Patterns

Nature creates some stunning patterns... Here are some examples in moss, snow, lava, rock and water.

Icelandic Treats

Well, we're safe back in London! It was a very long night last night, our flight delay was actually 4 1/2 hours long as the Iceland Express engineers had to wait for a replacement seal to arrive and then fit it before we were ready to hit the runway. Not so bad, but then when we got to Stansted the train wasn't running and we had to take a replacement bus to Liverpool St, then a long palaver over taking two Night buses... home at 2.30am!



On the bright side, we had plenty of time to spend our 2000 kronur (about £10) given to us by the airline, to purchase some food and tell you a little about what they eat in Iceland.



Here I am advertising dried haddock, which is essentially fish dried with a bit of salt. It's plain with a slight fishy flavour and crunchy texture. Icelanders take this on road trips to munch.



This drink is a Christmas specialty. At first we thought it was beer, but it's actually non-alcoholic orange (not apple as first thought) soft drink mixed with a malted beverage. It was invented apparently because alcohol was an expensive luxury and people wanted something festive. We both grew to like it.



Skyr, as previously mentioned is a 99.8% fat-free dairy product that seems more like thick yoghurt but is really a soft cheese. Yummy. It comes in plain, vanilla, and various fruit flavours. Pear, raspberry, strawberry, apricot and blueberry are nice flavours. Avoid the banana. We wondered why skyr wasn't imported further than Denmark, it is tasty and good for you!

For main meals, we mostly had fish dishes (similar to the Norwegian style), plain but filling. The big splash was obviously the lobster dinner... so yummy! The Icelandic lobster is smaller than your usual lobster, having come from the very cold waters off the coast. It was cooked in butter and garlic with lots of delicious vegetables, piquant vinaigrettes and a 'skyrronaise'. We also tried the Icelandic meat soup while we were at Geysir, it's a bit like minestrone soup with chunks of lamb.

Some traditional Icelandic dishes we didn't get to try... but were a bit reluctant to anyway... were fermented/rotted stingray 'skata' and shark, minke whale, and the Icelandic version of blood pudding! It's important to remember that Icelandic cuisine originated from the Vikings, who had to endure harsh winters with limited preserving techniques, and make the most of whatever food was available.

Blue Lagoon and home...

Sadly no Northern Lights pictures to show you. They did try very hard last night, driving us about for 3 and a half hours, without a single gap in the cloud cover to be seen... It will have to be another time. We had a trip in a super jeep as well on Friday night in another thwarted attempt.




Here's a super jeep in all its glory. Tricky to get into though!



So we started the super jeep trip with a fantastic lobster dinner by the sea. Delicious!



To pass the time we visited a bore hole in a snowstorm on top of the mountain. Was much more fun than it sounds! This tunnel goes straight down 2-3km, allowing hot gas and steam to come shooting up to the surface. The noise and vibration was tremendous! Sadly in the storm I lost my scarf as we opened the door to the jeep. Later we realised what had happened as you can just see it in this picture, lying on the snow...



This is the power station where the steam is then used to make hot water and electricity for the city. Reykjavic enjoys wonderfully cheap hot water and power, a good thing too due to the cold, but a side effect is that your shower smells like rotten eggs!



And a lovely view of Reykjavik at night, more adventures in the superjeep.



So today is our last day, and we diverted on our way to the airport to visit to famous Blue Lagoon. Actually also geothermal power plant related, the pool is a by-product from the bore holes. But very nice all the same!



Char is actually in this picture, believe it or not! I wasn't allowed to use a close up...

So now we fly home. Unfortunately our flight is delayed over 3 hours, so lots of blogging time.

The Golden Circle

::::Dave reporting::::

Unfortunately we were tied to a coach tour today, with a grumpy Icelandic tour guide insistent on singing to us every time we got on the bus. However it was a fantastic day with snow on the ground and some of the most memorable sights of Iceland.


Believe it or not, it's almost 11am in the morning when we took this photo!

Here's a photo to proove we did actually go on holiday together, despite appearing in very few pictures!


This is the Gullfoss waterfall (actually 2 waterfalls), a wonderful sight in the snow.



This close up was quite a challenge to reach over tourist-impacted icy snow... Fortunately the photo was worth it!



Then it was onto Geysir, from which all geysirs get their name.



Here's Char waving through the Geysir steam.



And a beautiful thermal pool... Spoilt by the money though!



This is Thingvellir, the rift valley where the two halves of Iceland are being pushed apart, so the country is actually growing! Only a centimetre a year though.



If you look to the left of this photo you can see the dramatic rift left behind by the plate movements.

So now it's fingers crossed for the Northern Lights tonight!

Postcard from Reykjavik

Hi from not-so-sunny Reykjavik! We are getting used to very short days - only about 4 hours of sunlight (reportedly) and the sun doesn't rise until about 10am. It's warmer here than expected, doing well at the moment being overprepared for freezing temperatures. Good to have things on hand though as Icelandic weather is very volatile. Unfortunately there's lots of cloud here at the moment, so we are waiting to confirm if we'll go out on the Northern Lights Excursion tonight. Bated breath! Dave and I had a birthday breakfast with some Icelandic treats - blueberry flavoured Skyr, a dairy product similar to thick yoghurt but is actually a soft cheese; Icelandic paprika cheese, some pastries called Gifler Canel and pear juice.

Here are a few interesting pictures from wandering around the city centre... (no this isn't a real horse).


Lovely faces of Icelandic children.

Love,
Char xxx

Birthday Pav

An early birthday cake for my favourite boy. There are a few candles missing but I don't think that he minded. The recipe is one from a famous NZ icon, the tried and trusted Edmonds family cookbook.

Happy Birthday, Dave!!!

Pavlova

3 egg whites
3 tablespoons cold water
1 cup caster sugar
3 teaspoons cornflour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon white vinegar

1. Beat egg whites until they are stiff.
2. Add cold water to the eggs, beat again.
3. Add castor sugar gradually while still beating. I like to slowly pour the sugar into the moving beaters to disperse the sugar evenly.
4. Add vinegar, vanilla and cornflour, again, while still beating.
5. Put greased paper on a greased tray and bake at 150 degrees C (300 F) for 45 minutes. The pav will be a very light golden colour. Cool in the oven (don't open the door until the oven is cool!).
6. Top and decorate with whipped cream and fresh fruits.

I'll next see you in Iceland - we're off on Wednesday. I have to leave you here to do some packing - thermals, thermos, hot chocolate, swimsuit, hot water bottle, passport, check. And no, there is no odd item out! Meanwhile, I'm reading the Iceland Express Blog and sincerely hoping the weather report changes by Thursday...

On a boat on a winter's day...

We had planned to visit the Darwin exhibition at the Natural History Museum on Saturday, but it was heaving with holidaying families, so we went on a long and interesting walk that included a ride on a real Routemaster and running into a large protest march with harassed policemen and helicopters, and finally ended up on a boat on the Thames called Tattershall Castle. It's a boat that's been converted into a restaurant and 5 bars and it's a really neat place to meet up with friends.



Before we retreated into the warmth, I took a few shots of two famous London sights - Big Ben...


...and the London Eye.


Here is the real photographer hard at work practicing for Iceland!