Monthly Archives: June 2017

Our trip had us busy on this last day.  The sun had not set – actually the sun had not fully set in 5 days – but this day was planned to keep us moving.  The temperature was around 34 degrees , not expected to go above 37! Our group started with a home visit.  Normally these things are kind of weird, but this one was not.  “Going for coffee” is part of the culture in Greenland.  For special events, like birthdays, new baby, graduations or anything you want to celebrate you let your friends and relatives know that they should come for coffee.  We drove a short way from the hotel to get to the home of Pauline.  It was an apartment, and we were asked to remove our shoes when we entered her home.  The streets and walkways are mostly gravel and this helps to keep the home clean.  Her dining table and coffee table were set up for us.  Our group was only 6 so we sat around the coffee table.  We each were offered a drink – coffee, tea or water – and the tables were filled with different cakes for us to try.  Then we began our conversation.  Pauline told us about herself and her family.  It was actually her birthday and after she finished with our various groups she and her husband would be going north to her home village to spend time with her relatives to celebrate her birthday.  She was expecting friends to drop in later to have coffee with them.  We were free to ask questions and we found out about Greenland in a very personal way.  She shared about their educational system, healthcare, retirement and family life.  It was very interesting.  She even brought out her traditional clothing because we asked about it.  She was turning 64 but was not retiring from her work as an abuse counselor because she wanted to continue to help others.  We had a wonderful guide, Lise, who helped with the translating for us.

We then returned to the hotel, ready to go out for our next experience.  We went to visit sled dogs.  They are chained in pairs, one male and one female at this time of year.  First to keep them from fighting and second to hopefully produce more dogs.  The dogs were losing their winter coats.  We learned how they are harnessed and used for hunting and fishing.  The family that owns the dogs we saw, hunt seals and fish when the ice is frozen.  The sleds are about 10 feet long and they use 12 to 15 dogs to pull them.  When they are loaded they can weigh a ton.  There was a small sled, so our hostess could take her small children into town in the winter.

After lunch we were off to hike in a UNESCO World Heritage site, Sermermiut.  We saw the ice from a different point of view.  It was invigorating and even though we were told it was an easy hike, we all got warm and ended up taking off our hats and coats.

Then Bette was off to fly.  What a wonderful experience.  We could see the Ice Fjord, which is 70 kilometers long, filled with ice and icebergs.  We also flew along the coast for a while looking for whales.  It was a wonderful experience.

It was quite a magical day and a wonderful ending for our adventures.  We start back to reality in the morning.

Fitbit – 9090 steps, 42 floors and 4.3 miles

We left Iceland in the very, very early hour of 6:30.  This meant we were up at 4:30 so we could get our wheelies (roll aboards) to the luggage handlers by 5:30.  This is not a vacation as I am sure you figured out by now.  It is an expedition in the true sense of the word and this day was to prove that.

Our flight was 2 hours long, but because of the time change we arrived at approximately the time we left.  No customs or immigration – not happy about that because my passport will not have a stamp from Greenland.  We immediately boarded buses, I use that term loosely, with big wheels, sort of like the vehicles we used in Iceland, but not as nice.  And we were off to tour.  We landed in Kangerlussuaq, a bustling town of 500.

The vistas of Greenland are stark and beautiful at the same time.  We saw almost dry riverbed, the melt off of snow just beginning.  There were parts that were desert like, sand dunes and small rocks.  There were mountains, huge boulders and amazing colors.  There was also rain, unusual for Greenland, we were told they only get rain 60 days a year.  The ride was bumpy.  We saw part of the Inland Ice Cap and that was wonderful.  We had lunch in a tent on the shore of a lake.

We were scheduled to fly on to our final destination in Greenland, Ilulissat, at 2 PM, but there was an earthquake and tsunami in the north of Greenland and all aircraft had been called in to try to rescue the town that had been covered by a rock slide.  So we were told our flight was now at 4:30 and we were off to see the tundra and a small museum.

Half way through the tundra touring, more bumpy roads with the slight chance of seeing a muskox, our trip person got a call that there was now a plane earlier and some of us would get on it.  So we quickly made our way back to the airport, drew straws to see who got on the earlier flight and waited.  Those who lost the “lottery” for seats went on to the museum.  

