I THINK I Understand

Travel makes the world smaller. It shrinks when we get to know someone from another side of the globe, and hear what their childhood was like, things that concern them as adults and share stories about our children. What makes this possible most of the time is the other side of the globe learns other languages like English, while Americans go hoping and expecting someone to speak our language. We fail our students by not insisting on language skills. 

Our time in Iceland had many highlights, but one was listening to the expressions our guide, Edda, used in her commentary. I grew up with a mother that used colorful phrases, and I never really knew how much tea there was in China, or just how tight Dick’s hatband was, or how far it was to kingdom come. Edda was just as colorful. Here’s some examples I jotted down of Edda’s take on:

• Government- “The prime minister has a bone in her nose.” She is a strong woman who won’t be pushed around.
• Weather- “It will be window weather.” A day better suited for looking out the window rather than being out in the weather.
• Visiting Oklahoma-“I’ll have to lay my head in the water.” She would have to think about it.
• Religion-“They are baptized and see a white penguin.” We think she might have meant white dove as a symbol for the Holy Spirit. We weren’t sure because we were…
• “just down from the mountains,” the phrase Icelanders used when they didn’t have any clue about the subject.  

We giggled and tried to figure out what some of her statements meant, whether it was an expression, or misuse of English, or mispronunciation of words. Edda was explaining how the milk cows graze the grassy meadows but then when it’s milking time they go to the rowboats. Are you getting the mental image we pictured? This one took us a while to figure out, but she was trying to tell us that they used automated milking machines, robots. The Icelandic language puts the emphasis on the first syllable, so she stressing the second syllable of ro-BOT and it sounded like rowboat. We all had a good laugh. 

Each day she taught us a new word and a common expression, such as “on with the butter.” This meant get on with it, keep going, keep working. But our favorite idiom had to be her saying for the best part or the highlight. Where we might say “it was the cherry on top.” she said it was “the raisin at the end of the hot dog.” Oh my.

Traveling fills our senses. This adventure to Iceland was natural beauty in the way of waterfalls, and rainbows, and geysers. There was smell of sulfur from geothermal pools. There were unfamiliar tastes with new foods. And there were sounds, Edda’s lovely melodic use of English  even when it was sprinkled with word combinations that left us scratching our heads, and lost as a goose. English isn’t always universal, but laughter is.

“How was Iceland?”

When our Good to Go Gang was on their way home from Iceland, I reminded them that they should prepare their three-minute “elevator speech” to answer the question “So, how was Iceland?” Some places just take a lot more than three minutes to explain and when we were planning our group tour, I was often asked what we would see. I could only say that Iceland is about natural beauty, the scenery and landscape. Now that we have discovered Iceland’s Hidden Beauty, I’m ready to answer.

Iceland has become a very popular destination, especially for the well-traveled. It’s another country to check off the Bucket List and with its reputation for being safe and fairly close makes it even more desirable. The banking collapse in 2008 was devastating to their economy, but it had the “silver lining” effect of sending tourists streaming in while the dollar was strong. It’s a country of contrasts and extremes. One doesn’t really travel there to enjoy the hotels and museums although there are some very nice and unusual ones to enjoy. You go to Iceland to be adventurous.

While cruise ships may stop in Reykjavik (pronounced “rake a vik”), this large capitol city doesn’t really begin to show off what this country looks like. Our trip allowed nine days to travel the Ring Road. This two-lane blacktop road runs an 860-mile loop around the island. We traveled coastlines where black lava sand make a soft beach that is glass-like. Glaciers break off into the waters and leave ice sculptures on the shore. The puffins glide swiftly in the air and in the water with their bright orange beaks flashing color. We took a boat ride where the white beaked dolphins jumped in unison like a Sea World act, and the Minke Whales made an appearance.

We traveled by miles and miles of grassy meadows. The intense green is a result of a sun that sets for only a few hours a day. Sheep, cattle and horses grazed the landscape. Oftentimes there wasn’t a fence to contain them. Other times there were wide trenches cut in the land to hold the livestock in and drain the water away. It was hay season, and the round bales dotted the landscape. The bales were completed wrapped in plastic to endure the long winter. Some bales were wrapped in black and looked like shiny black eight balls on a felt pool table. The bales wrapped in white looked like the farmer was growing miniature marshmallows.

We traveled miles and miles of landscape that looked more like the moon. Fields of lava rock, volcanic rock formations, and bubbling mud pools. We would catch a glimpse of steam vents sending a column of white into the air, while the view in another direction was white snow on the top of a mountain. The word “geyser” was coined here. Geysir is the name of the largest hot spring and blows every 7-10 minutes. They don’t set a clock like Old Faithful, but you can’t miss it as part of the “Golden Circle” tour which consists of three equally stunning locations in southwest Iceland: Þingvellir National Park, the Geysir Geothermal Area, and Gullfoss waterfall. These sites are the ‘don’t miss’ and are all as spectacular as they are unique.

Waterfalls and rainbows would be part of my description, as we began to lose count we saw so many. There were turquoise lagoons with thermal pools. Hikers pitched tents near the action, as it gave hot and cold running water. Trees were introduced to the country by the Danish and they are a small part of the scenery, so one really can see to the horizon. As late as 1950 only 1% of the entire island had trees.

