ICELAND – PART IV – Reykjavic, Boston, Home & Summary

June 10, 2024
After spending a few hours at the Solvangur Icelandic Horse Center, we finally got back to Reykjavic and our favorite “home away from home,” The Holt Hotel–The Art Hotel.” If you ever journey to this part of the world, we highly recommend staying here—it’s small, convenient, their breakfasts are the best and their service impeccable. After we packed up all our cold weather clothes (which we shipped to them beforehand and they held until our arrival), they happily shipped that box back to our home. We also met the owner who is an absolute delight and was thrilled that we so appreciated her father’s extensive art collection.

It was also fun to look back on our two weeks in Iceland and appreciate how many different experiences and adventures we had. Reviewing all of our Iceland blog posts, there are only three things we can think of that didn’t fit into any of our narratives. First of all, we couldn’t believe the number of Teslas we saw all over Iceland—I guess it’s the perfect place for them, with the Icelandic energy-conscious way of life. Another thing we realized about Iceland is that there was far more exposed dirt than we expected, thinking most of Iceland was covered in ice! Not so! (Perfect example below, left.) We were also intrigued with the number of houses in several different towns that were constructed from corrugated metal, often painted in bright colors. With so few trees, lumber was hard to come by for building houses. Apparently, during hard times, Iceland entered into a trade agreement with Denmark (whose food supply was limited). Iceland had plenty of herring fish. Denmark could manufacture corrugated metal, so they traded fish for metal. Even some of the nicest homes are made of this material.

 
The next day, we drove 45 minutes to the Keflavik International Airport, turned in our rental car and took a 5.5-hour flight non-stop to Boston. Unbeknownst to me, Gary had upgraded our seats to business class and boy was that an awesome surprise….soooooo much more comfortable than those seats in the back! I was sitting by the window and looked out occasionally, a bit in awe of the large expanse of ocean below us. AND, after an hour or so I looked out and saw what  looked like waves…and then there was solid ice…and I realized we were flying over Greenland! Wow! Another surprise! And then there was a huge mountain range and then weird little box-like structures (anyone know what these are–bright white, rectangulaar dot on right side of photo on lower left?), and then a huge bay of icebergs on the western shore. It was pretty amazing!

We landed in Boston when it was still light (and enjoyed seeing its northern suburbs from the air—below left). Once again we stayed at the Marriott Copley Place, where we were at the beginning of our trip. But this time we had a view of the Charles River and enjoyed watching lots and lots of sailboats every day.

The next day was a “chill day.” We wanted to rest up for our plans on Friday and Saturday with younger daughter Laurie and her tribe. (You may recall they live a little over an hour west of Boston in Tolland, CT.) They came for a late lunch on Friday and that night we took taxis (there were 10 of us, including 2 friends) to Fenway Park to see the Boston Red Sox play the Milwaukee Braves. We sat in awesome Grand Stand seats, ate the traditional hot dogs for dinner and really enjoyed being in the oldest Major League Baseball park in the world.

We had such a good time! Unlike modern-day ballparks with their more comfortable seats, fancy cup-holders, etc., we were sitting in bare-bones wooden seats (no cup-holders) and really got a sense of the good old days of major league baseball. The fans were amazing from start to finish. It didn’t matter that the Red Sox didn’t score much and lost…everyone was having a grand time. We sang the usual “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7^th inning stretch, but one tradition that was new to us (we’ve been to lots of SF Giants games over the years), was singing Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” during the 8^th inning stretch, with a special add-on that we all got into….”So Good! So Good! So Good!” Here’s daughter Laurie and the 2 of us enjoying it all, plus a video of all of us getting into it…click on ballpark scene below and feel free to sing along:

After the game, we couldn’t find a taxi midst the departing crowd. It was a beautiful evening with a soft breeze and we decided we’d all WALK back to the hotel—about a mile away, and that was also very fun! They all spent the night at friend Diana’s in New Hampshire (an hour north)…Laurie & Diana have been friends since they both got their Masters in Education of the Deaf from Smith 25 years ago! The next day all but Diana came back to Boston and we had a fun brunch together at the Yardhouse—a great restaurant at our hotel. I’m so glad we got to spend some good time with them!

After Laurie & the kids left, Gary and I went on an evening “Summer Tour Trolley & Cruise” after first dining at the Marriott Longwharf—built on the site where the British first landed and also where the Boston Tea Party took place in 1773. While waiting for the trolley, we hung out in a large park (there are many in the Boston area) and especially enjoyed listening to a man playing a pan flute (click on his image to hear what it sounds like).

