Aubrietta was a little better, but still queasy and weak. She ate a bit of breakfast and then the girls and I went to the pool. It was Aubrietta's turn to be awed by the locker room experience, and at the pool, the sight of nearly all males in tight fitting speedos instead of the baggy knee-length trunks popular in the US. Aubrietta tried the giant waterside and some of the other activities, then she was weary, so after about an hour at the pool we returned to the apartment.
Aubrietta was too exhausted to go on, and was feeling queasy again, so she went to bed and slept for 5 hours, with Daddy staying at home with her while Kelsey and I ventured out after a eating some open face sandwiches for lunch.
It was Iceland's National Holiday and there were many events going on throughout the city, including several parades. I thought viewing & photographing the colorful main parade would be fun, so we headed out on foot to the bus stop. I checked on my iPad before leaving the apartment to see where the bus was, using a handy app that shows the real-time location of all buses. My plan had been to buy a mini-SIM card to get wireless internet everywhere on my iPad, but with Aubrietta's illness and being homebound so much, it didn't seem necessary anymore. (We had free wifi at the apartment). The bus system was easy to use, we had several great paper maps, and most everything was walking distance anyway.
When Kelsey and I arrived at the bus stop I had just enough time to sit down and consult the time when our bus pulled up. We rode the #14 from Teigar to Grandi (end of the line) and hung out for awhile. We should have gotten off earlier, but the route was detoured because of all the road closures and it never went to the stop I was looking for. After a short layover, we went a few stops and then the children's parade turned off a side road right in front of us. We inched along until we got to the next bus stop and then Kelsey and I jumped off and joined the parade, which was led by a marching band.
The parade circled the lake (which in winter is for ice skating) and ended in a grassy field where children's activities were set up.
Kelsey wanted to buy some cotton candy, so I said she could have some as long as she was the one to buy it. I handed her 500 ISK, which is exactly what it cost, and pushed her towards the line. She turned back, feeling shy, so I took the money back and started to walk away.
She wanted cotton candy so badly that she begged for the money back, and sulked over to the line, glaring at me. One thing I want this trip to teach the girls is how to be more independent, and able to speak up and handle challenges. Trying to communicate with people who speak a different language, and asking for help, is a great start. European children are much more attuned to which strangers are safe and which should be avoided, and are confident in getting around the city on their own, and I think Aubrietta and Kelsey are at the right age to learn some of these skills.
Cotton candy in hand, Kelsey and I explored some of the games set up for children. There were wooden riding toys, stilts, ring and ball tossing games, balance challenges, and more.
There was a fun playground area, which included giant rope climbers and trampolines set into the ground.
There were also bouncy houses and inflatables, but we didn't partake of those.
In the back of this truck a clown act was going on, and Kelsey wanted to watch for awhile, even though it was all in Icelandic, of course.
We were surrounded by Icelandic families. The tourists probably all went to the main parade. One thing I love about Northern Europeans is how they have these enormous baby carriages that a child can ride in until they are 3 or 4 years old. When I backpacked through Europe in 1997 with my brother I visited several baby stores to look at carriages, and when I was married and expecting Aubrietta 2 years later, I had one imported from Norway. I used it for 6 years straight, and now it waits for grandchildren.
And the sweaters! So many beautiful hand knits, especially on the children!
Kelsey and I walked toward the harbor and main shopping street area, in the company of thousands of happy people. We were hungry, and I hadn't had a good strong coffee since leaving Seattle, so we stopped in a coffeehouse, where Kelsey wrote on the wall while I ordered one coffee and 2 croissants for us.
On a grassy hillside hundreds of children and their families danced along to a live "Lazy Town" performance set up on a temporary stage on a closed street. "Lazy Town" is a popular children's televison program in the US, but here in Iceland it appears an addiction. I don't know if it originated here or just happens to be one of the few children's programs translated into Icelandic, but everywhere you go you see "Lazy Town" branded products.
Another thing we noticed is that many of the children were wearing "Buffs," stretchy tubular material worn as a head covering. Made popular on the TV show Survivor, Icelandic parents seem to have adopted the Buff as the perfect summer headcovering for their children, to keep them warm, and from getting their scalps sunburned through their very blond hair. Another interesting observation we made was that siblings were often dressed alike, both brothers, and sisters. Of course that made be feel right at home as a parent!
Icelanders are crazy for licorice, including salty licorice gum, and chocolate covered licorice. Even the youngest kids seem to like it, and we saw a number of kids walking around with these giant licorice lollipops.
I needed a toilet, and had the fun of using an automatic one for the first time. When the person ahead of me got out, the door snapped shut and spraying water and blowing air sounds could be heard within. After a minute or two the door popped open and I went in. The floor was still wet, but the toilet, without separate seat, had been blown dry. After going, I tried to open the door and it wouldn't budge. I was afraid the wash cycle would suddenly start with me in it! As I was standing there pulling on the door, I noticed an opening behind and above the toilet and hand symbols. I put a hand in the opening and warm soapy water started spraying, then clean water, then warm air blew. Then, when I tried the door again, it opened. I guess they really want to make sure you clean your hands, since you can't open the door until you do. Kelsey was afraid to go in, and decided to "hold it" until she got home.
