Iceland

It occurred to me as we stepped off the plane that this is the furtherest we have been from our home town - about 20,000 kilometres - right on the other side of the world and up a bit.  And although a long way a way there are lots of similarities - mountains, volcanoes, water falls, geysers, thermal areas, rough seas, wooden houses, picket fences, horses, sheep, windy roads and lots and lots of differences eg very little wildlife, colder, very few trees, lots of greenhouses. The language is a challenge to get your tongue around (evidenced by the volcanic eruption last year with few being able to get their tongue around Eyjafjallajokull).  We read on the flight over that the Icelandic language has 14 names for a cup (fantur, kolla, drekka, staup, horn, dolla, baukur, mal, glas, bikar, skal, bolli, krus and kanna) - if you think about the English language there is probably a few too for a drinking vessel (eg, cup, mug, glass, pitcher, pint, half pint, shot etc) - but 100 different names for snow is a bit mind boggling. I've always thought that to really see a place you probably need to see it in all 4 seasons - I think that this particularly applies to Iceland - well perhaps not 4 but at least summer and one with snow (which is probably the other three). We saw lots of photos of flowers with snow capped mountains but Spring for our visit meant lots of snow with a few melting patches, ice and scoria.  Before getting into what we did here are a few first impressions and some that came later:

• Reyjavik - seems to be a peaceful safe city - very few sirens and no horn honking when a driver runs out of petrol in the middle of a busy intersection - in fact quite a few drivers stop to let the walker across the road.  There is quite a lot of colour to brighten up the dull days.
• The locals say the weather doesn't bother them but we heard it so much that I wonder if they are trying to convince themselves as much as us.
• Only a few dogs - there are a few myths around about man's best friend - it seems dogs were banned but aren't any more, but they are very strictly licensed and controlled - we saw one in the city and a few farm dogs - not much poo which was an added bonus for us pedestrians!!
• Horses - the Icelandic horses are lovely - small, stocky and very hairy.  They come up to the fence for bread and to say hello.  The breed is centuries old and no horses are allowed into Iceland which ensures a pure breed - you can't even take one out to the Icelandic horse show and bring it back!!  Incidentally for this reason the show has never been held in Iceland.
• Very few trees - they were all cut back during the cold years centuries ago - and when the wood ran out the wooden houses were no longer heated (we went into a few and they were colder than outside). I forgot to ask how they cooked their food because not everyone had access to the volcanic steam and this was before they discovered the powers of geothermal.
• Iceland makes lots of hay - its usually wrapped in white plastic (in keeping with the white slippery cold stuff that covers the ground I guess).  They make so much they can export it.
• The financial crisis hit hard - apparently according to our bus driver the 2 banks were privatised - one was bought by a friend of the President with a loan from the other bank and the other bank was bought by a friend of the Finance Minister with a loan from the other bank - get the picture.  That together with large low interest loan from Japan to develop the power industry meant that when the exchange rate plummeted and interest rates rose the debt was too large - bankruptcy.  The Icelander is suffering dearly with expensive goods and services and from what I gather few social services (though we didn't see one beggar on the streets).  Though food was not as expensive as we were led to expect.
• The low road toll - 1 fatality this year so far. Most roads have grooves in them from the tyres with spikes but the roads are fairly hazardous which is probably why the tourist doesn't really drive - that and the price of rental cars.
• The food - fresh veges grown in green houses - wonderfully fresh - the best we have tasted in Europe so far - lots of salad and soup bars which are yummy.  They also make nice yoghurt (Skyr) and licorice (imagine marzipan wrapped in licorice and then coated in chocolate - doesn't appeal to me but as licorice raises the blood pressure not necessarily good for chocoholics either).

So, what did we see.  We didn't see the northern lights - 3 nights the trip was cancelled due to weather conditions but 1 night it was on.  That night we caught a bus to the countryside about 1.5 hours drive from Reykjavik with 200 or so other tourists.  We stood on a quiet country road, at midnight, in 0 degrees, staring upwards at very low cloud.  In hindsight it is rather funny but at the time most of us didn't see the humour as we stood beside the lonely cattle stop.

We did have a nice hot swim in the blue lagoon - this is a man made lagoon heated using geothermal energy. It was rather magical sitting in the pool with the muddy silica squelching between the toes and the snow scattered amongst the volcanic rock.  There are about 400,000 visitors annually and thankfully we chose a quiet day.  We took a few photos before our feet froze (you can see what the life guards wear in one of the photos) and if you don't recognise Harry in the photo it is probably because his hair is plastered with conditioner to protect it from the sulphyr and he has remnants of the silica face mask on which they recommend you try during the swim.

