Postcard #9     

Jan. 12,2002

Hi there,

Well December went by in a flash. I hope everyone had a good holiday season. I had a nice time in Iceland and will tell you a bit about it. But first I will back track a little. I got through the exams unscathed. I was quite busy but manageable. There was some work and cleaning that had to be done in the chemistry department so there was things to do before I could start my Christmas holidays. I even took a driving class, of sorts. To drive a bus or vehicle with paying passengers they have a special course here that everyone must take. It is called ferða og farþega fræði. Sounds tough huh, well it is informative and just explains a little of what is expected of drivers who are transporting passengers. I got a trip to Styykisholmur out of it as well. I took it there because there was no courses offered in Reykjavik until January and the instructor offered me the chance to go with him as he had a group lined up there. The weather was not the greatest but it was still a nice 2 1/2 hour drive each way. We left early Friday afternoon, the 14th of Dec. there was about 3 hours of classes on Friday night. We spent the night at a nice farm guesthouse called Thingvellir just outside of town and then another 6 hours of classes before returning to Reykjavik. I enjoyed the trip and the class. Now I have to take a first aid course before I can get the extra endorsement on my license.

Dec 17th I attended a special Christmas Masonic meeting. It was very nice and we were also treated to a great Christmas meal of Hangikjot(smoked lamb), salt kjot(lamb) and potatoes in white sauce. It was excellent and it was a whole 14 hours until I had another great Christmas meal at the school this time. All the teachers and staff were treated to a fantastic noon meal at the school to end the year. On Dec 19th in the afternoon we held Graduation for 60 students. Now they are really called "Students" or they have their Students Prof(degree). I thought I was going to start my Christmas holidays but I was told to come for lunch on the 20th. We the office staff were treated to a Jólahlaðborð (Xmas buffet) at Hotel Loftleidir. It was awesome, there was so much to choose from it was hard to decide. The herring and salmon dishes were my favorite. It sure was a nice way to start my holidays.

Well I can't take it too easy so I continued on quest for connections in Iceland. I met with my friend Hordur at IT Travel and we discussed possible trips to Canada. He also lined me up with the manager/owner of a small but cozy hotel. Things have progressed to me working with him and now I will be moving into the hotel and I will help out a bit in lieu of paying rent. I am looking forward to the potential contacts and people I will meet through this venture. I will keep you all posted and in the mean time you can check out the hotels web page at www.atlantisiceland.com So if anyone needs a place to stay in Reykjavik either contact me or mention my name and I am sure we can help you out.

There are many churches in Iceland, Icelanders are not really regular church goes but the churches sure were packed with people before and during the Christmas holidays. No there was not a wave of religion sweeping the country, people were packing in the churches to take in all kinds of concerts. I was fortunate to attend one at Domkirkja, the central church right next to the parliament buildings. It was a memorial concert for Richard Hurdal who was originally from Lundar MB. He was killed in an accident in Finland this past spring and he had been living in Iceland for many years. The concert was held on his birthday. It was a great turnout and an excellent concert.  

Christmas festivities continued and on Thorlakmessa, Dec 23rd we enjoyed a traditional feed of Skata, salted skate fish. It really smelt bad but it tastes better than it smells. A person has to even detour around the fish store because the smell is so overwhelming. It is eaten only once a year now even though it used to be eaten more in the days of old. Christmas Eve another traditional feast, well it is becoming a tradition here, Hamborgarhringur( smoked whole pork loin). It was great and I think I can make it my tradition now. Probably the only down point of my Christmas here is that there was no snow on the ground and the days are SO short. The sun did not rise until noon and set only a few hours later. As far as snow there was some snow on the ground Christmas Day and we got dumped on the 26th. More food, of course, on Christmas Day we were treated to another feast of hangikjot, it was very good.  Boxing Day, Dec.26th I was ready for a change of food so I treated myself to some Chinese food. I felt I might as well go all the way and I feasted on the spicy stuff. The haddock was awesome. They sure take Christmas serious in Iceland, everything was locked up on 25th, 26th and most stores were still closed on the 27th. I was able to find a few stores open on the 27th so I could spend some money. I went to the mall, Kringlan. On the way home the transit buses brakes were frozen, there was not enough air pressure to release the parking brakes. All I could think of was that I sure don't miss that hassle at all. After Christmas it got quite cold and with all the snow it was good conditions for brakes to freeze and all those other fun things that are common occurrences in Canada.

Well the snow did last for a few days but then it started raining. New Years Eve was a wet one but it didn't curb the festivities at all. There were at least 1,500 tourists here especially for New Years, the had to witness first hand how crazy Icelanders get with fireworks. Everyone buys fireworks from different volunteer/ sports groups and this becomes a major fundraiser for them. The event was stupendous. If I had any complaints it was that they started shooting off the fireworks way too early. They started shooting them off days before New Years, it was even hard to sleep at times because they were shooting them off at all hours. New Years Eve they started shooting off so many fireworks so early, well 11:30 or so that the city was under a cloud of smoke by midnight and the visibility was not as good as it could have been. What a complainer huh? I had an excellent evening at a friend's sister's place. Even had Black Forest Ham, imported from Canada.  

Well this is getting pretty long so I will cut it off at the New Year and write again soon. I have started my caretaker responsibilities and am working 12 to 16 hours a day, very Icelandic. I also have some more pictures I can send so I will be writing soon again.

 

 Kent Lárus Björnsson