“What is there for us to see today? We saw Antarctic Glaciers just last January. It’s going to be tough to top that!” Judy and I said to each other this morning. But the Vatnajokull Glacier, the largest (by volume) in Europe, and especially the drive to and from it, was special and worth the trip even for jaded glacier wonks like us.

Vatnajokull has five active volcanoes under its ice sheet. They erupt periodically, emitting large quantities of water, ash and toxic gases. We saw evidence of volcanic activity all day long. For example, the 1918 eruption near Vik extended the Icelandic shoreline two miles out into the ocean.

Arguably the most deadly eruption, the so called Saftárelder (Fires of Skaftá) in 1783, created a crater 18 miles long. The impact was extensive and widespread.

–              The volcano ejected lava, of course, the results of which we saw today in the form of lava fields and mini craters 28 miles from the epicenter: large areas of rock covered today with a thick layer of moss. With time, plants and eventually tress will grow where the moss has prepared the way. But judging from the 260-odd years of moss growth, we’ve got a few more centuries (millennia?) to wait.

–              The volcano also ejected ash and toxic gasses that caused teeth of man and beast to fall out. Seventy five percent of Iceland’s cattle and 22% of the population died. The economy of Iceland, already poverty stricken, was made even worse.

–              The ash cloud spread over Europe. Unlike the 2010 event, this one had thin lightweight ash particles that remained suspended over Europe for years. Poverty and starvation ensued. The citizenry of France, already less-than thrilled with the monarchy, started the French Revolution.

Thor told the story of the Starla, the wanderer, who came to live with a family in this area. He had a premonition of a 17th century eruption. The parents ignored him but one night he took the kids to the top of a nearby hill. Sure enough, the eruption occurred, the waters came and engulfed the hill on which he and the kids were standing. An iceberg floated by. Starla jumped on with the kids, a cow, some sheep and a horse. He returned to rebuild the farm and live happily ever after. Kinda tough on the parents, though.

Thor regaled us with several legends and stories drawn from Nordic mythology. Some revolved around the striking similarities between human and seal physiology. Both have internal bone structures and enchanting eyes. One man, in the 1980s, I believe, had two layers of dark fat, just like a seal. He survived hours in frigid waters that killed his companions in minutes. About this time of year it is said that seals shed their skins for a day and take on a human form. And so on.

We saw in the distance the island where the first Viking settler landed. Seems he was anxious to chose a settlement site pleasing to the gods. So he took his two totem poles, lashed them together and threw them in the sea, asking the gods to show him the way. It took him several years, but he eventually found them near present day Reykjavik and that’s where he set up shop. Reykjavik’s symbol is two poles crossed by ocean waves.

We drove today to  Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, about three hour’s drive from our hotel in Vik. Along the way we saw one outlet glacier after another. Imagine a giant ice sheet sitting atop a mountain range (really a range of volcanos with intervening lakes beneath the surface of the ice). The pressure of the ice causes the ice to flow downward wherever there is a valley between volcano peaks. These tongues of the main glacier eventually reach lower elevations and flow towards the sea. Those are Vatnajokull’s outlet glaciers.

The Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon started forming in 1934 as Vatnajokull started to recede, as is happening to many glaciers around the world.  Today the lagoon is 11 square miles in size and over 800 feet deep. It is expanding at the rate of almost 1,000 feet each year. It’s home to a number of enchanting icebergs, which have calved off from Vatnajokull.

The lagoon is close enough to the ocean and low enough in elevation so that tidal waters flow in during high tides and the fresh water flows out at low time. The lagoon therefore has fish from the ocean and where there’s fish, there are inevitably seals. Check out the pictures to see the icebergs.

While these icebergs are no where near the size of what we saw in Antarctica, they have their own appeal and we enjoyed our up close and personal view of them from the Duck Boat very much.

On the way back we stopped at a roadside stop where we could view the moss-covered lava field up close. Judy, a Maine moss lover, was especially pleased to get up close and personal with Icelandic moss.

Just outside of Vik we stopped at the Black Beach. This beach has really black sand, created by the volcanic fallout. It also has striking vertical pillars of solidified lava. Puffins nest in the grass on the hillside and while we saw a number in the air we didn’t see any perched for us to view. We’ll keep trying. And while we didn’t see any Puffins close up, we did see numerous Arctic Skuas, the same birds we saw in Antarctica in January. They nest here in the spring and migrate south in the fall.

Dinner was at the Black Crust Pizzeria. The crust looked just like the sand at the beach but tasted OK as did the date-pesto-somethingorother topping.

More scenery and some music tomorrow, our last full day of touring with Sage.

