I have landed. . . .

July 18, 2025 • 12:45 pm

. . . in Reykjavik.  Yes, our voyage is over, we have left the ship, and our “expedition,” as they call it, is now an ex-expedition. Still, I have five days and six nights left to entertain myself in this small but scenic island before I fly home.

At the the moment, Iceland is experiencing a fairly sizeable volcanic emission of lava and smoke from a fissure in the ground not too far away.  Fortunately for me, no flights have been affected so far, though tourists have been evacuated from the fabled Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa that, I’m told, is fantastic for a few hours of soaking. I may have to miss that one.

A ship friend and I wandered around the main part of downtown this afternoon, because, in one of those increasingly odious capitalistic ploys, we couldn’t check into the ship-provided hotel until 3 p.m. But that allowed a good wander around town and a visit to the second tallest building in Iceland (74.5 m; there are no skyscrapers here)—the Hallgrímskirkja, a spartan but lovely Lutheran church finished in 1986. (It has two organs.) More about that later as I’m exhausted.  And of course all that wandering worked up a thirst, which we quenched with pricey beers.

The first thing you learn in Iceland is that everything is expensive. The one beer I’m holding below was about $18 when converted from the local currency, and, looking up taxi fares to the international airport, I discovered they’re around $200 for a 45-minute ride.  But I kvetch too much, as this is one place where you can use your credit card for everything and there is no need to tip except for extra-special service, as in France.

At any rate, tomorrow I move to a guest house of my own choosing and start finding out how much of the island I’ll be able to see in a short time.

The ship voyage to Svalbard and Jan Mayen was, as you may have suspected from previous posts, terrific. I’m sorry that I couldn’t post simultaneously as I traveled because of the lack of internet as well as the plethora of things to do. I trust you can wait for the non-degraded pictures and travelogue. In the meantime, cheers!

Photo by Michael, who drank the flight of four local brews in the foreground. I couldn’t handle that much brewski, so I had one glass of the strongest beer (about 8.5% alcohol). It turned out to be an IPA, not my favorite brew because of the excessive hoppiness, but in terms of getting me tipsy, it did the job. Since I cut back on alcohol because of my insomnia, I am easily made a few sheets to the wind. In fact, now, more than four hours later, I still haven’t recovered.

 

12 thoughts on “I have landed. . . .”

  1. 😃 Great to hear! A well-earned … pint? Perhaps there is no true equivalent to “pint” …🍻

  2. Jerry. Now that you’re in Iceland, you should visit and pay homage at the grave of the late great Robert James Fischer. Poor crazy, neurotic, slightly insane Bobby Fischer was a genius. If there is an afterlife, I hope he’s having a blast playing speed chess with Capablanca.

    1. And if a hell, he is tormented by the former heads of FIDE in a room full of psychoanalysts. Under classical time controls, of course!

    2. He was a live one for sure, Michael – an example of how high status people with schizophrenia can (often) avoid consequences or even get help. Low status people go to facilities or often prison. It is not an ideal system, the result of “deinstitutionalization” – one of our societies’ biggest mistakes.

      The “drain circling” part of his story, from Tokyo to Iceland was particularly gripping as I remember.
      The persecution of him by the Bush admin for his bonkers political views (on a technicality of playing in sanctioned Serbia) was cruel I thought at the time.

      D.A.
      NYC

      1. But. He was the best genius chess player of his day. He is quite up there with Morphy and Lasker and Capablanca and Alekhine and Karpov and Kasparov and Anand and Carlson and anybody else you wish to name as a phenomenal chess genius of history.

  3. One thing to look for if you wander around town are absolutely gorgeous cats. When I was there I saw some of the best looking felines ever. It may be the stern climate that creates such great coats. I believe I may have sent a photo of one of them to WEIT in the past.

    1. I haven’t seen any cats yet, but I’m posting the pictures you sent in Saturday morning’s Nooz. Those will have to count for the entire Caturday felid contents

  4. That’s expensive beer! Holding it out in front of you makes it look much bigger than it is.

  5. I’ve always loved the phrase 2 (or a few) sheets to the wind, and given its nautical origin, most appropriate!

  6. I’d rent a car and drive to where I could see the fissure eruption. Even without that happening, Iceland is well worth exploring by car. Vik and the glacier lagoon on the south coast are especially beautiful.

    Iceland is indeed an expensive place, especially for the locals given the rather unimpressive average income compared to the cost of living.

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