Walking up the main shopping street back toward the Hlemmur bus station, most of the shops were closed. The main parade had been on the street just 2 hours earlier, and I'd hoped to find a discarded flag to take home as a souvenier, but not a scrap of trash littered the street! Although there is some graffiti tagging done by youth, there doesn't seem to be much littering or other vandalism.
Back home by 4pm, Aubrietta was just waking. She handn't thrown up but was pretty weak. Nonetheless, she was eager to get out, so I suggested a leisurely walk to the zoo, which was right next to the botanical garden. Both girls wanted to visit the zoo, and here we had just one day left and hadn't been there. Daddy took off for Videy Island, hiking 15 minutes over to the little foot ferry for the 5 minute crossing. Visiting Videy Island, which is a historic site and nature preserve, was one of the things I really wanted to do, but because of Aubrietta's condition we hadn't gotten around to it yet. Below are the photos he took from his brief visit.
Meanwhile the girls and I were at the zoo, where they had mostly farm animals, and the few Icelandic mammals....
Icelandic Pony, brought to Iceland by the Vikings
Reindeer
Arctic Fox
Adorable seals, mothers and nurslings.
And I'm not sure what this is, but I think it has something to do with toddlers turning in their pacifiers when they reach that stage of being too big for them, but being so attached to them that they don't want to throw them away. I've heard of parents bagging them up to "give to new babies," or doing some other ceremonious disposal of the pacifiers, so maybe that is what is going on here.
The zoo also had an amusement park, and Aubrietta really perked up at the sight of that. She was still a bit queasy and weak, but youthful enthusiasm overtook her when the girls spied the water balls. They had seen them on a TV show, but never in real life, and they both wanted to try them badly. I went into the concession stand to buy tickets for it, only to find out that the water balls were a different deal, and cost 500 ISK cash to ride. I had just spent my last cash, but remembered the 10 Euro Angie had given me. I whipped that bill out and begged the attendant, and she gave me 2000 ISK in return and let both girls ride. I'm not sure if it was a fair conversion, but it allowed the girls to do something they might never get to do again, so I wasn't going to worry about it. Thanks for that Euro, Angie!
The zoo closed at 18:00 and we were the last to leave, having been there only an hour. They pretty much had to show us the gate to get us to go.
Aubrietta was spent and hungry, so we stopped to rest at Cafe Flora in the botanical garden. I ordered the soup of the day, which was a light carrot potato bacon puree (heavy on the broth, not creamy), a Swiss Mocha, and an oatmeal raisin cookie.
The three of us shared the soup, although preference was given to Aubrietta because she was recovering from being so stomach sick the day before. Kelsey and I had the mocha, and took the cookie home for later.
Another observation we've made about Iceland is that there are a lot of cats, and they are everywhere. I suppose cats are great lapwarmers during the long, cold winters. As we were walking back to the apartment through the botanical garden we noticed this "fluff" in the foliage.
It was another cat, friendly as all the others we'd encountered. The cats we've met all seem well cared for, just enjoying their freedom during the short summer, not unlike the Icelandic children we see wandering the streets all hours of the day and night.
Back at the apartment Daddy had returned from Videy Island and wasn't really impressed. Perhaps he was just tired, I don't know. I really thought he would enjoy it. He talked me out of going, but I do regret that I didn't go. Maybe he was downplaying the experience because he knew we'd run out of time for me to make the trip over there on my own.
Over a dinner of the remaining Arctic Char, Daddy and Kelsey decided they would go in the morning on the all day bus tour of the "Golden Circle," which visited a horse farm, a commercial greenhouse where produce is grown year-round, an erupting geyser, Pingvellir National Park where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart, and Gullfoss waterfall.
Aubrietta had barely seen anything of Reykjavik, so I would stay behind with her on Monday and do whatever interested her, at her pace. She had a few bites of dinner, following that soup at the garden, and then she was done eating. It was good to see her eat again, but there was no way I was going to subject her delicate stomach and inclination to motion sickness to an all-day bus tour. In a way I wished I could see all the sights Kelsey and Daddy would be seeing, but it wasn't worth the long hours on the bus at this point.
We went to bed late, as usual, since it didn't get dark and time got away from us. Kelsey was in bed by 11:00, Aubrietta shortly thereafter, then Daddy, and I stayed up reading, writing, and doing laundry until nearly 2am. It was a long, but better day.
NEXT: Day 5, Part 1 - Last Full Day in Iceland - Heather and Aubrietta do Reykjavik - Monday June 18
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Those water balls look like fun! I'm happy to see that Aubrietta is doing better.
Posted by: Laura Bergman | Tuesday, 19 June 2012 at 04:12 PM