The JimAnna Chronicles

One could say that this is the birthplace of democracy.  After Iceland was settled in the 9th century, the Norwegian Viking and Celtic populations needed a vehicle for resolving the needs of the population.  In 930, they decided to meet in a central location … namely, Þingvellir.  It was here (or near here) that parliament was held until 1798.

 

 

 

Next up was to determine the etymology of the word Geyser.  In fact, it comes from Icelandic meaning to gush.  The original gusher is Geysir in Iceland.  However, it doesn’t erupt very regularly … much like the Geyser in Steamboat Springs, CO which is the largest active geyser in the world.  That means two of the four biggest geysers are in the US.  Although Old Faithful is at times larger, Strokkur erupts more regularly.  It seemed to go off every 5 minutes.

 

Since Iceland sits on the mid-Atlantic Ridge, it is literally coming apart at the seams (on the order of 2cm per year).  These water works are a result of that activity.

 

 

Building up…

 

Explosion!

 

 

 

There are numerous hot springs nearby.

 

A wishing well, but seems misplaced and inappropriate to me.

 

A cairn to mark the path.

 

A view of Strokkur from the hill.

 

More evidence of the geothermal activity.

 

After the geyser, we continued to the most famous waterfall in Iceland … Gullfoss (or Golden Waterfall).  As you can see, it descends in two parts.

 

Plunging into the crevice.

 

Anna and Alexander hanging out by the edge.  Unlike the often safety conscious (or paranoid) parks in the US, this one had refreshingly few barriers at the edge of the water.  It’s fairly self-evident that if you were to jump or fall in, it would be a bad day.  Therefore, people could choose the distance where they felt most comfortable.

 

A few flowers by the water’s edge.

 

The falls and rainbow with a longer exposure.

 

We decided that perhaps it was time to get in the water.  One of the best places to do that would be in a geothermal area.  Fortunately, those abound in Iceland.  So, we chose one that was fairly close and accessible by hiking.  We went with the Hengill geothermal area.  At Hengill, you hike for an hour or two (depending on your pace), then come to the confluence of two rivers.  One is glacially fed and the other is geothermal heated.  Depending on how warm you desire, you choose your location.  Meaning, the closer to the junction of the two rivers, the hotter the water.  Because Alexander is still very young and sensitive, we chose fairly far downstream.

 

However, he LOVED it.

 

As did we!  It was nice because we arrived relatively early, so we had the river to ourselves for quite a while.

 

Just chillin in the hot river.

 

While the air wasn’t freezing, it wasn’t exactly balmy either.

 

The evidence of geothermal heat is everywhere in this valley.  You can see Anna and X hiking in the far right.

 

Not a bad place to hike.

 

The boiling mud pots.

 

It felt a little like Yellowstone National Park in the US … with no tourists.

 

Plus, a couple comments about the Icelandic culture we experienced.  People were all very friendly, if a little quirky.  Imagine a country full of people with a spirit much like that of singer Björk.   As for food and drink … well the most popular restaurant was a hot dog stand and the national drink is a type of schnapps known colloquially as the Black Death.  In fairness to Icelandic people, we learned that most people don’t actually drink the firewater.

Suffice it to say, Iceland culture has a lot of character.  We really enjoyed it and look forward to the time when we can go back.  Perhaps for the Aurora Borealis in winter.  Who knows, we’ll see.

Well, that does it for our Iceland experience.  I’ve finally finished the posts!

Up next will be some images from the holidays of the island country of Malta.

Until then…

 

–Jim

Well, after what seems like an interminable delay … my computer is working correctly and I’m able to find a few moments to write this post.  These are the images from our time in Iceland.

This is an image of the iconic Blue Lagoon.

 

The Blue Lagoon is an ingenious idea.  Iceland has a geothermal plant that provides electricity for the capital city, Reykjavik.  Instead of letting that water go to waste after powering the turbines, they recoup the heated water.  It’s pumped into this lava field basin which is filled with a silica mud/sand.  The Spa Blue Lagoon is then able to charge people a decent amount of money to enjoy the refreshing/medicinal qualities of the water.  Plus, it’s gorgeous.

 

Although I didn’t bring my camera when we were actually in the water, here are a couple images of the spa.

 

The hygiene rules are very strict and EVERYONE is required to shower (sans swim suit) before getting in.

 

Here’s an image of the ring road and the biggest highway on the island.

