Day 1
I left London Heathrow and landed in Reykjavik (don't know if I
will ever spell this correctly) at around 1:30am. I felt like crap but hey, it was the only flight
available! Met up with Jon (my flat mate) and his cousin Dadi (definitely didn't spell that right), got to Jon's
parent's house and hit the sack.
Day 2
Jon and I got our gear together and prepared to travel into the wilderness (anywhere outside of Reykjavik counts... I couldn't
believe it until I saw it, this country is beautiful but empty). Only 280,000 people in all of Iceland! That's only
10 UC Berkeley's! And 180,000 of them live in the capital! I was a bit suprised at the feel of the culture too. Iceland is
inbetween Europe and America both geographically and culturally. They import food from Europe and have a largely european
style of architecture but everything is spacious and big. Big cars (land rovers everywhere), big roads, and spacious buildings.
Oh, and they have a greater concentration of American fast food restraunts than the mainland - apparently Dominos has its best
selling pizza branch in Reykjavik (the icelanders just love dominoes for some strange reason). Anyhow, Jon and I hopped in his
jeep and drove into the middle of nowhere (lava beds). We saw lots of geysers, hot springs, waterfalls... all are in my photo section
so check them out. We went to some natural steam vents and I attempted to join all the icelanders in the steam hut next to the vents.
Umm, if you ever go to Iceland, do yourself a favor and don't be stupid like me. I nearly died upon entering the hut. It was so hot
the steam burned my throat as I tried to breathe and my skin burned horribly... the Icelanders have some natural immunity to this. And
don't think, oh, well if Matt wasn't a wimp he would have stood there and gotten used to it... because you are WRONG! This was inhuman
intolerable heat, death heat that melts people (all people except Icelanders of course)
For lunch I was introduced to the wonders of the Icelandic sausage. Jon had been talking about how great the
Icelandic sausage was all day and I was expecting something really neat and interesting... well, if I were European it would have been.
The "icelandic" sausage was essentially an american hot dog with grilled onions... and it gave me that lovely "brick in my gut" feeling
too! Anyhow, the day went by quickly and as the sun started drifting behind the glaciers (yup, the glaciers are everywhere and they
are big!) we set camp.
Day 3
We got up and tried to find a route up this mountain that Jon really wanted to climb. There was none that looked possible due to
really steep cliffs (Pete you would have even avoided this climb!). So as we were driving away I saw several icebergs floating in the
middle of a glacial lake and said "hey, I've never touched an iceberg before. Anyhow, I'm sure you can guess what we spent the day doing.
I am sorry to say, I did not get to touch an iceberg... I didn't even get to hit one with a rock. They were just to far into the lake, and
well, the swimming option was out (although I would have been tempted if I had been carrying my wetsuit). Later in the afternoon we hit
a rather popular set of thermal pools and had a paddle with some awesome french girls... again look at the pictures. Jon was very impressed
with my french speaking abilities - so were the girls. They shouldn't have been though, my french sucks.
Day 3
We met up with Dadi (Jon's cousin) and went hiking just outside of Reykjavik to some of the most beautiful falls I have ever seen. It was a bit like
Hawaii... only cold. Again, there are lots of pictures posted so check them out. After the walk Dadi and Jon decided that we should
go to the city pool. Oh gosh, what an experience. We went into the facility and paid for entry. All normal so far. We had to take our
shoes off and put them on a rack before we went into the changing room. Fine, still relatively normal. In the changing room I did the
sort of thing I am used to doing in a changing room, I took off my clothes and put on a swim suit. This IS the way it is done, right!?!?
Well I walked over to what I thought was the way toward the pool in my swimsuit and was suddenly surrounded by masses of migrating
naked people! And all of them were babbling at me in Icelandic... which was a bit like being surrounded by a horde of naked Swedish Chef's
from the Muppet show. Anyhow they all sort of wandered into this room full of showers and spent a lot of time scrubbing themselves while
babbling at me (by now I was rather hyper aware of the fact that I was the only one around with clothes on and that this was why they were
all pointing at me). I made my way out of there asap and lost myself in the pool crowd before the folks in the showers could find a stake to
burn the unclean American on. I will have nightmares for years to come. That evening we went back to Jon's parent's house and had a
lovely dinner with his family (two gorgeous sisters and his brother). We intended to go for the festivities at the Icelandic culture night
but it rained really hard, got really cold, and when the fireworks were over 30 minutes late we decided that we had had enough Icelandic
culture and went home after Jon fought with his sister in Icelandic... I didn't catch the words, but it sounded brutal.
