greondastravels

We have spent two days in Switzerland’s capital city Bern and we loved it! It is a beautiful city with a very compact Old Town with magnificent buildings, statues, fountains and arched covered walkways.

Some history for you…. Bern was founded in 1191 by Berchtold V , Duke of Zahringen , for strategic reasons and enlarged by stages. In 1353 Bern joined the Swiss Confederation. After the fire of 1405, which almost completely destroyed the wooden built town , the houses were re built of sandstone. The Medieval structure of the city originating from that time has remained unchanged up to the present day.

In 1834 Bern became a University town, and in 1848 the Federation Capital of Switzerland. It is Europe’s most flowered decorated city and was UNESCO listed in 1983.

Our first day in Bern was rather wet, hence the raincoats were out for the first time since Iceland, however it did not stop us from wandering the streets. Our second day however was much better.

Within Bern there are six kilometres of arcades which makes it one of the longest shopping promenades in Europe , and extremely comfortable in wet weather.

The Parliament Building was built in 1852 and was quite impressive both from the front and the back.

The Zytglogge , or the medieval clock tower with it’s astronomical clock dates back to the early 1500’s. Crowds gather on the hour to watch the “show” which includes ” a rooster , a jester, a knight , a piper , a lion and bears! ” The animals chase each other around, the jester rings his bell and the rooster crows! It is best to be there at 12 noon, the longest show of the day!

There are over 100 public fountains in Bern originally built as public water supplies, and most were constructed in the 16th century. They are magnificently kept and still used today for drinking water.

One of our favourites was the the one below. It depicts a giant or ogre swallowing a naked child with other children at his feet! We were told it represents a “spooky figure who scares disobedient children!”

The Munser , or Cathedral was begun in 1421 and finished with the Bell tower in 1893! Above the main door was a collection of beautiful Gothic sculptures. There was a bit of “reno” work happening so Greg was unhappy that he could not get a good photo!

Many buildings also have elaborate statues decorating them. Apparently they represent the different guilds and old craftsmen societies in the city. It certainly made walking the streets very interesting.

We wandered up to the Rose Garden and it was certainly worth the effort. We were rewarded with impressive views of the Old Town.

We had been told that we MUST go and see the Bears of Bern! The bear is the symbol or emblem of Bern as it was the first animal that  the founder of Bern saw.

The guide book tells you to see the bears “in their natural environment” , well, we think not!!!! Make your own opinion!

We were very impressed by the shop windows throughout the city and sometimes had to look carefully to see what they were selling!

For example a display of coloured plastic drinking bottles had us stumped for a while until we saw a few glasses frames between them…..yes it was an optometrist! One (as above) had domes in the window with all different “things” in them…it was a chemist! Greg liked the cars but that one was easy, it was selling toy cars! There were lots of shops selling alcohol and the one above caught our eye with all the bears!

The Barenplatz was lovely , filled with restaurants and beautiful buildings.

Of course there was time for a coffee stop in the morning as per usual!

We ventured down to the River Aare , a tributary of the Rhine and wandered along the waters edge for a while. It is a very fast flowing river and apparently poplar for swimming in the summer months but can be quite dangerous…..not for us!

We instead decided to “choose” which house we would buy! We decided on the one with the lovely balcony overlooking the river with a terraced garden…..dream on Gregory!

There were plenty of people wandering the streets by day but by night it was very quiet.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner of Weiner schnitzel, frites and spinach! Of course it was washed down with a few wines!

Before we headed back to the station to catch our train home , we sat on the river and had a drink or two!

Bern is a fantastic city and we loved it!

Each Thursday night in our village there is a “festival”. Each week a different wine producer has his wine for sale. You are able to also buy a beer or 2 , and local food vans come into the village to provide dinner! Loads of tables and chairs are set up and you go and have a good time! Each week there is different music as well, oompa bands, and one week there was a piano accordionist and two young boys accompanying him and last night we had hunting horns! It is a great atmosphere and good fun.

We have just over one week left now , and still have a list of things to see and places to go!

So it is that time again, time to head off for a wine tasting in the village!

Lots of love

Greg and Rhonda.

We now have only two weeks left in the beautiful Alsace before we pack our bags to come home! We have seen a lot but still have more on our list, so hopefully we will have enough time to fit them all in!

Fabien and Lotfi very kindly took us on another outing. We had mentioned that all the villages were now beginning to look the same with the different coloured half timbered houses, so they wanted to show us something completely different!

And it certainly was! We traveled about 60 kilometres north of Strasbourg to the village of Hunspach. It is classified as another of the “Most Beautiful Villages in France” , and we could immediately see why!

It was extremely different as all the houses were painted white. It seemed as though they had all been painted yesterday. The village was so neat and clean and of course the contrast of the flowers against the white buildings made it “Greg”s dream”!  It took us twice as long to walk through the village as we continually stopped for the “photographer”.

We then traveled to the next village, another white village called Seebach. Fabien told us the village had a protestant and catholic part.

