EUROPE – PART 4.

As the Island Princess eased out of Reykjavik harbour, the cool, damp end-of-September day reminded us of a late-November day in Halifax. After four hectic days spent seeing as much of Iceland as time and energy would allow, we enjoyed two days at sea as the ship sailed south of the Faroe Islands and between the Shetlands and the Orkneys, before slipping into her berth at Invergordon on Cromarty Firth.

For the first time since our cruise began, we had to collect tickets onboard from Customs agents before setting foot on dry land. Since Great Britain left the European Union, things have become more complicated for people entering the country. Although it turned out to be just a formality, the process to get off the ship delayed us by a couple of hours and shortened the time we had to visit Invergordon and nearby Inverness.

We followed the crowd to a bus stop and were the last to board the local bus, paying about $35 for two return tickets. There being not much to see in tiny Invergordon, Inverness was the place to go. It’s a nice city, about the same size as Charlottetown, with a lovely downtown and a lot of history. Rather than visit the historic buildings as most people did, we opted for a stroll along the beautiful Ness River, upstream for four kilometers or so, then crossed and returned on the other bank. The Ness runs through the center of the city, emptying Loch Ness into Moray Firth.

A few men fly-fished for salmon. The technique and gear they use here is quite different from what I’m used to: two-handed roll casting with a very long rod. I could have watched them all day. We paid our respects at the World War I cenotaph, one of the most beautiful we’ve seen in our travels. Then we strolled along the main shopping street, stopped for a coffee, tea, and a scone, and I watched the world go past on a pleasant Saturday while Elva did a bit of shopping at Marks & Spencer. We took Bus #25 back to Invergordon and boarded the ship, very satisfied with our day. As we cruised out of Cromarty Firth, I took a shot of one of several offshore drilling rigs moored there. The landscape in the background could have been Pownal as seen from Orwell Bay.

Our last stop on this cruise was Newcastle, England’s most northerly city, home to about 300,000 people. The ship docked near the town of Tynemouth. From there, we took the train into the city center; two return tickets cost us the grand sum of $16. The place to go on a Sunday in Newcastle is the Quayside market which runs along the River Tyne. On our way down, we visited Saint Nicholas Cathedral and admired the intricate alabaster carvings. The ones shown in the photo adorn the magnificent pulpit.

The highlight of the river walk is the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, a unique design that ‘tilts’ rather than swings, to allow boat traffic to pass. It is the world’s first tilting bridge and is functional as well as beautiful. Also shown in the photo is the stunning Sage Gateshead, a concert venue and music education centre.

Thirty-one days may sound like a long time to be on a cruise ship but it’s never long enough for us. Despite being cooped up in our tiny cabin for six days, we very much enjoyed our trip. It took us to places we’ve always wanted to visit, the weather was good for the most part, and we learned a great deal about the countries we visited, bringing us to ninety-four in total.

It was our first voyage with Princess; we’ve only ever cruised with Holland America. The main reasons we chose this cruise were timing and itinerary. It may be a function of the cruise business post-COVID, but we’ve noticed changes in the service level since our first cruise nine years ago, none of them for the better. Comparing Princess to Holland America, we can’t think of a single thing that’s better on Princess. In fact, most of the amenities and services are slightly below what we’ve experienced with Holland America. Perhaps the best example of this is the food in the cafeteria, some of which really wasn’t fit to eat. Bottom line, prices have gone up and service levels have suffered. This doesn’t mean we won’t cruise again or that we won’t cruise with Princess, but the reality is that things may never be as they were.

We left the ship quite early on September 27 and took an Uber to Southampton Airport. Our Uber driver is a member of a large Afghan community who arrived in the UK in the early 2000s. He told us his life story, about how he was accepted as a refugee, and how life is here with his wife and four children.

We are still able to travel independently, carrying one backpack and a couple of carry-ons each. I love the mental and physical challenge of not taking the easy way when it comes to transfers and the like. We watched hundreds of people leave the ship and stand in line at the cruise terminal, looking confused and waiting for a bus to take them God knows where. I ordered my Uber on my iPhone; my app told me exactly when the driver would arrive, what kind of car he was driving, and his license plate number; there is no cash involved as payment is by pre-authorized credit card. What could be easier?

At the airport in Edinburgh, we found the express bus that took us to within a ten-minute walk of our accommodations, a bachelor apartment in the Haymarket district. Our first day began with a walk toward the center of the city, breakfast at a café, and a stroll up to the magnificent Edinburgh Castle. We spent three hours there, listening to our audio guide and taking in the scale of the place. There are too many layers of history for me to get my head around. Put simply, the stronghold has been a fortress for at least 1,000 years and it absolutely dominates the Edinburgh skyline. We were moved by the stories of individual bravery recounted in regimental museums and the National War Memorial (second photo) and impressed by the royal jewels and the royal palace. And the views of the city from the ramparts are breathtaking.

