Cliffhanger

Climbed up to Pulpit Rock today. Was a 5 mile hike, and the weather was perfect. Pulpit Rock rises above 1000 feet above the fjord and some people (not me) like to go to the very edge and look out and look over. I got nervous when Stephanie was within 50 feet. Glad the kids weren't there.

Drove on several ferries to get back to the airport. Staying with steph's Norwegian brother, if they'll have us after the dinner fiasco. Leaving tomorrow to go to London, then back to JFK to meet Marika for dinner, then home Saturday morning.

Fjord Motoring today

Took another ferry across the Fjord today. Sailed through GeigrangerFjord, one of Lonely Planet's top 500 places on the world to see.

Series of Waterfalls were, as usual, breathtaking. Equally amazing is that there were several farms on the mountains that haven't been used for over 100 years, and appear impossible to have been built on the side of the cliffs. The farmers had to tether their children to keep them from sliding into the fjord. Wasted several hours at the airport waiting for our flight, but at least we weren't 2 hours late. Very cool hike tomorrow.

Norway--home of trolls

Flew to the north today, and saw what was probably one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen. Took a wonderfully winding road up to an incredible waterfall. Steph's Norwegian brother designed the visitor's center that has a walkout over the falls. Gigi (our GPS lady) had us go on 2 ferries to get to the charming town we're staying at now.

That's Stephanie standing at the look-out that Raelf designed. Pretty cool

Not sure what day it is--Wrapping up Iceland

So, after being awe-struck by the North Korean bride on the rock, we spent out last night with Boo underneath a waterfall.

We then hiked to the top, and she just had to get as close to the edge as possible

I can't understand where these kids today get these crazy ideas.(I'm now going to sit on my porch and yell at small children to get off my lawn). Boo left later on in the day after clicking rocks (personal joke) and taking one last nap at the airport. Being childless once again, Stephanie and I left for Norway. She met her Norwegian brother (whom she last saw 40 years ago, and who now has become a world-famous architect). We went to their home for dinner, arriving 9 hours late (seems that Stephanie confused military time with Batswanian African Daylight Savings time, allowing us to arrive for dinner just in time for breakfast). We spent a lovely evening reminiscing about days past, before Stephanie became the vibrant, powder keg of a woman who cannot tell time that she is today). We also went to the Norwegian National Gallery and saw "The Scream" by Edvard Munch, a very optimistic painting about schizophrenia and depression.

We then went to a park which had dozens of statues of people in assorted contortionist positions

I will leave it up to the reader to come up with your own joke about the last sculpture, and the winning entry will receive a Popeil Pocket Fisherman. Stephanie then threw a tantrum because we were running late.

Mossy Magnificence

Drove away from the glacier today. We were going to see the single greatest site in all of Iceland, one of the premier places in the world, a Crown Jewel of UNESCO World Heritage sites, but Stephanie didn't want to drive across a trickling stream so we turned back.😣😣 We did, however, see this amazing site on the road.

It was very otherworldly and ghost-like. The girl is in the middle of a massive lava field that, over time, has been covered with dense, cushiony moss. We then stopped along the road to walk 27 KM to a plane wreck of a US Navy plane in 1973. Not sure what the pilot was doing flying in Iceland, but he survived the crash.

If you look closely, the remains of two passengers can be seen among the wreckage.

We then drove to our hotel, and here's our view.

Marika leaves tomorrow. It's been tremendous spending time with them, particularly when they've been awake.

Day 7--Happy Anniversary

In keeping with our theme of "Nothing is easy" for us, today we were supposed to go glacier climbing; however, when we got up, it was pouring down rain and we were in the middle of a wind storm. Winds were easily 60 m.p.h., so our climb was cancelled. We did still trek to the glacier and memorialized the moment.

Froze our asses off getting to and from the glacier, but hey if I can stick rocks in the sand for Stephanie, it's worth it. So, we did manage about 5 seconds of clear weather and got to see more of the glacier (it comprises 8% of all of Iceland's land mass, or the equivalent of the size of Indianapolis.

