Perlan

At 10 AM we jumped on the Hop-on/Hop-off Bus.

The entire circular route takes one hour to cover. Throughout the day, the driver covers the same route six times.

Considering this information and our need to catch the early afternoon Flybus back to the airport for our Bergen flight, the tour rep suggested we make two hour-long stops on the Hop-on/Hop-off route before our return to the bus terminal.


As our first stop,
we opted for Perlan
(The Pearl) -
a rotating,
half-dome,
glass-enclosed
restaurant that
sits atop the
city's six
geothermal
hot water
reservoirs.



Outside

Perlan's

entrance,

we viewed

the funky

abstract

band sculptures.


We wandered the grounds taking in the incredible 360º view.

From this summit, we could see
not only the distant capital city but also the surrounding water and mountains.

Closer up, we noticed the heat-releasing ducts and valves protruding from the ground around the city's water storage system.


From the observation deck,

six metal compass maps

helped us align and

identify various landmarks.


Click on this photo
to see Hallgrim's Church
in the background
with its bell tower
encased in
re-constructive
scaffolding.




Later

we

proceeded

under

the canopy

into

the

main

entry...




... and watched

a water fountain

burst forth

in a geyser form.


Upstairs we whirled through
carousals for
souvenir post cards
and selected ala carte items
in the cafeteria's
soup-and-sandwich line
for our lunch.





Because our wanderings exceeded an hour, we missed the 11:30 AM bus and our chance to view the Hallgrim's Church up close.



As a result, we used the extra hour to hike below Perlan, explore the story-telling trails...



check

out

the

man-made

geyser...







sit

in

the

grass...







pen

post

cards

home

and

wait...



to leave Perlan so we could hook up our ear phones on the Hop-on/Hop-off Bus once again.

Into Reykjavik

Prior to departure, Icelandair representatives had explained that the Keflavik Airport was built on a lava field 40 minutes outside the city. We witnessed that evidence as we drove along the coastal highway – which like many Minnesota highways – was undergoing construction improvements.



The
barren
landscape
made
viewing
outlying
houses
an easy
task.





As we entered the city,
housing became more
dense and automobile
traffic more visible.

Although, looking at
this gas station
advertisement for fuel,
we wondered: How?

This sign shows gas at
166.7 Icelandic kroner
per liter, which –
in the U.S. –
would be equivalent
to $7.57 gallon.



At last, we arrived at the central bus station with the FlyBus. From here, we would start our sight-seeing tour with the Hop-on/Hop-off Bus. At the station's information desk, we learned our first stop would be at The Pearl Restaurant (located in this photo, in the far distance, directly over the wandering driver's head).

Within an hour, we would depart Into Reykjavik for exploration.

And We're Off!

Late Tuesday afternoon we six ladies met at the Twin Cities airport ready for our 7:20 PM take off.

With e-tickets and passports in hand, we checked in at the Icelandair desk, handed over our bags and proceeded through security toward our flight gate.

A couple hours later, we lifted off on a six-hour journey to Reykjavik, Iceland for the first leg of our two-part journey to Norway. Icelandair has installed screens on the back of each seat which allows passengers a multitude of entertainment choices: movies, infomercials, cartoons, music, video games or flight maps to mark progress toward our destination.

Our ticket purchase included dinner on board as well as coffee, tea and dessert – all keeping with the old-fashioned Scandinavian hospitality.

The only glitch in our flight occurred just before dinner was served two hours into our flight.

Across aisle from us, an Afro-American 20-something woman verbally attacked an Icelandic mother of a 19-
month-old for not "controlling her child." The American woman claimed the child was kicking her seat. The mother argued forcibly against the woman's claim. The situation became uncomfortable when the American woman's male companion stood up, turned around and looked down in a threatening position at the mother and child.

About that time, our meals were served. The Icelandic woman went to get her husband at the front of the plane to iron out the trouble. He spoke civilly to the American woman asking for respect on both sides and took the child up to sit with him. Eventually the situation fizzled out with food in everyone's bellies. As for the American woman – a few rounds of adult beverages brought to her by concerned friends changed her bad attitude. A couple hours after her blowup, she presented a glass of wine to the skeptical Icelandic mother.

Can anyone say: turbulance?

The occasional bouncing of the plane felt like someone was kicking my seat too. Maybe this American gal had never flown before and therefore was on edge. Before the outburst, I watched the child play quietly with cute chunky toys. And after all the hoopla, the child eventually fell fast asleep in the seat next to his mother.



We six gals also

tried to rest

during the journey

so that upon arrival,

we'd be ready

to tour Reykjavik

during our

11-hour layover.




And then, we awoke
to Wednesday
morning's sunlight –

landing at the
Keflavik Airport
about 7:10 AM
local time –

ready for the big
day ahead of us.

Grabbing our carry-ons, scooting through passport control, heading onward to the Flybus, And We're Off on a 40-minute ride to Iceland's capital city.

Hop-on/Hop-off

Decades ago, my Scandinavian geography professor offered his students 100 bonus points for sending him a post card from Iceland – "the island country that hangs like a jewel from the necklace of the Arctic Circle."

And so, it was with great pleasure that I researched the last booking for our trip – an 11-hour layover in Reykjavik before heading onto Bergen.

Airline agents highly recommended riding the Flybus 40 minutes from the Keflavik Airport into the city center. "We'll keep your checked luggage. Just be sure to take your carry-on with you," each rep said.

Earlier I asked the ladies whether they preferred to tour the city or bathe at the famous Blue Lagoon, since we'd not have time for both. They opted for the city tour.

Today I researched alternatives: the Hop-on/Hop-off Tour or the Grand Excursion.

As I delved into each web page, I discovered the two tours covered roughly the same places. The main difference was flexibility, depth and price.

