The Ãslendingur loves his/her swimming pool. Mostly outdoor pools, little or no chlorine (please wash yourself), heated by the geothermal goodness beneath their feet. A hot day that we might consider a swim is very rare in Iceland so they go swimming not to cool off but to warm up.
Imagine taking in the waters under a howling wind and perhaps even snow and ice all around you. Now imagine a remote desolate place far from almost everything. There isn’t even a town but the area has a population of 49. Even here there is a community pool. Situated on the ocean front with the freezing arctic ocean in front of you and snow capped mountains behind. Naturally heated by the local geothermal borehole.
This is the kind of place I want to visit. Just the white knuckle drive to a remote location like this would be a thrill. And then to find that even here I can find a pool situated in such beauty would be a memory never to leave.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
So, have you saved your money for the trip yet? I did it the other way… my Sweetie’s uncle passed away so we had to make the trip… using the credit card. It was everything I had hoped - only too short. Stunningly beautiful.
April 18th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I’m sorry to hear about the uncle. But at least you got to go. I am curious about funeral rites in Iceland. Are they totally somber events or do they make it a party of sorts like I’ve seen at times? I recently went to a funeral of a very young person and I expected a lot of anger because of the age but many happy stories were told which seemed to make it easier on the parents.
I am very close to paying off the debts now. I may have to hit the credit since I can’t wait much longer. In May Toronto and Halifax opens up to IcelandAir so I think that would be the wise move since I can avoid delays in the U.S. en route.
I will be there soon!
April 18th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Oh yeah, I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t even been able to visit my own blog. I’ll post something this weekend. Been too long.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:27 pm
The funeral was solemn, but the music was hauntingly beautiful. Hymns were sung by an all male choir, and the Icelandic words sounded nice. It was much like a regular church service funeral here. Then we went out in the rain to put the casket into the ground. After that we all went to one of the son’s home, where all (there were many generations of cousins, kids, grandparents, etc.) the relatives gathered for a huge buffet table of food and drinks and visited all the rest of the afternoon. A very nice affair. I hated coming home, as usual.