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We want to see the Northern Lights. We certainly aren't the only ones. All the tourists we have met came here specifically for a chance to see them. No one has so far. Optimists that we are, we keep trying. We went to bed at decent time last night. We had walked many miles in the snow and were tired. We both woke up around 1 am. We looked through the window and the sky was clear!!! We threw on clothes, coats and boots and took the elevator to the top floor where there is an outdoor observation deck. Yes, the sky was the clearest we have seen it since we've been here. We crossed our fingers and set out to scan the sky. The moon was big and beautiful as a cloud passed over it. We could see a few stars. We could see lights twinkling in the distance across the bay, but no lights. After a good while we decided to return to our room and get some sleep. We passed a small lounge area where 7 or 8 men and women from the UK were drinking wine and vodka and invited us to join. We said no thanks to the drinks because we intended to head back to bed but ended up chatting with them for at least an hour. You know how Stan can chat, and these days I'm almost as chatty as he. These folk were members of a running club called Hash House. I plan to look it up. They say there are such clubs all over the world. The club sponsors running events in which members are given clues about next stopping points (pubs). They run at their own pace from point to point, pub to pub having a great time. Most of members we had just met are associated to Oxford University in one way or another (professors, engineers, architects and some retired) but together they made a lively bunch. They not only do the running/drinking events but they also like each other so much that they travel together to France, Italy and other spots for the running events but also to other places just for fun. There were 13 of them all together. They have given each other nicknames too, like ding-a-ling, s***stick, dipstick, road-enema, etc. After our visit with these crazy, but very inviting Brits, we took one more look outside. Still no lights! In fact it was snowing again.
Today we started our day with a swim. Just about 6 blocks from our hotel is the largest indoor/outdoor swimming/sports facility in Reykjavik, the Reykjavik Sports Complex. All the locals on this side of town go there. It has a huge gym, an Olympic size swimming pool, many mini-pools of various hot and chilly temps. It is absolutely amazing to me that these people who live and thrive in such a cold climate love swimming so much - they love golf too! But then again, they do not have to heat their pools - the water comes bursting out of the ground already heated. What a luxury!!
Well . . . We walked to the complex, figured out how to do what locals do without looking too very weird and out of our element. We showered and put on our suits and made a mad dash to the first pool available. It was hot and fabulous. All around us people in bathing suits were scampering about, very quickly from pool to pool. We soaked, we met people and chatted, we swam laps (not too many), and we had a great, great experience!!! We especially enjoyed talking with Thessa and our Korean student-friend we met along the way. Maybe we will see Thessa in Maine next summer as she works at Robin Hood camp, a summer camp for the well-heeled kids of the area. We also wish the best to our new Korean girl-friend studying French in Paris for the next four years. (Shhhh - is she royalty or what???)
We stopped by the hotel to drop off our towels and suits and discovered that our under-water camera was full of water. We are employing all the tricks we know to try to save it, i.e., hair dryer, silica sachets, and a bag or rice.) Oh please Lord, help us!
We had lunch at a place we have been lusting for, Hamborgarafabrikkan (Hamburger Factory). We walked past it every day and wished to stop, Today we did. It is just down the street from our Hotel Cabin and just across the street from the house where Reagan and Gorbachev signed a treaty to end the Cold War. The burgers are really, really good. Sour pickles cost extra but are worth it. Stan had an sunny-side-up egg added to his - as is the tradition here. Man, really good food!! Original Icelandic Alternative music played overhead and they said Eric Clapton eats here when he comes to Iceland to fish. He loves to fish.
We are running low on time. We may not see the Aurora Borealis. Sad. But we decided we must learn about it. We walked from the restaurant, through the town to the old Reykjavik Harbor to the Aurora Reykjavik—a multi-media venue that explains the phenomenon (I shall certainly need more lessons) and shows video renditions of the classic Northern Lights presentations from many points in Iceland. Bum! Why can't we see them?????
We walked back to the hotel. Google estimates we walked 2.5 miles in "sloughy" snow to our hotel - it's a little like walking on a soft sandy shore in heavy boots. I'm thinking we got a great booty work-out!!
On the way to our hotel, we bought a big box of dry rice in which to pack Stan's waterproof camera (and hopefully dry it) and set off to buy some wine but we were too late. Wine stores here close at 18:00. Whoo,! Looks like the hotel is going to make some cash tonight!
Later tonight we will pack and prepare for the long trip home tomorrow. We will also make a trip upstairs around midnight to the 7th floor to look one last time for those elusive Northern Lights. Optimists that we are, we think we just may see them.
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