We were only going to wander through the protestant part as it was the “more affluent” and therefore much nicer houses.

We put that down to the catholic part having more children, hence less money!

Greg enjoyed the way the houses were set out with the house , barn and stables formed in a U shape with the courtyard in the middle.

We visited the former Abbey church of Saint Maurice (above) in the village of Ebersmunster. The interior was decorated in 1727 with beautiful frescoes and gold gilding. It was very impressive as it was situated in a very small village!

We then visited the very different but very pretty protestant church in Kuhlendorf. It was built in 1820 in a style very similar to all the houses in the village except for it’s steeple and the height of the windows!

We then stopped in Strasbourg. The city is UNESCO listed. It was a lovely evening to wander the streets. The theatre and library (above) were beautiful in the twilight and Greg became excited by the reflection of one of the many museums in the River Ill.

We wandered through the many streets . with loads of other tourists and we came to the stunning Strasbourg Cathedral de Notre Dame, known as one of the most beautiful Gothic Cathedrals in Europe. We agree!

It’s 142 metre spire was the highest monument in the world from 1647 until 1874 and it is the second tallest Cathedral in France and the second most visited and Greg could not get a photo of the entire cathedral but he did try…….numerous times!

As the twilight turned to night the buildings increasingly lit up and it was magnificent.

Every night during the summer months there is a light show projected onto the facade of the Cathedral and it was spectacular.

It was titled “Happy Shadows Ballet” and although it was a little difficult for us to follow and comprehend the story line , it was fantastic!

It was a great night and we say a huge thank you to Fabien and Lotfi.

You should consider yourselves lucky! These are only a few of the 110 photos Greg took of the outing.

The next day we headed off  to the very pretty little town of Obernai , with it’s medieval streets and lovely half timbered houses.

The central square , Place de Marche with it’s 60 metre tall Gothic spire is one of Alsace’s tallest Bell towers. Of course there is  always time for coffee.

Fabien and Lotfi had also mentioned to us about a German Concentration Camp that was quite near to our village, so we decided to visit. We spent about 3 hours at the Struthof Concentration Camp.

We only took a couple of photos as we thought it was not appropriate to take more but we will share a little of it’s history with you. The area in the early 1900’s was a popular winter ski resort for the people of Strasbourg. In 1940 Alsace was annexed by the Third Reich and a Germanisation and Natzification program was established. It was originally a prison but when WW11 approached it became the KL-Natzweiler Concentration Camp.

They converted an outbuilding of one of the Hotels at the ski resort into a Gas Chamber which you can visit today. Over the years that the camp was in operation, there were over 52,000 deportees of 31 nationalities with a mortality rate of over 40 %. The youngest deportee of the camp was 11 years old and the oldest was 78. It was a particularly moving experience and reinforces the atrocities of war.

So on a lighter note, we are still having a great time, eating and probably drinking too much , and the waistlines are growing!

It’s that time again. No , not aperitif time, it is time to pack an overnight bag as we are off to Bern in Switzerland tomorrow.

Lots of love

Greg and Rhonda.

We are still enjoying summer in Alsace! Some days are quite hot and humid, but there is always a cold beer or wine available! Thank God!

We are still discovering lots of interesting places in our area. We visited the village of Burgheim , which is one of the rare Alsatian towns to have almost completely preserved it’s medieval town walls built in 1311.

Bergheim is also known for it’s “Witches House” Museum , as many women in the town in days gone by were tortured , judged and burnt at the stake for alleged acts of witchery.

We did an afternoon drive into Germany and visited the town of Lahr. It was a Sunday afternoon and it was extremely quiet. The historic town Hall, now the tourist bureau was impressive, as was the coffee and Black Forest cake we had for a “snack” …..well we had to because we were near the Black Forest!

We discovered the “Route des Cinq Chateaux” or the Route of the Five Castles in the Vosges hills where yes, you guessed correctly there are 5 castles!

The large Hohlandsbourg Castle , as you can tell, has had many renovations over the years and it was definitely not our favourite! Lots of children’s activities and more of a “theme park” rather than an historic castle!

We then continued onto the next three castles on the route, know as the “Three Castles of Eguisheim” , and although they were ruins, they were quite impressive. Sorry , there is no photo of Number 5 castle! Mainly because it was such a ruin it was not worth a photo!

We did a day trip back into Germany and went to Freiburg on the train. Greg’s knees received a good workout with loads of walking during the day.

Of course within the first hour our usual coffee stop was essential. We found a nice quiet spot in a lovely narrow curved street and did some people watching for a while.

The main square. Munsterplatz, is the home of the rather magnificent Munster or Cathedral with it’s imposing tower , once termed “the most beautiful tower of Christianity”!

It was built between 1200 and 1513 ( can’t rush these things!) and it is one of the few large Gothic church buildings completed in the Middle Ages that has survived through many wars including the bombing of Freiburg in WW11.

