pronounce the names.

We went a day early to deal with jet lag and did a few things in Reykjavik prior to the formal tour. We hit some rainy weather and found traveling by taxi was much dryer than walking in the rain without umbrellas.  We did the National Museum of Iceland (near the campus of the University of Iceland), the Saga Museum and a new display of life-sized whales that are found in Iceland, including the giant Blue Whale.  We wanted Barbara’s sister to experience the world famous hot dog and consuming that in a driving rain was not the best experience of the trip, but we did it anyway. Former President Clinton almost created a national incident when he asked for only two items on his hot dog instead of “the works”. Poor intelligence on the part of his handlers. We didn’t make that mistake. We also visited the concert hall with wonderful architecture. It is called the Harpa.

Every day we saw sheep, which are an important part of the economy: think Icelandic sweaters. We saw many Icelandic horses, even getting to pet one, not to mention cattle and chickens and a few dogs.

Agenda:  Day One was getting settled. There is a 45 minute transfer from the Keflavik airport to our Hotel Klettur.

Day Two: We did the Golden Circle tour that includes Gulfoss (with double falls), visited the active geothermal area of Geysir (where Strokkur rises 70 feet every five minutes or so) and finished the day at the ancient Viking Parliament area.  Along the way we saw evidence of fault lines. Before we ended the day we passed through a tunnel under a fjord to reach Borgarfjordur.

Day Three:  We explored the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and went into a Lava Cave made famous by Jules Verne’s science fiction novel about the journey to the center of the earth which goes about 35 meters underground.  We saw lots of lava fields that were formed eons ago. We overnighted in the Grundarfjordur area.

Day Four:  My personal highlight occurred at the westernmost point of Iceland. We got there by ferry and ended at the bird cliffs of Latrabjarg. What did we see?  Lots of birds, including puffins.  They had little fear of humans, so we got lots of close-ups of my favorite bird. The road was rather primitive, but we were blessed with a good driver, so neither of us were anxious.

Day Five:  We drove to the waterfall Dynjandi with its seven levels of plunging.  And we saw lots of beautiful scenery.

Day Six:  We were introduced to a rather authentic replica of the homestead of Erik the Red, the father of Leif-the-Lucky, who was the first European to set foot in North America. I would vote to replace Columbus Day with Eriksen Day. This was the day we were treated to a horse show. We some how ended the day in Akureyri, Iceland’s second largest city at about 18,000 people. An extra was a whale watching tour in the bay. We saw humpback whales. Our travel companions from Hawaii didn’t take that tour. Akureyri is a beautiful city. If we ever return to Iceland, I would like to spend more time there. We had to rush dinner, so we ate at Subway.

Day Seven: We saw Godafoss Falls, Lake Myvatn, walk in the lava field of Dimmuborgir, climbed to the rim of the ash crator Hverfjall, saw hot springs and bubbling mud pools of Namaskard and experienced geothermal fields. Our substitute for the Blue Lagoon was a good soak in the Myvatn Nature Baths.

Day Eight: We reached the east side of Iceland and experienced Dettifoss waterfall in the northern part of Vatnajokull National Park.  We drove into a remote area and got a view of Herdubreide, referred to as the queen of Icelandic mountains.  So many waterfalls! Fortunately, we have pictures to keep them straight in our minds. We drove to Borgarfjordur Eystri. We were introduced to some elf lore, went to a puffin colony, but only saw one puffin. Most had gone to sea for the winter. We stayed at Guesthouse Alfheimar.

Day Nine: We saw a magnificent (large) stone collection. Then we went to the biggest glacier in Europe, but we didn’t see it because of the weather. We spent a short time riding amongst floating glaciers on the glacier lagoon at Jokulsarion. The night was spent near Skaftafell on the southern part of Vatnajokull National Park. We saw glimpses of some wonderful mountains with glaciers peeking through.

