Tag Archives: Selfoss

ICELAND #3:  CIRCUMNAVIGATING THE GOLDEN CIRCLE

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Looking back over my photos from our first full day in Iceland, it really was a full day!  Beginning near our hotel in Selfoss, our tour leader, Thorunn, and bus driver, Haflidi, took us to Hespa, a local wool studio to learn about wool dying using natural ingredients and traditional techniques.  It was fascinating to learn about which ingredients produce various colors and to see the process.  Wool clothing is a staple in every Icelander’s closet and a popular tourist souvenir, so it is an important industry for the country.

(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)

Next, we were off to circumnavigate the Golden Circle, a ring of natural highlights which are a huge tourist draw.  Being the high season and tourism numbers being way up in Europe, we weren’t the only bus to pull in at each spot.  The nice thing was our bus was full-sized like the others, but only 16 of us had to get off and back on.  If you are going to do a guided tour, small-group tours are the way to go!

Our first stop was at Gullfoss waterfall, just one of MANY waterfalls in Iceland.  The country is full of them!  This one was really special, though – absolutely breathtaking!

As we walked the path to the waterfall, we saw this glacier off in the distance.
Click on this one– a panorama, and my favorite.
I’m not one for selfies or a lot of photos of us at landmarks, but I was just so happy to finally be in Iceland!

Geysir was a fun and fascinating stop for us.  The main draw was the geyser that periodically spouted boiling water a couple of hundred feet up into the air.  I watched it 14 times, and Bruce witnessed 16 spouts.  (I was hiking up the hill to get a birds-eye view and missed a couple.)

That geyser put on a show for us!  The wait was no more than ten minutes each time, and the people gathered around to watch enjoyed the show.  We had packed a couple of sandwiches made from the hotel’s breakfast buffet for our lunch, so we sat on a bench and ate while watching for the spouts. (Don’t tell Hotel Selfoss!  In our defense, we both had eaten light breakfasts and skipped the hot food buffet.  That’s my rationalization, and I’m stickin’ to it!)

We were so fortunate to be in Iceland during the prime time for lupin. It was growing everywhere throughout the Golden Circle!

A note about the cost of food in Iceland:  It is EXPENSIVE, unless you pick up some groceries at Bonus or Kronen.  Take Subway, for example, the dreaded sandwich chain that has taken over the world.  A foot-long will set you back $15, and a three-course meal in a mid-range restaurant will cost about $50.  Add a domestic .5 liter draught beer to that, and you’re looking at about $9.  If you think you are going to go really cheap by eating at McDonalds (Just say NO!), your McMeal will cost you $14.

Having done my research, I already knew that we would have some talkin’ to do about the meals that wouldn’t be included on our tour.  Bruce and I both decided those included meals (The first one was Arctic Char, a fish similar in appearance and taste to salmon—delicious!) would be enough.  We were fine with shopping at Bonus or Kronan (similar to Aldi or Lidl) for some skyr (Icelandic yogurt similar to Greek yogurt, but better!), an apple, and a sandwich.

The grocery prices in those two stores were quite comparable to Publix in the U.S., and it was a fun experience.  I love shopping in markets in foreign countries to see what the locals eat, check prices, and look at all of the different products—especially chocolate! (I bought a lot of it…)

Wow, I sure digressed!  Where was I?  Oh!  Back to the Golden Circle!  Next stop:  Thingvellir National Park.  (That’s how it is spelled in English.  Check out the link to see the Icelandic character for “Th.”)  A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has an interesting history.  This Wikipedia article gets into much more detail, but suffice it to say the park is a site of historical, cultural, and geological significance.  It is also one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland.  The biggest draw is that you can see the continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates.  It’s not just the visible cracks (faults); there is a canyon clearly demonstrating the existence of plate tectonics.  It was an appropriate location for the world’s oldest Parliament, assembled in 930.

Red represents Iceland’s volcanic fires, white is for the snow and glaciers; and, blue represents the Atlantic Ocean.

Although it was a full day on the Golden Circle, there was still time in the afternoon for a swim at the local Sundlaug (pool).  Not only did I get in a good swim workout; but, I met five Icelanders to gift my U.S. Masters Swimming Fitness Series caps to in the process!

Next up: Waterfalls, Puffins, Glaciers, and Beaches! Oh My!!