Day 4
Woke up, had a nice breakfast with Jon's family and caught my plane back to Heathrow. Travel back went quickly, but once in the UK
everything went to a snail's pace. I spent an hour pushing my way through immigration - which is totally stupid since all they do
is swipe me through the scanner and say "next"! They typically have a line for visa holders and residents... just my luck, it was closed.
Okay, so this really classifies as more of an excusion than an adventure. But I don't have an excursion log, so by default this goes here. Another important note, this italy stuff was all written with DragonDictate - and it isn't really used to me yet - so please forgive any strange spellings or grammar errors.
Day 1
I met my mom at the airport just outside of Rome. As expected she had entirely to much luggage. I really couldn't complain about it at the time because to be totally honesty she was just to entirely happy to see me. The hugs and kisses went on forever, I really did miss her. We caught a taxi and made our way to the Parthenon, the location of our hotel. Quite a festive location, bands were playing, people were singing, and tourists were wandering -- we were soon to join the latter group. The hotel was very nice, but the room was not perfect. The bathroom had a distinct odor to it that smelled vaguely of sewage. To make matters worse I were room was directly over the accordion band that played in the Parthenon Plaza. I really didn't mind it but mother was not too happy. Before long we were in a new room, and mom cheered up right away.
Day 2
Rome was nice, but the people with a particularly friendly. I fell in this to be true most in the restaurants. Because we ate at around six or 7 p.m. we were immediately identified as American because no one in Europe eats that early. The nothing to waiters made it their mission to make us feel unwelcome. Of course I don't think mom's food allergies may things any better, not like she has choice, but asking lots questions about the food did not go over very well. There is also the little matter of being robbed by a taxi driver, the driver demanded much more money than the display said, and being unfamiliar with the ways of the land we were not sure what to do. So in my mothers infinite wisdom she handed him 50,000 in Italian currency, roughly 25 American dollars, and got out of the car. When we were walking away I asked her, how much did you just give him? She was unsure. But it only totally little bit of counting of our money to figure out what happened.
The taxi incident almost ruined our day, but the museum we had come to see was astounding. There was much work by an artist known as Bernini, including a work known as Apollo and Daphne, were Apollo is chasing Daphne and she turns into a tree to avoid him. The artistry was magnificent. There was so much more and I just can't remember all. There were works by Leonardo and Michelangelo as well as splendid gardens all of which we toured.
But our batteries ran low as the day continued and we started wandering back in the direction of the hotel. We visited the Spanish steps and a rather nice pizza parlor, I met the first nice Romans there. They were actually patient and waited for me as I blundered my way through the Italian language. We got back to the area of a Parthenon, had some ice cream, took a nap, went out for a so so dinner, had some more ice cream, and went to bed.
Day 3
This morning we woke up ferry early and took a taxi to the Vatican. Because we were at the Vatican so early we were able to avoid crowds and see the art in piece. I cannot describe the wonder of Rafael and Michelangelo's work, it goes beyond words and must be experienced by everyone at some point in their lives. I have always known that the work of Rafael and Michelangelo was pivotal in the awakening of our modern society, but it took seeing it in real-life to truly understand this. Perhaps most important was the fact that my mother was there, an art historian who likely knows more than the tour guides that work in the Vatican about Michelangelo and Rafael. Aside from her knowledge about artistry she was wonderful company. Of course, such wonderful company has a price. Mom requires lots of attention, kind of like a horse, she must be fed, watered, and and reminded to use the toilet. But she is well worth the price. After visiting the Sistine chapel We walked to Peter's cathedral, quite a site to see. Mother was enthralled by the Bernini sculptures that were there. But in being male and and last much more interested in warfare death and destruction I found the swiss guard with their swords and spears much more interesting. Of course the Bernini sculptures were very impressive as well.
Day 4
As wonderful as Vatican was, this was the day that I had most been looking forward to. Ancient Rome and its history is perhaps my favorite topic, with the possible exception of ancient Greece. The Roman ruins were covered with wildflowers and the entire area smelled of spring. The weather was gorgeous and the crowds were not too heavy. It was a lovely day. Mom and I had dinner that's a small pizza restaurant just next to the ruins themselves and watched the ruins light up as the sun set.
