GOOD BYE ICELAND
IT WILL NOT TAKE ANOTHER 10 YRS BEFORE NEXT TIME WE MEET
Vestmannaeyar Music festival bracelet
WHALE WATCHING
45 Euros, but I got 20% off because I shopped in a souvenir shop where an ex sailor man worked
took the Whale watching tour of 2hrs from Puffin company, but skipped the Puffin tour since I thought I would want t0 concentrate only on the whales. look carefully for the whales not to miss them my god, is that really a whale on the right side of the picture below? I thought I would make a funny post putting up all these pictures of the ocean but no whales. I even got a free tour since we didnt see any whales =) Is it maybe one there?
there were lots of birds which they said was a good sign…
that is also a bird not a whale
we were soaked in water because the boat had such speed
(we paid for this express tour of 2hrs instead of 3hrs -
though we did not know it would make us wet instead…)
still no whale
nope
only the big blue with the Puffin express
and it was not easy to take a picture on the Puffin express boat because of the bumping and the lense being so wet
due to safety we at times had to go inside
(it was not easy to keep the balance either)
some other interesting stuff in the harbour
now I go home
on my way I pass the famous church
and come right home at
‘Bergthorugata’
which funnily is called the same as Begga
which is short for Bergthora
A DAY IN REYKJAVIK
The last day of Iceland was spent in Reykjavik:
In the hunt for an Icelandic sweater found the charming pharmacy
charming pharmacy
At lunch I had the famous lobster soup at Seagreifinn
On my way to the harbour I apparently got lost and took a slight detour via Sudurgata, but then found instead two Lada cars, which I didn’t know they had so ‘many’ of on Iceland.
the harbour
right at the harbor there is the Art Museum of Reykjavik
Ongoing construction of the new concert hall
FLY ME TO THE MOON part II
and let me sing among the stars
Flying costs, and right here is where you start payin’, in Icelandic krona
view from the plane, this is where we are going – Vestmannaeyar!
getting closer…
my phone camera is quite ok shooting from plane like that
at this point the nice pilot told me to be ready with the camera to get a pic of the little town there
be ready….. and….. now!
wow – great job
WHERE’S THE PARTY?
FJODHATID FESTIVAL
ON THE WAY TO VESTMANNAEYAR
overlook of festival area
while waiting for the artists to start i climbed all the way up with matching 66 north Icelandic outwear
I thought I had more muscles and power in my knees than this but..
it is cchh-ii-lll-yyy up here brrh
getting dizzy it is really high up and I just want to throw myself out from the cliff
Icelandic sweaters are high fashion now
me too high fashionista – though this pic was taken while whale watching in reykjavik – and the sweater was bought there for a ridiculous second hand price:
3000 ISK instead of 17000 ISK
yes I should become a business woman instead
time for bed now…I mean like now here in Gothenburg – sweet dreams
astonishing ending of the concert
commercial on the mountain on the back but didn’t manage to get it on camera with my phone
all night long all night long party all night long all night long
let’s do this!
rain keep fallin on my head
this is the picture of what my tent looked like from inside when i was woken up by the storm at 7 am.
i was sleeping like this for two hours since i didn’t manage to close the door opening.
it looks cozy but it was windy and rainy like never before, and the tent barely stood on the ground. The roof of the tent was right in my face….
Intense livin’
Off we go. With the boat not the flight this time.
Begga kept her impressive mood in the pouring rain where we had to stand for almost 2 hrs to wait for the boat
I got pissed that they didn’t let us in the building to let us dry while waiting.
Why did they really not do this???
meanwhile I go and get some latte
MYVATN
swimming in the hot springs
and off we go again
head for the next campus
just love driving at night
camping reached – go to sleep again – lovely
THE DARK CITY – DIMMUBORGIR
This is not the place of the sun apparently since it is called the dark city. Cool.
DIMMUBORGIR
Begga told me that Apollo was training for their trip to the moon here.
Even more cool.
Sun is shining as we enter Dimmuborgir.
keep walking
The Church
Dimma över Borgen
Kat says:
Follow the water pools (vatten pölarna) and we will get on the right track back
u see I took a picture of them on my way into the city because I thought there might be some sort of interesting picture
little did I know that these would tell me the way back
usually I never find my way
GODAFOSS
I didn’t manage that well with the iso and stuff but the place is beautiful in itself so anyway this view is awesome
so I was there – my new hiking boots worked well -tack Timbaland or whatever it’s called
I so badly want to jump in!
the other side of the water fall
jodå, this is where i sat in the back seat
groovy
no comment
thought these sweet guys were everywhere on Iceland
and what a success he found the sun
and off we go again to the next place where the sun is!
AKUREYRI
Ah, will draw a map on the travel tour later…
We reach Akureyri which is on the top.
Necessary information is that the weekend which I PICKED to go to Iceland was THE weekend to go. It was a sort of travel weekend for all Icelanders since they have the Monday off. So had Begga the whole weekend free of studies.