 

Sharing the road…

 

This is the harbor of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago.  We decided to hop on a ferry and take a day trip out to the small island of Heimaey.  It has a very active fishing industry … this particular harbor is one of the largest fish producers in Iceland.

 

The island is fairly small (13.4 square kilometers) with a population of around 4,500.  The island gained world attention (or at least local) when the volcano Eldfell erupted in January 1973.  Fortunately, everyone was able to be evacuated.  After the eruption was over (7 months later), the island had lost many houses and the landmass of the island increased 20%.

 

Once on the island, we went to the south in order to try to get close to some of the 8 million puffins who call the islands home in the summer.

 

 

Success!  We caught up with some of the Atlantic Puffins on the island.  They are in the family of Auks and although they’re relative ungainly like penguins, they are not closely related.

 

These birds are very adept divers and use their wings to swim.  As a result, they have small wings are are required to flap their wings very rapidly, up to 400 times per minute.

 

In order to get this shot, I had to climb down three very rickety ladders on a vertical rock face of quite a few meters.  Needless to say, I took my time!

 

Trying to get close, but since these birds are hunted, they were very wary of me.

 

The archipelago.

 

 

Coming up off the ladders, Alexander was the first to spot me.  Although this image looks like flat ground, it was inclined at about 10%.

 

Alexander wasn’t a big fan of the black sand beach.

 

But, we liked it!

 

 

Back on the main island, we stopped by several waterfalls.

 

This is one of the most well known waterfalls in Iceland, Seljalandsfoss.  It’s famous for it’s beauty, but also because it’s conveniently right off the ring road.

 

 

There was a useful path to go behind the waterfall and enabled this unique perspective.

 

You can see the multiple falls and the trail here.

 

 

Next stop was Skógafoss.  This one was immense and very powerful.  It’s 25 meters wide and 60 meters(!) high.

 

Alex wasn’t so sure about it… Can’t really blame him.

 

Finally, after passing the two volcanoes that played havoc with Atlantic air travel the last two years, we headed out to one of the glaciers.  This is in Skaftafell National Park.

 

 

Next was over to the impressive Jökulsárlón Lagoon (or Glacier Lagoon).

 

You can see the glacier that feeds into the lagoon and is the source of the icebergs.

 

It’s amazing to think that these pieces of ice are hundreds of years old…

 

The blackness you see is ash from recent volcanic eruptions.  It’s thanks to these ash layers (among other things) that the geologic history can be determined.

 

We donned our bright orange life vests and got in a duck boat for a closer look.

 

Here is what the boats look like.

 

Alexander getting a taste of some very old water.

 

Yum.

 

Wow, that’s so cold, but so good.

 

Oh yeah, that’s cold too!

 

Beautiful blues.

 

 

 

An old lava field that is being reclaimed (slowly!) by moss and grasses.

 

Well, that covers it for this time.  Next post will have the rest of the images from Iceland.

 

Until then … and hopefully very soon!

 

–Jim

Next stop was the Finnish capital, Helsinki.

 

This is the Sibelius Monument, or the “Love of Music.”  It’s an abstract work of 600 pipes (like a pipe organ) to commemorate Finland’s greatest composer, Jean Sibelius.  Apparently, the artist only wanted to include the pipes as a monument to the composer, but critics forced her to add a bust of the man… which adds a striking contrast.

 

Inside the “Love of Music.”

 

It’s one of the most popular tourist sites…

 

As Rick Steves says, it’s a forest of pipes in a forest of pipes.

 

In Wisconsin, we have Frank Lloyd Wright’s House on the Rock.  Well, this is the Church in the Rock.  It was built in 1969 and blasted out of solid granite.  Underneath the church is an air raid shelter for 6,000 people.

 

The center of the roof, which is made up of 13 miles of copper coil.

 

A typical house.

 

The Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral (that’s Finnish Orthodox … answering to the patriarch in Istanbul).  The cathedral was built in 1868 for the Russian military… back when Finland was a part of Russia.  There are 12 onion shaped domes (in orthodox fashion) that represent the 12 apostles.

 

Food in Market Square.  Delicious and fresh.  I love street food.

 

Anchovies.  Yumm.

 

Grilled salmon with berries.  We tried this and it was spectacular.

 

This is the Three Blacksmiths Statue.  It was built in 1932 and although I can’t find an officially intended meaning, I would say it seems to capture the spirit of hard work and cooperation pretty well.  Those are of course good Finnish traits as well.