The tour took us past the Rose Kennedy Garden (I’d forgotten she was born in Boston’s Little Italy) and many historic sites & statues. We also passed the home of the newly-crowned NBA Champion Boston Celtics, built on the site of the old Boston Garden. We then took a few moments to appreciate the Memorial Day display on the south slope of Beacon Hill where a small American flag was displayed for every Bostonian who has died defending our Country—37,000 of them. It was very moving…bless then all.

During this tour, we drove over the Charles River into Cambridge, boarded a small tour boat and spent an hour cruising along the Boston & Cambridge shorelines and enjoying the beautiful views. One of the things that impressed us is that Boston has done a very good job of blending the combination of old historic buildings with those that are more modern…it all seems to work and add more charm to this wonderful city….except one VERY modern building we spotted from the river which we learned is Boston University’s new and “iconic” Center for Computing & Data Sciences. It’s a pretty fascinating and unusual design. When it was completed (2022), someone said: “On first impression, true art strikes one as either the most beautiful or ugliest object one has ever seen. Behold true art!” You can probably guess which building below we’re talking about!

We flew home the next day (May 28), through Phoenix directly to San Luis Obispo (aka SLO, about 12 miles east of our home in Los Osos) on the Central Coast of California. We really like the sign we see in the SLO Airport every time we come home that says: “LIFE’S TOO BEAUTIFUL TO RUSH.”

We LOVED all of our travels and were not a bit weary when we got home. Pacing ourselves throughout this trip (and rarely rushing) really helped, and staying in Boston for 4 nights pretty much eliminated any jet lag. AND, it was so very nice to sleep in our own, super-comfortable bed, with our own perfect pillows and use our best-in-the-world (for us) shower again. Ahhhh….bless the comforts of home…as well as the beauty we see from here, overlooking Morro Bay, Morro Rock and the Pacific Ocean. So good! So good! So good!

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When we get home from these glorious trips, people always ask us, “What was your favorite part?” Here’s a summary of our “Europe 2024” Adventure, noting our favorites along the way:

Short Version:
In 9 weeks, we were in 12 countries, stopped in 36 cities & towns, stayed in 20 hotels (plus 15 days on the Viking river longboat). The hottest weather was in Budapest (88 degrees) and the coldest in Iceland (30). We also went on 31 excursions/tours + a Major League Baseball game. Our favorites? The Viking River Cruise, Croatia, Iceland, Tuk Tuk tours & the ballgame. Quite the trip!
Longer Version:
12 Countries…(favorites in bold) (* briefly):
U.S.A. – San Luis Obispo, *Dallas, Boston, *Phoenix)
NETHERLANDS – Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Delft, Kinderdijk
GERMANY –  Cologne, Koblenz, Miltenberg, Wurzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Regensburg
AUSTRIA – Salzburg, Melk, Vienna (Lipizzaner Stallions)
HUNGARY – Budapest (Tuk Tuk tour)
*BOSNIA – countryside                             
MONTENEGRO – Morinj, Kotor
CROATIA – Dubrovnik (Tuk Tuk tour), Korcula, Split (Splendida Palace, Tuk Tuk tour), Zadar, Plitvice National Park, Rovinj
*SLOVENIA
ITALY – Trieste, Venice (& islands of Giudecca, Murano, Torcello, Burano)
*FINLAND
ICELAND – Reykjavik (Hotel Holt-The Art Hotel), Thingvellir, Vatnajokull Natl. Park, Hali, Borgarnes, Akureyri, Husavik, Myvatn, Seydisfjordur, Djupivogur, Reynivellir, Jokulsarlon Lagoon, Vik, Skogafoss, Westman Islands, Solvangur Icelandic Horse Center.

Favorite Adjectives for the Whole Trip: 
Beautiful, WOW, Exhilarating, Gorgeous, Amazing, Stunning, Brrrrrr, Fascinating, Delicious, Unbelievable, Ahhhhh, Breathtaking, So Vast, Delightful, Wow! AND, there aren’t enough adjectives to fully describe our 15-day Viking River Cruise…it was the most comfortable, luxurious, easy, relaxing, rewarding, beautiful and enjoyable cruise we’ve ever been on!

We hope you’ve enjoyed traveling along with us. It’s so fun sharing our experiences with you! 
Feel free to travel along with us again…or not!

We’re already planning a Sprinter Van trip leaving late August (to Michigan & Minnesota with lots of interesting stops between here and there), and maybe another one next summer (Alaska?). Hopefully we’ll post some more blogs. They are really fun to write. We’ll also be adding several National Parks to our list…so far the two of us together have visited 31 of them! We LOVE being outdoors, taking in the incredible beauty everywhere we go, meeting so many friendly people and continuing to “have a blast while we last!” Stay tuned!
Blessings always…and until we “meet” or travel together again!