I didn’t know about this, but again we see proof of our mind-blowing minds, I mean probably connected with Begga in my mind here in Suecia.
The church of Akureyri – some contest running up the hill going on there
Lots of people in Akureyri!
And off we go again!
Next stop:
Godafoss
PHoTo SESSION WITH A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER
At Hvitserkur.
That is Henný working with the camera to get the best picture with the right settings.
That is Henný working with the camera to get the best picture with the right settings.
and this was the objective of our walking the coast
what a lovely way to work
Begga in the horizon looking for dolphins
my god it is beautiful
along the coast we found a HUGE jelly fish (sv. manet)
a path of red stones going up the mountain
we go on and reach the camping at 3 am
the sky is the limit
put up the tents with no hesitation
pretend i am a professional camper and know how to hook the tent on the heels
I have to go camping more often (why didn’t i do it more?)
TJOHOO
Kat Henný Begga
the three of us
the three of us
Getting all groovy with the map!
we stop on the way
we drive in the evening and through the night and like it like that
u see me in the back mirror there?
freedom
and in two seconds horses line up for me to take a picture of them
yes, this is for real
that is real sunlight over there
and here we stopped for a photo session and that will be next post =)
HAD TO STOP – GROBROK
The post didn’t allow more pictures so I continue posting by dividing it up.
what is this little town+
Running up that hill
View from the hill
get high on stones cos there are lots of them in Iceland
on my way back
there are more living creatures here than me obviously:
looking death in the eye
and we hit the road
LOST IN ICELAND
Day 1 and day 2 in Bifröst, northeast of Reykjavik.
When I came to Reykjavik, the ride was waiting for me and took me directly through an amazing landscape til I reached Bifröst, surrounded by lava.
Lava lava lava ‘em..
Lava of Bifröst
Surrounding of Bifröst
More Bifröst lava just outside student campus.
Short hiking to the hills of Grábrók on the backside of campus.
Should I continue or go back?
Lunch stop with dried fish will give me energy to continue
So, let’s go!
Sweet, I found wild blueberries on my way…
Luring flowers blowing in the wind next to the path.
Wild flowers?
Trucks are big this year
one of several stones on the way
unfortuntely don’t have time to climb everywhere
I don’t get enough of this landscape
my eyes were so thirsty for this beauty
RHYOLITE
Bacterial Diversity of Weathered Terrestrial Icelandic Volcanic Glasses.
Kelly LC, Cockell CS, Piceno YM, Andersen GL, Thorsteinsson T, Marteinsson V.Geomicrobiology Research Group, Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute, Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK, laura.kelly@open.ac.uk.
Abstract
The diversity of microbial communities inhabiting two terrestrial volcanic glasses of contrasting mineralogy and age was characterised.
Basaltic glass from a <0.8 Ma hyaloclastite deposit (Valafell) harboured a more diverse Bacteria community than the younger rhyolitic glass from approximately 150-300 AD (Domicronmadalshraun lava flow).
Actinobacteria dominated 16S rRNA gene clone libraries from both sites, however, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Cyanobacteria were also numerically abundant in each.
A significant proportion (15-34%) of the sequenced clones displayed <85% sequence similarities with current database sequences, thus suggesting the presence of novel microbial diversity in each volcanic glass.
The majority of clone sequences shared the greatest similarity to uncultured organisms, mainly from soil environments, among these clones from Antarctic environments and Hawaiian and Andean volcanic deposits.
Additionally, a large number of clones within the Cyanobacteria and Proteobacteria were more similar to sequences from other lithic environments, included among these Icelandic clones from crystalline basalt and rhyolite, however, no similarities to sequences reported from marine volcanic glasses were observed.
PhyloChip analysis detected substantially greater numbers of phylotypes at both sites than the corresponding clone libraries, but nonetheless also identified the basaltic glass community as the richer, containing approximately 29% unique phylotypes compared to rhyolitic glass.
okidok
Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic (extrusive) rock, of felsic (silica-rich) composition (typically > 69% SiO2 — see the TAS classification). It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic. The mineral assemblage is usually quartz, alkali feldspar and plagioclase (in a ratio > 1:2 — see the QAPF diagram). Biotite and hornblende are common accessory minerals.
LOVE ICELAND
I am going to Iceland in a short time, and maybe to this spot hiking, I am so excited!!
Is that beautiful or what?! This is Landmannalaugr which mean’s the people’s pools according to Wiki.
It is a region near the volcano Hekla in southern section of Iceland‘s highlands.
The area displays a number of unusual geological elements, like the multicolored rhyolite mountains and expansive lava fields, not far from the service center. The many mountains in the surrounding area display a wide spectrum of colors including pink, brown, green, yellow, blue, purple, black, and white. Two of the most popular mountains among hikers are Bláhnúkur (meaning ”blue peak”) and Brennisteinsalda (meaning ”sulphur wave”).
halleluja for this amazing earth
I packed my hiking shoes