Lots more water in the form of waterfalls.  We saw a few falls including the Gullfoss, Seljalandsfoss and the Skogafoss.  One was complete with a salmon jumping ladder - there would be no hope for the future of the salmon in Iceland without them.  They were all pretty spectacular with volumes of melted snow and ice cascading over cliffs.  We walked up to some, viewed others from a height and would have had the opportunity of walking behind one if it wasn't quite as treacherous with ice.  There is something quite mesmerising about watching water cascade down between cliffs of ice.

The geothermal area that we saw (part of the Golden Circle tour which reminds me of a pineapple by the way) was a bit of a disappointment to us after having spent many a holiday in Rotorua.  Yes kiwis are spoilt with their own nature wonderland. The geyser they say is taller than Pohutu but it didn't somehow seem as impressive.  The geothermal area was only a few steam vents rather than the full mud puddle thing  plop, plop, plop - you know what I mean.  However, it was nice to see the snow and steam together which provided a nice atmosphere but difficult to take a good photo.  I somehow think that given more time to explore we would have found some better examples of volcanic activity.

We walked along the techtonic plates in the national park - where the North American plate and the Eurasian plate are battling for supremacy and the Eurasian is winning with the North American slipping down by centimetres over the years.  This is a famous area where the worlds first parliament met and it is a fairly remote area to wander around in and feel close to nature.

Went to a little museum where we found out a bit about the life of the early Icelandic.  We visited some houses with grass roofs that have been moved to the site (admired the colourful interiors - probably in the hope of keeping some warmth in the middle of winter with no heating except from the cows next door) and the little chapel.  Saw lots of interesting little things like musical instruments, two thumbed mittens (when worn out just turn them around), hand held wool spinners (huge industry over here but the wool is quite coarse and would itch me to madness).

The South Shore Adventure took us to a beach with cliffs which looked as though they were a chip off the old Giant Causeway and Scotland's Fingals cave on Staffa Island.  We were told we were lucky the surf was less that day so we could walk along the beach and see the rock formations...the first time for a tour group this year.  However the highlight for us was walking up to the glacier - the road was full of pot holes and mud puddles but the driver negotiated those well (big tyres) and we parked and saw the magical sight of the Myrdalsjokull Glacier in the distance.  The colour and depth of ice and the icicles, just made it for us and if we had got ourselves organised we would have taken a long walker with boots and crampons etc - perhaps on the Fox when we get home...

Reykjavik is a colourful little capital - the northern most, with Wellington being the southern most. We enjoyed wandering through the old town with narrow streets, little houses with a unique charm - some made of wood and others corrugated iron.  Colourful to brighten the dullest of days and many with a little picket fence and planted pots in front.  There was little rubbish about (we notice this since living in England where all the wheelibins are out the front or on the street), no beggars and the locals wore light clothing (it is afterall Spring) while the tourists were dressed up in layers and layers and layers (bit of an exaggeration it wasn't quite as cold as I we thought it would be - they have a warm gulf stream up here!).  We spent an afternoon exploring the Lutheran cathedral Hallgrimskirkja which is actually quite spectacular and likened to the space shuttle.  We could see the resemblance. Being Lutheran (which the majority of the Icelandic people are) it was simplicity itself inside with an enormous organ which we heard play.  The church took 38 years to build (1945-86), but the tower that we climbed took a lot longer to complete.  We also got good views from the Perlan which looked to me like a ship from outer space - it is perched on the hill above Reyjakavik and is a conference centre, museum, cafe etc.  Walking into town was a bit of a 'slip, sliding' affair but we managed to negotiate the icy puddles and found the frozen lake which the swans and ducks seemed to be enjoying, the parliament, tourist information centre etc.  Famous people like Reagan and Gorbachev met here to end the cold war (white building in front of the sea) and apparently enjoyed a lamb burger and chips from the local restaurant we also visited.

Kent

Our first stop this weekend was Brooklands Musuem which includes the remnants of the first purpose-built motor racing circuit in the world (built in 1907). It was where British motorsport and aviation (home of Concorde) began and where many technological initiatives were explored and progressed. It was a Harry heaven. For me, the best part of the day was the glorious sunshine so when I had seen plenty I found a seat in the sun and soaked up all that Vitamin D. I sat far away from the various scout groups that arrived at a similar time to us (great to see the enthusiasm of the young) and I smiled at the mother trying to explain to her daughter what a typewriter was - computers have existed for ever according to the young!! It was a good day out. Probably the best bit for both of us was the wander through the Concorde - we've been in these planes before at other museums but this one was a bit different as it was the first production Concorde built in Britain - design work began in the late 1950's. It really is quite a sleak piece of machinery. We also had a simulator drive in a 1997 McLaren MP4/12 and a Napier Ralton special 1930's - just to feel the difference in the handling between an older car and the later one. My first experience as a motor car racing driver!!

