POSTCARD # 13 Reykjavik April 13, 2002
Greetings all,
Time sure is flying by now. It has been quite a while since I had a chance to write last. My days are getting back to normal, but that is jumping way ahead. Lets go back to mid March. My friend Villy and I had a mini Thorrablot at his house on the 17th. The food was great and I ate too much as usual. The next day I picked up my ticket to Minneapolis. I actually got a pretty good deal on it and I am grateful to certain friends for assisting me in getting included in the deal. You know who you are, thanks.
Things keep progressing on my web page. I am adding photos and other tid-bits at a regular rate. Even though some of my days were really long I made an effort to do some walking downtown, yes sometimes I miss living downtown.
Easter break started for some on March 22nd, I had to work for a few days, even though there was no classes, as caretaker but it was very quiet. It was so quiet in the school it was not quite the same. While I was changing light bulbs and cleaning there was a crew laying cable throughout the school. A satellite system and permanent computers are being installed. When not in school the Hotel is also keeping me busy. I have gotten into making reservations, replying to email enquiries and replying to faxes.
I finally started my Easter Break on Skirdaga. Being a foreigner I am not up on everything here. I thought I could run down to the bank and do some banking on Thursday March 28th but no luck. I was not the only one that was kind of lost. There was a lot of people in the mall and there was no signs or anything saying that they were closed and when they would be open. Some of the restaurants were open and I heard a rumor that some of the stores were opening at 3pm but I did not hang around. I did make some time to run to see my new wheels. Yes I am a proud owner of a 1983 Chev Blazer. It is not new but it is new to me and I am looking forward to doing some exploring on my own in May and again in the fall. I think I got a pretty good deal and if Insurance was not so expensive it wouldn't be that expensive to run.
Good Friday was a quiet day, but I expected it. The weather was not very good so my walk did not last for long. I went to Safamyri for supper and had an excellent visit there. I started work at the hotel at midnight, but it was a quiet night thank goodness. I worked until noon and then bummed around downtown with Villy.
Easter Sunday, Paskadagur, and time to do some more exploring with Villy. I had one place in mind, Hlidarenda I Olfusar. It was were my great grand mother, Ingibjorg Jonsdottir was from. She was married to Sveinn Geirholm and passed away in 1936. It was nice to see even though it was kind of a messy site. There is still some farming done there but no one lives there. It looks like some people might spend a few nigts now and then but no one permanent. As an added interest I saw that this farm was/or is for sale. I don't know how much it is worth but it does have potential. If only I knew a few millionaires..
We also explored Thorlakshofn and went to visit our friend Jonas. I talked him into helping me with my taxes, and now they have been filed here in Iceland. We ended up having Easter Supper at Villy's parents place.
Easter Monday was a day to forget. I was going to be a tour guide. I had arranged for a car rental and going to do some driving with a family from Regina. The weather was not cooperating but we took off anyways. The weather was crazy on the way to Hveragerdi. Snow and blowing, with poor visibility but it did get brighter as we got into lower land. We stopped at Kerid, a crater that is about 5,000 years old. From there we went to Skalholt. We went into the church and explored the museum downstairs. On our way to the car the lady slipped and fell. She had done something to her ankle. We went to the health center near by, and the doctor suggested we go straight to Selfoss because her ankle should be xrayed. On seeing the xray the doctor could see 3 breaks and said she would have to be taken to Reykjavik for surgery. So much for my tour guiding. We did get to visit a variety of hospitals and the like. After the hospital I did take the the younger people for a cruise to Hafnafjordur and Bessastadir. We all went out for supper together, except for the hospital patient some it ended on a better note for us at least. She is going to remember Iceland I am sure. They arrived here on the Saturday and landed in a snow storm. Keflavik airport was not open so their plane landed in Reykjavik. Then they had to take a bus to Keflavik to clear customs and retrieve their luggage.
I had to work again on the 2nd of April, even though classes did not start until the next day
Wednesday the 3rd I had to take the Blazer for inspection and we did all the ownership transfer paperwork.
It didn't take long for the school to request my services as delivery man. I had to run some envelopes to the University.
The hotel has been keeping me really busy. The manager has taken a holiday to Portugal and the owner is always quite busy so I get stuck doing a lot of the emails and faxes.
Gulli, the caretaker returned to Iceland on the 6th and I officially handed over the keyes on the 7th. It is back to normal hours for me, in the school at least. There is not many more weeks of regular school. I attended my last art class on Thursday night. I have to do some things at home to finish the required work. The only excitement at school has been student council elections. Ah, that sure brings back memories.
Not much more to report at this time. I have been meaning to mention one thing for quite awhile. I do miss Canada and my family and friends a lot but I am always meeting more and interesting people. I seem to compare people here with friends and family back home. Villy's parents for example remind me so much of my parents. His father is quiet but comes up with some good jokes and one liners. His mother is always worried about us and always welcoming. There is different teachers that remind me of people also, I would like to itemize this list better sometime but it will have to wait for now