May 2003 Postcard
Well May 1st was a sunny day but cold. It is a holiday in Iceland and full of activities. The parade from Hallgrimskirkja to downtown is the highlight for me. The speeches are normal labor speeches. This year was even more interesting because after snaking away from the speeches we were able to check out some political party offices and get free coffee and snacks. I didn’t tell them I could not vote here, yet at least.
Exams started on the so I was fairly busy. I went downtown to look at an office that was for rent. Nice office and location but do I really need it?
Next on the agenda was a travel show. Travel ideas and areas around Iceland at Smaralind. It was not as big as I thought it might be but interesting nonetheless. Sunday it was another bright and sunny day; I just had to go for a drive somewhere. I saw Snæfelljökull calling me. I had planned on maybe driving to Arnarstapi and back but the nice sunny weather stayed so I decided to keep driving and I drove around the glacier and back. I explored new things as well as photographing places that I had already been to. It was a little cold but all in all a nice day for a drive.
Exams keep me busy and out of trouble for the most part. I did have a chance to apply for my new work permit. The red tape is on the increase but I think it is still worth it.
Some Gimliittes came for a visit to Iceland on the 8th. It was nice to do a little touring around with Heather and David. We toured town the first night, Grindavik and Krysuvik the next night and then Saturday we did the Golden Circle plus Hvalfjörður. The weather was great and I think they had a good time, I did. The election was on here on the 10, it didn’t affect our touring at all. Not much changed with the government, pretty well exactly the same as the last coalition government. June 11th was Mother’s Day so I took Margret and Jens out for supper at Askur.
Exams were finishing up so my next mission was to get into Leiðsögumannsskóla, the Tour Guide School.
May 16th I got a call from Markus Örn Antonsson, the Head of RUV, Icelandic Radio and TV and former Mayor of Reykjavik. He asked if I could drive a small bus with a group from the Icelandic National League to Hofsós the next day. I had offered to do this quite a while ago and was happy to do it. There were 10 of us that went and another 5 met us there. It was a great time and I only hope that we do something similar again soon.
The rest of the month flew by, some good things and some bad. Starting with the good things. I took an entrance exam for the guide school, it went well Graduation went well and the spreads were fantastic the parties were good also. Margret turned 70 and we had a nice get together at Safamyri. I showed my cousin Bud and his wife around town, they had a nice tour of Iceland also. On the downside, the caboose was broken into again. There is nothing much to steal but they did take a ghetto blaster and some CDs. Work is slowing down and I am getting lazier.
The last weekend of the month I headed for Hvammstangi and had a nice visit with my cousins Snorri and Tryggva. I did some exploring around the countryside there and even went to see a friend perform with a band the Sixties that he is a part of. Huh, I have to go to Hvammstangi to see him?
Well in all it was another great month and summer is here so that is also nice.