I just got back from Iceland

[Jim Colyer]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 5:49am

After missing the Northern Lights in Alaska, I traveled to Iceland, December 4-9, 2007, hoping to see them. Iceland is a Scandinavian country lying between Norway and Greenland. It is an island nation the size of Kentucky with a peninsula extending from its northwestern corner that looks like a crab with pinchers.

Iceland was a Danish colony until 1944. It became independent when the Nazis occupied Denmark. Iceland's flag has the Scandinavian cross, a red cross outlined in white against a blue field. Greenland was granted self-rule by Denmark in 1979.

People like to say that "Iceland is green, and Greenland is covered with ice." Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream. It was not nearly as cold in Reykjavik as it was in Boston.

I flew U.S. Airways to Boston and took Icelandair. I landed at Keflavik International Airport. Keflavik was built by Americans during the Cold War. It is 45 minutes from Reykjavik. I heard "One Of Us" by ABBA on the Flybus. ABBA follows me everywhere.

The population of Iceland is 300,000, 200,000 of which live in the capital of Reykjavik. Icelanders are reserved and businesslike, fortified against an extreme climate. They are descended from the Vikings who came from Norway in the 9th century. There are lots of square-faced blondes.

Icelanders teach us something. They prosper on an island in the North Atlantic under harsh conditions. Why? Because they make the most of everything. They heat their city with geothermal energy, utilizing the many hot springs. They take care of themselves and each other.

Reykjavik is the northernmost capital. The daylight at noon on December 8 was like soft twilight. SUVs crowded the streets.

That tall building in the city center is Hallgrims Church. It is Lutheran. I climbed the tower. It was misting rain and quite gloomy. The Leifur Eiriksson Hotel, where I stayed, faces the church. I could see it through my window. The statue of Leif Ericsson is in front. Leif was the first European to set foot in North America. He was born in Iceland. The planet Venus was in the morning sky and shown beside the church.

The people speak Icelandic but also English. Their language has changed so little since the 9th century that they can still read the medieval sagas.

Iceland's unit of currency is the krona, abbreviated ISK. $1000 got me 54,000 krona. It takes getting used to. A bottle of water cost 200 krona.

Reykjavik is where Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky held the World Chess Championship in 1972. In 2010, Reykjavik will officially be designated the Chess Capital of the World. Fischer, with a long history of personal problems, resides in Iceland.

I went out with Reykjavik Excursions three times. My first tour was the popular Golden Circle. It lasted eight hours and cost 7000 ISK. I saw my first geyser since Yellowstone. The landscape was stark and barren. There were no trees. It was cold, and snow was on the ground. I was thankful for my long-johns. Iceland is fire and ice, volcanoes and glaciers. Its arctic-like setting displays its deadly beauty as the yellow sun skirts along the horizon in the turquoise sky.

It was cloudy the first two nights. Clouds seem to materialize from nothing only to quickly disappear. I took the Northern Lights tour on both my third and fourth nights. I kept trying. Did I see the lights? Technically, yes. Were they spectacular? No. Conditions were better the second time out. It was clear and cold. The coach parked for an hour, and everyone got off. There was a broad band of white light in the north below the Big Dipper. It may have been my imagination, but I thought it had a greenish tint. Our guide called it the "beginning of the Northern Lights." He said the raw material was there but that it lacked the final touch needed to burst into activity. It was better than nothing. I got my bearings. The north star was high in the sky like it was in Alaska. The summer triangle was visible, a surprise. Vegas, Deneb and Altair are down this time of year in Kentucky and Tennessee. I marveled at Cygnus the Swan in December. Orion was low as it was in Alaska. Mars burned bright in the constellation Gemini. There were Capella, Aldebaran and the Pleiades, the classic sky which I saw from my parents' back porch in 1961-62. I felt fortunate to be able to see the celestial sphere from different angles. I came away realizing that one does not go to Alaska or Iceland for a few days and see the Northern Lights in their glory. The stories are told by people who spend their lives there.


Jim Colyer website

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 6:33am

I just read through your website. You are an excellent writer.

Posted: 12/11/07 at 6:45am

it sounds lovely!
thank you for sharing!

[Calvin]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 9:46am

Did you ride the horses?

I went to Iceland last year. Wonderful, wonderful trip.