Note: If small group travel is of interest to you, I highly recommend Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). Although Bruce and I travel together, they do not charge a single supplement for those who travel on their own. Singles also get their own room at hotels. If you book, you can get $100 off your trip by providing my name and customer number (Elaine Krugman, #3018126) as the person who referred you. I will also get $100 off future travel– a win-win!

ICELAND #2:  I FINALLY MADE IT TO ICELAND!

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The first swing and a miss was in 2008, when it was a scheduled port on a trans-Atlantic cruise I was working on with my mom, teaching arts and crafts classes.  Somehow, we made it into Qaqortoq, Greenland – a rarity, due to the frequency of high seas and/or winds making it dangerous for operating the tenders.  Our captain said we were extremely lucky, so I was grateful.  It was a wonderful experience.

Our next port, Reykjavik, Iceland, was supposed to be a sure bet; however, a storm brewed in the North Atlantic, and we had to change course.

It wasn’t until 2020 when I took another swing, and it was a BIG miss:  COVID.  Don’t even get me started…

As you know from my last post, this swing yielded a home run!  Forget the ships; our small group land tour was the way to go.

Why Iceland?  I had been intrigued by Iceland since learning about their progressive country as a teenager; and, as time went on and I grew up, Iceland continued on that positive course.

Iceland is one of the world’s most feminist countries and ranked among the top three countries in the world for women to live in.  It is the first country to have a political party formed and led entirely by women, and nearly half of parliament members are women.  They were the first country to have a female president.

Icelandic women are more likely to get university degrees than men, up to the PhD level, and the country has the world’s highest proportion of women in the labor market.  As an extra bonus, they have the smallest overall gender gap.

More favorite facts: 

Iceland’s literacy rate is among the highest in the world, ranking #3.  Books are the traditional gift exchanged at Christmas.

Iceland ranks in the top five happiest countries in the world—and, the 2008 – 2011 financial crash did not affect that ranking.

Iceland is ranked 3rd in the world for median wealth, and it is nearly a classless society.

Iceland is ranked 1st on the Global Peace Index; and, there are no murders and very little crime.

Iceland has a stellar environmental record.

Iceland is an open, tolerant, and prosperous society with a strong safety net of social welfare programs.

What’s not to like?

Well, there are those cold, dark Iceland winters…

Traveling to Iceland during the summer was a joy, though!  The days were long; and, the high 50’s and low 60’s (Fahrenheit) temperatures during our 13 days was a welcome respite from the miserably hot and humid temperatures down here in Georgia.  We even had a couple of days that reached 64 degrees.  So much for the multiple pairs of Hot Hands I packed for the trip.  I only needed them on one cold, rainy day and during our whale watching trip.  Those suckers work!  I stuck them in my gloves, and my hands were toasty!

As an English-speaking American, Iceland is an easy country to navigate.  Thankfully, nearly all Icelanders speak English fluently, because studying the language is mandatory in Icelandic schools.  What a relief!  I tried to teach myself some Icelandic phrases, but their language is extremely difficult, and I was unable to pronounce the words correctly.

Besides Iceland’s progressive culture and (awesome!) society, there were so many other reasons to travel to this wonderful country.  Hopefully, in the coming blog posts, my photos will do the natural wonders we saw some justice.  At times I wondered what planet or moon I was on, because the landscape was so visually foreign to me; but, it was always beautiful, even if in a strange way.

Until next time, I will leave you with some photos I shot out the bus window during our drive from the airport to Selfoss (our base for three nights) as well as a few from around our hotel.  After our morning arrival and breakfast, we had the afternoon free before convening for our orientation and welcome dinner, so after a quick look around town, I headed straight to the community pool for a jet lag-combating swim.  Ahhh! 

(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)

According to Wikipedia: The geology of Iceland is unique and of particular interest to geologists. Iceland lies on the divergent boundary between the Eurasian plate and the North American plate. It also lies above a hotspot, the Iceland plume. The plume is believed to have caused the formation of Iceland itself, the island first appearing over the ocean surface about 16 to 18 million years ago.[1][2] The result is an island characterized by repeated volcanism and geothermal phenomena such as geysers.
The view from our room at Hotel Selfoss
Long shoe horns must be a thing in Selfoss. Both our hotel room and the pool shoe rack had them!

Coming up next:  Circumnavigating the Golden Circle

Note: If small group travel is of interest to you, I highly recommend Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). Although Bruce and I travel together, they do not charge a single supplement for those who travel on their own. Singles also get their own room at hotels. If you book, you can get $100 off your trip by providing my name and customer number (Elaine Krugman, #3018126) as the person who referred you. I will also get $100 off future travel– a win-win!

