I’m pretty sure that when you are leaving Iceland, customs will detain you if you can’t prove that you’ve taken at least one photo of Hallgrimskirkja, the church that is the most famous landmark in Reykjavik. So, here you go Iceland customs:
Budding Leaves – Again
Because we’ve been heading north since February, this is our third experience of “the arrival of Spring” this year. It’s heartening every time.
Books I Read About Sweden While In Sweden
Buses and Bikes in Reykjavik
We’ve spent the past month in a neighborhood that’s a 30-minute walk from Reykjavik’s town center. The structure of this city assumes the vast majority of people will have a car, but there are enough options – buses, pedestrian bridges, biking paths – that’s it’s possible to be carless, even if it’s not the norm.
Holiday in Iceland
We spent the past week in a summerhouse near Geysir, on a holiday from both work and most of the Internet. The concept of vacation sounds a little strange since we’re on a long-term trip around the world but, in reality, this was the first time that I’ve taken more than a few days away from work in almost two years. It was nice to disconnect from the wider world and instead spend some time connecting with each other.
Books I Read about Iceland while in Iceland
Franspanol
Our host Hakim was kind enough to pick us up the at the airport in Rabat, Morocco. In AirB&B messages, he had mentioned that he doesn’t speak English (and that his wife was translating), but I had kind of assumed that he didn’t speak English in the same way that many people we’ve met during our travels “don’t speak English,” which often means that they speak it fairly competently.
However, Hakim really doesn’t speak English. He does however speak excellent French and Spanish (presumably, in addition to Arabic), both of which Brian and I speak poorly. So, our communication on the drive home consisted of us just grasping at whatever Spanish or French word would come to mind and communicating using the mangle that resulted. It worked surprisingly well.
We’ve been expecting that Morocco will make for one of our steeper language barriers and push us to practice other languages. It should be fun!
Some Of The Critters Near Our House
We have two tortoises that live in the yard that we share with our hosts, as well as several peacocks that live a house away. The peacocks are loud and sound at times like quarreling cats while the tortoises, unsurprisingly, are very quiet and demure.
Every time I reach for detergent, I’m startled by a cool looking lizard that lives in the cabinet above our clothes washer. He, alas, has refused to pose for photos.
Moroccan Tea
Moroccan tea, a blend of green tea, mint, and sugar, is served pretty much everywhere here. Even though I don’t usually like my beverages with sugar, I have to admit that I find this particular super-sweet beverage delicious.
Chellah
With Theo stashed away at his new preschool, Brian and I visited Chellah — the ruins of an ancient Roman town, later converted to a necropolis, and now a lovely, stroll-able garden and stork nesting ground.
