Iceland

Never in a million years could I have dreamt that I would find myself in a car being driven around Iceland, yet here we are. We have thoroughly enjoyed our 4 day stopover en route from Copenhagen back to Washington DC. The weather has been cold, but as I am typing this, there are blue skies and sunshine outside my window - it is 10pm the night before we fly back to DC. Most days we have been lucky enough to catch some blue skies, and fortunately the few drops of rain we have encountered have occurred when we were in the car and not out and about. 

We arrived at Reykjavik at 9am, had the hire car picked up before 10am, and had checked into our bed and breakfast (private studio apartment attached to the owner's home) around 11am. We dropped off our suitcase and drove into the city to have lunch at The Perlan (Pearl) - see top photo. From there we got our first view of Reykjavik. That was enough to lure us into the tall spire we could see in the distance. It was a Cathedral where for about $USD6 (everywhere seems to take Euros, US dollars or Icelandic Króna) you could catch a lift (elevator) up to the top for a great view of the city and environs. From the Cathedral we could see the Perlan where we had lunch, and look out to the glaciers in the East, and the coloured roof tops below. Very pretty. We couldn't wait to see further afield.

Rooftops seen from the Cathedral

Top map shows route from Copenhagen. Left lower map is route on Day 2 and 3, and Day 4 on right.

The next day, map in hand, we headed north west of Reykjavik to the coastal town of Stykkishhólmur. We saw a red beacon on top of a hill, so we figured we needed to climb the stairs and check out the view. 

Icelandic Ponies

Scenes from Day 2

Geothermal area - similar to Yellowstone

Gullfoss Waterfall - 105 ' (32 meters)  double cascade

Only place on earth to see tectonic plates above ground: separation of Eurasia and North American plates

Although it was a cloudy day, we were thrilled to see the amazing blue colour of the crater lake in this cone volcano with its red volcanic rock. It is reported to be about 3000 years old.

Iceland has seen a lot of volcanic activity with 30 active volcanoes remaining today. Consequently there are many towns, like the one at left, that are built among the lava. I wouldn't want to be looking at that ugly landscape from my windows, let alone try to establish a garden! 

Blue Lagoon

I'll sign off this blog with one of our most memorable moments - seeing the Blue Lagoon - a geothermal spa that is the most visited attraction in Iceland. When it is freezing cold outside, well it was 8 C (46F) on the day of our visit, but with a brisk breeze blowing, it was such a delightful sensation to lower into the warm/hot waters. The water looks so beautiful against the grey/black of the volcanic rock that surrounds it. This area is only 40 km (25 miles) from Reykjavik, so very handy.

Visiting Kim in Copenhagen

My second trip to Copenhagen was so much better than my first. It helped that my visit was in June instead of March. Seeing the flowers blooming and the trees with green leaves was wonderful. However the reason we went there was to see my daughter Kim and to check out her first piece of real estate - a one bedroom apartment only a 5 minute bike ride from the university where she works. Her apartment ticked all the boxes - great security too, which pleases a mother!

Our friends Sandy and Joe Bill from Fordyce, Arkansas joined us in Copenhagen, arriving the same day we did. Despite our jet lag, the four of us followed Kim as she led us around her city. The last time Kim saw Sandy and Joe Bill she was a guest in their home, now she enjoyed showing them her home. Our first stop was to visit Kim's workplace and see her environment there - she operates with some amazing and complex technology in her lab. Then we took a bus for part of the way and walked the rest of the way to Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world (opened in 1843), and had dinner there. The gardens are beautiful, especially when the lights come on - it's like fairyland. However, the jet lag won and we went home to rest up for a walking tour with Kim as our guide the next morning. We got to see the changing of the guard at Amalienborg Palace where Princess Mary (from Tasmania like Murray) was in residence. Next on the agenda was lunch at Nyhavn, the colourful harbour district. Postcard perfect! The central photo in the collage below was taken in Nyhavn. Sandy and Joe Bill had to be back at their hotel by 2pm ready to be collected and delivered to a ferry for their tour to Norway. It was great to spend time in a foreign city together.