We waited and waited for the plane to arrive and it did not.  Our tour person, started a tab for the group at the bar so we could get drinks and snacks, because we had not eaten in about 2 hours, and we waited.  Several planes came in, but not ours.  Finally around 7 we left for Ilulissat and 45 minutes later we were on the ground and 10 minutes later at the hotel.  This is the view from our room.

We had a quick dinner because we were scheduled to go out in boats on Disko Bay.  This is the time of the midnight sun and we are very close to the solstice.  The bay is filled with icebergs and we had a beautiful evening.  It was cold out, but the sights were spectacular.  Our photos can only give you a small impression of what we were treated to seeing.  The sun even peeked out for a few minutes.

We were back at the hotel, by 11:15 which was 21 hours since we got up!

Fitbit – 9141 steps, 96 floors and 4.33 miles

Sunday, June 18 was our second day of touring in Reykjavik.  It was another cold, rainy day.  Our morning activity was the Heiomork Nature Reserve.  It was only drizzling when we left the hotel, but turned into a downpour when we arrived at our destination.  We had a lovely guide who led us through the preserve.  She had various foods for us to taste.  They were made from the plants we were seeing.  We saw old homesteads and sheep pens.  There were several caves that we also explored.  She told us stories of trolls and elves.  The Icelandic people are very superstitious and believe that many of the rocks in the landscape are trolls who have been caught in the daylight.  When we reboarded our bus, we each picked a rune stone and she told us the meaning.  Other than the rain, it was a fun time.

Our afternoon was a photography outing with Sissi Brimberg, the National Geographic photographer traveling with us.  I only lasted a short time because it was raining hard again.

We opted to skip the evening event which entailed a ferry ride to an island for dinner.  Since we had to be up at 4:30 AM the next morning we just walked around town a short while and then had a delicious dinner at a local fish (what else) restaurant, Messinn.  I had Arctic char and Bob had a fishburger made from cod.  Both were delicious.

Fitbit – 10097 steps, 21 floors and 4.78 miles

Our Iceland on steroids day began early, 7:30 AM we were on our way.  Our vehicles we oversized “Jeeps” with seating for 8 plus our guide and driver.  The tires were big and there were 3 steps to get in.  We were on our way to tour the Golden Circle.  Our first stop was Thingvellir National Park.  It was here in 930 that the first parliament formed and the country of Iceland began.  Iceland over the ages has been “owned” by several countries, but became independent on June 17, 1944.  The day we were touring was their National Day.  It was fun to be out among the locals celebrating.  Our cars were decorated with the Icelandic flag and we looked like a small parade with our 10 vehicles following each other.

It was another cold and rainy day, but we forged ahead with our cheery guide who delighted in singing Icelandic songs to us.  After the National Park, we headed “off road”.  Our driver took great pleasure in hitting all the bumps in the road.  Then we were at Geysir.  There were bubbling “pots” of water and several geysers.  One was very regular spouting every 10 minutes.

After lunch at Hotel Geysir, we were off to Langjokull glacier, one of Iceland’s largest.  We were ready to go snowmobiling!  We had to put on warm suits that covered us from neck to ankle.  Then we put one overshoes to protect our feet and to keep our shoes dry.  Then a balaclava for our heads and neck followed by a helmet.  The final layer was rain gear, because it was still raining.  Then we waddled out to our keeps for the ride up the mountain side to where our snowmobiles waited.  Instructions were given on how to run them and we were off.  The ride was bumpy and we had to go fast to keep up.  Poor Bob, who was driving, had me behind him squealing and asking for him to slow down.  After about 12 hours – really 30 minutes – we stopped to take photos and change drivers.  We did not change, since we would probably still be out there going slowly.  The ride back was complicated by the rain and sleet storm, almost causing a white out for us.  We finally got back to the starting point and we had champagne waiting for us.

We returned our many layers of clothes and started back.  We did detour a bit to ford a river in our jeeps.  Quite fun!

Our last stop for the day was a giant waterfall, Gullfoss, one of the largest in Europe.

We did not have a group dinner, but were given money to dine on our own in Reykjavik.  Bob and I went to a restaurant called Laekjarbrekka.  We had fabulous lobster soup and Icelandic fish stew, which was delicious.  Dessert was Icelandic pancakes, which were like dessert crepes, filled with fruit and whipped cream. Yum!  The people at the next table heard us talking and asked where we were from.  When we told them Fort Myers, Florida, the woman said she was from Naples, Florida.  Crazy world we travel in.

