Postcard April and May 2004

Well it was a fairly quiet April Fools day. The usual write ups in the newspapers but nothing too crazy. April 1^st was also my last day with the class at the University. I hope everyone enjoyed the class, I know they were better in their English. April 2^nd I headed off to Amsterdam. Guðmundur drove me to the airport early, about 6AM. Got a ride to town with a private bus; worked for me. The hotel I picked was in a good location but the room was pretty tiny. I guess I had to expect that with what I was paying. I went for a little stroll after checking in; about 6 hrs or so. Needless I was ready for bed early. I slept great. The next day I checked out the Van Gogh Museum. The line up started early there. From there I headed down town. The weather wasn’t the greatest but rain doesn’t bother me much any more. I was on the go, mainly walking for more than 12 hours. Sore Feet you bet. Up early the next morning and off to the Rijksmuseum, It is a fantastic museum, great works of art. Then I checked out a couple flea market sites. I bought a few souvenirs but not much else. I did check out the Holland Experience. I could attend for free and that made it even better. Headed back to the hotel for a nap, that turned into a long nap and then I was awake all night. Next day I toured Volendam and Marken, quaint little villages just out of Amsterdam. One stop of the tour was at a cheese farm. Fantastic cheese and a good tour. After the tour I headed for the Heineken Experience. I have been there before, 20 some years earlier when it was still a functioning brewery. Now it is set up as a museum. Great special effects and the beer tasted good too. Miss the brewery smell though. That evening I attended a Mason Meeting, just a block away from the hotel. I was amazed at how much I understood even though it was all in Dutch. Afterwards we had a traditional Dutch meal of split pea soup and sausage and bacon on a dark brown bread.

I had a great time even though it went quite late. I headed out of town the following day for a tour. We checked out the Alsmer Flower Auction then went through Rotterdam. We stopped at Delpht, where the famous pottery if from. It is very nice stuff but very pricey also. We traveled through The Hague and then stopped in Madurodam, the miniature village. I enjoyed it but it would have been even better with my nephews and nieces. I had a nice lasagna supper and a couple beers. The next day, I wandered down to the train station and caught the train to the airport. It was a good flight back to Iceland. Guðmundur picked me up, which was nice.

Easter was quite quiet. I was at Margret and Jens for Easter Sunday Supper. Easter Monday we headed north to Skagastrond to pick up some tractor parts and a rock for the garden. That evening had supper with Villy and Ingunn. It was a long day but all went well. It was difficult getting back to work after such a long holiday. I had lined up an interview with the Minister of Social Affairs that afternoon. The meeting went well and he was very helpful and informative. The exploring continued, geology trips, Guðmundur and Ingibjörg´s summer house. Well after about a week of work I was off again. This time I was off to Minneapolis and Manitoba. First time flying Saga Class, First Class is nice. The lounge in the airport and the service on board is awesome. The flight seemed longer though because everything was served so fast. Carol was waiting for me outside the airport, and then we headed for Cavalier. It was a long drive but still an enjoyable trip. The next day we crossed into Canada and spent the night in Fraserwood. We got to Hecla for the INL Convention just before noon. It was a great convention, very interesting and got to see many old friends. Benny gave a good tour of the Village, the banquet was superb and the party lasted long into the night. Sunday up early and headed to Winnipeg for a family brunch and then visited Dad in the hospital. He seemed a little tired but not bad. Then we headed for Cavalier again and the party continued. Had a fantastic time with the family there. It is kind of weird; if I was not living in Iceland I probably would not have much contact with the people form Cavalier and Carol in Minneapolis. The next day we were up early and after a great breakfast we headed for Minneapolis. Just before Fargo Carol got a call that her father, Manny had had a heart attack. I was able to get a rental car in Fargo so she could go back to Cavalier. What a shocker, we had had such a great time together the night before. 9 months to the date after Carol’s husband Jeff had passed away. The flight went well back to Iceland.

Straight back to work, pretty tired by the time 4 o’clock came. Started printing up exams and also helped Vilmundur a little with Canada House. Exams actually started May 3^rd, always very busy and lots to do. I still managed to do some exploring, a city walking tour with Ferðafelag, a tour up to Hofsos with the Icelandic National League.

I had 2 flat tires on Guðmundur´s car. Got expensive but oh well, other than that the trip was great. The opening of Nordic Trails Canada House was May 7^th. We had the Ambassador in attendance and many friends and family. It went very well. Exams finished off May 14^th, and then I was asked to accompany a school group to Snæfellnes. I couldn’t pass that up. It was a good trip, not the best weather but decent. May 15^th was Eurovision night. I watched the show at my friends and stayed at Canada House. A little tired and sore the next morning, oh well. My night classes at MH went well. I didn’t write the exams so I guess you could say I didn’t complete the courses but I did get a lot out of them and the teachers were all fantastic. 

May the days are so much longer and the holidays keep coming. Work takes a back stage to all that is going on. We staff and teachers went on the annual spring trip on the 25^th of May. We headed off to Hvalfjörður and we hiked into the fjord and close to the waterfall Glymur. It is the highest waterfall in Iceland. It was a nice hike, and then we had hot chocolate and kleinur. We then barbequed and had a fantastic time. The only problem was that I drank waaaaaay too much red wine. The next day I was under the weather a little, not the only one at work at least. Fairly early in the morning I got a call from my Mom and I guess my Dad ended up back in the hospital and it doesn’t sound good. It sounded like she wants me to come home. I mentioned it to the rector and it sounded like it shouldn’t be a problem. She did call back later in the day and he was somewhat better but still in intense care. I made the necessary arrangements to fly home earlier. I said my good byes and flew to Minneapolis and the 31^st of May. I stayed at my cousin Carol’s after getting to Minneapolis.