Came back to the hotel and had a warm lunch, toasted 32 years of uninterrupted bliss, and took a nap.👼💏💘

Icebergs and more icebergs

Today, drove along the "highway" (in quotes because their main road is a 2-lane, sometimes paved, oftentimes single lane bridges, construction that may or may not be marked, and drop off cliffs that are usually so packed in with fog that my knuckles have worn off) and saw tons of magnificent Waterfalls,

then we were along the coastline, then lava fields, then glaciers. Iceland has so many different temperate zones the entire country should be listed as a World Heritage site. Took a Zodiac ride into the lake that is fed by the largest glacier in the world other than the Antarctic and Greenland.

and, yes, I actually took that picture (nyah, nyah Cath). Saw a bunch of seals suntanning themselves on the icebergs and swimming in 35° water.

Got stopped by a posse of sheep along the road.

Almost ran out of gas last night in the middle of bumfujerkynowheresvillsky but ended up giving a very nice French man 3000Kroner to let us fill up using his credit card.😅😅 Gas is only $8/ gallon, which considering that a salad and fries cost $30 is not bad. Time to eat a $6 donut.

Day 5--Waterfalls and Volcanos

Today, Marika finally woke up so we decided to see some of Iceland. We drove around the northern coast, to a beautiful national park that had more incredible Waterfalls

as well as a slew of volcanos (Iceland is basically what a family of volcanos decided tasted like broccoli so they spit it out, forming a vast array of lakes and lava fields).

This pic is of the inside of one that erupted, then collapsed on itself and formed a lake. We also saw tons of thermal hotsprings, which were very cool (or very hot), producing powerful steam vents and swallowing unknowing tourists whole.

Stayed in a quaint, gay-friendly town tonight called Snerberjerkumflamflemyankers. Even the Big Man in Iceland is inclusive.

Day 4--Absence of Cajones

Took a lovely drive along the coast today. Iceland has so many little nooks and crannies filled with water everywhere you turn. Drove for 4 hours just to go 12 KM. Arrived in a cute town called Akureyri (pronounced "Davenport") and took a 1 hour horse ride along the black sands. Learned that Icelandic horses have an extra step in their trot. Also learned that every single Icelandic person believes that Trump is an imbecile, and they all laugh at us Americans. Road for so long that one of my testicles has gone missing.

(What an ass!) Then, strolled through town and, incredibly, saw some of our family members.

Staying in a lovely apt. tonight with 2 BR which is great because it gives Stephanie and I a chance to...sleep because Boo snores like a horse. Their consecutive hour streak for sleeping in the car remains unbroken.

Day 3--Waterfalls Galore

We started our trip around the ring loop that goes around Iceland. Weather was crappy all day, but that didn't stop Stephanie from wanting to turn off the road every time we saw a sheep or a trickle of water ("Look there's a sheep, pull over! Look, a waterfall 25 miles away. STOP!)

Saw some magnificent rock formations, lots of top-to-bottom Waterfalls.

Played alphabet with the myriad of signs that dot the road all over Iceland (after driving for 5 hours, we're both still on A). Tomorrow--Chariots of Fire will play in the background as we ride horses on the beach. Marika has slept for 27 consecutive hours.

Day 2: Tragedy as Stephanie falls into volcano

Having gotten little sleep, we ventured out on the "Golden Circle" (similar to what I do in the snow in the wintertime), and began our trip. We saw an amazing waterfall

followed by a Geyser that erupted every 5 minutes

A guy was using a drone above the geyser to take some amazing footage as well. Today we drove to a volcano, which is where tragedy befell us. We hiked about a mile, then rode this contraption down 350' into the volcano. It was there that Stephanie became one with the molten magma. She will be on permanent display for future tourists for generations.

It is now time for a nap. Many more updates to follow.

Day 1--Arrived.

Arrived in Iceland last night after flying over Greenland. Waited a week to get our rental car, and finally reached our hotel at 3:30 a.m., but not before being greeted by one of those moments like it was when we saw Mt. Everest because as we left the airport, we saw the Aurora Borealis. Amazing, I desirable. Pix to follow.

Day -4 Iceland/Norway

4 days until we leave for the land of unpronounceable names, the Aurora Borealis, hotsprings, waterfalls, and an abundance of blond hair. We're so excited to be going to Iceland! Especially with Boo who we'll be spending 10 days with. We haven't spent this much time with them since they graduated high school. I'm sure by the time the 10 days is over, we won't be on speaking terms. Enjoy our blog, and we'll talk to you from the land of frozen daiquiris.