It was a wonderful day!

Fitbit – 15042 steps, 22 floors and 7.12 miles

Leaving Norway left us feeling sad, but the next part of our adventure was awaiting us.  The group was once again together, having been in separate hotels in Norway.  We had a relatively short flight – just over 2 hours – and then we were in Iceland.  This island country is volcanic in formation.  It is covered with lava fields, some recent 800 years old but many very old 8,000 years old.  The lava fields are covered with moss and lichens.  When you get into the more mountainous areas there are trees and grass and flowers. 

Our first stop was the Lava Restaurant at the Blue Lagoon.  After lunch we were able to go to the Blue Lagoon, but we did not since we had done that several years ago when we were here.  It was a cold and rainy day and we were not sorry to pass this opportunity up.  The Blue Lagoon is actually created by runoff from a geothermal plant.  The country of Iceland uses mostly geothermal or hydroelectric energy.  They are amongst the most carbon neutral countries in the world.

Bob and I walked around the town of Reykjavik, which means Smoking Bay.  When this area was first seen the steam from the ground because of all the geothermal activity made it look like it was smoking.  Reykjavik is the northern most capital in the world.  Iceland has a population of about 350,000 people and there are 400,000 sheep!  We stopped in some stores and went into the very modern church that dominates the city skyline.

We had a lecture this evening by Jonina Olafsdottir, a National Geographic Young Explorer.  She is working on fresh water discovery in the fissures created by the tectonic plate movement here in Iceland.  Iceland is split by the North American plate and the European plate and is growing by about an inch a year.  There is great volcanic and seismic activity here and the land is constantly evolving.  She does deep dives in what she says is some of the purest and clearest water on the planet.  One of our guides said that there are earthquakes every day here.  They are small ones and we have not noticed anything unusual.

Our dinner was at the Iono Restaurant, which is housed in one of the cities oldest theaters.  We were entertained by a women’s choir.  We had wonderful Icelandic foods.

The weather was cold and rainy which was the start of what we learned was the usual weather here in Reykjavik.

Fitbit – 7708 steps, 9 floors and 3.65 mile

Bette left our hotel at 9 for an all day tour to see the Geiranger Fjord and travel the Trollstigen road.  We took 3 different ferrys, went through many tunnels and traveled on mountain roads with beautiful scenery.  The Geiranger fjord is a UNESCO World Heritage designated site.  We drove through the Nordal Valley to a lovely bed and breakfast for our lunch.  We saw an underground waterfall at Gudbrandsjuvet Gorge.  The highlight was the winding Trollstigen road.  

Bob on the other hand went kayaking in the Storfjord.  It was hard work but the group that went enjoyed themselves.  Then in the afternoon he went hiking to a mountaintop near the hotel. He said it was hard work getting to the top, but the view was worth the effort.

The sights and beauty of Norway are hard to describe.  It is a fabulous country with friendly people and worth another visit.

Fitbit – 4093 steps, 14 floors and 1.94 miles

We sadly left Saint Petersburg and traveled on to Norway.  We had a short flight, just over 2 hours.  We transferred to the Klipfisk Akademeit for lunch.  Our guide explained about the cod fishing and how they preserve the cod by drying and salting them.  Then when they want to use the fish, they soak them for several days in water and they are ready to eat.  To get from the airport to the town we had to pass through 3 subsea tunnels.  They were miles long and connected the various island that make up the town of Alesund.  Because of the harsh weather, the subsea tunnels work better since bridges would weather more quickly.

Norway is a very progressive country and uses it’s oil money to make the lives of its citizens better.  There are about 5 million people in Norway.  One of their largest industries is fishing, followed by furniture making, strawberry growing, and oil.  They have 95% of their energy coming from renewable sources, mostly hydroelectric.

We also went to the local aquarium and toured the town.  Then we were off to the countryside.  Our large group was split into 3 different hotels.  We were at the Storfjord.  Very charming, on a bluff over the fjord.

After drinks in the library, we had a lovely dinner and then off to rest.