The Hop-on/Hop-off bus tour runs from 10 AM to 4 PM and can be completed within one-hour should a rider decide for the minimal time allotment. If the rider decides to explore one of the 10 stops in depth, s/he may simply hop-on the next convenient bus. During this tour, English explanations are offered daily. This option costs 2,000 ISK ($25).

The Grand Excursion also offers an English-guided tour, but boasts a more in-depth explanation over a set, two-hour period from 9-11 AM and includes admission fees for all the tour stops. This option costs 3,300 ISK ($42).

I wondered: What are the admission prices? I checked into two famous buildings: Perlan (The Pearl) is a glass-dome, revolving restaurant built atop of the city's geothermal water heaters. Admission is free. The restaurant is top-notch and spendy. But reviews said, the cafeteria located one level down has a 360º observation deck that offers an incredible view of the city and attracts even locals for beverages, Italian ice cream and sandwiches. An on-site tourist shop offers a great selection of souvenirs from playing cards to Icelandic sweaters.

I think I've found our Reykjavik lunch place!

I also checked out Hallgrimskirkja – (Hallgrim's Church) the tallest building and most striking church in Iceland. Its 244-foot tower veers upward in the shape of organ pipes – reflective of the 5,000 piped organ it houses. Admission to this Lutheran church is also free. For those wishing for a lift to the tower top, the cost is 400 ISK ($5).

With that, my decision was easy. In my online cart, I put six round-trip Flybus tickets and 6 Hop-on/Hop-off Tours and checked out!

I can't wait to look for postcards. Maybe I can surprise a retired professor yet!

Rejected; Secured.

For weeks I've been weighing options with train travel from Trondheim to Lillehammer.

Surfing the web, I discovered an early-morning express train. Choosing the 4-1/2-hour non-stop trip over a 7-1/2-hour one that stops at all the towns along the way was easy. Plus, arriving about 1 PM in Lillehammer would give us the best part of the afternoon to tour southward with my host parents.

My question was: How to return our rental vehicle to the Trondheim agency office that opens at 10 AM? The agent suggested parking the car in their lot, putting the keys in the drop box and heading to the train station. That works if we allow enough time to cover the distance between those two points before the train departs.

To purchase the tickets, I considered an online international train service. They guaranteed reserved seats, offered a $10 insurance option against loss, theft, etc. and promised two-day mail-service of the tickets to my home address for $157 each. All this could be put on my American Express card.

For fun, I googled "NSB" – the Norwegian Rail System – to compare pricing. I discovered a bargain when booking online using an option called "Minipris." For each train departure, NSB reserves a number of select seats that sell for less than half price. The catch? The tickets are good only for the specified train departure, must be purchased at least a day in advance and are non-refundable. These tickets can be collected at the station service desk, ticket machine or on-board, as specified by the buyer upon purchase. When I hesitated, Dan said, "What's trouble? At that (minipris) price, you could buy another if you have to and still come out ahead."

I emailed the ladies for commentary and received a response to try the minipris. By the time I confirmed that these minipris tickets were fully reserved seats, I missed out on the chance to upgrade for an extra $12 to "Komfort" seating offering free coffee and tea, Norwegian newspapers and internet hookup. Those tickets had sold out.

With time ticking, I opted for the 299 NOK ($60) standard seating, entered my vitals and VISA card information (NSB doesn't take American Express) and clicked on "Buy Ticket."

I waited for my card to clear. A message appeared: "Card Rejected!" I double checked the information I'd entered against my card and tried again. Same thing: "Card Rejected!" I tried calling the 1-800 number on the back of the card for assistance and received the message about this card being invalid.

I gave up. Moments later, the phone rang. Dan called me from work. "Did you try making a purchase in Norwegian currency? The VISA company just called me about a transaction."

I assured him that I was indeed trying to book six tickets through the Norwegian Rail System for about $360. He said, "I thought so. Try again. They said it'll go through."

It did.

Rejected; Secured.

In Short: Make sure to alert your credit card company before traveling overseas to ensure your transactions will be accepted.

Small Details

I am a writer and a photographer – not necessarily in that order.

While volunteering me to lead his relatives on this trip, Dan also assigned me to take lots of photos of houses: rooftops, foundations, walls, floors, windows, fireplaces, trimming details and more.

"How am I going to cover all that with my little camera?" I asked.

In response, he bought me a 2 gigabyte memory stick. (My 1 gig memory stick holds 700+ photos.)

I have two rechargeable batteries with which I alternate use. Each takes up to four hours to recharge and gives about two continuous hours of shooting time.

"I'll need to re-charge my batteries daily for that," I said. "Norway uses two round prongs in their electrical outlets."

Dan got the message and supplied me with a properly equipped converter – half the size of the one I used as an exchange student 25 years ago.

Time and technology change Small Details!

Ask – Again

After reporting to the ladies on the hotel booking, taxi/shuttle options, luggage storage, train tickets and more, I asked for aid:

"If anyone has the opportunity to practice driving stick-shift: "go-for-it" and let me know. I will try to find an opportunity for myself before we go."

I referred them to the blog entries about our rental vehicle and request for driving help from Tora.

A year ago when our group met, no one claimed recent experience driving a manual-transition vehicle. In recent months, I hadn't had an opportunity to try and hadn't heard that anyone else in our group did. Therefore two weeks ago, I wrote Tora and casually asked for help if someone was able. To cover the bases, I expanded my request to our group.

To my surprise, I received a reply that one gal's last car was a stick-shift. She and another gal planned to practice before the trip.

Hooray!

Now we will work on familiarizing them with road signs and driving rules in Norway – giving us a little more independence and flexibility with that 3-day leg of our journey.

How things open up when one decides to Ask Again.