Iceland

It's about ten degrees (Celsius) colder here than on the continent.  It tends to be rainy, and windy.  There are very few trees.  The hot water smells faintly of sulfur.  So what's to love about Iceland?


For starters, people like Bryndis and her family.  They are friendly, full of fun, and have delighted in showing us the wonders of their island.


This is a wonderful place, particularly if you know some geology.  Iceland has a case of geologic double jeopardy:  it straddles the Mid-Atlantic ridge (where the North-American and European plates are separating), and it also sits on top of a massive "hot spot", probably the result of a plume of magma welling up from the mantle. 

Bryndis' mother works at the center which manages Iceland's electric grid;  she arranged a tour for us.  Iceland uses lots of geothermal as well as hydro power. We followed up with a visit to a geothermal power station.  Hot water for home use is piped to Reykjavik, where it's also piped under the streets to keep them clear of ice and snow.  In some places it's also used as a cooking bath!

Evidence of vulcanism is easy to spot on the Reykjanes peninsula: many hot springs, and lots of columnar basalt.





At the "Bridge Between the Continents" you can see the chasm formed by the pulling apart of the North American and European plates, plus black, volcanic sand.

Seljalandsfoss

Steep cliffs, and lots of runoff from the ice caps have produced many spectacular waterfalls. Next was an information center about Eyjafjallajökull, whose eruption disrupted air traffic in 2010.

 At  Jökulsárlón, meltwater from the Vatnajökull glacier enters a lagoon, and finally the Atlantic.  Birds and seals were easy to spot. 






The "Golden Circle Tour" has more spectacular hot springs, rifting
and waterfalls... plus history, and geysers.

Þingvellir is another rift chasm.  But more importantly, it's the site of the assembly (Alþing) which regularly met there between 930 and 1798.  Nobody is quite sure exactly where it met (under the open sky), but the likely site of the Law Rock (Lögberg) is honored with a flag.  It was here that Iceland proclaimed its independence from Denmark in 1944.

"Geyser" is the only word to come to English from Icelandic.  But "Geysir" is just one of Iceland's geysers.  It's now active only after earthquakes, but the nearby Strokkur erupts every few minutes.

I don't think I've seen a more dramatic waterfall than Gullfoss, which spills into a rift chasm.

The Blue Lagoon hot spring is an opportunity to enjoy geothermal activity on a personal level.  The silica mud makes a great exfoliant!

Our final trip was to Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the south coast of Iceland.  The sea was choppy on the ferry trip over (but it was so high the day before that the ferry didn't run!).


Not surprisingly, the archipelago's entirely volcanic.  An eruption in 1973 on the main island of Heimaey wiped out a third of the town (pumping seawater on the lava saved the rest of the town, and the harbor).  And the island of Surtsey was born in a 1963 eruption. 

The puffins that nest on the sheer cliffs are a big advertising theme. 

We took a boat tour to spot birds on some of the nearby smaller islands.

We were able to drive closer to the crater, and see the lava fields.

 We ended the day with dinner at a nice local restaurant.  A lovely finish to a lovely trip.

Hamburg

Our daughter Laura Jo was an exchange student two years ago; she lived in Hamburg.  Her host family graciously agreed to host us in their home for a few days, giving us a chance to get to know each other, see some of the sights, and compare notes on Laura Jo.

Hamburg lies on the Elbe river.  One can argue about whether Hamburg or Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, but it's safer to say both are huge.  We made a tour along the Elbe, combining walking with bus and ferry.

We walked through the Elbe tunnel to the south side of the river for views back towards the city.  The tunnel is unusual:  you ride an elevator down to the tunnel, transit the tunnel, then ride another elevator back up (the direction of one way car traffic depends on the time of day).

Our hosts had a family celebration to attend the next day, so Noralynn and I got to explore Hamburg on our own.  We rode the S-bahn to the Hauptbanhof, then continued on foot. 

St. Peter's church had a monument to Dietrich Bonhoeffer outside.  This pastor and theologian was murdered by the Nazis just before the close of the Second World War because of his involvement in the Resistance movement..

We next attended an organ concert at St. Micheal's church.   This massive church houses four organs, which can also be played together from a single master keyboard.  The combined instrument is a grand, symphonic organ of unbelievable power.  The recitalist, Alessandro Bianchi, chose approachable contemporary pieces which showcased both the power and flexibility of the ensemble.

We walked to the Rathaus, but just missed a departing tour.  So we paused for lunch in the courtyard.  There was a fountain to Hygieia (in remembrance of a cholera epidemic).  In the time before the next English tour, we had time for a stroll to the ruins of the St. Nikolai church.  The church has been left in this state as a peace memorial, with a modern statue of an angel.

The Hamburg Rathaus proudly conveys the glory of an economic powerhouse.  Hamburg is both a city and a state;  many paintings hearkened back to historic city-states, such as Venice.  I haven't seen a state house in the U.S. that compares with this grandeur.

On the way back to the rail station we visited St. Jacobi church.  J.S. Bach once played this historic organ.  Signs out front proclaim distances to pilgrimage destinations.  I guess we've been pilgrims, too.