ICELAND #1: SWIMMING IN ICELAND’S COMMUNITY POOLS

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During the last half of July, Bruce and I traveled to Iceland on a small group tour with Overseas Adventure Travel. To begin my blog series on this wonderful country, I am copying in an article I wrote for the upcoming Georgia Masters Swimming Newsletter, as part of my “Elaine’s Tip of the Month” series:

ELAINE’S TIP OF THE MONTH: SWIMMING IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Is foreign travel in your plans? If so, don’t forget to pack your swim gear and caps! “Caps?” you ask? Wouldn’t I only need to bring one? Well, yes, but I’m not referring to the cap you will be wearing. I’m talking about all those swim caps you have accumulated from swim meets, fitness events, and charity swims. How many of those caps will you actually use?

I had tried to give mine away to coaches to give their age group swimmers, but nobody wanted them. They had plenty of their own to give away. Pleas on the USMS Community (Discussion Forums) and on the Georgia Masters Facebook page were dead-ends. This time, I had 21caps, so I took them with me to Iceland.

Iceland? There are public swimming pools in Iceland? Yes! There are 121(!) public swimming pools in a country roughly the size of Kentucky with less than 10% of Kentucky’s population. Even the smallest towns have a public pool with spas, which serves as the daily meeting place for the community—especially in the geothermal-heated spas where spirited conversations take place. Pools are a vital part of the typical Icelandic small-town community, and children are required to learn how to swim in early childhood.

That brings me to my first tip about swimming in foreign countries. (We’ll get back to those caps later.) First, check out http://swimmersguide.com to locate pools anywhere in the world.

Next (and this is an important one), research the swimming culture in your designated country, so as not to offend the locals.  In Iceland, shoes are not permitted to be worn in the locker rooms for sanitary reasons. There are shoe racks located in the lobby outside of the locker rooms where you leave your shoes before entering. (Two of the pools I swam at had shoe trays, so you could place your shoes in your locker.) Secure lockers were also provided for free, so there was no need to bring a lock with me.

The shoe rack at the pool in Selfoss, Iceland.
They even supplied long shoe horns (on the chain) to make putting your shoes back on a little easier!
The children’s pool and spas had water temperatures posted.  The pool in Selfoss had several spas, each kept at a different temperature.  They even had a cold-water dunk tank.  I passed on that one!  After taking this photo, I learned that cameras and cell phones are strictly prohibited in the locker rooms and pool area.

Most importantly, it is required to shower WITHOUT your suit before you swim in Iceland, and the showers are not private. Naked women and children showered in the shower room without a care, donned their suits, and off they went, leaving their towels behind in the designated towel cubes rather than taking them out to the pool.

I was able to get in four late-afternoon swim workouts in three Icelandic towns during our two-week small group tour, in July.  Although I left my towel in the locker room each time, I did bring my caps out with me to give away.  It was a great conversation starter and a fun way to meet the locals—one of the most enjoyable aspects of international travel for me.  I approached every swimmer I saw wearing a cap and asked if they would like to have a free cap from the U.S.A.  A few were skeptical, but once they understood there wasn’t a catch, they were excited. Many of the swimmers took their own caps off and put on their new one. 

As it turned out, one of the swimmers I met in Akureyri, Gudrun, was elected to the board of the Icelandic Swimming Association—the very organization I contacted about Masters Swimming in Iceland! We exchanged e-mails and are keeping in touch. (By the way, they are looking for coaches, so if you would like to coach in Iceland, let me know!)

Since cameras and cell phones are prohibited inside the pool area, I shot this photo in Akureyri from behind the glass at the street. And, yes, I tried out both water slides. Terrifying!
The pool in Stykkisholmur, photographed from outside the fence after the pool had closed.  This slide wasn’t quite as terrifying.

Swimming in Iceland—and giving away my 21 caps—made my trip to Iceland so much more enjoyable than if I had left my swim gear at home. Give it a try next time you travel internationally and create some memories of your own!

Next up: I finally made it to Iceland!

Note: If small group travel is of interest to you, I highly recommend Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). Although Bruce and I travel together, they do not charge a single supplement for those who travel on their own. Singles also get their own room at hotels. If you book, you can get $100 off your trip by providing my name and customer number (Elaine Krugman, #3018126) as the person who referred you. I will also get $100 off future travel– a win-win!