We drove miles and miles without seeing a building, a billboard or body. The only thing manmade was the road we traveled. This really was natural beauty, serene and surreal at the same time. I may need more than three minutes to answer “How was Iceland?”

Iceland Ideas

Godan daginn! I’m missing a dot and a dash on my keyboard to present my good morning to you properly from Iceland. If you are wondering why anyone would visit ICEland, then the ruse worked. Legends say that when the Vikings discovered this beautiful country, they sent word back to potential settlers that this chunk of land was covered in ice but the next, even bigger, land mass, was green. Of course that was Greenland, which IS covered in ice. 
 

This country, which has the land mass of Kentucky, is home to only two million people. Located just below the Arctic Circle at the 66^th parallel, this island is a world of its own. Isolated from each other and the rest of the world, tourism is just now coming to Iceland and you don’t need Eric the Red to get you here. It was a six-hour jet ride from Minneapolis to Reykjavik, the capitol city. This had been on my personal Bucket List for a while, and each day has been full of awe. 

About half the size Oklahoma, Iceland is the land of volcanoes, geysers, and lava fields. I saw a T-shirt that read “Why go to the moon when you can visit Iceland?” It’s true, there are miles and miles of strange landscape that even NASA thought was “moonlike” and sent astronauts to Iceland to train. There is an area called “Hell”, but it was much too lovely. It reminded me of the Garden of the Gods rock formations except in black. Millions of years of geothermal activity has turned over the earth like plowed ground. Giant crevices are falling points for cascading waterfalls too numerous to count. Hot springs and hot pools steam on the landscape in more places than the well known Blue Lagoon. We went straight for our soak after our flight which was a smooth move in the 98-104 degree silica rich waters. 

Brought over by the Danish, trees are somewhat new to the island. Houses were originally constructed of sod and there are some that remain. Out buildings for livestock are often subterranean, and very close to the home. It’s not all lava rocks. Beautiful, lush, green grass meadows with fat, fluffy sheep extend for miles and miles as well. Icelandic horses known for their five gaits graze the hillsides. We visited a horse farm to learn more about the “Flying Pace.” This gait is faster and smoother than a trot, and the horse has all feet off the ground at times, flying.

Another reason to visit Iceland might be there are no snakes, no spiders, no mosquitoes, and no ticks. But there are those annoying black flies, midges, in the northern lake areas. But what can you expect? There are no bats, no frogs, and only about 70 breeds of birds. There’s a short list of animals to learn, such as mink, fox, and mice. Our tour guide is an elementary school teacher, and I asked if the time saved on animals was used on spelling because the Icelandic language is impossible to hear and try to spell. Its roots are in German and Norse languages, but they use the 32 letter alphabet liberally. There is a 64 letter word that means something like “key ring to the tool shed for road workers”, but I didn’t have the chance to use it. I’m still working on good morning.

All My Bags are Packed…

Well, mine are not quite packed yet, but I’m notorious for waiting until the last minute. I am preparing for a 10-day trip and the cooler destination is causing me to think a little more than I usually do when it comes to packing. People tease me that I keep my bags packed, not quite, but I have smaller bags of essentials that are ready to toss in and go!

As a gal that has worn out more luggage than laundry baskets, I thought I might pass along a few packing tips to get you Good to Go.

·         Flying? The 3-1-1 rule is still in effect which means that you can’t have any liquids or gels in your carry-on bag over 3 ounces. They must be put into 1 quart size zip-lock bag, 1 per person. 3-1-1. I’m always sorry when I see the TSA security agents taking big cans of hairspray, expensive bottles of perfume, and new bottles of water and putting them in the trash. They are serious about this rule. Even tubes of toothpaste over 3 ounces that just have a dab in the tube gets tossed. This will cause a delay as they have to pull your carry-on bag and locate the items. Everyone in line will give you the stink eye. Just think through what you are carrying, and be prepared.

·         You can’t take a bottle of water through security but you can take an empty bottle. Then you can refill it on the other side of the detectors. This will save you a few bucks.

·         Take a picture of your suitcase on your smart phone. If your luggage is lost, it is easier to describe for the lost bag claim if you have a picture. This is a great tip when traveling abroad.

·         Don’t have all your cash, passport, passport copy, and credit cards in the same place. This is usually your purse or wallet. When all your valuables are in the same spot, the damage is greater if you are a victim of theft. Neck wallets keep things tucked in and close. A non-descript case such as a pencil case, or even an empty lip balm tube can hide extra cash in your carry-on or backpack.

·         Plan for the smelly socks, or damp swimsuit. Bring along extra Ziploc® bags to keep the stinky stuff away from the clean stuff. It takes a tiny bit of extra effort, but by the end of the trip, when the stinky is the majority, you want to have something to wear home that doesn’t smell like last week.

·         What do I never leave home without? Duct tape and clothes pins. The duct tape has unlimited uses, as you would guess. The clothes pins are great when you wash out things in the sink and hang on the towel rod to dry. They are also great when there is a gap in the hotel/motel curtains. You can pin or tape the drapes to give you privacy or block out the light. 

And one final tip: When you get home, toss a dryer sheet or a scented bar of soap in your bag to keep it smelling nice until you are Good to Go the next time!