Day 5
Finally we're leaving Rome. Today we travel south by train to the city of Naples where we will catch a smaller train to the city of Sorrento. The train from Rome was great. Mother decided that she wanted to travel first-class, and considering the fact that I had been camping and living in Hostel's whenever I have traveled so far this year I was more than happy to travel and luxury for a while. Everything was fine until we got to Naples and where I suddenly realized how difficult the day would become. In carrying my luggage plus my mothers luggage up and down all of the stairs in the Naples train station made life a little less than pleasant. To make matters worse the train we took out of Naples decided to change tracks halfway along the route.. I was thrilled to discover more stairs that I was going to have to carry her luggage up and down so we could catch a train that would take us were we wanted to go. We eventually made it to Sorrento and when we made it to the hotel I walked in our room and collapsed.
Day 5
Sorrento is lovely. The weather reminds me vaguely of California, although there are no beaches here, at least none that you can swim at. Today we traveled to Pompeii, the ruins of the city buried by volcanic debris. Honestly, and Pompeii was not everything I expected it to be. I started traveling art exhibit with my mother several years ago with all with the fest goes and pottery that was founded Pompeii, and have was far more interesting than the ruins themselves. There is simply nothing there, with the exception of the bodies. The reason for these being so special is clear, they cannot be moved, nor touched. They are molds created by ash from the volcano that slaughtered the people of this city so many years ago. The detail on their faces and agony that they died in struck me to the bone. The suffering which they must have endured had to of been horrifying, and I didn't need Richard Cowen's geology lecturer on the dangers of volcanic gas to tell me that. Although incidentally I believe these people died from what is known as a pyroclastic cloud, a searing the hot cloud of acidic gas-not a nice way to die..
Day 6
Today we went to the island Capri. Mother really didn't want to go there, but it was my birthday and I was able to convince her that was a good idea. We took a hydrofoil to the island, something that was an added bonus for me but not too pleasing to mother. You see, she gets sea-sick and at the last moment decided to take medication to keep her from throwing up. Of course, taking the hills Apple last moment did not allow the medication to take effect and as a result mom got very sick . Things for mom slowly improved however as she discovered that Capri had designer shops on it. Because I'm such nice guy I walked with her through a whole bunch of stores and even smiled while doing so. Eventually we started hiking around the island, it was an experience I will never forget and I swear someday I will return there. I took lots of photographs many of which have been posted in the photo section of my WebSite.
Day 7
Mom had her heart set on taking the drive along the coast of southern Italy. There is only one way to do this, and that is to hire a driver for the day. We hired a driver named Dominique and he drove bus to the Greek ruins in the south, ruins many of people don't know about. Again, photographs or all my WebSite and words cannot do justice to what I saw as we returned we took a scenic route through the mountains where we met a bus from Austria that was causing a traffic jam. It was at this time that I was properly introduced to Italian culture. Everyone got out of their cars and started screaming at each other in Italian, this screaming included many interesting hand gestures some of which I got photographs of. hehehe.
Day 8
Returned to Rome by train, lots of luggage, idea in. Visited the Roman ruins one less time, had a marvelous dinner, and packed my bags for travel back to London.
Arriving in Norway just before midnight, we fully expected the bus to Bergen to have left. However, being Norweigen and therefore nice and considerate, they had waited for us, and deposited us in the middle of Bergen with directions to the local YMCA. Except that this turned out to be closed for refurbishment, leaving us with a minor accommodation problem. All other possibilities being closed or expensive, and the temperature being a warm (even at this stage) -2°C with no sign of rain, there was nothing else for us but a park bench. Despite cruising past a couple of times, even the police left us vagrants in peace, so we got a reletively good night's sleep.
The following morning at the station we discovered more problems. The bus to our intended destination was not running (something to do with it being winter), but we rapidly replanned and decided to do some walking directly out of the town called Geilo (pronounced Yie-low, it's halfway between Bergen and Oslo). As the train got under way, we anxiously surveyed the countryside for snow levels etc. At this stage, near the coast, snow started at approx 600m, although it quickly became apparent that it was very cold. Everything was frozen. The hillsides were a mass of icicles and frozen waterfalls. The Fjords were mainly free of ice, but the same could not be said of the inland lakes. The train climbed to a height of 1000m before dropping down to Geilo at 900m, with the snowplough at the front of the train throwing up great clouds of snow, and large piles of the stuff beside the tracks. The sun shone however, and everyone was happy.
