ICELAND - The Land of Fire and Ice
December 13-16, 1999
An Icy Adventure
By
Anne Marie Finley
The Bad Pennies Iceland Adventure started with a mad dash
to the airport. Due to unexpected
rain and resulting traffic, some Bad Pennies spent 3 hours getting to BWI but
everyone arrived in time to make the evening flight on Monday, Dec. 13.
It was a surprise to many that flying to Iceland takes one-half hour less
than flying to California!
We arrived at 6:00 am Tuesday at Keflavik airport,
navigated the currency exchange lines, and proceeded to the Lofleidir Hotel.
After a quick check-in, the intrepid Pennies met Thornstein Gunnarson 
and
participated in a “made-for-us” 10km walk through Reykjavik.
Highlights of the beautiful walk included: Christmas song
serenades by Icelandic kindergartners,
beautiful frozen lakes with swans and
mallards galore; Christmas candles in 
every window and lights on each of the few
trees in the city; a complete briefing on the unique Icelandic “Christmas
boys” (troll-like figures who bring 26 day of Christmas to Iceland); insider
information from American personnel stationed at Keflavik who extended the
club’s international reach by joining us for the walk; and avoidance of
serious slip and fall accidents on the icy streets and sidewalks!
The elusive Iceland IVV stamp, which was not in existence
at the time of the previous Pennies’ walk in 1994, was earned by all. The
afternoon was “on our own” for shopping, sightseeing, and lunch at the Hard
Rock Café in the only mall in Iceland!
Several adventurous Pennies proceeded to the Jonathon Livingston Seagull
restaurant for a puffin dinner.
( Matt, Ruth, Betty and Mary Beth met in the lobby at
6:00 on our first
night in Iceland to take a taxi to Jonathan Livingston Mavur Restaurant
for dinner. We had the place to ourselves, so we enjoyed a very slow
and elegant meal. Matt asked the chef to prepare his specialties in a 5
course meal, plus dessert. He and Mary Beth enjoyed a Lobster Stew (1);
Puffin Terrapin (2), which was chilled and served with a special,
decorative sauce; Seafood Medley on Lettuce Leaves (3), including
Lobster Tail, Shrimp, Scallops, Mussels and Clams; Chilled Reindeer
Meatloaf (4) with a sauce; then hot Lamb Strips (5) for their main
entree, including Potato Dumplings with Cheese and a Vegetable Medley
containing carrot balls, celery cubes, mushrooms and turnip cubes.
Dessert (6) was an Exotic Fruit Cup w/Cream for Mary Beth, and a
wonderful Chocolate Mousse for the rest of the group. Betty and Ruth
were a little less adventurous, and enjoyed a fish called Grenadier.
(The waitress brought a picture to show us, since she didn't know the
English name. It is ugly to look at, but tasted pretty good.) We
spent
about 3 hours over dinner and dessert. It was a lovely time! Ruth
asked about buying one of the interesting, dark blue water/wine glasses
with the name of the restaurant on it as a souvenir. We all liked the
idea so well that we each bought one to take home! The waitress called
us a cab to get back to the hotel, and much to our surprise and
pleasure, a Mercedes E300 showed up. We had an easy, comfortable ride
and each went right to bed when we got back! by Betty
Strawderman)
Wednesday dawned dark, snowy, and very cold.
Light typically did not break until 10:30 AM and often set by 3:30 PM.
We boarded the bus for the Circle Tour in the dark.
Our delightful guide, an Icelandic woman who truly had “sun in her
heart,” showed us the greenhouses where vegetables, fruits, and flowers are
raised. We then proceeded to the
frozen Gullfoss Falls and nearby geysers.
We dried out during lunch at an Icelandic ski lodge after
standing too close to the erupting geyser and later made the acquaintance 
of
some friendly Icelandic horses. Our
guide’s delightful insights on Icelandic life were most interesting, such as
her description of “declining Icelandic infant morality.”
We returned to the hotel to enjoy
a traditional Icelandic
Christmas Smorgasbord, complete with 7 different kinds of pickled herring, and
the obligatory group picture!
Thursday, our final day in Iceland, was the only day we
actually saw the sun. After a dip
in The Blue
Lagoon
we
followed by a
visit to a 
tiny aquarium (where Free Willy was not in residence) and then to the
airport.
The three hour departure delay provided us with
opportunities to take full advantage of the duty free shops, where we purchased
enough smoked salmon, puffin ornaments, Icelandic herbal Schnapps and “Black
Death” vodka to stuff our friends and families stockings for the upcoming
holidays!
"you hold an event and we turn up"