 

That wraps up our brief stay in Finland.  Next up, the land of ice…

 

Until then…

 

–Jim

After Olso, we headed to the furthest Northern point we’ve ever been … inside the Arctic Circle in Norway, and it was very beautiful and well worth the trip.  Although when we first arrived, it threatened to be overcast most of the time, the sun eventually come out.

 

 

We based ourselves out of Harstad in order to be able to access all the amazing natural wonders nearby.  This is Trondenes church and its claim to fame is that it’s the northern most medieval stone church in Norway.  It was preceded by a stave church (like the one we saw in Oslo), and this one was built in the 15th century (although there is claim that it was built in the 13th century).

 

We decided that since the town of Andenes is one of the best places to see sperm whales, we wanted to go out and look for Moby Dick ourselves.  Fortunately, our captain was no Ahab.  The crew aboard our Whale Safari was all about studying and learning from these immense animals, instead of hunting them.

 

Sperm whales are so named for the large amounts of spermaceti found in their head.  This fluid looks somewhat similar to sperm and was therefore initially mistaken as such.  However, the actual function of spermaceti is uncertain.

 

Although they aren’t as acrobatic as the humpback whale, these creatures of up to 20 meters (for males, at least), are certainly impressive.  On our trip, we encountered four of them.

 

Ironically, this sperm whale was called Ishmael.

 

In the land of the midnight sun, twilight has a great color.  This photo was taken at 9:30 PM on a coastal road that was simply breathtaking.

 

These beautiful flowers were in full bloom almost everywhere we went.

 

A typical Norwegian barn.  However with the Scandinavian influence in the Midwest (particularly Wisconsin), this could easily be an image from there too.

 

More of the wild coastal road.

 

 

 

 

 

The Lofoten Islands are some of the most spectacular in the world and one of the main reasons we chose this area to visit.  Here are handful of pictures from our time on the islands.

 

Quintessential.

 

Although it looks great in the summer, I’m not sure how I would feel living here in the eternal darkness of winter.

 

The fishing village of Henningsvær.

 

We drove to the tiny village of Eggum next.  On the way, we encountered some sheep who had taken over the roadway.  As you can see, they also marked their territory.  🙂

 

The coastline was beautiful and the three of us took a hike out along the remote trail.

 

The landscape was a unique mix of alpine and maritime.

 

 

Markus Raetz sculpted this head to be seen in 16 different ways as you walk around it.  The idea is that everything is a matter of perspective.  I agree.

 

More sheep … and X preparing his attack.

 

I’m coming to get’cha!!!!

 

The village of Eggum with billows of clouds forming on the mountain top.

 

More views of the Lofoten Islands.

 

 

 

 

Another gorgeous sunset in an Arctic paradise.

 

That concludes our forray into the Arctic.  Next stop, Finland.

 

Until then…

 

–Jim

Over the summer we took a little trip to Scandinavia…  We began our voyage in Olso.  The Norweigan capital was still reeling from the tragedy of the mass murder by a domestic terrorist.

 

 

The juxtaposition and symbolism struck me…

 

One of our first stops was the Norwegian Folk Museum.  This is very similar to the folk museum we visited in Sweden.  There are 140 buildings gathered from around Norway in this open-air museum.  It was fascinating to wander through the spectrum of Norwegian architecture.

 

This is one of the highlights of the museum, the Stave Church.  It was built in the 12th century, with remodeling done in the 17th and 19th centuries.  The church was moved to its present location in the museum in 1884.

 

These are a couple of the stabbur, or raised store houses.

 

Alexander had fun on the slide.

 

A self portrait.

 

We also stopped by the Viking ship museum. This is a view of the Oseberg ship.  It was used in the 9th century by the Vikings.  In 834, it became a burial chamber for two women.  It was relatively common practice to equip the burial sites with everything that was thought to be needed in the after life.  As such, this ship also became an important source of Viking age artifacts.

 

This is the hull of the second intact Viking ship, the Gokstad.  This ship was also built in the 9th century, but slightly later than the Oseberg ship.  It’s an impressive ship… it’s built to be rapidly reconfigured for use with sails, oars and in deep and shallow water.  A replica of the ship sailed from Bergen in Northern Norway to Chicago (via the Great Lakes) in 1893.  Seeing a ship like this, it’s clear how the Vikings were able to reach North America, hundreds of years before Columbus “discovered” the Americas.