‘

Rain, wind and chilly temps barely breaking 50 today. But hey, if we wanted warmth we should have stayed at home. Ninety Six is the forecast in Melrose, MA and Guilford, ME. Only Sun City Center, FL is cooler at 88 today.

Mostly sightseeing today with only one cultural experience. But Thor did have a chance while driving to regale us with stories and insights about Iceland.

On the way out of town we saw the house where Ronald Reagan met with Mikhail Gorbachev, a meeting that began the process that led to the end of the Soviet Union.

We passed by one of seven geothermal power plants in Iceland. It sports seven electricity-generating turbines driven by steam. The superheated steam is brought to the surface via pipes drilled 1.5 miles into the earth. In addition to electricity, hot water is piped to Reykjavik for use in heating homes and as drinking water. Over 90% of Icelandic homes are heated this way.

Electricity is an export commodity for Iceland. Because it is not (yet) technically possible to export electricity directly, Iceland brings the foreign consumer to Iceland in the form of aluminum (al-you-liń -ium) plants. Large-scale data processing farms also locate here. Only 20% of electricity generated here is used by Icelandic consumers.

That explains why the question of installing wind-driven power plants is so controversial. “Why should we pollute our environment with aluminum plants? Sure, we have lots of wind but the environmental cost is just too high.”

Remember the discussion of Icelandic “hidden people,” the elves? There are also said to be trolls. Unlike Norwegian trolls, those here are large, ape-like creatures, not very smart but with a taste for human flesh. They turn to stone when exposed to daylight, so they’re only about at night. Thor showed us a rock formation of four vertical structures in the water just off the southern coast: they are the rock formation of a troll and the three masts of the ship the troll was pulling to his lair for a source of snack food when the sun came up. (Whatever the troll is pulling turns to stone as well.) Belief in trolls is somewhat less than the 30% figure for elves. However, “be good, or the trolls will get you!” is a parenting tool, albeit one of questionable worth.

We passed through the town where Bobby Fisher is buried. In the end, Iceland, where he beat Boris Spassky to become world champion, was his chosen place for cancer treatment. His friend, the chauffeur, and local chess aficionados, cared for him in his final days.

Turns out there are six or seven thousand practitioners of the worship of ancient Nordic gods. They’re even building a temple in Reykjavik. Gods are numerous: Odin, Frigg, Thor, Loki and the rest. There was even a “white Christ” god introduced. Thor (the guide, not the god) told us that ancient believers practiced animal sacrifice to evoke the power of the gods. Smearing the sacrificial blood on objects and clothing was practiced, as wa the drinking of sacrificial blood and consumption of sacrificial flesh. Modern day worship is much more civilized. 

One town we passed has a high level of surface thermal activity. Lots of greenhouses here, producing vegetables, using the natural heat.

We saw a fair number of fields planted to, I assume, hay. The first cutting has already been made. Some fields seemed fallow. A few appeared to be taken over by Lupin infestations.

Back in 2010, Judy and I had a trip to circumnavigate Iceland by car all planned out. Unfortunately, the eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull disrupted air travel to Iceland and throughout Europe where the prevailing winds blew the volcanic ash. My father became ill at that time so we couldn’t go anyway. Today we drove by the volcano, hidden as it was in clouds but nonetheless there. Newscasters took to calling it volcano E-16, which means “the letter e followed by 16 unpronounceable letters.

The volcano eruption effected only a small portion of Iceland. Farmers in the immediate area feared their hay crops would be damaged by the ash that spread on the fields. Instead, however, the eruption ceased, the rains fell, and the ash fertilized the soil so that instead of two cuttings, they achieved four. A real bonanza.

One of the big dangers of volcano eruptions in Iceland comes from the volcanos that are buried under the ice sheets of glaciers. When the eruption occurs, water melts, builds up and can produce catastrophic floods. Towns like Vik, where we are staying tonight, hold annual evacuation drills because the town is in the direct path of such a volcano, one of eight (out of 30-odd volcanoes in Iceland) that are under a glacier.

The Skogar Museum, our lunchtime stop, was established by a local school teacher. Iceland experienced an economic boom from WWII army activity. The teacher realized that the new found wealth was causing people to abandon their old tools and ways of doing things in favor of the modern. He therefore started a program to gather such items into a museum so that the culture would not be lost. The museum is the result. It includes artifacts of daily life and a large collection of fishing gear, fishing being one of the main sources of income for this area. There are also traditional sod houses and other structures brought to the site to be part of the museum. The teacher learned seven languages so he could lead tours. He worked into his 90s and recently died at age 100.