Fitbit – 4819 steps, 8 floors and 2.28 miles

You can not be in Saint Petersburg and not spend time at the Hermitage Art Museum.  We had an early entry and we were able to see the giant Peacock Clock play.  It is quite phenomenal with birds chirping, hens clucking and the peacock spreading its tail feathers and then revolving.  After that we toured the museum seeing many wonderful pieces of art.  There were DaVinci’s and Rembrandt’s and Michelangelo’s and many others.  We spent about 2 hours and barely touch seeing all that there was to see.

In the afternoon we were back at the newly opened Impressionist exhibits.  They have move their Impressionist collection from the old building which was the winter palace of the Tsar into a beautifully renovated building across the square.  There were Monet, Degas, Picasso, Renoir and every other Impressionist you can name.  The displays were so well done.

We wandered back to hotel by walking on Nevsky Prospekt.

That evening we went to Vladimir Palace for our dinner and entertainment.  The palace is on the Neva River directly across from Peter and Paul Fortress.  Dinner was served in the White Hall. We had a harpist playing for cocktails, an orchestra for dinner and then 2 opera singers and a small ballet ensemble.  Quite an evening to round out our time in Saint Petersburg.

Fitbit – 9410 steps, 12 floors and 4.46 miles

June 12 started off with great weather.  We left the hotel to catch a hydrofoil boat to Peterhof Palace.  We arrived the way that the guests of the Tsar arrived, by boat.  We started on the Neva River crossed part of the Gulf of Finland and landed from the Baltic Sea.  Peterhof, built by Peter the Great was built to rival Versailles.  We toured the Monplasir Palace a small palace right on the water.  The rooms were more personal sized and decorated in a simple style.  The Tsar and his wife would come here, cook their own meals and not be “on” all the time.   There were many personal items that had been preserved on display.

Peter and Paul Fortress from the hydrofoil boat.

In front of the hotel

We walked through the beautiful formal gardens and ended our tour seeing the Grand Cascade Fountain.  By the time we got to this part of our tour there were thousands of people in the fountain area.  We had arrived before the official opening for our tour of the small palace.

I would like to give a brief overview of the history of the Tsars and the Romanov family, but there were so many coups and intrigues and slight of hands that I was never able to get it down in my notes.  The city of Saint Petersburg has had many names over the years: Saint Petersburg, Petrograd, Leningrad and now Saint Petersburg again.  It was once the capital of Russia but the capital was moved to Moscow in 1918.  During World War II, the city was under siege for 872 days.  The Germans cut off all food and supplies.  Many people died.  

After lunch we toured the Faberge Museum.  There are 9 of the fabulous eggs on display along with many other beautiful items.  This museum is only 4 years old opened by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg.  The collection was quite amazing.  We then went to the 19th century Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.  The walls and ceiling are covered in intricate mosaics.  All that glittered here was gold.

After a quick dinner we were off the the Mariinsky Theatre for a performance of Giselle.  The theatre was very ornate.  We enjoyed this excursion a lot.

Fitbit – 13423 steps, 4 floors and 6.36 miles

On June 11 we left Irkutsk around 11 AM, flew for 6.5 hours and arrived in Saint Petersburg around noon.  We had had lunch on the plane, but as soon as we arrived we headed to Dacha Tarem Restaurant for our second lunch.  Everyone said they did not want a second lunch, but the food was so good looking that we ate.  There were salads and meat under cream sauce (one of the best food items on the trip so far).  There was wonderful beet borscht and veal and stuffed cabbage.  There was honey cake for dessert with cute little bees on the top for a decoration.  We also had wonderful singers and dancers to entertain us, complete with their own band.  

Then we were off to tour Catherine’s Palace.  This is the former summer residence of the Russian Tsars.  The highlight of the palace is the reconstructed Amber Room.  During the 2nd World War, the room was dismantled and hidden from the Germans while Saint Petersburg was under siege.  It was lost, but pictures of the original room and plans and sketches have allowed present day artisans to recreate it.  No photos could be taken in this area of the palace.  Part of the routine was putting shoe covers on our feet while we walked through the museum.

After checking into our plush hotel, we had a discussion with our panel of experts about what we had discovered so far on the trip.  Dinner was in the Tea Lounge.  Bob and I took a walk after dinner.  The sun does not set until after 10:30 PM (almost White Nights) and rises around 4 AM.

Fitbit – 4479 steps, 5 floors and 2.12 miles