Pictures up!

check out a flickr gallery of some of my favorite photos from the iceland trip here.

Layover hell turns heavenly

what started out at a huge problem on the return flight: 12 hour layover at JFK, turned into a grand tour of NYC. Turns out I have Burning Man friends in the lower east side (sounds so new York). So I did the new York thing: saw Times Square, had a slice of Pizza, looked into The Pit where the Twin Towers used to be, saw Lady Liberty from Battery Park. Got some sleep, woke up at 5am, walked down the street to get a bagel with lox and hailed a taxi back to JFK. It was a very nice intro to New York. Special thanks to Adam for the making the connection and to Leslie and his lovely wife for having me.


[ posted from my phone ]

Tips (not trips) for travelers to Iceland

get a room near down-town. The busses stop running at midnight and the bars don't. Unless your hip to walking a mile in potentially artic conditions it's best to find a home base within stumbling distance. Hotel cabin and the hostel are in the way-outs. Check for guest houses closer in if your looking for a deal. The one I saw had free internet just southwest of downtown.

keep and eye on the prices of stuff. If you notice the price of a drink jumping around from day to day find somewhere else to drink or remind them of the lower price. I got gringoed a few times: paid too much bus fair, paid for a buffet when all I got was some soup, things like that. No one ever stopped me from paying too much.

leaving rey for the airport can be a bit of an ordeal. Taxi is spendy when compared to the flybus for 10.000kn but they take off from the SBI (whatever that stands for). The SBI is not downtown. It's south about 20 minutes walk. The #7 bus will take you there. It's a 45 minute ride to the airport any way you slice it. If you purched merch at a tax-free shop and want to get your tax back, prepare for a line. There is only one station with two windows to serve everyone. If the amount your getting back is low, the duty free stores can apply your tax voucher to a purchase, but don't expect change. For bigger vouchers your going to have to stand in line. Other than the tax delay the airport is straight forward. Total time from downtown to boarding about 2.5 hours.

last tip: if you like on the west coast and it's 2005. The the direct flight from SF and avoid the domestic flightmare

[ posted from my phone ]

Where's Bjork?

no really, I was half expecting to see the island teaming with bjorkish looking peoples. Not true. Although an ampathetic fold is somewhat common I'm going to have to say that nobody looks particularly bjork-like. Interestingly enough on the rare occasion when one of her songs comes on the jukebox the women burst into to song and men start drumming on the tables. Apparently there is no love lost by her famedom. So I've decided that Bjork is either an alien or some sort of genetic freak. prolly raised buy elves or wolves.

[ posted from my phone ]

Quest for the strongest beer

I've got two things swimming around in my head. The #4 bus route back to the hotel and a desire to find the strongest beer in Iceland. The Helka guide told story of an 11 percent brew... Brief interruption while I cringe at an otherwise descent male duo absolutely slaughtering thru a rendition of Alice in Chains' "No excuses". And now they are getting applause. Holly shit I could be a rock star here...Anyway, the current contender in the percent challenge is Leffe Bruine at 6.5. Can't read the label, but looks to be from Belgium.
next stop and next contender is Viking olgerd (can't do the fancy o and d on my phone) this Icelandic brew only clocks in at 5.6 percent. Looks like the home colors are dragging. Things have gone from bad to worse at my latest stop. We are down to 5 percent out of the draft. Although my ordering "the strongest beer" gets laughs and applause from patrons. I got caught up in conversation at this last place and turned from beer to something they make here called the "black death". Funny how you go looking for one thing and stumble upon another treasure. The "Black Death" is served up as a shot. Not sweet like I was expecting, not much of a taste at all really. It's a vodka I think. So the quest was a bust for the fabled 11% did not appear (the ferries must be hiding it). I made a few friends at the Grand Rock, including the bearded and slurring Thorsteinn Sveinsson. I believe we were talking about opening an echo-tourist guesthouse on his farm.

[ posted from my phone ]

Last night in Rey

still got the sniffles but i'm motivated to see the town if it stays up for me. Got the skinny on the whole "party in the streets" thing. It's exclusively a Friday - Saturday gig and it's at like 6am, not 3. I'll definitely have to time my activities/sicknesses around this new knowledge on my next visit. I'm drinking a $7 double gyn 'n tonix at Kapitil. Definitely the best drink prices so far. On the way back to the hotel I'm going to try and find something a little more divey. this place is OK the rock walls and the dark velvet curtains are cool, but I'm really looking for the underbelly of this beast. So far everything and everyone is so nice. nice is nice, but it kind of ends there. I'd like one foulish experience to bring home with me. I'd like to feel chewed up and spit out as it were. So far my adventure, although very pleasant has been less adventurous and more "nice".