There are many beautiful buildings around the Munsterplatz , including the Merchants Hall built in 1520 and served as a Customs , Trade and Finance House.

The Swabian Gate , built in the middle of the 13th Century is one of only two gates remaining in the city, however it was quite impressive!

Of course after all this walking, it was time for refreshments and a beer (or 2 ) and we were lucky enough to “stumble across” the Feierling Beer Garden! Spot Greg below???

So, after 2 weiss wurst sausages and a bretzel  each and a few beers, it gave us the stamina to continue our tour. It was a  great setting and although the food was not “gourmet” it was fun!

The Altes Rathaus or the old town hall was rather nice with it’s red facade.

We caught the cog wheel railway up to the Schlossberg, a tree covered hill above the old town for some great views over the old city.

On the way back to the train station we decided to stop for another beer! Understandable because it was a quite hot and tiring day but enjoyable!

We have enjoyed a meal at the local restaurant here in Ammerschwihr, and tried an Alsatian specialty,  Bouchee a la Reine and it was delicious. It consisted of chicken, veal mushrooms and other veges in a yummy cream sauce and served in a puff pastry case.

We visited the nearby, very pretty , quiet , non touristy village of Huawihr, one of The Most Beautiful Villages in France.

There were lots of lovely half timbered houses built around the 16th and 17th Century.

At the top of the village is the beautiful 14th Century fortified church, and the views over the hills were fabulous.

We then continued to the town of Selestat. We were there on a Friday at lunchtime and the town was soooooo quiet, as usual , everything closes except restaurants in France from 12 to 2pm!

We wandered around, stopped for lunch and took a few photos.

We have noticed that the men here in France seem to enjoy going to the supermarkets with their wives! Why you may ask! Well the supermarkets all have bars in them, so the wives do the shopping while the “boys” stand at the bar and drink…….even at 9.30am in the morning! In Greg’s words …quite civilized! Maybe it will catch on back in Aus!

So talking about drinking……yep, it is that time again!

Lots of love

Rhonda and Greg

We are still finding plenty to occupy ourselves with, traveling to both Germany and Switzerland, but also still discovering lots of lovely villages in the Alsace region.

We visited the village of Neuf-Brisach , a fortified town close to the Rhine River. It is UNESCO listed due to it’s octagonal fortification designed by the architect Vauban under the orders of Louis XIV.

We took the train to Basel , Switzerland for a days outing and loved it.

The Tinguely Fountain was pretty cute.

We wandered along the Rhine River and some of the houses were quite spectacular.

We also gave Greg’s knees a rest and took advantage of Basel’s ferries which cross the Rhine River without motorised assistance, using only the natural current of the river.

The main square , Marktplatz, is dominated by the 16th Century red sandstone Rathaus or Town hall with it’s magnificently decorated facade and courtyard.

The 12th Century Gothic “Basel Munster” or cathedral was quite impressive with it’s red sandstone and coloured roof tiles.

We did find time to do lunch, in a Basel Beer Hall and it was great! A few beers and two plates of Zurcher Gesehnetzeltes, (veal and mushrooms in cream sauce) and of course some rosti (swiss hash browns). Yum.

Of course Basel is the home of Greg’s favourite sweet indulgence, Basler Leckerli , the Swiss gingerbread. We found the shop , bought some , however we are not sure how much will make it home much to the distress of the kids!

After all this eating and drinking we decided we needed to walk off the extra calories, well some of the extra calories!

We had a great day in Basel!

As we have previously mentioned , the area where we are staying was heavily bombed during WW11 so consequently there are many war cemeteries in the area, French, American and German. They are all beautifully kept and are all high on hillsides where you are able to have wonderful views over the countryside.

Each morning….well nearly each morning…….we go for a walk through the vineyards and as well as seeing the odd deer we get great views of our village and our house.

In the above picture you can just see our house, the fourth from the left, it’s the apricot A frame with 3 windows!

Fabien and Lofti took us for a walk one morning to the village of Kayserberg. It was great walking through the vineyards and when we arrived, we walked up to the ruins of the Chateau where you had a lovely view of the village.

They also very kindly took us into Colmar one evening to see the lights of the village and it was fantastic!

It was very pretty wandering around and seeing all the glorious buildings lit up! Great photo ops for Greg!

We took a drive up through the Vosges Mountains , known as The Ballons de Vosges , due to it’s rounded summits. We went to the top of the highest peak, The Grand Ballon at 1424 metres. It was a lovely drive , although the variation in temperature was quite a lot! At the bottom it was 25 degrees, and at the top 13 degrees….we were glad we threw our jumpers in Louis!

Another very pretty and “touristy” village close by to us is Ribeauville. It is one of the oldest Medieval towns in Alsace with some of it’s  walls and towers remaining.

The Butchers Tower, so named because it had a slaughter house installed, was originally built in 1290 and raised in 1536.

The pretty Place de Republique has a fountain dating back to 1576. There are 3 castles high on the hill which dominate the town, however the thought of a 2 hour hike up sent Greg’s knees into “shock mode” , so no we did not visit them!

