Hotel Laws of Oregon

Parts of southern Oregon still have a certain "frontier justice" vibe from the days of the Old West.

Section 1966 (Defrauding Hotel or Boarding House):

Any person who shall, after having obtained food, lodging, or other accommodation at any hotel, apartment house, boarding house, tourist camp, trailer camp, or restaurant, surreptitiously remove his or her baggage and clothing from such hotel, apartment house, boarding house, tourist camp, trailer camp, or restaurant without first paying or tendering payment for such food, lodging, or other accommodation, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $100, or imprisoned no more than fifty days, or both.

I'm pretty sure that the Big House won't award status points, even for a 50 night stay.

Back in Blighty

Flashback: Thursday, July 29, 2004

Landing at Heathrow for the second time ever is not as exciting as the first. Perhaps I'm feeling reluctant to return to the mega-city lifestyle, and the knowledge that my vacation is winding up.

The woman at the Immigration and Customs desk seemed surprised, and even pleased, when I stated Bath as my intended tourist destination. It must get boring to hear responses like "Tower of London" or "Windsor Castle" all the time.

In the baggage area, there is another high school band, this time returning from their own trip to Iceland. The baggage carousel was never designed for their oddly-shaped instrument cases, and each one slams into the metal siding with a loud dissonant clang as it drops down, and misses the rubber bumpers. On top of that, their electronic equipment got a good soaking while sitting in the rain, on the tarmac at Keflavík.

I had decided to travel light for the remainder of this trip, and would leave all the warm/heavy Icelandic gear at the airport until returning home, rather than trying to lug it back into town, around the country, and across the Channel.
(Tactical Travel Error #2a - if you leave baggage at the airport, you should leave it at the terminal building from which you will be departing later!)

It took a bit of time to re-arrange my packing, make sure I had everything I would need for the next three days, and then hand over my large bag at the left luggage counter. Then it was back to the Heathrow Express, and downtown London. With the sight of the Metropolitan police marching through the terminal building, machine pistols at the ready, the return is complete.

Piccadilly Circus

Happy Easter!

Say what you will about red-eye flights, but the fitful (or no) sleep and general grogginess is worth it, for the view of the city at pre-dawn, as it slowly materializes from out of the cloud cover. Even if I could get at my camera, and somehow take a picture of a fast moving scene in low light conditions, it wouldn't do it justice.

This has been a great long weekend, hurriedly (and yet leisurely) spent in some of the most beautiful parts of Western Canada. Being able to meet up with good old friends for the last part is what transforms this business trip from routine into refreshing.

BC Parliament Buildings, Victoria

Victoria Chinatown (oldest in Canada)

Ganges, Saltspring Island

Ruckle Provincial Park

Canmore, Alberta

One last drink

The bus ride back to Keflavík is uneventful, but the terminal building is absolutely bustling - more people than I've seen in three weeks. Many of those arriving are Icelanders returning from shopping trips or other business abroad. The duty free store is my last chance to contribute to local commerce. There is a neat gift set of the Black Death (Brennivín), with matching glasses. That should do nicely...

Taking a day off

Flashback: Thursday, July 29, 2004

After 18 days of travel, today is downtime, until the afternoon bus back to Keflavík. No cameras, no rucksack. Temporarily no longer a tourist, but just living as the locals do.

After the traditional light Scandinavian breakfast, and a slow morning packing up, it's a walk to the Kringlan shopping centre. Of course, today, the skies finally opened up again, and turned it into a long, long walk in the pouring rain.

It's a modern mall, like any other, but I didn't travel all this way to shop. Just looking around, including stepping into the 66° Norður store, then stepping out empty-handed again, one last time. The only products in my price range were rather silly looking fleece hats, for which I wouldn't even pay that price.

Lunch will be in the food court today. The Economist magazine keeps track of what it calls the Big Mac Index. Based on the assumption that a Big Mac is always identical, at any McDonald's restaurant anywhere in the world, it measures the relative consumer purchasing power in each country.

A Big Mac for 439 ISK (about $9 CAD) is out of the question. No Kebabhús today, thank you. I'll stick to the slightly healthier Mexican salad a couple of shops over.

For the return trip back to the hotel, a taxi is the smarter way to go. After checking out, I have a quiet half hour, sitting in the hotel lobby, flipping through the Morgunblaðið. To an observer, I might even have appeared to be able to read Icelandic, perusing articles about the (increasing) comparative price of fisk at Bónus and other outlets, scanning the adverts to marvel at the cost of living, or reading the daily horoscopes (Pisces is Fiskarnir in Icelandic).

Then the airport bus arrives, and I'm on the way out of the country.

A night on the town

It was nice to share a meal with a friend in a foreign country (the fish and chips were OK, but not the best in the world). As much as I'd like to go out for a drink, and also avoid the rain, this is my last night in Reykjavík. I'll try to swing by the popular drinking spots later that evening, but I'm going walkabout.

First stop is the harbour, where two interesting ships are moored.

V/s Týr - flagship of the Icelandic Coast Guard

Akademik Sergey Vavilov - Arctic/Antarctic tour boat

There are quite diverse architectures, all within walking distance.

Alþingi (Parliament Building)

Raðhús (City Hall)

Raðhús up close

Tjörn (Pond)

A house

The city skyline is dominated by the church.