[ posted from my phone ]

So what's so Great about Iceland?

Well, for never being out of the greater USA, some of these things might not be unique to Iceland, or Europe in general, but here is some things I've observed that seem cool:

1. Things cost 400kn, not $399.99 (although I still end up with pennies somehow)
2. advertising is not blitzed on every vertical square inch of the city. As in a bus is just a bus and not a traveling billboard. Billboards exits of course, but there are fewer of them.
3. The graffiti is artful for the most part, although I did see a "F*ck U F*ck" on the side of a phone booth but that might be a band name.
4. I've never been carded (this is actually a little disturbing when shopping) in a bar or even when I was checking into the Hotel. I did not have to secure any of my reservations with a credit card.
5. The Beer goes up to 11% if you know what to order
6. Markus (spelled just like that) is a common name where Mark is not.
7. There are extra letters that make everything seem like code language (Æ,þ,ð,Þ,Ð). My favorite one is ð, it sounds like 'n' in "open" and you see "opeð" signs everywhere for shops that are open.
8. Most people still believe in Elves. As in the phrase "you never know what the elves are teaching you." being an explanation for anything odd or inconvenient that happens.
9. The women are stunningly beautiful. According to the Saga's museum, although the Viking male population were primarily Norse, over half of the women were Irish, lending credence to the theory that the Vikings were capturing wives and trapping them up north. Way to pick 'em boys!
10. Seems like everyone is involved with some sort of art. Be it music, sculpture, painting, or whatever. When people ask you "what do you do?" they are asking you about your artistic endeavors, not your vocation.
11. The News covers all world events. I suppose there would not be the much news generated in Iceland proper. It's especially interesting to see the coverage of the US elections from an outside perspective.
12. no tipping. There is no way to do it even if you want to.
13. no superfluous pleasantness. You don't get an empty "Thank You!" or "OK, Great!" along with every minor interaction. This really appeals to me for some reason.
14. I'm exempt from taxes, so I'll be getting cash back on my way out of the country.
15. There are no Bums. So it's either not a well respected career choice like it is in the US, or people freeze to death.

In all fairness, I suppose I should come up with some things that suck about Iceland. Let's se if I can come up with something...

1. It's way too Expensive to go out Eating and Drinking every night.
2. The young kids say "shiznit" and "bling-bling" intermixed with Icelandic.
3. It's too far away.

I missed the music :(

I tried to get out of bed at 11 last night to go and see Gus Gus ( a local favorite pictured above) but two shots of Jamesson's and an Aderal had me nailed to the sheets. Probably for the best though, my fever seems to be gone and the head is clearing up. I could not bring myself to do the whole hospital trip yesterday, but I did find an apothecary with a nice staff. They hooked me up with some sprays and some tablets that seem to be working.

I'm going to try and get my extra-lame 13 hour layover at JFK moved to this side of the Atlantic. If I can spend the extra time here, I´m planning on wasting the afternoon at the Blue Lagoon.

apparently they had some bands playing there Saturday morning for the "Hangover Party". I'm definitely going to have to come back for all the parties I missed. According to the lagoon web site this place is a huge lagoon outside one of the primary geothermal plants. Cilica and other minerals turn the water blue and you can swim around or get a massage.


There is a restaurant there and it´s located between Rey and the Airport, so It's common for visitors to stop by on the way out of the country. A massage might be just the thing before getting on my plane for the long drudgery home.

Oh my Head...

Tragedy strikes: After the Hekla trip I skipped going out and ended up sleeping about 12 hours. I woke up with what feels like a sinus infection. I´m dreading getting on a plane with anything but crystal clear sinuses. My adventure today will be to find a hospital and see if I can talk them out of some antibiotics. I once took a plane to Vegas with plugged sinuses. The takeoff and landing felt like someone was hammering an icepick into my forehead(complete with nosebleed). I´m deathly afraid of something similar happening so I´m going to take drastic measures.

I did stop by a drug store on the way over to Ground Control. I was looking for the isle of cold remedies like one would find at wallgreens. No such luck, they have a very limited supply of such stuff and keep it behind the counter. No Aspirin, Tylenol, or anything that you would recognize. So I just pointed to my head and made sniffling noises. The lady behind the counter was instantly fed up with me, but handed me some spray stuff and some pills anyway. Unable to read the packaging, I'm just guessing at dosage. I´m already way behind on my drinking and seeing bands. I'm betting on a miraculous recovery.

Super Indeed!