What else today? Two magnificent waterfalls, resulting from springs and glacial meltwater. See the pictures. One is set up so you can walk behind it. I’m sorry to say that my ailing hip, a recent development for me, precluded making the trek. A stretch of 10 feet or so of wet, slippery rocks kept me from taking the risk. Old age beats the alternative, but it is frustrating.

At the waterfall near the museum, it is said that a medieval rich man hid his treasure at the base of the fall to avoid it being taken by his enemies. The enemies killed the man when he refused to give them his treasure. For years, people have attempted to retrieve the treasure. One man found the ring-shaped handle to the box, tied a team of horses to it and succeeded in pulling up only the ring. The handle resides in the museum. The treasure is still at the base of the waterfall.

We also made a stop to look for Puffins, the iconic but somewhat illusion birds. Thor said he saw a few make a brief appearance, but none long enough for your faithful photographer to click his shutter. Maybe tomorrow. Stay tuned.

But wait! Upon closer inspection of today’s pictures, I think I did catch one hiding on her nest in the grass, as is their habit. Not a great picture, but don’t tell anyone when I brag about bagging a Puffin.

We did see Eider Ducks, as in eider down. Farmers whose fields are chosen as nesting areas will take a third of the birds’ feather lining. The ducks replace the missing amount, which is harvested again and again.

Tomorrow promises to be iceberg and glacier day.

Today we hit the road heading north to explore parts of western Iceland. Lots of scenery and history plus a concert, sculpture garden and art gallery tour. Because we drove maybe four hours Thor had and used much of it to lecture on history and geology. But I’m not going to bother you with all of that.

Who am I trying to kid. Of course I am.

Here are the highlights:

874 c.e. – Vikings arrive and settle Iceland. Monks had come earlier seeking solitude but left no record, only some archaeological digs.

930 – the first Althing, the longest serving parliament in the history of the world, is held at Thingvellir

1000 – Catholicism supplants/replaces Nordic worship of Thor and his friends

1262 – Iceland’s golden age has ended. Climate turns cold, starvation is rampant and Iceland submits to rule by the King of Norway

1397 – Denmark conquers Norway. Iceland now ruled by the Danes

1550 – the Danes behead the Catholic bishop and install Lutheranism as the go-to religion

June 17, 1944 – Iceland becomes a fully independent republic, ending 500 years of Danish exploitation and depravation.

Iceland played a role in WWII as an airbase (now the Keflavík airport). They elected the first female head of state in the world in 1980 and is a world leader in gender equality today.

Geologically speaking, Iceland is located at the junction of the American and Eurasian tectonic plates. As they interact, pressure builds and lava escapes, forming  Iceland as we see it today. Iceland averages an eruption every few years but has experienced eight in the past 10 years.

End of lecture.

The drive gave us great views of the landscape – valleys and mountains. Lava fields sculpted during the last ice age, mostly devoid of tress, a few sheep (most sheep are in the highlands for the summer) and an occasional farm. Early settlers cut down and burned the indigenous birch trees to clear land for farming. Efforts are underway to restore birch forests but growth in Iceland is slow. Lupins, introduced to control erosion in the south, are everywhere and invasive.

First stop: Thingvellir National park, a two-fer attraction. The large lake on the park formed due to glacial and tectonic plate movement. Evidence of the plate rift is very evident. The east side of the lake is on the Atlantic plate, the west side is on the Eurasian plate. Cool.

Not only that, Thingvellir is also the site of the first and many subsequent Althing sessions over the intervening centuries. Fifteen hundred years ago clansmen from all around Iceland would meet here every year, camping out in tents about where the church is now located. There were no permanent buildings. They would pass laws, settle legal disputes, arrange business deals, including marriage contracts, and socialize. Extra cool.

After lunch at Húsafell, we visited Páll Gundmundsson at his studios. This turned into a cultural three-fer. Pásll is a sculpture artist who carves faces and images in stones found around his childhood home, which is now his studio. He also creates a musical instrument he calls  a “steinarpa,” a collection of stones found in the hills around the studio and shaped to sound the tones of the 12-step scale when struck by a mallet. He’s also a fine artist. See the photos to see what I mean.

Two more stops. First, Children’s Falls. Sad story: Mom goes to church on Christmas Day. Kids stay home. Their tracks end at the stone arch crossing the river by the falls. They fell in and drowned. Mom orders bridge destroyed. Beautiful falls, nonetheless.