We have 3 weeks to go now before we head home, but still have lots planned to do here!

That includes aperitif time, so yes it is that time again!

lots of love

Greg and Rhonda

xxx

We are doing the “usual” of some days touring, some days lunching and some days relaxing!

A small village close to us , (a 40 minute walk which we will do eventually !) is Kayserberg.

It is very picturesque with many colourful half timbered houses and only “slightly” touristy!

In the centre of the village is a lovely 16th century fortified bridge.

We also love the ornate signs hanging over some of the shops!

We returned to Colmar to complete our tour. We wandered aimlessly around the “Little Venice” area aptly named as you can see by the canals.

The houses are beautiful, a real photographers dream. We have been told that each village has a limited “palette” of colours that the houses can be painted together with a strict code on the upkeep of the houses! It is no wonder that the villages are so beautiful!

Hearts are everywhere in Colmar and the story goes if a house has a heart cut out on the shutters, it means there is a “young Lady” who lives there who is eligible for marriage!

One night our “landlords” Fabien and Lotfi took us for a drive through a few villages and we came home via Colmar at night. Of course there was a photo opportunity for Greg!

In the Alsace area where we are staying, there is a 170 kilometre road aptly named the “Route des Vins d’Alsace”. According to the tourist book it is “one of Frances most evocative drives as it corkscrews through the glorious country side”. It takes you through all the wine villages in the area.

We have driven along part of it and the description is quite true! One day we headed out  and although in distance we had only traveled along the road for about 50 kilometres , by the time we had stopped at many villages it took us the whole day!

This particular day was a “do lunch” day. We came to the small village of Illhaeusern, where there were 2 choices for lunch!

A 3 Michelin star restaurant or the restaurant recommended by Fabien! Given that the prices of the main course at the Michelin restaurant started at 70 euros and went up to 160 euros , and the fact that we were not dressed in suits, collars, ties , high heels etc , and didn’t drive a Porsche, guess which restaurant we chose?????

Our main courses of Pike and noodles, and Fish (pike and salmon) with sauerkraut, both in a mushroom cream sauce were delicious, and the creme  brulee  was pretty good too!

In every village we are seeing the stork nests , usually on the top of towers. Our “resident”  storks are still in our garden or on our roof , and we have affectionately named them Sam and Samantha (still haven’t worked out who is who ).

We drove up to the Mont Saint Odile Convent. St Odile is the patron Saint of Alsace and the area is a centre of pilgrimage.

We wanted to walk through some of the villages that Fabien and Lotfi drove us through on our evening tour, so we headed up the Route des Vins in the other direction.

First stop was the gorgeous little village of Niedermorschwihr where they recommended this cute little restaurant to us! Typical Alsatian food so it is definitely on the list to try!

Our next stop was the village of Turkheim. We passed through the “Munster Gate” once known as the “Gate of Sighs”.

People who were sentenced to death passed through this gate to be executed. Between 1572 and 1626, 26 tortured witches passed through the gate to be burnt at the stake! Also next to the gate is one of the smallest houses in Alsace. It is the little orange one with one room up and one room down!

The Town Hall built in the 17th Century was rather impressive also. There are many plaques around the village commemorating the US Military who rescued the town from Nazi occupation in 1945.

Of course walking around and taking photos takes its toll, so one needs some nourishment. Not only is Greg on a mission to find the best creme brulee, he has added the best Mille feuille also! This one at Turkheim was up there with the best!

We also visited the lovely village of Eguisheim, not only one of the “Most Beautiful Villages in France” , but also a “4 flower Village” the highest award one can receive for town garden planting.

The village is built in concentric circles with the centre housing the 18th Century Castle , and the birth place of Pope St Leo 1X (1002-1054).

The village was extremely pretty with many colourful half timbered houses and loads of wineries.

We have been trying the local food and so far have enjoyed it all. Greg spied this small fruit cake full of dried fruits including figs, no flour , no sugar and lots of spices! It is sensational except for the price!!!!

The bretzels (pretezl) as they are called here are really good too. The salted ones go very well with beer. Rhonda has tried the Alsace foie gras and is enjoying it with a glass of riesling!

Whilst driving along the Route des Vins, Greg became quite excited as he thought we had come across his favourite “Bollinger “. However disappointment set in as he realised it was not quite what he thought!

We still have quite a bit of exploring to do in the area, and Fabien and Lotfi have been great in recommending places to visit! There is still time though to relax in our lovely garden, talk to Sam and Samantha and enjoy the wonderful view of the vineyards!

You Melbournians will be pleased to know also that the weather here has been a little cooler these past few days, only 19 degrees!! back up to the high 20’s later in the week!

So, it is that time again!!!!

Love Rhonda and Greg!