OK, so that was about the coolest thing ever. A driver, two guys from Holland and myself took off for some 11 hours of driving thru steaming streams, over hills of pumice and finally up to the top of Mt. Hekla. Not really a mountain by our standards, Hekla is only about 1100 meters tall. The bonus is it's the tallest thing on the island and you can drive within a 100 meters of the summit. We had exceptional weather and the driver kept noting how unusually far we could see. I took an inordinate amount of pictures of waterfalls, steaming rivers, and volcanic craters. I was having too much fun with the binocular camera.

At one point we stopped the tour to track down some sort of rare icelancid grouse that darted across the road. Due to it's popularity as the main course at xmas dinner, this bird has been hunted to extinction. Environmentalists have helped passed laws protecting the bird much to the dismay of the locals who see hunting and eating the bird as part of the xmas tradition. I guess every place has it's spotted owl.

On the way home we were informed that "conditions were perfect" to see the northern lights.

When I asked the driver what those conditions were, he carefully explained there are three conditions: 1) darkness; 2) clear skys; and 3) coldness. But that last condition is arguable and a good topic for debate. I'm not really sure if he was trying to be as funny as he was, but he´s either a comic genius, thought I was a complete moron, or both.

We never did see the norther lights, but I understand they are commonplace and all I need to do is "look up periodically" to catch them. I'll keep my eyes on the sky.

All in all it was the highlight of my trip so far and I'm really glad I took the time away from the music fest to check it out.

I'm the Uber Tourist!

So I gave up on getting a phone. All the places I visited asking for one met me with blank stares or offers of a blackberry. I might be able to talk to the Ground Zero guy when he is working again. He was having a good time last night kicking my ass in a LAN game so maybe he'll be willing to help me get pictures off my SD cards and up to my FTP server.



I spent the day doing the tourist thing: museums and shopping and lots and lots of walking around finding interesting things to check out. I think I've got this city figured out and I'm ready to go exploring the rest of the island. I'm starting tomorrow morning at 9 with a "Super Jeep" Tour of Mt. Hekla. Should be a blast. The Super part of the Super Jeep is that it's decked out to ford rivers and plow thru snow. I've seen a few around town and they look pretty beefy. silimar to SUV's, but with a wider stance and look more functional than the crap you see rolling out of Beaverton. I'll be gone all day putting that mountaineering gear I brought to good use. Speaking of Super, you should see the cats here. Talk about stout! They rub up on your leg and about knock you over. Petting them is like petting a wool sweater. Watch out Repo!

While visiting the Saga museum today I saw a replica of myself in a display case. Not me exactly, but damn close.

You would have to see the face up close to get wierded out by the resemblance. He has my nose. So it's official, I'm a Viking. The tour was good and Saga´s themselves are pretty funny in a tragic blood-drenched way. For instance when the inquisition was knocking at the door and the country was only half Christian, the pagan leader announced that the whole country would become Christian if people could: still practice pagan worship privately in they're homes; no mandatory church attendance; and the seasonal holidays would still be observed and celebrated in the usual manor. The church agreed, blessed the remaining pagans in a group ceremony and the next day everyone was Christian as far as the church was concerned. Sounds like a reasonable offer from a guy holding a battle axe and half the country on his side.

I´m taking tons of pictures and will get them online as soon as I can. I'm going to skip the clubs tonight and rest up for Hekla. They say it's an 11 hour trip with various stops including a swim in 75 degree river (sweet) after the climb. I'm still not checking email, so if anyone sees my girl Juli, send her my love. We've been out of touch since I left NYC. Call my cell and it will give you the home number.

The weather was clear and calm today. I´m hoping for some more tomorrow. If I´m picking up any Icelandic, the TV weather report looked like 13 knot winds and snow by week´s end. I hope I got that part wrong...

Early night

Much to my surprise the clubs (that I know of) shut down around 1:30 tonight. Ground Zero is open, and according to the staff it never closes if there are customers. Sounds like some good LAN games are going on. I´m going to use this opportunity to transcribe some post that are trapped on my phone. No pics, but it´s nice to catch up a little...

The white kids are rapping (and it's all good)

I'm at the Iceland Airwaves HQ exchanging my concert pass for a wristband and drinking an $8 Beamish stout. My research paid off in the drinking department. Picking up a half price fifth of Jamisson's at the duty free store will keep my entertainment costs down while I'm out and about. I´ll have to pick up a cool flask. I really like the people so far. Not overly friendly, but forthcoming with whatever info I'm drilling them for.

so here is the low-down: chill at the hotel till about 11:30 then catch the last bus to downtown to check out eh venues. Tonight is when I test the "they kick everyone out of the bars at 3am and party in the street" theory.