Final stop was at the town of Snorrastofa. What we saw was a pool built in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, one of the few remaining artifacts in Iceland from that period. The town is actually a research center for the Icelandic Sagas. Here’s Sage’s write up for the town:

“This sleepy town is known for its research center on the medieval era in Iceland and the home of the legendary saga writer and politician Snorri Sturluson who lived in Reykholt until his death in 1241. Snorriʼs records of the Old Norse language and Nordic mythology are invaluable to modern scholars. The quality of his writing made him the foremost historical writer of medieval times throughout Europe. His style, bringing his characters to life, makes fascinating reading even today. Snorri was a wealthy and powerful chieftain in the age of unrest and civil war preceding Icelandʼs loss of independence.”

A door into the hill by the pool led to Snorri’s castle. He was murdered by his enemies in that tunnel.

One interesting thing about Iceland that keeps cropping up: one-third of Icelanders believe in fairies. As one example, Thor showed us a stone by the side of Highway 1: the ring road that runs all around Iceland. When the highway was under construction, a local farmer came to the highway engineer to have the road divert around a stone that, the farmer said, was the home of fairies. “Sorry, we’re too far along. The highway can’t be moved,” was the answer. A series of accidents injuring workers, and the failure of the bulldozer assigned to move the rock, was enough. The highway was moved. Thor’s wife, who grew up on a farm in the north of Iceland, says that there is a fairy stone on her father’s farm.

Back in town, we treated ourselves to another gastronomic delight: a hot dog from the best hot dog kiosk in Iceland (mustard, grilled onions) and an ice cream around the corner from our hotel.

One reason we wanted to come to Iceland with Sage Lewis is that he’s so well connected with the music and arts scene in this country. He’s lived here with his family for three months during Covid, recording an orchestral composition with Icelandic musicians. We continued to benefit from his connections today with two private meetings with Icelandic artist friends of his. Plus, we benefited from being here on National Day.

Our first event was a living room concert performed by Bryndís Jónatansdóttir, who preforms as Február. She did a half-dozen piano/vocal songs she’s written. Very melodic and soothing music. Check her out on Apple Music and Spotify.

In addition to her music career, she’s the mother of four, including an 11-month old toddler. Her husband Is Icelandic but spent his first 15 years in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The family lives in suburban Reykjavik in a very nice two-family house. Traveling there gave us a chance to see what life in Reykjavik’s burbs is like.

Bryndís holds a degree in business and works in that capacity. Sage met her when applying for entry to Iceland during Covid under a Record in Iceland program through the ministry office where she worked. He only then realized that she is Februar, someone whose music he had heard and admired at Iceland’s Airwaves festival.

Bryndis writes lyrics in English, having learned the language as a five-year-old watching the Cartoon Network.

Next up, a visit to the studio of Gudrun Einarsdotir, a painter who does fascinating work making abstract paintings with paint materials through a natural process that resemble the Icelandic landscapes. Each piece, ranging in size from 15 inches square to seven feet square and can take up to two years or more to complete. Each work reflects her feeling that results from her hikes in the lava-based wilderness of Iceland. She takes no photographs to inspire her work but rather relies on the impression the wilderness has left with her. Check out https://listval.is/artist/gudrun-einarsdottir/

Lunch was at a waterfront fish-and-chips place called Kaffivagninn. While waiting for our tables, we looked over the harbor from a nearby pier. In addition to the usual collection of fishing boats one finds in a working fishing port, there were a couple of other interesting craft.

An Icelandic Coast Guard ship was nearby. Being the oldest Iceland’s four Coast Guard boats, it had participated in the Cod Wars of the 1960s. At the time, the fishing limits of European countries was 12 miles. Iceland decided to set a unilateral limit of 50 miles. Many countries observed Iceland’s limit, excepting Great Britain. Iceland drove the British fishing ships away when Iceland’s Coast Guard ships  cut the offending ships’ netting lines. Eventually, after 15 years of conflict, the dispute was settled diplomatically; the limit today is 200 miles.

Two whaling ships could be seen moored across the bay. Our friend Judith the whale watcher from Antarctica would throw a fit (probably is), knowing that Iceland is one of only a few countries still whaling. Due to politically-imposed bureaucratic red tape, these boats won’t whale during the coming summer season. But still. Really?

We walked from lunch back around the harbor to the downtown square and the Reykjavik Art Museum. There we saw a special installation by Jónsi, titled Flood. Jónsi, you will recall, was the frontman for the world famous group Sigur Ros. Here’s the artist’s statement:

“the ocean being this ominous and mysterious force playing a central part in our Icelandic lives. It’s basically about ‘the big wave,’ a wave that takes us all and destroys everything in its path. The effects of climate change, such as sea level rise, flooding, melting glaciers and intensified natural disasters, are happening all around us, and this piece is a reflection of that dire reality.”