That same evening Kim's boss Susan held her annual department garden party, so we were fortunate to meet about 40 of Kim's work colleagues. Besides a delicious feast, Susan offered the group a tour of her garden and then her husband took us all on a walking tour of their historic neighbourhood - we even saw thatched roofs and even remnants of Viking graves. Mind boggling. We arrived at the party at 4pm, and before we knew it, we were catching the 11.15pm train home - it was still light which made it seem a lot earlier. The photo at the top right was taken at 9.40pm while we were walking around hearing the history of the village church. The photo of the viking grave below it was taken 10 minutes earlier. My camera was facing the west, hence the brighter aspect. It was cool when we got back, so it was great to sit in front of the fire and enjoy the ambience.

Not to waste an opportunity, the next morning we jumped on a train and took a 45 minute ride to Lund, Sweden. The Lund Cathedral (founded in 1080) houses a magnificent anatomical clock (constructed around 1380) and it still works today. We were there for the 12 midday action when the doors open and the figures come out and the detail of it all is quite amazing. You have to see it to believe it. We also discovered a fabulous patisserie - the cakes were superb! We bought 3 different cakes, and cut them into three so we could sample each one. Bellissimo. 

Kim had a few handyman jobs that she needed doing, so Murray was No 1 in that regard. Where is Benn when you need him? Kim bought some timber from a nearby hardware store, and we had taken along 4 rolls insulating foam, and used them all - Kim had forewarned us of her need for that item. 

Our final outing was to the early Viking town of Roskilde, 30km (19 miles) west of Copenhagen. It was the hub of the Viking world in its heyday. From the 11th century until 1443 it was the Capital of Denmark (Wikipedia). We visited the Viking Museum where they have reconstructed 5 Viking ships retrieved from the sea nearby. An amazing feat - reminded me of the Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City. We decided to walk to the nearby Roskilde Cathedral - paid the entrance fee, and proceeded to be gobsmacked by what we saw inside.






Neither of us will forget the ornate coffins/memorials of the Danish Monarchs that have been buried there since the 15th Century. There are renovations going on at the moment working on a crypt and memorial for the current Queen of Denmark and her husband HRH Prince Henrik. They have designed their own crypt, and a fitting memorial to be put to use when the time comes. See the picture below for just one example of an ornate crypt (note ceiling frescos) and some of the lesser ornate coffins that we saw in the Cathedral. Did you know that the Danish monarchy is one of the oldest in the world?

Our week in Copenhagen would have not gone so smoothly if Kim hadn't taken care of us so well. She was our interpreter, and sorted out our train/bus tickets so that our transport worked out very efficiently. When you are in a foreign country where English subtitles are not usually provided (except in the airport and main train station) and the accent and language are undecipherable, you really appreciate having a local to interpret for you. Thanks very much Kim. Our accommodation was great too - very grateful that her apartment block had a lift - getting up and down to/from the 5th floor may have been a bit taxing without it!

Rodanthe, North Carolina

Photo courtesy mapsoftheworld.com

Photo courtesy visitob.com

After I saw the Richard Gere movie 'Nights in Rodanthe' a few years ago, the area lured me to check it out. I discovered that Rodanthe was a little village on the Outer Banks (location marked in red to the right of the map above). The Outer Banks are a finger of land, an island in North Carolina, not far south of the Virginia border. It has the Atlantic Ocean on one side, and the Albermarle Sound on the other. The Outer Banks are about 200 miles/380 km long, and 3 - 40 miles wide. The Wright brothers' first flight took place here at Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks in 1903, and there is a museum and memorial - we checked it out in 2009. Many shipwrecks have occurred along this coastline, aptly named the 'Graveyard of the Atlantic'. It might explain why there are 4 lighthouses along this stretch of coastline. We saw three of them during our time here.

Our first visit to Rodanthe was in 2009, and we just drove through without stopping. There is only one main road, and the side streets are usually for residents only, with 'no parking' signs everywhere to deter people like us stopping for a look - they get hordes of visitors to this area, and people pay megabucks to rent a property for the holiday season so that they can walk to the beaches. Not quite the beaches of Destin mind you, but for the Atlantic Ocean, they are some of the best.