We are now settled into our final destination of our holiday, but first a slight backtrack from the time we departed Iceland. We had survived our 4am wake up call and caught our train back to Paris. We had a 3 hour wait at the airport before catching our train back to Perigueux for the night with our French family. We were sitting, having a bite to eat, and then……merde….shit…… we were “targeted” , and Greg’s beloved camera got stolen! After spending time with the police at the airport, and more time the following morning at the Perigueux police station, thankfully with Jean, we hopefully have enough documentation to enable us to claim something on travel insurance! However, never fear, Greg has bought another camera in Zurich, so all is good for more photos!

We spent a fantastic 3 nights in Zurich staying with Esther (Nadine’s mum) and Jean-Pierre. Their apartment sits above Lake Zurich with a magnificent view and the weather was lovely so hence a lot of time was spent sitting and hanging out with them!

It was great to catch up with Claudie ,our Swiss “son” and his girlfriend Vanessa. We had a lovely lunch on Lake Zurich and then caught a water taxi back to the city which was a lot of fun.

We also enjoyed a beautiful dinner ,veal in a mushroom cream sauce with rosti…..yum….at a lovely restaurant high above the lake with a magnificent view.

We sadly farewelled our Swiss family and made our way back into France to the village of Ammerschwihr, which is in the Alsace region of north-east France , close to the French/German/Swiss border. This is home for the final 5 weeks of our holiday.

Here is a little info about our village! It has been occupied since Roman times and became a fortified village in the 14th century. However the architectural history of the village was severely damaged by the bombing in WW11 and 85% of the village was destroyed.

The village has nearly 40 wineries and also a one Michelin star restaurant! Not sure if we will try that one!

As you walk around the village there are plaques erected on certain buildings with photos of the buildings before the bombings, and explanations in English which is also helpful.

There are also “visitors” who come from Africa to the village every summer , and they like “our garden”. The storks build their nests up high, on top of the old town gate!

Our “home” is a beautifully renovated 400 year old farmhouse , and we are extremely comfortable here. We have a lovely garden to relax in when the weather is hot, and the view from our kitchen window is vineyards as far as you can see!

Of course we already have been tasting the great Alsace Riesling and beer and the pretzels that one MUST eat with them are rather moorish as well.

We went into the “picture postcard” town of Colmar. It was very touristy but full of beautiful  chocolate box buildings !

It is full of half timbered houses adorned with window boxes , a photographers heaven! You can only imagine how many photos Greg took!

The House of Heads is obviously named because of it’s 110 faces and masks on the facade and it dates backs to 1609.

St Martins Church was built between 1235 and 1365 and during renovations in 1982 , the foundations were found of a church from the year 1000.

The Pfister House , with its wooden balcony and white tower, was built in 1537 and is a “symbol” of Old Colmar.

Every corner you walk around there is another beautiful building just waiting for a photo to be taken! There will be more to come as we only wandered around about half of the town , then it was too hot, about 33 degrees, sorry all you Melbournians!

There are many villages around the area and one we have visited so far is the medieval fortified village of Riquewihr. It is extremely pretty but VERY touristy!

The so called “skyscraper” house built in 1561 has 5 floors. At 25 metres high, it is one of the tallest timber houses in Alsace!

Riquewihr is nestled into the hills, and hence survived the bombings of WW11 , so it has retained its historic architecture!

We have ventured once into Germany to the town of Breisach which sits on the Rhine River. We wandered around , and being in Germany Greg was determined to have  curry wurst , frites and beer for lunch……which he did!

Just to prove that “sometimes ” we do eat healthy meals, this our salad that we made here in our home! It’s not all beer and pretzels!

Yes , ok , there is a bottle of wine, but a couple of glasses doesn’t hurt!

So it’s that time again! Beer, reisling, who knows!

Until the next blog

Lots of love

Greg and Rhonda.

We continued our way around the Ring Road and our next day was called “Explore North Iceland”, so we did , and we did it with a beautiful blue sky. Hooray!

Our first stop for the day was at Godafoss, the Waterfall of the Gods, however we have renamed it “waterfall of the Cruise Ship Buses”. Yep there were loads of buses that had come from a cruise ship for their days outing!

Luckily for us, they had to get back on their bus just as we were arriving. The waterfall was beautiful, divided into 2 horse shoe shaped cascades, and with the sunshine we had gorgeous rainbows.

We continued on and had a coffee at Akureyri , the largest town outside Reykjavik. It was a pretty spot with some lovely buildings, and we both made “friends” with some interesting people!

The scenery driving along the fjords was spectacular.

Many farms are situated beside the fjords as the ground is flat and fertile.

They are dwarfed by the huge cliffs behind and make for some stunning photos!

On this day we traveled through a number of tunnels. The more recent are 2 way, and the older ones are…..yes……one lane tunnels with turn outs to allow you to pass. Of course, the direction we were traveling did not have right of way!

Rhonda spent a lot of time with her eyes closed through those tunnels! Some more weird driving conditions we have encountered are the one way bridges , blind crests with a pole in the middle of the road and of course the sheep!

We visited the interesting turf farm house at Glaumbaer dating back to the 1750’s.

