REYKJAVIK

Iceland's Capital

It’s funny how when something historic happens in a place you’ve never heard of then suddenly you want to visit there. It was years after the Reagan-Gorbachev summit  in 1986 that I finally made it to Reykjavik,Iceland. There’s a lot to say about Iceland, a place that is a geology, biology and history class without a textbook, but today I want to talk about its capital, Reykjavik.

The name means Smokey Bay, no doubt from the steam coming out of steam vents around the city. Located on Faxa Bay, it is one of the cleanest cities in the world. A great salmon river runs through the city of 115,000 people. When the city was established in 1786 the population was 200.

            The airport located on a peninsula is 27 miles from the city. The area is a flat barren lava field that is 700-800 years old. It takes about 6000 years for vegetation to start growing on a lava bed. Moss is the first vegetation to appear as it requires no soil to grow, but eventually it creates soil. The roads are narrow and small SUVs and station wagons seem to be the vehicle of choice. I noticed a fair amount of horn blowing especially at buses.

The city is essentially pollution free as it has been using geothermal heat and power since the 1940s. Reykjavik is a delightful and welcoming city for pedestrians. Iceland conjures up images of cold and chill, but its temperatures are quite moderate. People are warm hearted. A country rich in history, Reykjavik is the world’s northern most capital as well as one of the newest capitals, dating only to the 20^th century.  Everything that happens in Iceland happens in Reykjavik. It is one of the liveliest, safest, most sophisticated and modern cities on earth.

Rows of brightly colored concrete houses create an air of festivity. The small capital city has quiet city streets. Old town is fascinating with much of the city’s past as well as the area where green parks and museums are located.

The building for the Reagan-Gorbachev summit sits on a lot by itself near the highway where security could be easily achieved. The white building was built by the French consulate who occupied it for two years. They sold it to the British, but they were never able to occupy it. The city owns the building now and uses it for receptions.

Although located on the water, I was surprised at the small number of boats. I noticed more clutter and graffiti here than in other cities. Smokers seemed to be everywhere. Daylight hours are extreme, so maybe that is why people stayed in the parks until the wee hours of the morning.  In summer there is little darkness and it generally occurs from 3-5 AM. In the winter the days are long and dark with light generally available from 11 AM to 3 PM. 
The city is very walkable and there is enough activity to keep one busy for 4-5 days, a bit longer if you venture out of town to other sights.

ANOTHER ECOMUSEUM

SKANSEN

           

I’ve visited several ecomuseums during my travels. Skansen was not my favorite , but it is the oldest having been established in 1891. The Swedish Skansen, meaning little fortress, is located on the island of Djurgarden, the king’s hunting ground for 400 years ago. The whole island is a national city park that includes a small zoo of sorts, a garden, playground and the open air museum, Skansen, with its 150 historic buildings.  

            We visited a farm house, school, and a church with a barrel ceiling. Paintings at the lower edge of the ceiling were original in the 1700s church. Each painting was framed with a red leaf design painted border. Men sat on the right, the sunny side of the church, women and children on the cold left side. The clock on the church tower was painted, as watches did not exist before the 1800s.

            At the school the children used chalk boards and a rabbit tail eraser. Reeds bound together with circular twine doubled as a switch and as a board pointer in the 1920s. Learning was done by memorization as there were no text books. In 1842 every parish had to provide a school and a teacher for the children. The teacher and his wife lived in a room next to the schoolroom. Because there was no electricity the school day was short. A small stove heated the schoolroom.

            There is a large restaurant on the island where we enjoyed a good lunch. Afterward we walked down to see the animals. We also saw rune stones dating to the Viking era. Rune means secret.

            Ecomuseums have become quite popular in recent years and provide a peek into the past. It was an interesting visit and as usual I saw and found a few things I had not seen before. I’m always looking for something new.

DONAUSCHLINGE AT SCHLOGEN

 A Mouth Full

            After I learned how to pronounce it, I thought it rather lyrical. Broken down Donau is German for Danube, schlinge means turn and Schlogen is the name of the village. The river takes a 180-degree turn at the village located at the tip of a peninsular jutting out into the river.

