Iceland, Day 4

Stuffed bird attack

We will be heading out of the western region of Iceland today, and there will be some changes in the landscape.  As well as the weather...dreary, rainy, cold!  Actually, a pretty good day to spend many hours on the bus to cover a great distance.  At least, it's a good day unless you are the bus driver?

Sample menu...lamb, horse fillet, pork,
minke-whale steak....

Not many photo ops with the rain. We are driving at first on packed gravel roads. Most of Iceland roads are gravel, with a few major ones done in asphault. The cost of gravel is less, and as Iceland has so few people within a large space, this is one area of budget compromise. In the summer, the gravel is quite dusty. To keep the dust down, the roads are
sprinkled with salt water.  And then the sheep go onto the road to lick the salt. Well...you can only imagine!




Icelandic sheep...run away when
you approach

With so many sheep grazing all over Iceland, I rather wondered what happens if you hit one with your car?  If the sheep is in open grazing territory, then the driver is liable to the farmer for damages. But if the sheep is outside a fenced grazing area, then the farmer is liable.








What I never realized about Iceland, is that there were no human beings living there until
the "settlement period" starting mid 800's.  Isn't that interesting, no "native" people? At
any rate, as an island, it wasn't until the Vikings set sail that settlers arrived for the
fishing.  The period of 800s-900s is known as the "settlement period", and all Icelanders
date their heritage back to those days.  Originally a population of Norwegian and Irish,
with most men being Norwegian, and most women being Irish. This is because the Vikings
captured Irish slaves.  Over the years, the two have of course melded into Icelanders, with
 the culture emphasizing their Scandinavian roots.



Erik the Red replica house

Replica sod house, circa 900



inside replica Icelandic sod house (for 25)

Our first stop is at the location of Erik the Red's home in Iceland, the father of Lief Ericksson.  In the 900's, Erik had a farmstead.  Being a feisty person, he had a sheep dispute with neighbors, the resulted in some deaths. He was banished from Iceland, so went to Greenland. He, in fact, is credited with naming the land Greenland. Erik named a fjord for himself, but in order to encourage other settlers there, he made an enticing land name, for the purpose of selling land. This venture found some success. Lief set sail westward, and discovered Newfoundland.

Jim as Erik the Red, king of his hut

We walked on the original foundation of Erik's house, then listened to wonderful stories, like the one above, inside a replica of that house. So tiny, it fit 25 people between family and workers?  Jim became Erik to thrill us all!



Icelandic horses in their paces

On the rainy road again, with a stop at a local horse farm. The Icelandic horse is a breed of its own, there are no other breeds on the island. It is shorter and has thicker hair. They are quite beautiful. Riders performed various paces around a track, and then we spent time in the corral with the playful beasts. Erna from Tennessee...her umbrella became a target of attention...they circled around her and even nudged!



Playful Icelandic horses



Circling the umbrella



Painted rock dolls in Iceland

I've seen these really cool (at least to me) rock dolls outside various doors on this trip. They are painted wonderfully! Something to make someday?

1839 sod church in Iceland

Snorri outside the church

We've seen one replica sod house at Erik the Red's homestead. Because of the construction,
it is why you don't see buildings pre-19th century.  But there is one church we see that
was consecrated in 1839, and still maintains its sod walls and roof. Our trip leader Snorri
regaled us with his trumpet tunes, sweet ballads for a wet day.

driving toward north of Iceland

One of the controversial topics is the seperation of church and state, at least as to funding. Lutheran as a state religion, generally means all citizens are born into the church, and taxes fund the salaries of the clerics. But fewer citizens are baptized or practice that religion, yet taxes are used to pay for clerics whose salaries can be twice as high as other professions.  There may be a referrendum in the next election for citizens to vote on the subject, which will require constitutional amendment.

Iceland mountain ranges
are dramatic

On our windy and cloudy day, we climb higher into the mountains toward the northeast. More snowcaps, dramatic changes. Still generally treeless, but we are seeing more shrubs.

Snowcapped Iceland mountain

We reach Akureyri, the second largest city in Iceland located 40 miles below the arctic circle. So close! It has a population of about 20,000, set on a deep fjord. We see snowcapped mountains above. This weekend is their 150th anniversary, there will be fireworks tomorrow night. Across the fjord at night, is a throbbing heart...lights in heart outline that go on and off...good night!

Akureyri at night, a throbbing
heart lights across the fjord

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