Hallgrímskirkja

Nearby, is a statue donated by the US in 1930, on the 1000th anniversary of the Alþing.

Leifr Eiricsson (sic)

I've made my way halfway across town by now. Might as well take a walk along the seashore.

Sun-Craft (by Jón Gunnar Árnason)

I think this new building under construction has a geothermal heating system, similar to those being tested at Battery Park City in New York City.

Geothermal apartments?

There is also a house where many distinguished heads of state and other guests have stayed. It is probably most famous as the site of a Reagan-Gorbachev summit meeting in 1986.

Höfði House

I make my way back downtown along Laugavegur. There's nothing I'd like to buy, but I do look in at several of the drinking establishments, to see if Mary is around. Alas, she is not there.

Before I get on the shuttle bus back to the hotel, there is one last look at the founding father of Reykjavík.

Ingólfur Arnarson

What's a geologist like you doing in a place like this?

After returning to the hotel, it's time to finally see Reykjavík. The shuttle bus ride downtown takes mere minutes, and drops you off on Lækjargata. This street and Bankastræti/Laugavegur are the main commercial areas, filled with shops and restaurants.

Kebabhúsið bills its fish and chips as the best in the world ("After you eat here, don't go to London!" ). A pretty big claim for a small chain. Still, I just have to try it once.

After picking up my order and sitting at a table, who should I meet, but Mary Chapman...

Þingvellir

Þingvellir is the third national park in Iceland that I've visited on this trip. As always, I have to leave something undone for the return trip. The fourth and newest national park is Snæfellsnes in the west.

Þingvellir (the Plain of the Alþing, or Parliament) was the first national park, created more for its geological and historical significance, rather than sheer natural beauty. That said, it's still probably a pleasant place to visit in good weather. The children are getting bored, and with the rain pouring down, we won't be staying long.

Geology

Þingvallavatn

Gullfoss

The Gullfoss is the nicest looking waterfall I've seen yet. Not quite the same raw power as the Dettifoss, but refreshing in its natural beauty.

Gullfoss

On a sunny day, or in winter, it must be even more spectacular.

Gullfoss - from higher up

It's not that tall, and could almost be hidden, among the green hills.

Gullfoss - upper part

Gullfoss - lower part up close

Hot Dog!

The Icelandic hot dog, or pýlsur, is like the kind you find at a 7-11 (or 10-11 in Iceland). Not terribly good or good for you, but cheap and available anywhere, all the time. Two rather sad looking pýlsur constitute lunch today, sprinkled with the traditional fried onion bits.

Then it's time to herd all the children back on board the bus, and off to our next destination. More interesting cultural facts enroute:

Icelanders start English language studies from age 11, and Danish from age 12. This explains the proficiency in English of most residents, and why Microsoft once considered withdrawing Icelandic translation/localization for Windows.

There are nine public universities and colleges in Iceland, where tuition is free. The two private universities charge about $3000 per year. Many Icelanders then go abroad, mostly to Scandinavia, for more specialised study and research.

The only native animal of Iceland is the Arctic Fox. All others were imported, with varying degrees of catastrophe (mink, squirrels, raccoons). The many, many (over one million) sheep which roam the countryside are atypically individualistic, and certainly act that way. The Icelandic horse (of which there are 70 thousand) is another unique animal, shorter and stockier than other breeds, with a distinctive gait.

Icelandic horses

Due to the short growing season, farms in Iceland are heavily subsidized.

Icelandic farm

66° Norður

According to their adverts, 66° Norður has been "Keeping Iceland warm since 1926." We'd seen these all over, mostly featuring stern-looking people standing in rugged Icelandic settings, wearing snazzy outdoor wear. They are also official outfitter to the staff of the BSÍ bus company.

Their heavyweight Polartec fleece vests and jackets are certainly very, very nice, but also come with price tags well into five figures (in krónur), or north of $200 CAD.

A couple of months earlier, at the Columbia Sportswear Company flagship store in downtown Portland, Oregon (glorious land of 0% sales tax), I'd walked away from a similar type of jacket. It was warm (especially in June), comfortable, and fit well, and could be combined with an outer shell which I certainly couldn't afford. Compared to the Icelandic equivalent, $90 USD would have been a bargain...

I always find it very difficult to buy souvenirs when travelling. Generally, it's the same schlock everywhere, all made in China, but with a different name stamped on it. However, a 66° Norður jacket would be distinctive, tasteful, and very practical too. There was just that matter of price, which would be even higher in the hotel gift shop and tourist stores, of course.

I could almost rationalize buying one - it would have been so easy to just pull out the Eurocard and worry about the bill next month. I mean, the number on the tag already includes the 24.5% VAT, and I could get 15% of that refunded back if I spend enough...

I would surely have succumbed, if not for two things:

1. I couldn't find anything with the Icelandic "66° Norður" logo, as found on the domestic product, worn by the bus people. Everything in the stores was obviously labelled "66° North" for tourists and international export.

2. "Made in Latvia" on the label.

So, I resigned myself to walking out of the Geysir tourist shop empty-handed. As I did so, one of the American families from the tour came in:

"Do you like it? Daddy will buy you one, if you like it."

Grrr.