The houses here are very unusual - built high to withstand flooding during storm surges (hurricanes are common here) from either the ocean or the Sound, and painted in beautiful colours. Many are multi-storey, and most are rentals for large family or friends' groups. I apologise as the photos have blurred on magnification, and our internet here in the woods of Virginia where we are now is not conducive to starting all over again.

A variety of the houses here in Outer Banks

When we checked into our campground near Rodanthe, our kind campground hostess (Jeanie) noticed that we didn't have a tow car, and generously offered us the use of her jeep for our day trips to check out the area. Although the weather wasn't always cooperative and we got caught in one very heavy rain storm that fell from nasty dark clouds, blue skies soon returned. The storm providentially provided an interesting background to some photos!

Photo courtesy nytimes.com

We particularly wanted to see the wild mustang ponies that are remnants of a herd of Spanish mustangs that arrived here over 500 years ago. We drove about an hour north to the Corolla area that you can see on the map above, but the ponies were elusive on the day. Jeanie showed us some photos she had taken of the ponies, and I borrowed a photo from a newspaper for you to see them too! They would have been magnificent to see in real life. 

Rodanthe Pier and view from the Pier and up the beach

During our day trips we saw 3 of the 4 lighthouses on the Outer Banks, and visited 2 piers - the Rodanthe Pier was still operational, but the Hatteras (Frisco) Pier was damaged in a hurricane last year and you can see how it looks now! 

Remnants of the Hatteras Pier 

In the photo above you can see the day and night shots of the beach beside our RV park and the left hand side, and the sandy trail leading from our RV park to the beach on the right. In the photos on the left you can just make out the Rodanthe Pier in the background. If you click on the photo to optimise it, you will be able to see the campfire in the night version. The sand bank to get down to the beach is about 12 feet high near our campground, thanks to erosion from Hurricane Arthur last year and his predecessors. Winds were 100 mph and surges of water from the Sound (not the ocean) came up to around 4 feet. Jeanie and her husband Ray were here at the time (3/4th July 2014) and will never forget their experience. Their van rocked, and water from the Sound came to the last step on their RV, and they were as far away from the Sound as you can get (they were only a few yards from the ocean side). The photo below (taken by Megan Cable of Pittsburgh) shows one view of the flooding following the Hurricane last year. Glad we weren't here! Jeanie said they would never stick around for another one - they were care-taking the campground last time, and felt obligated to stay as some campers chose to remain in the campground. 

Our stopover in the Outer Banks was all the more enjoyable thanks to meeting Jeanie and Ray, and having the use of their Jeep. Jeanie didn't know us from a bar of soap, but she had no hesitation in offering us the use of her Jeep within minutes of meeting us. Our travels in the USA has resulted in many such instances demonstrating the generosity of local American citizens. I'm sure my blog wouldn't be anywhere near as comprehensive if it wasn't for the opportunities provided by the friends and strangers that we have met along the way. 

The Jeep

Ray, PK (neighbour), Jeanie, and Murray (back to camera) 

It seems strange to think that our RVing lifestyle over here is all coming to an end this year. We are planning on selling the motorhome when we get to North Dakota in July this year. During future visits to the USA we plan to book a rental car and cabins for a month or so in various locations, and also do similar rentals in the UK and Europe. In the USA we plan to re-visit Utah, Arizona, Montana and several other areas. Flying to Anchorage, Alaska and getting somewhere to rent for a month in Homer or somewhere like that is also on the cards...

Biltmore Estate, Asheville, Georgia

Biltmore Estate (photo courtesy kathrynrjones.wordpress.com/tag/biltmore-estate/)

Biltmore was the 250 room home of billionaire George Vanderbilt and remains the largest privately owned home in the USA. Sadly Vanderbilt died in 1914 at aged 52 years following complications of appendicitis - he left behind his wife (a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant) and their 14 year old daughter. The property remains in the family, and on a really good day, can receive around 10,000 visitors. At $50 a ticket (if you purchase more than a week ahead), that works out to $500,000 a DAY!! Mind you, the house is enormous, and the 8,000 acres with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, gift stores, cafes and restaurant, historic gardens and the most visited winery in America would need a lot of money to maintain. Not to mention the wages of over 2000 staff  employed by the estate. 

