Yearly Archive: 2011

05
Aug
2011

TO THE NORTH!

Before going to Iceland, the furthest north I had ever been was Bergen, Norway (60°20’N). Reykjavik is further (64o09’N), and 4 days into our Iceland trip, we went almost all the way to the top of the country. Reykjavik is less than 330 km from the Arctic Circle, but Akureyri is only 100 kilometers away! Akureyri wasn’t even in our itinerary but a volcano ganged aft agley and put a stop to our plans to head for the southeast coast of Iceland, to see Skaftafell National Park, the Vatnajökull Glacier and Svartifoss (the Black waterfall). After 4 days in Reykjavik,...

01
Aug
2011

THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, PART 3

The last thing we did on the bus tour that you must think lasted AN ETERNITY since it is taking me that long to post about it thanks to the damn hackers that keep taking down LiveJournal…turdbuckets!…was visit theTingvellir valley, which is where the Icelandic people held their ting or assembly every year since the 12th century. They don’t hold it there NOW, of course. Now they have a capitol with government buildings and such-like but personally I think they SHOULD hold it there, because it is truly beautiful. A ting was where the people met to review the laws,...

31
Jul
2011

THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, PART 2

MAN, that was a long break. I meant to post this directly after part the first, but Livejournal has been completely down or wonky for a week. 🙁 After Gullfoss, and waiting for EXTREMELY late stragglers to get back on the bus…which, seriously people, what is up with that? You know the time to be back at the bus: pay attention and plan accordingly! We then drove over to the Haukdalur Valley which is full, full I say, of geothermal activity. On the steaming slopes of Laugarfjall are more than 40 hot springs, mud pots, geysers and other fumaroles. The...

24
Jul
2011

THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, PART 1

Even though bus tours are not my favorite way to sightsee, they have a lot to be said for them: if it’s a good one, you usually get a great deal of excellent information about where you are going and what you are seeing, much more than you would if you just went to the place yourself and looked at it. You get facts, history, colorful anecdotes and a timetable that keeps you moving. Our tour guide for the Golden Circle tour out of Reykjavik was good, though her English left something to be desired and she did the tour...

20
Jul
2011

BABY!

I’m so thrilled! My baby brother just became a DAD. What a bizarre feeling to think that John has reproduced! 😀 I know he and Simone will be great parents; they’ve waited and worked so long for this moment. And so fun to think our family name will be continued, as well. 🙂 He was due 2 days ago, and my mom arrived here in Sweden yesterday for the beginning of her European vacation, she heads to Germany next bearing gifts and love from us all. Welcome to the world Samuel Otto Slaughter! Born 1:55 pm, Wednesday, July 20th, 2011.

18
Jul
2011

WHALES & PUFFINS & GULLS, OH MY!

If I’m not careful I will be turning my biorhythmical clock upside-down. It’s really easy for me to do when I’m on vacation. I stay up later and later and then I wake up later and later. I have to start restraining myself or I end up sleeping all day and being up all night. When we’re traveling, however, it’s harder to do, since we usually have things scheduled: places to be, things to see, goals to achieve (my goal for Iceland: find a silver puffin charm for my countries-i-have-been-to-charm bracelet). It’s funny, I didn’t actually inspect the paper money...

17
Jul
2011

NOT ENOUGH SYNONYMS FOR AMAZING

Iceland was amazing. I wish we’d had more time and that I had better feet for hiking and better knees for climbing because that country is just MADE for hikers and climbers. Everywhere we turned there was something incredible to look at. We were completely saturated in natural beauty for 8 days straight. 1000-year old lava fields covered with pale green-gray moss like melted cheese on pizza (for MILES). Craters tall and squat and smooth. Pseudo-craters covered in short, brilliant green grass looking like a string of octopus tentacle suckers. Lava formations like some crazy-quilt rock-garden fantasy. Bright blue mineral...

04
Jul
2011

AMERICAN STYLE

Yesterday, we were all-American…even those of us who don’t come from the United States. We had our annual Independence Day BBQ hosted by the AWC at a lovely location on the shore of Ringsjön (a member’s home). Thanks to the high level of moisture content in the air, Barky had a great time playing Humidity Hair From Hell plus I had a red red nose (from the allergy-treatment aftermath (so no photos of me, ahem). There were hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill and watermelon slices and red/white/blue berry desserts, but alas, I didn’t have time to make deviled eggs...

29
Jun
2011

ALL OF US ARE FOREIGNERS SOMEWHERE

I don’t think about the fact that I’m a foreigner and an immigrant very often. I’ve assimilated quite well here, and frankly it wasn’t all that difficult. I’ve got lots of advantages in the immigrant deck of cards: I’m Caucasian, I’m educated, I speak English. I come from the US and I came because of a Swede. I’m not a refugee, even though I’m jokingly classed as a “love refugee” by a certain subset of expats. I have a job so I can contribute to taxes that keep this country running. I learned to speak Swedish quickly and fairly easily....

28
Jun
2011

COUNTING DOWN, OR UP, DEPENDING ON WHICH WAY YOU LOOK AT IT

When Anders first suggested Iceland for our summer vacation trip, I wasn’t all that enthusiastic. It’s expensive. People mostly go there for the scenery and outdoor activities. It’s small. But the more I’ve learned and read and heard, the more excited I’ve started to get about it. I’ve seen Jeanine’s photos and heard colleague’s accounts and it sounded lovely but what was there really to do for someone who doesn’t do bathing suits and isn’t thrilled at the prospect of horseback riding or nature hiking for days on end? I’ve heard Iceland compared to the moon and heard that it’s...

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