The area where we stayed the night, Skagafjorour, was lovely and the island of Drangey, just off the coast was impressive.

Our Guesthouse for the night was in a fantastic location looking up the fjord  out to sea.

Dinner at the Guesthouse that night was “one of the best”. Rhonda’s arctic charr was sensational as was Greg’s cod with curry sauce! Both had a green salad with a raspberry dressing! Again washed down with a Viking lager and a glass of wine. Yum! It was a great stop!

Our next day was called “Journey to Snaefellsnes Peninsular”. Although we woke to grey skies , we were told that the weather was going to be good , and it was! Blue sky!

Reading our maps the night before, we knew that today “Pete” was gong to travel on some unmade roads. Even if it was a little rough going at times, the scenery was stunning, made better by blue skies and sunshine!

We stopped at Stykkisholnur , a very pretty fishing village , famous for its historic houses and very attractive harbour.

We continued along the coast and stopped to take some photos ….surprise surprise……of Kirkjufell, a 463 metre high mountain, popular with photographers due to its unusual shape.

We then entered the Snaefellsjokull National Park.

The park is Iceland’s oldest National Park and its prominent feature is the imposing 446 metre tall strato volcano and its glacier.

We stayed the night at the Foss Hotel in Hellnar, a small fishing village on the coast.

We were upgraded to a room with a fantastic view of the glacier. The room was great except for the fact that each time we had a shower the water ran out after a couple of minutes!

However on the plus side , they did not charge us for dinner that night! The blackened cod was quite delicious!

The coastline at Hellnar was stunning, situated on a rocky bay with many nesting birds.

Of course we have more ABC’S! It was cute though!

The blue skies continued this morning as we made our way back to Reykjavik. All along the road there were magnificent views of the glacier , so of course more photos!

Even though it was sunny, the wind was extremely strong and Rhonda thought that at one stage Greg was going to be blown off the cliffs!

We made a stop at Rauofeldsgja , a rather dramatic canyon. It was a good opportunity to walk off breakfast!

We made another stop for ” ABC ” at Buoir. The church was built in 1848 and is an iconic black church.

We arrived back in Reykjavik , dropped off “Pete” and wandered around! The House of Parliament was a lovely building , built in 1881 and Iceland’s parliament is the worlds oldest parliament still functioning!

We thought the houses situated on the City Pond would be the most expensive real estate in Reykjavik!

When it was refreshment time, we stopped at the Falcon House for a beer or 2!

Hallgimskirkja is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city.

Rhonda thought that this guy was pretty weird!

We are loving the architecture around the city and also spied the Icelandic Pledge which we think we have adhered to strongly!

So, if anyone has the ambition to come to Iceland we say……just do it ! We strongly recommend our travel company Nordic Visitor. They have been fantastic.

So thats it from us from Iceland! We are off to Switzerland in a few days and then back to France , but this time to Alsace in the north east.

So for the last time in Iceland, it is that time again! After doing this epic blog we NEED a drink or 2!

Love Greg and Rhonda.

We are continuing our way around the Ring road, with a few detours! Our guide book called our next day “Fjords and Fishing Villages” , but they forgot to add…..RAIN !

It was a  very drizzly start and it continues all day! We are sure that the coast and fjords would have been totally different in sunshine!

Our first stop for coffee was at Djupivogur , a small town at the mouth of a fjord.

It’s “off beat” attraction is the “Eggs of Merry Bay”. with 34 granite eggs representing local bird life, sitting along the town harbour.

We continued in the drizzle , seeing waterfall after waterfall cascading down the mountains.

We climbed over Moorudalsfjallgaroar. To us it resembled a lunar surface and it was blowing an absolute gale! Consequently Rhonda stayed in the car while Greg took photos! Smart girl!

We wondered why they told us at the hire car place to be careful of opening the car doors when it was windy! We know why now!

We were now getting close to our stop for the night at Myvtan Lake and Greg had had enough driving, it was our longest day so far!

One last stop at Namaskaro, a geo thermal area with martian like terrain , steaming vents and bubbling mud pools and “rotten egg” sulphur stench!

We then arrived at our lovely Laxa Hotel , situated on the top of a hill, overlooking the lake and mountains ,for a 2 night stay.

The view from our room was of the stunning Heroubreio mountain, considered the “Queen of Icelandic Mountains”. We went straight to the bar for Happy Hour, buggar the expense, and was served by a lovely girl from Horsham! Small world!

We enjoyed a delicious lamb meal that night at the hotel and the desserts were interesting to say the least! Greg’s sticky date was supposed to represent Heroubreio (now renamed Greg’s mountain!) and the meringue was the cloud over the top! Rhonda’s pannacotta was the crater Krafla!

Our next day was called “Lunar Landscapes of Lake Myvatn”. Our first stop was the crater of Viti, 300 metres in diameter. Viti means “hell” and there was a belief that hell was located under all volcanoes!

We then decided that we should go and have a swim in the thermal pools!

