Iceland: Out Of This World

Iceland....Where IS Iceland?

I remember seeing Iceland on the airplane TV a number of times when flying over the Atlantic ocean. But that's about all I knew about Iceland. 

I heard only great things, mystical things about Iceland, but tickets were always more than I was willing to spend on five of us. I actually gave up on the idea of visiting Iceland until early this year when I saw really inexpensive tickets for our family! So things changed:) I had to be flexible and Katya had to miss three days, the boys had to miss two days (we went over the UK bank holiday) but it all worked out at the end. 

We had a really early flight from Luton with Easy Jet. But that also meant an early arrival  to Iceland as Iceland is an hour behind us in England. 

First thing that was different--super cute spotless airport with these cute trolleys.

The moment we came outside, the kids were like "Ahhhh! The air smells so different, so fresh!". We got our rental car (and a lot of complimentary hot chocolate that the kids went crazy about) and headed pass Reykjavik towards the place where we were staying. 

The weather was very strange. It was raining a lot and it looked really dreary. 

It was Sunday, but we still had to stop at the supermarket and get groceries. One of the Bonus stores was on the way, so we stopped here. Prices were insanely high:) I am not quite sure how people can effort living here and eat fruits and vegetables. I guess they get used to everything being imported or not fantastic quality. But they did have many choices of healthier pre-made salads and sandwiches for lunch. Somehow we settled on buying a jar of pasta sauce and some pasta, plus veggies and that was our plan for dinner, so we didn't have to go out. 

Let me tell you about Iceland really quickly. Iceland's population is 332,000, covering an area of 40,000 sq miles, thus making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The first settlers in Iceland came in 874AD from Norway. And then a few more followed from other Scandinavian countries. Norway and then Denmark ruled Iceland till the 19th century. Iceland became independent in 1918. For the longest time, Iceland mainly relied on fishing industry, but after WWII, with the help of the Marshall Plan, it jumped on the industrialization wagon and jump started its economy. The quality of life is pretty amazing here and people are healthy. The country relies completely on renewable energy, it makes it a very clean place to live. After the economic crash of 2008, Iceland has been recovering slowly and steady, mainly due to a great touristic surge. Iceland Air even invites people who fly from the states to Europe and vice verse to stop for a week in Iceland with no extra fees. So that's an option always:) 

Well, there is a lot more to tell you about Iceland, but for now we'll get back to our drive from the airport inland towards Laugarvatnsvegur (yes, it's a mouthful).

We drove pass, a national park Þingvellir, (Thingvellir).  The weather was changing really quickly and it was actually snowing and blowing wind. It was fun! 

So this is May 1st. This is what it looked like. 

We drove a bit further to a parking lot to visit the place where two tectonic plates--American and European--collide. It's not the EXACT place, but it is very close. 

Very interesting landscape. 

This national park is the place where in 930 the first government was established and continued to meet till the 1700s.

I am sure it's a lot greener when it's summer but just for a couple of short months.

I have never seen a road sign like this;)

You can dive or snorkle into the very clear waters at Silfra Lake. You can't really see how clear it is from this picture though.  

We are pretending this is where the tectonic plates meet. 

Alex is inspecting the insides of the earth. 

I think Iceland suits Robert, especially when the sun comes out. 

And Alex. 

And Mark:) 

Just a sample of Icelandic language and names.

Oh, this picture makes me laugh:) In a happy way:)

As we were walking back to the car, it started to rain again. The weather was changing every half an hour, seriously.

We literally had to run to our car before it started pouring. And then we drove to our house, that we found after a few detours, guessing, and u-turns:) 

The house was located in a great place, with not much around it but nature. The hot tub was a bonus and great fun on this freezing afternoon. 

And that was the end of Day 1.

Lyana.

Ukraine: Life on the Dacha

My uncle's dacha is located one minute walk to the biggest river of Ukraine--Dniper river. On the first afternoon when we arrived, Robert took the boys to see what it looks like. 

That's the central part of Kyiv in the background. 

This is Alex walking back towards the dacha--that street is unpaved, full of pot holes, and is quite long. On the right, that cement fence looks kind of scary but it's actually a very nice house behind it, and security cameras;)

So here is the dacha house. It's basically a summer house to spend long hot days in a bit of a countryside setting, but still within minutes of the city. 

Dacha is the place to entertain as you can hang outside and cook outside. This is Andriy's domain (my cousin's husband). Shashliki is his specialty:)

But it was still super chilly outside when we visited as the weather cooled down drastically right before we arrived. So we opted to stay inside and fit at this table, cozily:)

This is also when one of our second cousins visited with his family, the more the merrier. Babushka Maya got to sit next to me:)

In the evenings, my mom treated the boys to head massages. They loved it as she has a magic touch:)

During the days, the kids could play outside in the fenced in yard. Football is king in my family, so of course, the boys had a blast playing together.

That's Petrusik, Mark and Mika.

The big boys and Katya joined in as well. 

And in the evening, once, we walked over to the river again to watch a spectacular sunset. 

Alex feeling special as only he went on a walk with us. 

Love:)

I was trying to remind them of the picture they took in FL when Alex was little. 

Back at the dacha, Mark was competing in a chess tournament against this smart cookie--Petrusik. These two have lots of fun together. Petrusik is amazing!

And in the evening we talked for hours, and I tried to absorb as much as possible of my Babushka's memorable stories:).

And so it was very relaxing not to be going places and sightseeing but spending time with the family talking, playing and eating.

Lyana.

Wales: Driving through Brecon Beacons to Hay-on-Wye.

Our drive back was one of the most picturesque ones. We took the smaller roads enjoying the beauty of Brecon Beacons National Park. 

This area is mountainous for Wales standards, but it's mostly beautiful rolling hills and sheep pastures. 

Even at its highest point (Pen-y-Fan), you are only at 886 m elevation-that's about 2900 ft.

It's green and beautiful. But windy. 

Can't beat the views at our rest stop.

Robert definitely has hair advantage here.

We followed these beautiful roads all the way to the border of Wales and England. 

Some sheep tried to follow us too. In this area, they are pros at crossing busy highways.

Good bye, Wales!

Our day was not over yet. We drove to a cute town of Hay-on-Wye right on the border with England. 

It just so happened that a huge world-famous Hay Festival was in full swing here. Basically, writers, poets, actors, scientists, musicians and philosophers come to Hay-on-Wye to talk, present different ideas, eat and just hang out. We joined the festival for lunch. 

There were many booths set up and different events going on. Some of the events were free others required tickets. We basically just came to the festival to EAT!:) Mostly because we missed Jude Law who had performed at the festival the night before.

Waiting and waiting for our food...and Mark got a hold of the camera.

 We walked a couple of miles into town. This town is obviously famous for books, so we stopped by several book shops that sold old and new books. Kids got to choose a couple and then we wondered around the streets to find ice cream made of goat milk and more antique shops.

One of our favorite signs ever! So funny:)

It was late afternoon when we left Hay-on-Wye. There was still a lot to see but we had to get home. 

We drove to a random town, Bromsgrove, just past Worcester (WUUS-tər) where I knew we could find a good Thai restaurant for dinner thanks to Trip Advisor. Meakong Thai was its name. And it was indeed really good, so everyone was happy, as we love Thai food. 

Good news is that this was not the last time we are going to be in Wales! Robert's marathon is coming  up in October, in Snowdonia, so we'll be back then for more beautiful scenery. 

We love Wales!

Lyana