Day Ten:  We were allowed to walk close to a glacial tongue. Then on to a black lava beach and bird cliffs near the village of Vik. (Footnote: a cave here has become famous because Russell Crowe was filmed in this cave for the movie Noah.) We went to the Eyjafjallajokull information center and learned about recent volcanic eruptions. And then we stopped at the Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfalls.  Walking behind one of the waterfalls was a wet experience, to say the least. Our farewell dinner was in a revolving restaurant known as The Pearl.

We traveled 1,572 miles in the 9 days. That is 2,535 kilometers. Some of the walking activities were too difficult for a couple of our members. After one fall, we were quick to suggest that those individuals not tackle some of our options. If you like dramatic scenery and waterfalls and the creative process, I would recommend the trip. Iceland loves to improve their economy. We had been told we didn’t need any local money. That was true. Our credit card worked everywhere, including the hot dog stand.

On the final day in Reykvajvik, Barbara and I visited The Einar Jonsson Museum (sculpture, paintings and drawings) which we would not have discovered without the help of our guide. And we were lucky to hit a “free day” and qualified to use their restrooms. The Lutheran cathedral does not allow visitors to use their restrooms. We were lucky to be able to listen to a visiting choir practice for their concert in the cathedral.

The Gospel According to Abbie Jane Wells

“The Gospel According to Abbie Jane Wells” Friends of Abbie Jane Wells in Juneau succeeded in getting some of her writings published.  Abbie Jane was a very unique person. She wrote out articles and some of her thoughts in long-hand and then sent them to some of her friends and correspondents.  At one point in time I had an apple box full of material she had written or copied and sent to me on a regular basis. She was not bashful about challenging the “powers and principalities” and she affirmed those with whom she agreed.  Perhaps the best way is to share some thoughts of those who wrote about her.

TRIBUTE by Virginia Breeze dated 3/28/91  “Remembering Abbie Jane Wells”

“In the evenings when all the rest of us were going to bed, Abbie Jane Wells would begin copying. Sitting at her kitchen table, she would gather her materials together – primarily articles and poems but also letters she had received from other people – and in longhand, using a red ballpoint pen (with carbons inserted between sheet of tablet paper so that she could produce more than one copy) she would write all night and into the morning. “When the mailman came she was ready with a bundle of envelopes. Every day she was ready with envelopes, for copying the comments of others who wrote about matters she herself found meaningful and thoughtful, and then passing this information along to people on her “list” was Abbie Jane’s vocation… “Daniel Berrigan was perhaps the most famous of Abbie Jane’s pen pals. The activist Catholic priest…became family to Abbie Jane…There were others, too… “In 1980 Daniel Berrigan spoke in Juneau, an event that became a highlight in Abbie Jane’s life because she was finally able to meet him and to exchange with him the thoughts and ideas they had shared on paper. He gave her a large silver cross and she wore it every single day thereafter. Causes that concerned him and involved him she took up afterward with increased passion….

(Personal note: I was a pastor in Nome at this time and sadly was not able to be in Juneau for this visit of Daniel Berrigan, but I did mention the event in the worship bulletin, just in case any of my members or attenders might be in Juneau on that day. Nome was 1,000 air miles from Juneau.  Just before the benediction, one of my members stood up and said that he was offended that this announcement was in the bulletin. He felt that Daniel Berrigan should be in prison.  (He often was.) When he was finished a young adult male stood up and said that he was offended by these negative comments. He affirmed that Daniel Berrigan was a personal hero to him and to many of his generation. I shared a benediction and one of the women in the church, who obviously loved conflict, said: “We ought to do this more often.”  We didn’t.)

“When Abbie Jane wasn’t copying the words of others, she wrote homilies, most often thoughts with spiritual overtones. They often began, “What if Jesus had…” and she’d go on to suggest in her own homespun style new conclusions to biblical stories. ..In 1985 these homilies became a hardback book called “The Gospel According to Abbie Jane Wells.”