            On this day we woke to rain so delayed our departure from Passau about an hour. It wasn’t long before we were at the border where we stopped to have our passports stamped. Late morning we crossed the Danube by ferry to the German side. The rain remained relentless all day. The restaurant earmarked for lunch was closed because of the weather so we continued to bike on to some locks.

            Later in the day we crossed the Austrian border again at a place that led us directly to a nice rest stop/café where we enjoyed a hot drink. In spite of the rain it was a very scenic day. We biked through dense forest, mountain foothills, and peddled through many small picturesque villages.

            At the end of the day another ferry marked Donauschlinge at Schlogen took us across the river to our hotel. By the end of the day everyone was soaking wet, no matter how expensive or what kind of rain gear they were wearing. The new modern hotel had a hair dryer in each room that came in handy for drying shoes and   other gear.

While my roommate was in the shower, I opened the fridge in the room and retrieved a small bottle of wine and  was drinking it when she emerged from the bathroom.

“Where did you find the wine?” she asked.

“In the refrigerator.”

“Do you know how much the stuff cost out of room refrigerators?”

“Yes, but right now, I really don’t care.”

After drying out and a good dinner I was ready to retire early. I slept well and woke the next day to cloudy skies but no rain. Another forty-mile day of biking lay ahead of us.

BUDAPEST ZOO

      A Fun Afternoon

You already know Jan is an L A Zoo docent so we've visited lots of zoos as we've traveled. By our last afternoon in Budapest we decided we’d had enough museums and shopping, so decided to visit the second oldest zoo in the world. (Tiergarten at Schonbrunn is the oldest.)

This was on my first visit to Budapest when we found very few people spoke English. The subway ride down town presented no problem, as we’d been using it most of the week.

Of course the zoo map was in Hungarian, and no one around seemed to speak English. However, we were able to successfully follow the map. Twice we sort of wondered where we were, but both times I spotted a young fellow and sure enough both of them were able to confirm in English where we were.

This zoo, opened in 1866, houses some 500 mammals, nearly 700 birds, and 1500 reptiles, fish, and arthropods. The combined botanical garden has 1500 species of plants. The zoo, covering nearly 11 hectares, includes 69 buildings. The elephant house, built in 1908, resembles a Turkish Mosque. It is very elaborate and is really a very beautiful building.

We enjoyed a delightful afternoon. I saw several animals I’d not seen before and Jan is always able to explain about them.

On my next visit to Budapest I chose to see and do other things. But on this recent visit we found everyone speaking English and only once found someone who could not communicate with us or answer questions. What a difference ten years makes! So, I can only guess that now there are many at the zoo who speak English and can help one out.

A COUPLE MORE WINE STORIES

  

Styrofoam Cups

            Before boarding the train for the overnight trip to the Australian Outback, it was suggested that we might like to buy a bottle of wine to enjoy that evening. We found the recommended liquor store and made our purchase.

            This time there was no difficulty opening the wine, but we only had Styrofoam cups in our compartment. The dining car was at the far end of the train and after some discussion we decided it was not very likely trying that we'd be successful getting a glass from there . I hate drinking anything out of Styrofoam, but we did what we had to do and drank our very good  wine out of the small Styrofoam cups. Since the cups were so small, the bottle of wine provided refreshment all evening along with pleasant conversation and scenery before and after dinner. The memory is a keeper.

Water Glass Full        

Wine accompanied the dinner meal each night on a European river cruise. Since it was not always easy to get the waiter’s attention, I turned my wine glass upside down leaving my water glass turned up. It was days before the waiter figured out he was filling my water glass with wine! I just had two glasses of wine in one and I didn’t have to bother or wait for the waiter.

Largest Wine Barrel

Heidelberg Fass, the largest wine barrel in the world sits in the cellar at Heidelberg Castle, Germany. Its capacity is 58,124 gallons.  Stairs lead up to a dance floor built on top of the barrel. We walked up the stairs but it was too dark to even think about taking pictures. It is one humongous barrel!

Monks’ Secret

Originally monks made most of the wine in Europe. Wine in the Wurzburg area is white. The green bottle, shaped like a goat’s bladder, reminded me of a Matuse bottle. It is said that the design and shape was easy for the monks to carry under their cloaks.My my.