 A couple of other highlights was seeing BABS (the car where Perry attempted to regain the land speed record from Donald Campbell in the Bluebird). While going 170 miles an hour the car slewed sideways killing Perry. They buried the car in the Pendine Sands and it stayed there until 1960. Also the Sultan of Oman's VC10 was on show - luxury at altitude.

Across the road from Brooklands is the Mercedes Benz museum - and this is where I opted for more Vitamin D and the newspaper while Harry went to investigate (he came out with a little red car as well as some enthusiastic tales of what he saw inside). We had quite a lot of fun racing the little car up and down the corridor in the hotel that evening - but I am not really sure if we should admit that to anyone!! One of the highlights at the museum was a Mercedes Benz Formula 1 car suspended in pieces from the ceiling.

Then it was onto to Ashdown Forest - where Winnie the Pooh and his friends rambled and played. We stopped at Pooh Corner and found an Eeyore, who took us on the tour around the North Pole, Eeyores Sad and Gloomy Place, Place of Enchantment, Roos Sandpit and the Heffalump Track while the sun was setting and the shadows were getting longer. I can remember reading Winnie the Pooh back when I was 6 or 7. We were on a family camping trip at Hatepe (round the shores of Lake Taupo) and I was given the book for Christmas. Mum and Dad wanted to go to Taupo and I wanted to read so I sat in the back reading and got terribly car sick as the Ford Prefect negotiated the windy and hilly roads. Unfortunately, I can't remember much about the stories now but I was still looking forward to exploring the Forest. The Winnie the Pooh stories have been around a lot longer than I have. It is thought that Winnie got his name from a bear brought from Winnipeg by a Canadian soldier who spent most of his life in London Zoo. It is sad to think that AA Milne gave so many children pleasure except his own son Christopher Robin who blamed his Dad for all the teasing he got at boarding school - apparently they never got on. It might be worth reading Christopher's autobiographies now (they're called The Enchanted Places and The Path Through the Trees). Tunbridge Wells was a good place to stay - fairly central with lots of food places to choose from (Asian one night and Indian the next).

Eltham Palace (with a silent h) is a 1930s Art Deco mansion and was on our itinerary the next day. It was built by a wealthy family called the Courtauld's next to the remains of an earlier Eltham Palace which was the childhood home of Henry VIII. To get permission to build the house the family had to restore the Great Hall which the King probably played in. The house is apparently one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in England (it has probably been in programmes like Agatha Christies Poirot). The entrance hall with white furniture probably made the most impression, but there were some pretty luxurious bathrooms and also the renovated Great Hall that stood out a bit. No piccies allowed inside - various reasons flashes can destroy old things and security (there was an arrest of a National Trust member last week who cased some stately homes before stealing antiques from them). We enjoyed the wander around the gardens, had a picnic on the grass and then went to be a 'tourist for the day' in local Eltham (we were given a leaflet and thought it would be fun).

mu

The Bob Hope Little Theatre (Bob Hope was born in Eltham in the early 1900's) is just around the corner from the Palace. We were taken to the auditorium to watch a stage set being created - if we were locals we would be regular attendees of the shows - they looked well priced and a good range of musicals and dramas. We could have also slid down the pole at the local fire station but decided to give that a miss and headed for the local church where we were again offered a free cup of tea and cake by an equally welcoming group of people. One woman had been to NZ and told us of her visit to Eltham in Taranaki (she tried to get the locals to say Eltam but it didn't wash with them). Anyway, apparently during the war the kiwi Eltham parishioners sent tins of butter to the UK Eltham church which they shared over morning tea after the Sunday service. She also told the story of two aborigines visiting Eltham named Bennelong and Yemmerrawannie in the 1790's. Unfortunately Yemmerrawannie died during his visit but Bennelong returned to Aussie. There seems to be some debate on whether these two gentleman were treated with respect or paraded as curiosities. I read that the visit was probably prompted by the then Governor General who asked the two Aborigines to accompany him back to England. The reason for the visit appears to be imparting knowledge to the English during their visit to aid understanding between the cultures.  From the bit of reading I have done I don't think it worked!!

And then onto Greenwich where we explored the Old Royal Naval College buildings a little bit more. We had a quick tour of the Queens House which is now a museum, sat in the chapel for quite a bit longer admiring the ceiling and walls while resting our weary feet and listening to the orchestra and choir rehearsing Haydn's The Creation, and also visited the Painted Hall, which is rather an elaborate dining hall decorated with a number of paintings by James Thornhill (a bit dark and gloomy for someone who likes light but still quite magnificent).