 The town square was also the site of the Nation Day celebrations. We missed the parade but there were still lots of choral groups and brass bands playing. There was a whole section of kids amusement activities. It was cold (50 degrees) and overcast. But the citizens of Reykjavik learned how to have fun despite such conditions a long time ago.

This was our last day in Reykjavik. Tomorrow were traveling to the north a bit to see some scenery. But first, we’re having a “tasting menu” dinner with Thor, his wife, a vocalist who is the only counter tenor in Iceland and his wife, a theatre set designer.

Walking to dinner from the hotel back to the town square area passed by people dancing in the streets to celebrate the holiday. Icelanders know how to have fun.

And the meal at Fiskmarkadurinn was the best yet. King prawn tempura, lightly salted cod white chocolate cheesecake doesn’t begin to describe a great meal.

This weekend marks the end of the annual Reykjavik Arts Festival and we’re taking full advantage of it – an extra bonus for our tour. Today we experienced local crafts, dance, theater, ancient music and modern music. Plus a walk in the park and two dining experiences. 

Thor took us down the hill to the center of Reykjavik where the national Parliament building, Prime Minister’s offices and Reykjavik Town Hall are located. The center is in fact the birthplace of Icelandic civilization: remains of a Viking settlement have been excavated there.

Nearby is the Icelandic Revenue Services building, the ground floor of which is a warehouse that on the weekends like today (Sunday) hosts a large flea market full of handmade goods, food and odds and ends you’d expect to find in a flea market. Judy found a neckless, which we purchased with Krona from the co-located ATM. 

A portion of the warehouse has been temporarily curtained off to house the Arkiv Dance Installation, part of the Arts Festival. Four screens project dancers, each dancer taking about five minutes to perform. The entire cycle lasts 60 minutes. We stayed for perhaps 15 minutes.

A short walk brought us to a restaurant for lunch: lobster soup, pan-fried Plokkfiskur (cod, I think) and Arctic Char.

Next, to the Reykjavik Art Museum to see Las Vegan, an original play created for the Arts Festival on a makeshift stage, a warehouse-like space several hundred feet long with seats running down either side. To quote from the Las Vegan writeup:

 Synopsis: When a child sees on TikTok that scientists believe the world will end in 2036, her mother decides to move the whole family to Las Vegas so that the child’s dream of learning mime can come true before it’s too late. In Las Vegas they are gradually drawn into the world of entertainment, as the woman gets involved in aerial gymnastics and the man begins to sing. Las Vegan deals with a fractured family – a couple at a crossroads while their child goes through a dark existential crisis and a lonely grandmother who goes on a crusade against the injustices of the world.

The words don’t give it justice: it was all that and more. First-rate acting, breathtaking acrobatics, costumes, music, action and props, which included a jeep-like vehicle driven from one end of the venue to the other. The family hoped their dreams of a better life would be realized in the USA, country of Las Vegas, the Bellagio, Elvis, the God Father, Al Pacino and so on.

Next, a 30-minute drive to the suburbs to a church (Lutheran, naturally) where Orn Maggnusun, the church’s organist and choir director, gave a concert using musical instruments from the time immediately following the Protestant Reformation (1500, give or take). Orn has researched the subject and, based on that research, craftsmen have constructed instruments that were lost with the advent of pipe organs in churches at that time.

That left us with 45 minutes to catch our breath before heading off to the Harpa for the Jacob Collier concert. Quoting from Sage’s description:

Although not an Icelandic musician, this young Brit is probably the most prodigal musician of the last one hundred years. Seeing him at Harpa with an Icelandic audience would be a real experience. 

We walked down the hill and had dinner at the Harpa.

And the concert was hard to describe. Jacob Collier is an incredibly talented pianist and guitar player. He performed his own compositions plus his own interpretations of pop and jazz standards, often with a jazz interpretation. On several songs, he coached the audience to sing along in six part harmony – no kidding, six parts in different sections of the auditorium. Iceland has a strong choral tradition so many in the audience sang in perfect unison at their assigned pitch. A very enjoyable evening.

The Harpa is an impressive building, especially from the outside. It rivals, in its own way, the Sydney Opera House. The auditorium is nice but SOH gets the nod. Acoustically it’s hard to say since Collier’s performance was heavily amplified. But the Harpa has nothing to apologize for.

Tomorrow, June 17, is Iceland’s National Day, commemorating the day in 1944 when Iceland became a republic. We’ll join in the festivities and enjoy some more exposure to Iceland’s artistic culture.