COLOGNE CATHEDRAL

View from the river

 A Gorgeous Church

The Cologne Cathedral dominates the city of Cologne, Germany and is one of the well known cathedrals in the world. The building was started in 1248 but by the early 1500s all work was halted until 1823, but. it was finally completed in 1880. The two tall towers are connected by the façade of the nave. The church measures 430-feet long and is 130-feet high. The west tower is part of the original town wall. There are 400 pieces of beautiful stained glass. The windows on the south aisles were donated by King Ludwig I in 1848. The north windows are Renaissance stained glass of 1507-09.

            There are seven chapels and a bronze and marble altar. The 245 choir chairs are of oak. The 120-year old mosaic floors were gorgeous. I thought to myself, if I put so much work into creating these beautiful floors I sure wouldn’t want people walking on them!

Pews and benches were not added until the 20^th century. Prior to that people stood or kneeled, but they did not sit. A Shrine of the Three Magi form a triple-nave basilica. Our docent unlocked a gate that allowed us to view the gold box up close as he told us, “It took two generations of goldsmiths to complete this box. The front contains 33 pounds of gold, but the sides are gold plated. The box is decorated with relief figures depicting the life of Christ, the Apostles, and Old Testament prophets.”

As we left he continued, “It takes 80-100 people to maintain the Cathedral. It is made of sandstone as are many buildings in this part of the world, and sandstone is very soft and crumbles easily. That is why you always see scaffolding somewhere around the building. It is always in some state of repair. The stone is too soft to power wash. Maintenance is a major problem.”

            On my first visit to Cologne the church was under renovation and we could not access the inside, so I was happy to get inside during my next visit. On my first visit in the early 90s there were many food vendors in the parking lot. We ate lunch between swatting at the many small yellow jackets that wanted to share our lunch.

HISTORIC CITY

  STE MERE EGLISE

In Ste. Mere Eglise, France we walked a couple blocks of the small city down to city hall. In France the city halls are called hotel de what-ever.  Traveling around the country each one we saw had lovely flower boxes hanging from the windows and the colorful blooms added to each building. Besides the flags flying in front, this city hall also had the number 0 marker that marked the beginning of Liberty Way. This is where the road started and mile markers are all along the way to the road’s end in Bastogne, Belgium. The unique marker has a crown of 48 stars representing the 48 states at that time. (Alaska and Hawaii were still territories) The torch emerging from the sea is modeled on the torch of the Statue of Liberty. Thousands of troops and equipment traveled this road.

            The Airborne Museum at Ste. Mere Eglise is shaped like a parachute. Ste. Mere Eglise was at the heart of the American 82^nd Airborne Division’s operations on D-day in WW II. Located just off the main square, the museum is comprised of two main buildings. Paratroopers landed in trees, gardens and in yards. There are many funny stories about individual landings. Their mission was to take and hold the city. It was the first French city to be liberated. The occupying Germans were overwhelmed by the sheer number of Allied troops.

            I stepped inside a WW II glider and was amazed at how big it was. The 512 gliders carried jeeps, supplies and men to the front. The glider didn’t look all that sturdy, but they did the job.

            Before leaving the city we visited the church where the parachute of one soldier, John Steele, got hung up on the steeple. He tried to free his ropes but dropped his knife. German soldiers shot at him so he played dead for a couple hours before being cut down, but he survived.

PANDA SANCTUARY

Lovable pandas

A giant panda sanctuary, located in their native habitat, lies about an hour outside the city of Chengdu, China, in Sichuan Province. We learned that the sanctuary has the largest number of pandas anywhere in the world, and is trying to restore panda populations.     The Research Base started operations in 1990 and opened to the public in 1995. Hunting, habitat encroachment, disappearing bamboo habitat, solitary lifestyles, very few fertile days, and natural disasters  all contributed to the panda becoming endangered in 1949. There are only 1000 pandas living in the wild. The panda’s only predator is man and insects that sting and inflict pain.

A docent told us, “Panda means bamboo eater. Presently 40 pandas reside here. A breeding area will eventually allow   the pandas to roam and hopefully procreate. The present area covers 36 hectares, and the projected breeding area will reach 230 hectares. The pandas feed in the morning between 8-10:00 AM, so that is the best time to visit. Otherwise their predominant pastime is sleeping. Pandas are by nature solitary animals and are reluctant to mate. Today pandas are rare in the wild where their life span averages 15 years compared to 30 years in captivity. In captivity artificial insemination is most often used in the effort to increase the panda population, and births in captivity are increasing. A female panda is fertile only 2-3 days a year!”