In Geilo, we bought some maps and were told that the good weather was forecast to remain for the rest of the week. So we went off up the hill, balancing and sliding precariously on the ice covered road. Who forgot the crampons? Lunch was eaten in a ski resort, and then we headed for the open countryside. We soon found that movement off telemark tracks was near impossible due to the foot and a half of soft powder on top of the solid snow, but there were miles of prepared tracks to follow. We were aiming for Finse, which the fellow in the camping shop had confidently told us was easily reachable in two days.
We climbed to a height of 1200m, and aimed for a hut to stay in for the night, as it promised to be cold. We didn't make it. This left us camping, which is an improvement on a park bench, if nothing else. The sun disappeared almost horizontally behind a hill, and the temperature plummeted rapidly. We were alter told it reached -28°C, by some skiers we met the next day, who had been sensible enough to sleep inside. We ate a hurried meal and then hid in our sleeping bags, passing the night without even a mild hypothermia case.
The next day dawned bright and sunny, and very cold. Everything was frozen. Any movement inside the tent resulted in a shower of ice from the roof. We took four hours to get going, mostly spent melting snow for water and defrosting camelbacks, which took ages, and putting on frozen sun cream was definitely a novel experience. We were walking by 10:30, and after about an hour, at a junction of paths, a map told us that the path to Finse was not prepared. Recognising the almost complete impossibility of getting there, even in five days (never believe random blokes in camping shops), and having expended most of our fuel melting snow, we headed for civilisation and the valley. A quick pitstop in Ustaoset, and then we walked across the lake (yes, you did read correctly. The path accross it was near enough a motorway. The thing was frozen solid.) and up onto Hardangervidda plateau, heading for Tuva Hytta. Being owned by the Norweigen mountain club, it was open, and very welcoming. The fed us large plates of moose stew in the warmth of the main building before the dash to our dormitory in an outbuilding. This was accessed by climbing through the top half of a stable type door, as the bottom half was buried in hard packed snow.
Day three saw us walk back to Geilo after an enormous luxury breakfast in the hut. We planned on a night at a youth hostel we had been confidently assured existed there, at the other end of the telemark paths across the plateau. Sometime during the morning we saw our first Norweigen cloud, although it was white and fluffy and didn't hang around long, ensuring that the perfect weather was not spoilt for long. Our descent from the plateau will go down in history as the most height lost while sitting on a survival bag. We were still on the ski runs, which were very steep by this point, and we had about 300m to lose. Ice axes proved very useful for steering and avoiding trees, although not 100% successfully. In Geilo we enquired in a hotel about the YHA. "There isn't one. But you can stay here for the cost of a YHA". That was one decision that didn't take long, and that night we slept in four star apartment rooms with their own kitchens.
After a breakfast even larger than the one in Tuva, we spent day four skiing, with the three incompetents (Pete, Nick and Linda) being taught by the semi-expert (me) and the really super cool skiier Jens. To Pete's surprise, it wasn't that difficult, and I even managed to spend some time upright. Pete, Linda and Nick even got down a blue run at the end of the day, very slowly and with much sliding on the floor. Then we cooked dinner at the end of the platform and caught a train back to Arna, near the coast. It was time to experience the Fjords, and only slightly sub-zero temperatures for the first time in more than four days. We walked out of the station and camped by the roadside. Already feeling much too warm, Jens and I pitched our tent on the only bit of snow around, which was barely bigger than the tent. This did have the advantage of letting us put the pegs in, as they refused to go into the frozen earth.
Next day, after investing in a decent map of the area, we headed back to the mountains, with the vague plan of climbing Gulfjellet. We spent the night in Redningshytta, getting up very early to attempt the summit. It was very cold, and the snow crunched beneath our feet as we climbed. The ice axes proved very useful for going up as well as down, as it was impossible to get much grip, except for Linda in her much vaunted Austrian wonderboots, which seemed to grip on even the slippiest ice, allowing her to casually stroll past as the rest of us slid around on the floor. Unfortunately the weather had begun to turn, with an icy wind blowing very hard across the summit, so we decided to beat a hasty retreat about half way up. Back at the hut we packed and left for the valley as the snowstorm hit. We caught a train back to Bergen and spent the last night crammed like sardines into a hostel room designed for four.
Saturday was spent exploring Bergen, allowing Jens to finally buy the shrimp he had been dreaming about all holiday and climbing one of the surrounding hills the easy way (by funicular railway). A nice relaxing way to end a superb holiday.