Fall Sports

 We were able to see the grandkids play in some of their sporting events this fall. I just didn't take my camera to every game.

Miss W played volleyball for her middle school team

McBe played soccer

Miss W participated in a skills camp for volleyball

her serving improved over last year

AND

she played defense at the net and did very well

Flying Home ~ Iceland vs. Greenland

 I rarely get the window seat on a plane, but because it was a daytime flight and Hubby knew the woman on the other side of him, I took the window seat. 

a last look at the snow covered mountains from the hotel in Reykjavik

one of the sculptures at the airport

They were installing heating pipes to melt the snow and ice under the sidewalk area at the airport. I read somewhere where the sidewalks in the city center in Reykjavik have heating to keep them free of winter hazards.

I got one more Icelandic hotdog at the airport from the same vendor as the one in Reykjavik. So good.

popcorn clouds as we left Iceland

ice flows or bergie bits (Alaskan term)

southern coast of Greenland

mountainous islands and bergie bits

more Greenland landscape

snow covered mountains

no green land in this part of Greenland!

I happened to look out and saw these tracks from 30,000 some feet above. I cannot imagine what made the tracks as there was nothing at the beginning of the tracks and they just ended????? Puzzling.

northern Quebec 

more Quebec

almost home!

Some Final Photos and Comments from Iceland

 One the best things about the tour we had in Iceland was getting away from the coastline and into the interior to see farming country.

one of the larger farms we saw along the road

snow on the mountains and unique mountain shapes

lots of snow in some mountain areas

grazing Icelandic horses

The horses might stay out in the fields all winter. The sheep were still out in the hay pastures, but will be moved to the barns before it gets too cold. We did not see any cows. Margaret said they were moved to the farm barns already.

wrapped hay bales

We learned the sheep are moved to the mountain areas for the summer. The hay fields are mowed and baled for winter feed. The sheep are moved back down to the farms and hay fields in the fall. I did not have any good photos of the sheep other than this one:

We stopped at a grocery store and a guy parked his truck in the lot with these two sheep in the back. We all took photos of the sheep! The ones in the pastures looked much bigger, fatter and woolier!

This farm has an observation tower? It also has a number of barns for the different animals.

I was very impressed with the roads in Iceland. We never drove over a pot hole, road heave, or other road hazard one would expect in a country this far north. The roads were narrow, but in excellent condition. There were no semis on the roads we traveled, but a few box trucks. 

We saw a number of museums. The Akranes Folk Museum honored the people who settled the Akranes area.

This woman was of particular interest. GUĐRÚN GÍSLADÓTTIR (1868-1954) was a midwife.

she delivered 1166 children in her lifetime

she thanked coffee for helping her get through the long nights

As you know, we did not see any Northern Lights during our stay in Iceland. The weather just did not cooperate. But we did visit the Northern Lights Museum in Reykjavik. After learning what causes the Northern (and Southern) Lights, we were able to use our phone cameras to take a photo of a simulated one.

I didn't get to see the Aurora Borealis, but I did get to drink one! The hotel in Reykholt served it. It was so yummy, I had another the second night.

vodka and Curaçao

(the bar ran out of gin or rum, the usual first shot

so substituted vodka the second night)

mango juice

Until it was stirred, the bottom of the drink was blue and the green was on top. I looked at recipes online, and this one must have been a special of the hotel bar. Very refreshing.

We stayed two nights at the Foss Hotel in Reykholt (The Medieval Village village). Butter was served at the tables on a rock and topped with special salt. Creative. Funky. Tasty. Unusual. 

Hydroponic Farming

 When we stopped at the farm to learn about Icelandic Horses, we also learned about Hydroponic Farming. The family specialized in cherry tomatoes, but there were other plants growing in the green houses.

horses and green houses

We saw many farms with green houses on their property. There were green houses at the hot springs and spas, too.