Work and research on test tube embryos has taken place in recent years. Noise outside the maternity wards of the nature reserves is kept to a minimum as noise apparently increases the frequency of miscarriage. Speaking is even kept to a whisper.

The docent continued, “Pandas mate at 4-5 years. Mama carries her baby 4-6 months. In the wild birthing takes place in caves, so in the research centers cave-like areas have been carved out of large tree stumps. A hairless, blind, baby panda, about the size of a rat, weighs only three ounces at birth. If the baby survives the first few days it has a good chance of maturing. Female pandas often reject their babies and in the wild is the biggest cause of infant mortality.  In captivity when mom rejects her offspring there are doctor/researchers to hand feed and care for the baby, resulting in a high survival rate. When the female does become a mom, usually after her second birth, she is a gentle attentive mother constantly cuddling and licking her infant.  Weaned at 7 months the babies are introduced to the bamboo forests, then slowly into the wild. In the sanctuary the pandas are fed bread, milk powder and apples in addition to bamboo. At one time pandas ate meat, but as the climate changed they adapted.

“At ten days old the extra digit on the front paws is evident. This extra digit allows the animal to grasp and manage its bamboo diet. By six weeks the baby can see and has accumulated fur the coloring of the panda. While nursing,, mothers can become aggressive. In spite of the panda's cuddly appearance, it has long sharp claws and strong teeth. Because an all bamboo diet is not the most nourishing, a panda in the wild spends 16 hours a day feeding, eating up to 40 pounds of bamboo a day, to obtain adequate nourishment. It is a very adaptable animal.”

Although quite near sighted the panda has an acute sense of smell and hearing. Pandas do not hibernate because the bamboo diet does not provide enough fuel for hibernation.

The sanctuary not  only is large but also beautiful. It is well laid out with paved walkways. We saw pandas at all ages. They were eating and the babies just hammed it up for our cameras. Moats kept them safe and helped remove the human urge to pet the darling creatures. It was fun to watch pandas climb a tree. They hug the tree and inch up caterpillar-style a bit at a time. They look like a big furry ball hugging a tree. They come down the same way.

We spent a lot of time here, and did a lot of walking within the sanctuary. It was a delightful memorable morning.

The museum exhibits had English captions, which was a welcome bonus. The gift shop sold good quality merchandise.

ADVENTURE OVER A RIVER

A SWINGING BRIDGE

My first visit to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada was a cruise stop. I saw just enough to whet my appetite to see more of this marvelous city. However, on that first trip many years ago I did walk across the Capilano Bridge.

On my week-long visit with Jan I had a couple of things I wanted to make sure she saw and the swinging bridge was one of them. Like me, she is pretty fearless, so I knew there would be no problem in getting her to walk across the bridge suspended over the river 230 feet below!

The bridge is located in the Pacific Northwest Temperate Rainforest which extends from northern California to southern Alaska. The Capilano area receives 78-97 inches of rain a year! The Western Red Cedar here grows up to 200 feet tall.

The 450-foot long foot-bridge over the Capilano River is the longest suspension bridge in the world. A Scotsman by the name of George Grant Mackey, a civil engineer, was so impressed with the beauty of the area that he built a cabin for himself and his wife. Then in 1889 with the help of local natives and a team of horses he pulled taut the first cedar plank and hemp rope bridge over the gorge.

The bridge became such an attraction that in 1903 a more secure wire bridge was built. In 1914 that bridge was replaced with another wire bridge with both cable ends firmly encased in concrete. The fourth and present bridge was built in 1956. There are 13 tons of concrete anchoring each end. During a 1962 hurricane eight large trees fell on the bridge, but remarkably resulted in no damage to the bridge!

On my first trip the wind was blowing pretty hard and blew a couple of hats off heads carrying them into the ravine below. This time the winds were a lot calmer, but the bridge still swayed pretty well with several people crossing at the same time. On this trip we took the time to enjoy the wonderful walking paths through the forest on the other side of the gorge. There are several creative colorful information signs stating fun information along the way. Several benches are located in picturesque spots for one to sit and enjoy the peace and sounds of nature.