During previous visits to USA, friends had mentioned the delights of a visit to the Biltmore Estate. One of Kim's Canadian girlfriends Lyndsay, and her mum Heather visited Biltmore on their way to meet up with us in Nashville 2 years ago, and our North Dakotan friends Kathy and Milt had their son's wedding there last year. After hearing their comments about the house and garden, it was included as a 'must see' for our RV itinerary for this year - along with the Hamilton Pool Preserve, Texas and Destin, Florida. 

After we left Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, we should have headed NW to Asheville, North Carolina, but instead we headed NE towards the Atlantic Ocean to revisit Savannah, Georgia. We had been there before and done a trolley tour, but it pulled me back for one more visit. I wanted to spend time in the beautiful Forsyth Park with its historic fountain (added in 1858), so I adjusted the GPS and off we went. Sigh, after soaking up the park and beautiful environs (saw the Candler Oak with an estimated age of 283 years)  it was time to veer NW and cross the border into North Carolina to make our way to Asheville and the Biltmore Estate.

Candler Oak (Photo courtesy http://www.savannahoffthebeatenpath.com

Blue Ridge Mountain Views as we approached Asheville

The Biltmore home was officially opened in time for Christmas, 1895. It had 33 bedrooms and 45 bathrooms for family and friends. There were another 21 bedrooms for female household staff (the males had rooms above the stables). The audio-guided tour of the house was simply amazing - so much to take in. Can you believe that George Vanderbilt could speak 8 languages, and had a personal library collection of over 22,000 books (10,000 are on display in the library of the house). The home had a huge indoor swimming pool at a time when people tended to just wade in ocean waters, and not actually swim. The water (70,000 gallons/265,000 litres) for the pool was drawn from a stream on top of a nearby mountain, then heated with steam once it was in the pool! Because it was in the days before pool chemicals were created, the pool had to be emptied and cleansed after 3 days to keep it hygienic. Unbelievable. The home was full of artwork, from artists who weren't even famous in Vanderbilt's day, but are world renowned now. Biltmore played a top secret role during the Second World War 11 - it was chosen as the ideal location to safeguard precious US artwork in case of German attack and Adolf Hitler's known perchance for seizing priceless artworks. A specially modified room that was fireproofed, laced with steel barriers and craftily concealed was used to house Rembrandts' and other famous works from Washington's National Gallery of Art. 

Many of the authors of Vanderbilt's books, and some of the painters of his numerous art work were often guests at his home. If you visit this Estate, be sure to pay $10 extra to get the audio device - the facts provided to accompany each room, along with personal anecdotes and family information makes the tour so interesting. Without it, the visit would be like watching a 2D movie compared to one in 3D. 

Movies 'Patch Adams', 'Hannibal', 'My Fellow Americans', 'Richie Rich', 'Mr Destiny', 'The Private Eyes', Peter Sellers in 'Being There', and Grace Kelly in 'The Swan' were movies that used Biltmore Estate for some scenes. Whilst 'Downton Abbey' is a British series, Highclere Castle shows a 'striking resemblance' to Biltmore, and castle life as depicted in the series was 'surprisingly similar' to the day to day running of Biltmore. (Biltmore.com).

Looking back to the house from the gardens

Following the tour of the house we fortified ourselves with lunch in the Stable Cafe which had a delightful view out to the house beyond. I can recommend the Quinoa and Kale salad with freshly grilled salmon! Once refreshed, we wandered through the adjoining Christmas Tree Shop (yes Ret and Jen!!), the chocolate shop and the gift shop. I picked up a little knicknack for you Kim, although I am very tempted to keep it for myself! From there we wandered into the gardens - what a beautiful experience. The walled garden was my favourite, but I did enjoy wandering through the hot houses and thought of Dick and his orchids as I did so. 

Time to stop and 'smell the roses' in the Walled Garden

Before we returned to the house and then back to our RV, we sat on a bench to enjoy the 'aura' of the gardens. Murray's keen eye spotted this harmless black snake crossing the path. He didn't seem to be peturbed by the chap on the path. 

View as we were driving out of Biltmore Estate.