Kim In Europe - May 2024

Again on Laurie's recommendation, I decided to really go for it, driving super early in the morning from Reykjavik down to the south coast where Europe's largest glacier flows slowly into the sea. There the Glacier Adventure company will gladly furnish you with hiking boots and crampons and guide you (our guide was a Slovakian expat named Marek) on an exploration (however unstably in my case) of the strange world of glaciers. Especially fascinating are vertical holes where small amounts of water have swished around (according to our knowledgeable guide) and tunneled down into the glacier. The company has rigged up ropes, and you can climb down into these holes. Pretty other-worldly. ...

Iceland is not especially known for its architecture, but there is one really striking building, the Hallgrímskirkja, the pride of the predominant Lutheran denomination. It really is stunning, with its wide groundsw and organ-like façade. The organ inside is impressive, too. I like how the "trumpets" project forward. In front this church stands a statue of Leif Erikson, presented by the U.S. to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the Icelandic parliament, one of the longest standing in the world. ...

One observation on Boston's Logan airport. Comapred to SFO or SJC, hard to find an Uno Mas or a Jamba Juice, but really easy to find a bar. On the flip side, no Legal Seafood in SFO, alas. I looked out my window, and what did I see? Flying over the sourthern tip of Greenland -- snow, ice, glacier (?) as far as I can see. And really craggy mountains. The picture doesn't capture how bright and white it was. Really stunning. Here's a shot with less airplane wing in it. Amazing!