Capilano is too far to walk from downtown, but the local bus took us right there and the friendly driver told us what his return times were so we could   either go farther up to Grouse Mountain or to return to town.

AN UNUSUAL SIGHT

A Sunken Church

            One noontime while cruising Russian waterways the loud speaker alerted us to grab out cameras and get on deck. It was a surprise to suddenly see a lovely church tower  standing in the middle of the river! What a photo op!

            As we passed over what once was Kalyazin’s market square, we learned that, “The city of Kalyazin was flooded when the Uglich hydroelectric plant was built in the 1940s. The city originally sprung up around a 15^th century monastery. By the 16^th century the monastery was one of the richest in Russia. The flooded belfry was part of St. Nicholas Cathedral, built in 1800.  At 210 feet high, it was considered one of the finest structures along the Volga. 

“Ivan the Terrible visited and donated rare manuscripts to the monastery and in the 20^th century Stalin dynamited the monastery to ruins.”

The present town of Kalyazin, with a population of about 12,000, lies around the mouth of the Zhabnya River.

By late afternoon we docked in the charming city of Uglich. More about the city another time but first about an outstanding evening we had visiting a Russian family.

An old van traveled over rather rough roads taking four of us to a housing development of Stalin-era concrete apartment buildings. Ludmilla, our hostess, rode with us. A schoolteacher, she spoke some English and was delighted to be hosting a dinner for us. We walked up two flights of stairs to her small three-room apartment. Her daughters Natasha and Nadia (25 and 27) plus her 79 year old mom, Maria, were waiting for us.

This family made us feel at home. Conversation flowed all evening as the girls spoke good English. Both the mom and grandmother were widowed. It was interesting to hear about their life. I can’t remember what we ate for dinner, but I do remember it was all good. Grandma had done a great job making the outstanding vodka, and one of the daughters had made the delicious apricot sweet buns for dessert.

It was a delightful evening with very gracious people. As we left to return to the boat the girls gave each of us a bookmark they had made using dried flowers. What a lovely gesture and wonderful end to a memorable evening!

AN OLD CITY GATE

 Ancient Gate

            When visiting old cities in Europe it is not uncommon to see and pass through ancient city gates as many have been preserved. Many times the old gates lead one into pedestrian malls/areas.

            The old city gate in Kiev, Ukraine was built 1017-24 by Prince Yaroslavl to underline his country’s power. We spent some time here as our local guide told us, “Under Yaroslavl’s rule the city increased tenfold.  Nomadic tribes never could penetrate the main gate to the city. During the 16^th and 17^th centuries the gate deteriorated and in the 18^th century it was covered with earth. In 1832 archeologists discovered the ruins and a portion of the gate was restored and protected behind an iron fence.”

At one end of the small park surrounding the gate stands a bronze statue of a little cat.  His ears and tail are shiny from the many rubbings they have received---a sign of good luck. Years ago the little cat smelled smoke and scratched the security people to warn its owners of a fire. The cat acted in time for everyone to make it to safety. But in all the confusion the little cat was forgotten and died of smoke inhalation. A hero cat!

NORWAY’S VIKING MUSEUM

                   VIKING MUSEUM

In Oslo, we visited the Viking Museum which is located on the Bygdey (sounds like big day) Peninsula. It is part of the Museum of Cultural History of the University of Oslo. Three 9^th century ships  are surrounded by artifacts from days of plunder. The Tune Ship was found and excavated in 1867, Gokstad Ship was excavated in the summer of 1880, and the Oseberg Ship was found and excavated in1904.

Made of oak, the ships were buried in blue clay which preserved them well. The boats were used as tombs for the nobility. Things needed for their journey to the ‘other world’ including jewelry, furniture, and food were buried with the bodies, as well as unique treasures such as wagons, horses and especially textiles which are seldom preserved from the Viking era. The three ships, found in the Oslo fjord, are the best preserved Viking ships known.

The ships were stored in various locations, and in 1913 Professor Gabriel Gustafson, who had led the excavation of the Oseberg Ship, proposed the building of a Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy. The artifacts and archeological finds are also displayed in the museum. The museum is not large, but is well done and the contents are awesome.