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| MT ESJA |
| We visited one of the highest points in town,the Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Church.It sits on a high hill gracefully overlooking most of the city with a beautiful view of the harbor and Mt Esja across the bay. |
| N2DY ICELAND TRIP |
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| October 1986 was a turning point in the relationship between the Soviets and the U.S. This is when Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met at the Hofti House in Reykjavil to discuss disarmament. While the summit ended without agreement, this meeting set the stage for a long and close relationship between Reagan and Gorbachev. It was the beginning of the end of the Cold War. |
| HOFDI HOUSE |
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| Here is one of the first churhes in Iceland. At some point around 1100 AD, the King of Norway sent missionaries to Iceland to convert them from Paganism (Gods like Thor) to Catholicism This church became the center of Catholicism in Iceland. In fact, because of its power, the church became the ruling body over all of Iceland The bishop ruled the island from here. It boggles the mind to think that you are standing in a place almost 1000 years old. In 1517 Martin Luther started the Reformation in Europe. Locals in Iceland seized the opportunity to kick the Church out of power. They executed the bishop and his senior staff. The Lutheran Church then replaced Catholicism. Power fell back into civilian hands |
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| Gullfoss, which translates to Golden Falls in English, is the Niagra Falls of Iceland. It is much more rugged and beautiful than Niagra. With the snow and ice it looked even more surreal. It is clear that legal liability means nothing to Iceland. You were allowed to walk down to a ledge that is actually out in the middle of the falls. It requires that you navigate down a long icy path that has a rope to guide you. The rope was not terribly useful since it was only about a foot off the ground. The path was even made slicker as the spray from the falls would freeze instantly on the path. I must of fallen about 4 or 5 times on the way down but I always made sure that it was to the left. If you fell to the right, you would become part of Gulfoss!! |
| GULFOSS |
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| This is the Kerio Volcano Crater. It is a great example of a dormant volcano crater. If this volcano was in the US, there would have been all sorts of warning signs and probably a fence to keep you from falling in. |
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| The Great Geyser erupts several times per day and goes 200 feet into the air. |
| GREAT GEYSER |
| We took a long weekend in February to travel to Iceland with relatives,friends and other interesting people. We traveled as part of the Washington-based National Press Club (NPC). Here are some of the sights we visited in Iceland. |