 

Anna with a sleeping Alexander on her back.

 

 

Perhaps our favorite park in Norway was the Vigeland Park, where the work of artist Gustav Vigeland is proudly displayed.  His works highlight the range of human emotion … in its purest forms, without the cover of clothing.  This is the world’s largest sculpture garden by a single artist.  It was executed between 1939-1949 by the artist himself.   There are over 200 sculptures included in this masterwork.

 

 

 

Even the iron gate is a work of art.

 

This is the monolith that is the center piece of the park, but more on that later.

 

As you might imagine, we liked this family sculpture.

 

As with this couple.

 

There are numerous couples and groups of people.  Not all were happy, and all had deep symbolic meaning.  Vigeland’s idea was to capture the whole range and we feel like he was very successful in doing so!

 

This is the monolith.  It’s a huge carving from a single block of granite.  There are 121 figures carved into the block and it stands a mighty 17.3 meters high.

 

A group of smiling girls in front of the monolith.

 

Some of the figures from the monolith.

 

This, to me, depicts the constant struggle of life.  We can help and hinder those near us, and the repercussions travel throughout the whole society.  Everything is interconnected.

 

The grounds of the park were quite beautiful.

 

A carefree girl in bronze.

 

Break free of the endless cycle of repetition.

 

We also took a little break from the sculptures to let Alexander explore by himself.  As you can see, he loved it.

 

 

 

Hey, what are you guys doing over there??

 

And with a little smile, he made a couple friends.  As you can see, he seems to be drawn to pretty girls.

 

Anna’s touching the Sinnataggen or the Angry Boy … apparently, the sculptor was depicting a young English lad in a particularly ill tempered moment.

 

 

 

After the park, we headed out to see the Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Ski Museum.  This is a view that the ski jumpers get right before they plunge head first down the steep ramp.  In the short amount of time it takes to reach the launch zone, the skiers have accelerated to about 95 km/hr (60 MPH).  Although the platform is only 3 meters high, they skiers can fly for about 4.5 seconds and can end up traveling another 130+ meters before touching the ground again.  Talk about a rush!

 

Looking back up the hill.

 

The steel ski jump with a K-spot of 120.

 

That completes the first leg of our journey… next up, into the Arctic Circle.

 

Until then…

 

–Jim

 

When you think of Provence, does lavender come to mind?  It’s mythic here.  Although it was only introduced to the region in the 1920s, it’s become synonymous with Provence.  When it’s in bloom, it is an impressive site.  Although there are fields near our house, the best we’ve found are in the hill towns of the Luberon.  Sault in particular has huge fields in an idyllic setting.  Here are the images from our trip to the village this summer with our friend Nicolas (who you may remember from earlier posts).  Thanks to him for this image.

 

 

Alexander liked playing with the rocks and lavender.

 

We also had the opportunity to meet Nicolas’ parents whose house is in the area.  They have also trained their Jack Russel Terrier to hunt for truffles (AKA black gold and very tasty).  In the span of only a few minutes, the dog had found this HUGE truffle meters from their house.  Although it looks black, it’s apparently a white truffle.

 

Nicolas and the truffle for size reference.

 

Nicolas’ parents had outfitted their house for Amandine.  Alexander enjoyed the house too.

 

The little man with his sun hat.

 

 

Nicolas, Amandine, Alexander and Anna.  Alexander is wondering … what’s over there?  I want to go there.

 

The region around Sault … lavender fields strike a strong contrast with the rest of the fields.

 

Sault from a distance.

 

 

Did I mention Alex likes to play with rocks??

 

 

 

More lavender fields around Sault…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Essential to the health of the flowers, bees are a big part of the eco-system.  As a result, there are lots of beekeepers or apiarists in the area.  They offer tours and tastings like many wineries in the area.  The lavender honey is like ambrosia.

 

From the village of Sault.

 

The view from the village square.

 

 

The Nesques Gorge.

 

Anna enjoyed the spectacular gorge.

 

That finishes our short escapade in the lavender fields.

 

Until the next adventure.

 

–Jim

Back in June (where does the time GO???), we took a short trip to another great wine region … with lots of interesting history and architecture to boot.  It was of course to the iconic Tuscan region.