Here are some of my photos (shot non-digital, so forgive the quality)

http://thelunargemini.blogspot.com/2006/09/icelandparis-blogging-part-1-steam.html
http://thelunargemini.blogspot.com/2006/09/icelandparis-blogging-part-2-fantasies.html
http://thelunargemini.blogspot.com/2006/09/icelandparis-blogging-part-3-riding-as.html

[Elphaba]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 10:20am

an interesting website?????
The minute I read this "History will recognize George W. Bush as a great president. I rank him #3."
I knew why I had banned him.

This drivel on Iceland is written like a 4th grade country report........

He's caused problems on the board before, I remember much trouble due to him.
Foster, how much of the website did you read?
The man apparently has no respect for other mens wives......

Nope this one still stays on ignore

[Calvin]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 10:22am

Oh, I didn't even read the Web site. I was blinded by memories of Icelandic beauty.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 10:36am

here are some of his other posts



Jim Colyer



Featured Actor
joined: 12/16/04 George Bush is Superman, Batman & Spiderman rolled into one
Posted On: 10/24/06 at 09:56:07 PM



I think Bush felt nothing could be done until Saddam Hussein was taken out. Saddam was the big bully going back to 1990 and the invasion of Kuwait. It is easy now since Saddam was taken out to say that he was no threat, but he was a real presence before 2003. The Bush administration seriously thought he had nuclear weapons. They called it weapons of mass destruction, which is a silly phrase because biological weapons are not going to do widespread damage. It is atomic and hydrogen bombs that we have to concern ourselves with. Ironically, it has turned out that Iran is the nuclear threat, not Iraq. I know our military is stretched thin. That concerns me too. It sickens me everytime I read of another American soldier killed. Bush has only a little more than 2 years left. I am not sure what he is going to do. The only way we can go after Iran is by bombing their nuclear plants. We can not invade. Iran is far too expansive. But bombing nuclear sites would be a way of going back on the offensive. Right now, we are doing nothing. The American media attacks Bush to the point that I believe they would like to see the downfall of their own country. I know the media votes Democratic and that there is an election coming. But, again, this is not Vietnam. John Kerry opens his mouth and he talks like it is 1971. Bob Woodward keeps writing about Watergate. Jane Fonda is an old woman trying to make a comeback. This all stems from the 9/11 attacks. We can not sit idle and let our country be destroyed. Someone has got to have the guts to get up and go after these people. That someone has been George Bush.



Bush - Worst President Ever?
Posted On: 4/11/07 at 12:37:35 AM



George Bush has defended America and western civilization in the wake of 9/11. In the long run, this is what he will be remembered for.


and.......he seems to pop-up when HD/Chanti/whatever it calls itself is around....

do a search of his posts.....defending Bush and Cheney......the guy is wacko, but DO read his bio, it is, at best, amusing

Posted: 12/11/07 at 11:03am

eep!

[Jim Colyer]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 3:34pm

I can't please everyone. I try to please myself and a few others. Thanks to those who enjoy Iceland. Thanks also to those who may hate me but continue to quote me.
Jim Colyer website

[Elphaba]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 9:58pm

hate you? Please, don't give yourself so much credit.....I don't even know you, except from the crap you post here.
Anyone whose been here awhile knows exactly how you are....hate? Nope......
but you may want to get some therapy as to why you FEEL hated.....

Updated On: 12/11/07 at 09:58 PM

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 10:08pm

That's the crappiest website I've ever seen.



With so much free stuff on the web, why does the site look like it was made on one of Apple's first computers?

[Jilani]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 10:13pm

I just read through your website. You are an excellent writer.

Foster, how much of the website did you read?

This is just a guess, but I think Foster was being sarcastic.

[Salene]

Posted: 12/12/07 at 5:11am

Iceland is a Scandinavian country

No, it isn't. Scandinavia = Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

(Iceland is, however, one of the Nordic countries.)
Updated On: 12/12/07 at 05:11 AM

[Elphaba]

Posted: 12/12/07 at 10:44am

wrong, historically Scandinavia was Denmark, Sweden and Norway, however Finland and Iceland are considered to be part sometimes.

Finland until it became Finland was considered part of Russia

(I do not consider Iceland part of Scandinavia, but apparently many do


What is Scandinavia

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/12/07 at 10:47am

"I just flew back from Iceland, and boy is my right wing tired!"




George W. is the #3 all-time best president?!? Good god.

Updated On: 12/12/07 at 10:47 AM