(click to get a larger photo)

This is an appropriate time to talk about names in Iceland. Thankfully, Margaret our tour guide gave an explanation. Horticulturist Helena Hermundardottir is the wife and mother of this family operation. She is the daughter of Hermund or maybe Hermundar. When women marry they keep their family name. Knutur Rafn Armann is an agronomist and the husband and father. He is the son (man) of Ar or Rafn; he takes his father's name. The children usually are the sons or daughters of their father, man, but on occasion will take the name of the mother and be dottir. A family of 4 will have 4 different last names if the children include a boy and a girl. We all thought it was very confusing, but Margaret assured us it was very easy to keep track of the family tree.

Back to the tomatoes and hydroponic farming in greenhouses...

Tomatoes are grown at Friöheimar all year round in 11,000 square meters of electrically lit greenhouses. Annual production of tomatoes is about 700 tons, which is about 39% of Iceland's total tomato market. Here, tomatoes are harvested every day of the year, despite long, dark and cold winters.

We got to taste the cherry tomatoes and I admit they were some of the very best cherry tomatoes I have EVER tasted! (I'm usually a grape tomato fan.)

our greenhouse guide explaining the process from seed to shipment

The plants are attached to a rod that is extended as the plants grow, allowing air circulation and proper pollinating.

The bees are imported from Holland and they pollinate the tomato plants. At Friöheimar there are about 1,200 bees that work pollinating flowers, and each bee can visit up to 2,000 flowers a day!

basil plants in the neighboring greenhouse

What was interesting about this greenhouse was the dining area was between some of the rows of the tomatoes. The bumble bees were flying around during the guide's presentation. The tomato soup and fresh bread looked and smelled delicious, but this was not our evening meal destination.

And speaking of water...Margaret also told us not to waste our money on buying bottled water. She assured us the tap water is cold and delicious. IT WAS! My stomach is a little sensitive to different waters. We often bring our water from home (SD & AZ) when we travel to prevent stomach issues. But on this trip I drank cold water from the bathroom taps (no sulfur smell or taste) and it was always cold and refreshing. A number of us commented how much we will miss the cold water from Iceland. The hot water sometimes had a slight sulfur smell as it came from the hot springs. It was hot and we needed to be careful and adjust the temperature before getting wet.

Since this was a farm specializing in tomatoes, the menu was focused on tomato drinks and desserts.

Prices would be about 130 kroner to 1 dollar. 

Tomato cheesecake? Tomato ice cream? Tomato and apple pie? Tomato and cucumber sorbet? Only the tomato soup w/bread sounded enticing. But we did not have the time or opportunity to try any of the drinks or food.

There were also some flowers growing in the green houses.

geraniums

peach or salmon colored geraniums

this flower was in a planter outside

Waterfalls in Iceland

 Our tour group was fortunate to see two of the most visited waterfalls in Iceland.

Hraunfossar

We did not walk as far as the Barnafoss (Children's Falls) but it has an interesting story, so I am including it. There were numerous viewing platforms for capturing the fall colors and the magnificent falls.

Hraunfossar is a 900 meter long waterfall that pours out of the Hallmundarhraun lava field and down the side of the banks of the Hvita river. ~ Finding the Universe

a wall of waterfalls

Hvita River

info sign

This photo includes an arch formed from the rushing waters and the lava rock. The arch is not the one in the story of Barnafoss, but it does give you an idea of how the tragedy may have come about.

a sad tragedy

Gullfoss

Glacial water is brownish, since it carries lots of sediments that the glacial ice has carved off the earth. Gullfoss is called the "Golden Falls", since on a sunny day the water plunging down the three step staircase and then tumbling in two steps down into the 32 m deep crevice truly looks golden. ~ Gullfoss.org

no sunshine the day we visited, just wind

Gullfoss is the most visited waterfall in Iceland, probably because it is part of the Golden Circle Tour. Yes, it is magnificent, but I think the Hraunfossar is far more stunning. 

our group

It was so windy and so very cold standing near the waterfall, I took a few photos and headed for the gift shop as it was the best gift shop on our tour according to our tour guide. There was a lower level viewing platform and walk, but I chose not to go down the 70 some steps. So I am including pictures of the Golden Falls snatched from the Internet.

the platform we were on was at the upper level of the falls 

the lower level viewing platform