Dear Friends,
Well, here we are in Reykjavik, Iceland. Since the late 19th Century, Denmark has allowed some autonomy, but it was not until 1944 that the official Republic of Iceland was established. Disputes with the EU over fishing rights continue to divide the small nation from that body and many Icelanders want to continue whaling in the face of world opposition to the practice.
Reykjavik was first settled in AD 874, when Ingolflur Arnarson threw the carved pillars from his Viking high seat over the side of his boat and vowed to settle wherever they washed up on the shore. This happened to be at the site of modern-day Reykjavik. Reykjavik, or "Smoky Bay", was named after the steam rising from the geothermal vents in the surrounding countryside. At first glance, Reykjavik can seem more like a small town than a capital city, but by Icelandic standards, this is a teeming metropolis. More than 62% of Iceland's entire population resides here and the city is expanding rapidly; swallowing up towns and cities in every direction. However, Reykjavik was a second tier city all the way through the end of the 19th Century, with only 2,000 inhabitants. Upon Icelandic Independence in 1944, this number swelled to 45,000. Generations of young architects have filled the capital with intriguing modern buildings, which sit neatly against the ancient wooden houses of the old town. Now Reykjavik is upbeat, with a vibrant art and music scene, great restaurants, and a famously uninhibited nightlife. During the long summer nights the streets are packed with young people who spill out from the bars and clubs into the "midnight sun".
Here we got off the ship and got on the double decker hop-on-hop-off City Sightseeing bus. It was about an hour tour around the city. One of the things Iceland has done is harness it's geothermal steam to use for heating and power. They are able to take care of about 50% of their needs this way and hope in the future to build up to 100% self-sufficiency in this area. We ended up not getting off the bus anywhere, since this bus only came around every hour. It was a very interesting city in that it all seemed rather new and modern. One interesting thing we saw (and I have included a photo of it) was the John Lennon memorial skylight tower. Yoko Ono did this in his memory. We were told that there is a strong beam of light coming out of the top of this tower that shines to the heavens.
When we returned from the city, there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers in our room that were sent from our good friend and Customer Relations Manager, Susana Beleo. That was so very nice of her and so unexpected of course. I am sending a photo of how they looked when delivered and the second one is how they look now after all the beautiful yellow lillies have opened.
That night at dinner, since it was our 45th anniversary, they brought us a beautiful and delicious cake and sang their Indonisian "congrats" song to us. And as many of you know, Dick does tricks at the table each night (all card tricks these days), so that is why he is holding up his cards in the one photo.
Enjoy.
Jan and Dick
No comments:
Post a Comment