Hotel Cabin is pretty far away from downtown as hotel's go, but I went for the budget deal, and there is a grocery store near by. Hotel Borg is right smack in the middle of everything and I´ll have to look into the price difference for next time.

anyway, back to the kids. There is a band of 4 in the corner between two portable JBL speakers. A tallish male DJ (actually mixing), two young blond girls: one rapping and the other driving the melodies hip-hop style. The fourth member is a guy playing pickup and jumping into vocals for this and that. They are dressed in street cloths like the patrons and really seem to be enjoying themselves. "what nice kids" comes to mind. The boys are clean cut and euro-thin while the girls are model-cute (all the women here are). Not trying to be rock starts, just having fun and (hopefully) getting paid. Tonight is a quite night on the show schedule. Only a few venues have acts. I'm heading over to NASA when my beer runs out to catch what appears to be the big deal of the evening: Brain Police is labeled as "stoner rock". Mayhap I'll find another long hair or (gasp) a PBR.

OK, so It´s COLD.

I found myself a little internet cafe. LAN games are apparently a cool thing here. I suppose I could spend vacation playing games...Not! Just spent the early evening walking from the hotel to downtown. It´s windy and cold. I have yet to find a rental Treo, so I´ll have to post without pictures until I do. This is the first day of the festival. I´m trying to find all the venues (there are 6 or so). Finding what appears to be the club district should make this less difficult. Lots of tattoo shops and record stores right around here. The streets get quiet after sundown. I guess the locals know best.

my hotel room is comically small. There are two not quite twin size beds in an 8x10 ft space. Opening the bathroom door blocks the door to the hall and there are no closets. I took a nap after my arrival and my feet hang off about a foot.

I must really look like a Yank to these folks. People immediately start speaking to me in English. Children look up at me in wonder. I don´t think they are used to the hair or the height. I´ll post again after I see a few bands.

Touch down 7:33AM

(image still in phone)

it's cold and windy on the tarmac. A group of 40 of us are loaded into a tour bus. This looks like the alternative to a taxi. 1100 kronar (sounds like klingon to me) will take me the 40 km to my hotel. That's about $13US. Not bad I guess. Abouts what the travel guide noted. Looks like the sun is coming up in a non-specific zone on the eastern horizon. Not much out here by the airport. Mostly industrial buildings and oddly shaped mountains in the distance. Hard to discern any details in the low light. The hiway is well lit and I can clearly make out the trail of tightly spaced streetlights leading off over the hills ahead. Everyone is quiet on the bus. Someone is complaining about the rude driver. I think he's fine. Just matter of fact. The change in environment leaving the airport was enough to cause people to head back in causing a cluster at the exit. Luckily I packed a warm pile pullover for easy access. I was hoping for airlocks myself. I've always wanted to go to the moon or mars and was hoping this would be the next best thing. Bring it on.

I'm off to see the wizard.

OK. Now I feel like I'm going somewhere. I'm boarding the Iceland air flight out of JFK and the English language has just removed itself from my reality. You must forgive with me gentle reader and know that I have never been away from my own country. Some of this will be a little odd to me at first. Got lucky again with the leg room. Oops, the whoever on the loudspeaker is asking us to turn off our gizmos. Later...

[ posted from my phone ]

In a new York hour.

safe and sound in NYC. Got a few hours to burn until my flight out. Next stop Iceland. And yes, I accounted for the time slip this time.
hopefully I will be able to continue blogging when I get there. It all depends on my acquiring a rental treo. This sprint phone will not work outside of the states. Starting to feel farther away from home at this point. More accents, more black attire, more attitude. I don't even know where JFK is in relation to the city, and it doesn't really matter. I'm really just in airport city USA. Time for a $6 coffee drink.


[ posted from my phone ]

Boy howdy!

I'm looking at a 3hr lay over in Dallas.
this is the K-Mart of airports. It's just dirty and in disrepair...Good thing I didn't take a longer look: my dumb-ass spaced the two hour time shift. So I'm only here long enough to get a snack and watch some news. I'm getting lucky with leg room on the domestic legs of this trip. Let's hope my luck holds for the international portion. Still doesn't feel like vacation yet. Perhaps I should read my Iceland book and get into the groove. 3 more hours to NYC...

[ posted from my phone ]

4AM at PDX

waiting for American airlines to open for business. Guess the two hour get-there-early thing does not apply when your leaving at dawn. Had a few beers with my brother and kissed the girlfriend goodbye. I'll be gone a little over a week. Getting off to a slow start. Hope the flight is uneventful. First stop is Dallas. Hope to sleep thru that and wake up in NYC at 5PM.

[ posted from my phone ]