We paid 4300 Krona each for the swim and 700 Krona each for the towel hire! So a total of 10,000 Krona  for a 30 minute float in the sulphur smelling water! If you want to see how crazy we were to pay that amount of money, go to “currency converter to convert to aussie dollars! But hey, when one is in Iceland………

We decided to head up to  Husavik for lunch, a beautiful little fishing village with views of the Kinnarfjoll Mountains across the bay.

This is the “Whale watching ” capital of Iceland and many people were heading out on boats.

For us, it was lunch and we decided to try the Arctic Charr. It was delicious , a little similar to salmon but not as strong in taste! YUM!

The church was extremely cute, built in 1907 and said to be the most beautiful wooden church in Iceland.

Our trip up to Husavik found us on some dirt roads but Pete and Greg handled them perfectly , and the scenery was spectacular!

The afternoon was spent exploring the Myvatn Lake area.

We went to the psuedo craters. formed by gas explosions when boiling lava flowed over the cool wet surface 2300 years ago….so the book said!

We went to the lava fields of Dimmuborgir, a lava landscape created by the flow of a lava lake over a marshy area 2300 years ago.

The name means “dark cities” and is considered in Icelandic folklore to be an area connecting earth with hell and the location where” Satan landed when he was cast from the heavens!”

There were some extraordinary lave formations including “the hole” and the “church”.

Hverfjall is an enormous volcanic crater , 463 metres high and 1 kilometre in diameter, formed about 2500 years ago ,and probably the largest of its type in Europe. You can climb it if you wish……but for us it was a definite NO.

We had  a great time exploring the area and we are now heading west and will post another blog soon!

Hope the photos are not boring you too much, and these are only a very few that Greg has taken!

Its that time again, even though we cant afford it!

Love Greg and Rhonda.

We have been driving the Ring Road for a few days now , and we have been most impressed with all the information we received from our tour company. The detailed maps have been great, with loads of information on all the places to visit, including places to stop for homemade ice cream which we are enjoying! Given the changeable weather conditions in Iceland we have been given an emergency phone and a wi fi hot spot, (we hope we do not need to use either of them!).

We left Sel Guesthouse to begin Day 3 of our Iceland Adventure. Our guide book called the day “Waterfalls and Volcanic Beaches” , and that’s exactly what the day was!

We started in drizzly rain and sat in the car at Kerio , and waited for the rain to stop.

Kerio is a 3000 year old 55 metre deep crater. It reminded us of the Blue Lake in Mount Gambier!

Although it continued to drizzle , the cliffs and the mountains were amazing.

Our next stop was at the magnificent Seljalandsfoss, one of Iceland’s most visited waterfalls. We could tell by the number of cars in the car park when we arrived!

The water plummets 40 metres over a cliff face , and the shape of the cliff enables you to walk behind the waterfall.

Of course Greg decided that would be a good idea however we did get a tad wet but it was worth it!

We drove past the Eyjafjallajokul Volcano (try to get your mouth around that one). That was the volcano that erupted in 2010 and caused a huge amount of flight delays. Fortunately for us there was no smoke coming from the top!

There are always things to see along the road, besides waterfalls, like the cute little shepherd huts that are built into the mountain side. All along the road side you get the vista of beautiful purple Alaskan lupins.

Next stop was Skogafoss, a 60 metre high waterfall and very picturesque.

By this time the sun had started to shine a little….hallelujah….and we were beginning to see quite a few glaciers with many more to follow!

The Myradlsjokull (the 4th largest glacier in Iceland and with an average thickness of 230 metres ) was pretty stunning , and surrounded by beautiful mountains.

Then we arrived at the most southerly point of Iceland, Dyrholaey and Reynisfjara , the only land south of this area is Antarctica!

Dyrholaey is an imposing cliff jutting out over the sea with a distinct hole bored through it from the force of the sea. Legend has it that the sea stacks in the water are petrified trolls that were caught outdoors during sunrise! Believe it or not!

Reynisfjara is the “most famous beach in all of Iceland”. It was amazing to see the black volcanic sand and the unique rock formations.

The sea cave and cliffs were amazing , resembling organ pipes.

The towns outside Reykjavik are quite small and the accommodation were are staying in along the Ring Road are quite isolated however they all have their own restaurants. The only trouble is they know how to charge!!!!!

It was a fantastic day with loads of stunning scenery!

Our next day was “Glaciers and Icebergs” and we were hoping for a “half decent” day weather-wise! We woke to another drizzly morning , but the weather did improve for us!

Our first stop was Dverghamrar , (Dwarf Cliffs) It is a small canyon of unusual hexagonal columns. According to Icelandic legend, dwarves live in the cliffs, hence the name.

We then continued to Skaftafell , Iceland’s largest National Park. We walked to the base of the Skaftafellsjokull Glacier. It was amazing.

Driving along the road , it was glacier after glacier as well as tons of waterfalls cascading down the mountains.