In fact, the trip location was somewhat inspired by a book we read:  “Too Much Tuscan Sun” by Dario Castagno.  Although it’s not for everyone, I found his book a humorous, easy read.  Dario’s a tour guide in Chianti and ardent supporter of his section of Sienna. The book gives a mix of local history, culture and customs with Dario’s experiences with anglophone tourists.  It’s the ugly American, (Brit or one of several other nationalities) as seen by an Italian.  Anyway, he spoke so passionately for Chianti and the regions wine (which I already knew I liked … Thanks, Kevin), we decided to base ourselves there for a few days.

 

But, on the way in, we had to stop by the (in)famous tower in Pisa.  Pisa also happens to be a city Dario detests.  Although we loved the green square with the tower, we didn’t find much else compelling about the city either.

 

Here’s the ultra-touristy shot we HAD to make.  Anna is so strong.

 

The Cathedral and Tower.

 

 

Alexander playing in the grass of the field in front of the tower.  The Tower was begun in the 12th century and completed in the 14th.  It looks beautiful today due to the ongoing cleaning and strengthening of the base.

 

He was coming to get me … or rather the camera I was holding.

 

The grass lawn in front was a definite plus.  We loved lounging in the shadow of such a historic monument.  It felt a little like the National Mall in Washington D.C. or the Champs de Mars by the Eiffel Tower.

 

Hey, what’s all that glass for??

 

A rare pause in his non-stop motion.

 

We happened to be there on Republic Day (the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946), so there was a military display, including parachutists.

 

 

 

The baptistry.

 

Anna and a very bald looking Alexander in Chianti.

 

 

The pool of the B&B where we stayed in Tuscany.

 

A sunset walk in the countryside.

 

A classic Tuscan farm house that’s being turned into a luxury property.

 

 

 

The Piazza del Campo in Siena.

 

It’s certainly one of the most impressive city squares we’ve visited in Europe.

 

 

The 13th century Duomo di Siena

 

The façade of the Siena Cathedral.

 

As you can see, we were not alone to see the beautiful interior.

 

The Duomo’s dome.

 

A very intricately decorated library whose frescoes tell the story of one of Siena’s favorite sons, Pope Pius II.

 

The effect is quite overwhelming.  They were painted at the end of the 15th century and early 16th century.  This was done about the same time as another Italian (from Genoa) was sailing to try and find a sea passage to Asia…

 

A pack of Vespas.

 

The Tuscan countryside with vines and rolling hills after a summer rain.

 

The view from my (current) favorite Italian wine town, Montalcino.  It is where the Brunello di Montalcino is grown, aged and bottled.  This wine is simply delicious.  Although we couldn’t try wine from every producer, similar to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, we didn’t find a single one that wasn’t tasty.  That may be due to the fact that the wine is required to be aged in oak barrels for 24 months and in bottle 4 months before being released.  Highly recommended and worth the higher price.

 

More Sangiovese vines… all Brunellos are made with 100% of this varietal.

 

 

After Siena, we went north to visit the arch-rival city of Florence.  Although Florence is much larger and prosperous today, it was a one-time equal of Siena.  Dario’s books offer interesting commentary on the modern and historical implications of this rivalry.  This is the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or the Duomo di Florence, built over 140 years between 1296 and 1436.

 

The Palazzo Vecchio, which is currently the City Hall of Florence.

 

The Ponte Vecchio, or Old Bridge.  Looks like a great place to have a table, don’t you agree?

 

A view of the Arno River from the Ponte Vecchio.

 

Another view of the Ponte Vecchio.  After having been destroyed a couple times, it was rebuilt in 1345.  There have always been merchants selling their wares on the bridge.  During the 16th century, in order to pass above the fray, Cosimo I de’Medici had architect Vasari build a corridorto cross over unencumbered by the throngs below.  Cosimo I de’Medici was also the creator of the office building Uffizi, which is today one of the best art museums in the world.

 

The Duomo Dome from the roof of the Uffizi.

 

City Hall’s bell tower.

 

No, this is not multiple images stitched together.  There are really three roads this close.

 

David stands in front of the Palazzo Vecchio.  When Michelangelo sculpted David, he stood here from 1504 until 1873.  This is an exact replica that was erected in 1910.  The original David is in the Galleria dell’Accademia.  He is much bigger in person … standing over 5 meters tall.  Note that the giant killer’s right is exceptionally large … presumably a trait to better sling the stone.

 

That concludes our little trip to Tuscany.  Lots of art, history, beautiful countryside and of course, delicious wine.

 

Until the next adventure … hopefully coming very soon.

 

–Jim