Niceland

Saturday, July 2, 2022

Clue 53 Across - Taken charge

. . .

It’s not about life, it’s not about babies, it’s about sex.  "[M]any in this [anti-abortion] movement are animated by an insatiable desire to punish women who have sex on our own terms and enjoy it."
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/02/opinion/abortion-ban-sex.html?referringSource=highlightShare


Sunday, July 3, 2022

Our introduction to Iceland was somewhat chaotic, quite the opposite of what I expected from such a Nordic environment.  It seemed like dozens of jumbo jets landed within a few minutes of each other at Keflavik International Airport in Reykjavik.  This overwhelmed the three windows occupied by humans stamping passports, while all eight adjacent automated passport checking stations were shut down.  The crowd was enormous, but, fortunately, well behaved even though progress was infinitesimal.   Once our group assembled and got going, however, efficiency took over and I expect that it will remain.

Our group is made of 13 teenagers accompanied by 16 grandparents.  There are 4 girls and 9 boys, 12 women and 4 men, using the fast-disappearing labels that I grew up with.

. . .

We headed immediately to Borgarnes, population 3,800, 75 kilometers from Reykjavik, a convenient location for launching day trips.  It also has an exhibit space devoted to the initial settlement of Iceland, uninhabited until the Vikings arrived from Norway in 874.  They were a barbaric brood, frequently killing each other, Norwegians and Danes, yet they founded a parliament in 930, the oldest surviving national legislative body in the world.  

Monday, July 4, 2022

Langjokull glacier is Europe’s second largest, formed about 3,500 years ago.  Here we are in a tunnel dug 45 meters under the surface.  

 

After millennia in place, the glacier is shrinking at a fast rate, estimated to disappear in the next 150 years or less.  This is not just idle speculation.  Signposts show its outer edges at earlier 20-year intervals, now barren expanses of hundreds of meters.  Of course, the United States Supreme Court seems anxious to turn the whole place into a parking lot.

Iceland is all about nature and raw beauty.  I’ll try not to inundate you with examples, but this was one of many striking sights.  

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

The Internet is easily available at hotels and restaurants throughout the country.  That means the Highland Park massacre became widely known to our group promptly.  For comparison, here is what Wikipedia has to say about Iceland’s gun laws: 

In Iceland, a license is required to own or possess firearms. A national government safety course must be passed before applying for a license. A special license is required to own a handgun, which may only be used for target shooting at a licensed range. Semi-automatic firearms have caliber restrictions, while fully automatic firearms are only permitted for collectors.

Applicants must sit through a mandatory four-hour lecture on the "history and physics of the firearm". Paperwork must be filed in the police, magistrate, and the Environment Agency of Iceland.  Applicants need to prove clean criminal records, need to be evaluated by a doctor to prove they "are of sound mind" and have "good enough eyesight". Two books referring to guns must be bought and read, a three-day course must be attended, and the applicant should score at least 75% on exams concerning gun safety, management, "what animals are allowed to be hunted and when". Finally, a practical exam must be taken. After Icelanders have their license, they need to own a gun safe to store the weapons in, plus a separate place to store the ammunition".

Guess what?  Gun violence is nearly unknown here even though up to one in four Icelanders own guns under these regulations.

. . .

Speaking of a small world.  Tonight, Dr. Sam learned that Susan, sitting next to him at dinner, is the widow of the surgeon who took the job at Children’s Orthopedic Hospital of Seattle that Sam turned down to stay at Mass General to work with Warren Zapol, who went to JHS 64 and Stuyvesant High School with me.  How about that!

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Iceland is not about food, not yet at least, while we are in outlying areas removed from Reykjavik, the capital, where 2/3 of the people live.  Most meals so far have been taken at locations chosen for convenience rather than culinary distinction.  I am not complaining, mind you.  I recognize the challenge of satisfying a group of young teenagers along with their elderly relatives.  Today, there was something special to eat.  We took a two-hour boat in Breidafjordur, literally "wide bay," stopping at one point while the crew pulled up a net full of sea creatures, starfish, crabs, anemones and, notably, scallops, which were shucked and served in their shell.  

 

These were the real thing, clearly different from the uniformly round plugs, made of shark, stingray, or skate often falsely served as scallops at high prices.

. . .

According to the Associated Press, "[a] panel of Tennessee judges has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a couple who alleged that a state-sponsored Christian adoption agency refused to help them because they are Jewish.”  No way is this unkosher says the court, after all Tennessee has a law providing legal protections for private adoption agencies to reject state-funded placement of children to parents based on religious beliefs.  Fortunately, Jesus was not put up for adoption in Tennessee.  

Thursday, July 7, 2022

English is taught in the school system here from third grade on, producing a bilingual population or better, an embarrassment to so many of us Yanks.

. . .

We arrived in Reykjavik late in the afternoon and for the first and last time on this trip had a chance to seek and pay for our own meal.  Michael and Connie, his grandmother, joined the three of us at Viet Noodles, Grandagarour 9, one of several spots on the waterfront at the marina where our hotel is located.  Translated, I had a large portion of vermicelli (rice noodles) with beef, egg, carrots, yellow onions, green onions (2590 ISK).  For the sake of comparison, 100 ISK (Icelandic Krona) = 73 cents.  Madam had egg noodles, approximately lo mein, with egg and vegetables (2290 ISK); Boaz had deep fried fish with curry sauce and rice (2390 ISK); Connie and Michael both had grilled salmon and shrimp with rice (2990 ISK).  The food was good enough and less touristy than most meals that we had had until then.

Conveniently, a few doors away was Isbudin Valdis, Grandagarour 21, an ice cream parlor, 1 scoop 700 ISK, 2 scoops 900 ISK.  I had amaretto and deep chocolate, which distracted me sufficiently that I was unable to record what others had.

Friday, July 8, 2022

The only building in Iceland with armed guards openly on patrol is the United States Embassy, a tribute to our pacific reputation.   

 . . . 

On the other hand, Iceland is free of McDonald's, which went bankrupt locally in 2009.

 

Saturday, July 9, 2022

We arrived home this afternoon and as I prepared to publish this missive, I tested positive for Covid-19.  There had to be a reason that my head felt like it would explode on the flight.  So, no visits to Zucker's, Trader Joe's, Pastrami Queen, Fairway or Zabar's for at least one week.    

. . .

Answer = FEE