Next stop was the Fjallsarlon Glacier Lake. There were not a lot of tourists here , so it was a very peaceful pleasant stop.

The Vatnajokull glacier here comes from Oraefajokull , Iceland’s largest active volcano, but luckily for us, again there was no activity!

We hope you are enjoying trying to pronounce all these names, as we have given up! The only Icelandic word we know is “Takk” , which is thank you. Apparently the Icelanders do not say please!

We then continued onto the more popular Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon and Greg was in “photographers heaven”. WARNING……heaps of photos to follow!

This place is regarded as one of Iceland’s greatest natural wonders and we know why! The colours of the icebergs were amazing and even though Greg tried really hard, the photos still do not it justice!

Just a few more to come! Then they are finished! These were only a few that Greg took!

Here you can see the contrasts of the colours , whites, blues and black! Amazing!

The icebergs end their journey to the sea and the remains of some sit on the black sand of the beach! There was one in particular that caught our eye! Can you see a fish????

We decided not to eat dinner at our accommodation , but we drove about 20 kms into the small town of Hofn and enjoyed a great meal of baked ling in a cream cheese sauce and a delicious licorice……yes licorice…….creme brulee and it was sensational!

Another fantastic day, full of wonderful scenery and we were blessed that the weather held up for us in the afternoon for the glacial lagoons!

The credit card is getting a work out here, (sorry kids!) as its very expensive! To give you an example, coffees are now averaging about $8 and a main course , as above, about $60 , with desserts about $20. We thought Norway was expensive! But one must eat!

We have now traveled the Southern and Eastern side of Iceland , so the next blog will cover the North and Western side!

Although we probably cant afford it..it is that time again!

Love Rhonda and Greg

xxx

We packed up our belongings , and said goodbye to Moussoulens to begin stage 2 of our adventure! As we were leaving Rhonda became very excited as finally all the sunflowers that she had been hoping to see were out in full glory , so of course we had to take a photo!

So Iceland here we come!

We stayed the night with our French family , and then took the TGV train to the airport and flew to Reykjavik, and our first impressions were……WOW !

The weather helped, being a sunny,  balmy 14 degrees, but hey no rain! You could easily recognize the locals, as they were wearing shorts, t shirts, and thongs. The city could be described as “quite trendy” as there are lots of bars , coffee shops , and loads of shops selling Icelandic knitwear , which of course Rhonda has already bought! The buildings in the main street have loads of character , and we are both quite excited by the fact that Icelanders seem to know how to make good coffee. We have had the best coffee so far since we have been away, almost as good as Brunettis!

We were quite impressed with the Harpa Concert Hall.

We will return to Reykjavik at the end of our tour of “The Ring Road” for a couple of nights so we will be able to frequent a few more bars! One thing we have noticed very early is the cost! A coffee is about $6 Aussie and the beers are reasonable ……but only in Happy Hour where you get 2 for 1 ! the city reminds us a little of Wellington in NZ.

So after our first night in Iceland, this morning we picked up our hire car, a little Peugeot 2008, which we have affectionately names “Pjetur” (an Icelandic name) but we call him Pete for short!

We set off around the “Golden Circle” and our first stop was Pinguellir National Park. It was here on June 17th 1944 that Icelanders celebrated their Independence from Denmark.

The park is situated on the tectonic plate where North America and Europe are tearing away from each other at a rate of 1mm to 18mm per year! (Now that Trump has become President the European side may want to accelerate the separation faster!)

The rock formations were stunning and Greg’s knees got a work out as walked throughout the Park. The pretty wooden church dates back to 1859. The National Park is home to Iceland’s biggest lake, 84 sq kms of pure glacial water.

We then continued to the Gullfoss Waterfall, a 2 tiered waterfall that drops 32 metres into a narrow canyon 70 metres deep and 2.5 kms long. It was pretty stunning, although Greg did say he preferred Niagara Falls!

We did get a little wet when we walked to the viewing platform on the rocks for a closer look but it was worth it.

Next stop was Geysir, one of the most popular geothermal regions in Iceland ( and as were all of our attractions today , full of tourists!)

The geyser Strokkur, erupts about every 5 to 10 minutes. It was quite amusing to watch all the photographers (Greg included) standing there with cameras poised….waiting waiting waiting!

And there she blows!

Our final stop for the day was at Skalholt to see the church, yes there are plenty of them here……here goes more ABC’s!

It was then time to head to our accommodation, the Sel Guesthouse. When we arrived, we found out that the internet was quite fast , so hence the blog!

One thing we are enjoying here in Iceland , is the fact that we can drink water straight from the tap, pure fresh cold glacial water. It is so much better than that bottled stuff we had to buy in France!

By the way the sun sets at around midnight and rises around 2am, and it is never really dark! It is quite strange, but we think that the accommodation places have good block out curtains, or at least we hope they do!

So it’s time for dinner now! We hate to think how many thousand Krona it will be, but hey one has to eat!

So its bye for now

Love Greg and Rhonda