More on Iceland

25 08 2010

Did you know that there are 1.47 sheep for every human in Iceland and in 1980 there were 3.65 sheep for every Icelander?
There are however 4.14 persons per Icelandic horse and about 12 of us per milking cow.  More along those lines here.

On another note, here I saw that the Penis museum in Húsavík was voted the second mosts horrifying museum in the World.  I checked out the museum in this post and thought it was kind of cute …or maybe cute isn’t the right word… interesting is more like it – but definitely not horrifying.

My friend Natasha just posted her first piece on Iceland –Iceland 101, Part 1: Reykjavík – so check that out!

If anyone is interested in Iceland and has some questions just shoot and I’ll try to answer any questions in the comments.


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Categories : Iceland

Two days to go

8 01 2010

We are getting more and more excited about the trip every day and now there are only 2 days to go. We’ll be flying to London at 0830 on Sunday morning if the British weather allows it. I heard yesterday that the Icelandic government offered take back our weather if the British stop their Icesafe demands, so hopefully we will be able to fly :)
We have thought hard about what to take with us on a four month trip and after careful considerations I have already packed my bags. I will be taking with me 11 kg. of stuff and I suspect Elínborg to have a bit less. I know that I have packed a few things that are not strictly necessary – more nice to have – and I also added a few clothes that I will throw away during the trip. The back pack will probably weigh around 12 kg. after I have swapped the traveling clothes for shorts and flip flops and I’m happy with that weight, it is comfortable to carry around – even for extended periods.

So what will I take with me?

All the luggage spread out

All the luggage spread out

First of all I have a 55 liter back pack that I bought for our trip to Madagascar a few years back. It is not super fancy but quite good. Then I have a tiny day pack that we can use on shorter trips and a murse (man purse) for the computer, money, camera and stuff.

Toiletries

  • Toothbrush + paste
  • Roll-on + Face creme + Soap
  • Disposable razor x 2 + Small shaving foam
  • Hair & nail cutters
  • Aloe Vera creme for sunburn
  • Fast drying towel
  • Contact lenses + sunglasses + ear plugs
  • Cotton sleeping bag and toilet paper in case shit hits the fan.

Clothes for everything from the beaches in Thailand to the mountaintops in China

  • Underwear x 3 + socks x 2
  • Speedos + surfer shorts
  • Shorts + long pants
  • Flip Flops + (Hiking) shoes
  • Fleece sweater (one thin, one slightly thicker)
  • t-shirt x 3 + polo shirt + wife beater
  • Shirts x 3 (one dress-up)
  • Poncho + Buff + Kangaroo hat

This is all I will be wearing for the next four months and hopefully some of the things will stay in the bag the whole time like the fleece and the rain poncho but you never know.

Stuff for entertainment or to dodge some curve-balls

  • Pencil + Pen + Block of paper
  • USB key + USB cable
  • Swiss army knife + Spork
  • Gaffer tape + Flash light + Telescope
  • Waist wallet
  • Camera + battery + tripod
  • Lonely Planet guide + Guide to China
  • Locks x 2 (small and large)
  • Sawing kit + Plastic bags + Plastic straps
  • Big bungee cord (laundry line)
  • Water tight bag + Small air tight box
  • Net-book + charger
  • Phone + charger
  • iPod + charging cord
  • Multi-electric socket
  • Deck of cards + Games (Ludo, Backgammon)
  • Journal + Fiction book

Additionally we need passports and credit cards, visas and passport photos for visas to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and stuff like that. Elínborg is packing the medicine cabinet so I’m not sure what will be in that one but I’ll probably post that later.

Small stuff went into bags and the clothes into space bags

Small stuff went into bags and the clothes into space bags

It is amazing how few things that we collect are really necessary when you think about it. Obviously we are not going to be preparing our food too much and we are going to a warm climate but apart from that I guess we could manage with the things we are taking with us for quite a long time, even back home in Iceland. It will be interesting to reflect on this after we come back home and see if those things were enough and what things were redundant.

Everything packed and ready to go (except the travelling clothes)

Everything packed and ready to go (except the travelling clothes)

I’m going to keep this blog open to everyone so please share it if you know of people interested in the topics discussed here and please post your comments if you have any!

Cheers everyone!

——————————————
A quick update on the medicine cabinet.  It contains the following items (not that I know what all the tablets do)
  • malarone, siprox, norfloxin, imodium, canesten, mildison, monotrim
  • loritin, ibufen and panodil
  • Thermometer and latex gloves
  • Anti bite and mouth wash


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Categories : South East Asia

First leg of the adventure …to the starting point

26 12 2009

We have been staying in Florida for the past couple of months but are now back in Iceland. We really enjoyed the slow pace in Florida and loved the weather up until late December, when it started to cool down a bit. The highlights were:

  • Going to St. Augustine, which is a really beautiful town just north of Orlando. St. Augustine is the oldest town in the US, dating back the 15th century. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to properly explore the town but will be back for sure.
  • Going to the MGM Park (Disney Hollywood Studios) and testing our nerves in The Tower of Terror and The Aerosmith Roller-coaster and calming our selves in The Puppet Show 3D cinema.
  • Seeing the Orlando Magic play the Utah Jazz in the Amway center. The game was not that great, the players seemed to be worrying about what to get their wives and mistresses for Christmas rather then playing basketball, but it was fun to experience the atmosphere and seeing the fans.

We also got to see two of my classmates from the MBA. We met Laura in dueling piano bar in downtown Disney. We had never been to a dueling piano bar before (or even heard of one) but it was great fun and a great concept. The entertainers made fun of us being from Iceland, which never seems to get old. Preston took us on a tour through Cocoa beach. We saw almost the original Ron Jon shop, surfers surfing in the cold see and Elínborg was almost eaten by a pelican.

On the 23rd we flew to Reykjavík for the holidays. Christmas eve is the main day for gathering in Iceland when we have a family dinner and open the presents. We spent the evening at Elínborg’s sister’s house where we ate a wonderful traditional Icelandic Christmas dinner – smoked pork loin, brown sugar potatoes, cream and fruit salad, red cabbage and canned green pies. After wards we opened the presents where my sister in law and her husband took center stage by carefully disguising their presents by wrapping them in multiple layers of paper. On Christmas day we went again to Elínborg’s sister, Ásta, for a family dinner party with her in-laws.

It was kind of strange being back home and a couple of things that I had forgotten about or not thought of for a while. Firstly the darkness was darker and longer than I remembered. It isn’t properly bright until just before lunchtime and sunset is around 15:00. I also felt that people are pretty fashionable and current over here but perhaps most places look fashionable compared to Orlando :)

Now we are in the small air-plain on the way to Egilsstaðir where my mother and her husband live. We will meet up with my brother and his son over there. Egilsstaðir is an hours flight from Reykjavík and is the biggest town in the eastern part of Iceland with almost 3.000 inhabitants – so pretty big in Icelandic terms. The plan is to stay there until the 29th.

I’ll put in some pictures on facebook to match…

The bird that Threatened to eat Elínborg

The bird that threatened to eat Elínborg


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