The walk down the Royal Mile toward Holyrood Castle, the King’s residence in Scotland, took us past St. Giles Cathedral (interior shown in the first photo) and the Parliament of Scotland. On a hunch, we took the visitors’ entrance and learned that anyone can just walk in and watch the Members of the Scottish Parliament debate from the visitors’ gallery. So, we did. What a novel idea! Scotland has had its own Parliament since 1999 with similar powers to a Canadian province, has had one unsuccessful referendum on independence from the United Kingdom and, if the present government has its way, will have another public vote soon.

We enjoyed glorious, sunny weather during our second day in Edinburgh. Our modest apartment has one great advantage: it’s within easy walking distance of all the important sites. Our itinerary for the day included a visit to the National Museum of Scotland, a twenty-five-minute walk through Old Town, one of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the city. The Museum is very well laid out and has some very interesting collections. It’s not all old stuff, and the place is airy and bright. We spent a few hours there and then walked to Princes Street in the main shopping area so that Elva could engage in her favourite pastime while I took the afternoon off. I'm happy to report that she made it back to our apartment without getting lost! And even happier to report that she didn't spend any money other than to buy me a replacement umbrella.

The second photo below shows Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned successfully from a single cell in 1996, and the third shows a four-man track racing bike dating from about 1900, the only one of its kind known to exist in the UK. 

After dinner, we strolled around New Town, the second of Edinburgh’s UNESCO sites and enjoyed the vibrant restaurant and pub scene of an early fall evening.

On our last day in Edinburgh, we visited the Scottish National Gallery. While we’re not art afficionados, we enjoyed our time there very much. After taking one last stroll along the Royal Mile, we walked back to our lodgings in driving rain and a 90 km/hr headwind, reminding ourselves that: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes!”

Elva and I have been fortunate enough to visit many of the world's great cities, outside North America, and spend a few days there: Paris, London, Rome, Singapore, Sydney, Barcelona, Vienna, Prague, and Budapest. Edinburgh ranks near the top in our experience. The people are friendly, there is lots to do, the city is beautiful, clean, safe, and interesting, and things here are reasonably priced.

Tomorrow, we’ll pick up our rental car and spend nineteen days driving around the countryside with plans to visit the Inner and Outer Hebrides and the Orkney Islands along the way. Land-area wise, Scotland is about the same size as New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island combined, but all the islands we want to visit make planning a trip much more challenging. I’m not looking forward to driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, but I’ll do my best. Wish me luck!

 EUROPE – PART 3

Except for two hours on solid ground in Alesund, Norway, we’d spent eight days at sea. In addition to a daily New York Times Sunday crossword, I passed the time working on an old manuscript I’d started many years ago and set aside, never thinking I’d get back to it. Elva read and worked on a couple of jigsaw puzzles. Anyone who knows her would understand how desperate she’d have to be to resort to a jigsaw puzzle. Every evening during our confinement, we watched a movie. Fortunately, Princess offers quite a few good ones.

And another thing. You’re supposed to know when you have COVID. Well, we didn’t!

I spoke earlier of my fascination with Viking history. I won’t bore you with too many details, but you should know that Iceland was founded by Vikings who sailed here from Norway in the year 874. And did you ever wonder where the name and symbol for Bluetooth came from? Well, here’s a bit of Viking-related trivia. Harald Gormsson called “Bluetooth” because one of his front teeth was dead, was the King of Denmark from 958 to 986. His initials “H” and “B” in the runic language were brought together by the clever folks at Intel and the now famous trademark was born. And so, Harald Bluetooth has been immortalized!

The North Atlantic can be angry at times and, although it was a bit rough between Norway and Iceland, I’m sure we didn’t feel her full fury. I thought again of the Vikings, those brave souls who’d sailed from Norway in open boats, carrying their livestock and everything they owned. How had they survived such a journey over 1,100 years ago? How many hadn’t? Eventually, we reached Seydisfjordur, a village of 750 souls with an unpronounceable name. As we sailed into the tiny harbour that sits at the head of a fjord, the winds died and we were greeted by a magical scene, one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever visited in all our travels!

“Sometimes, the best plan is no plan at all.” This is my line and, on our day in Seydisfjordur, it proved to be true. We walked through the hamlet, admiring the lovely houses and the immaculate surroundings before deciding we’d follow a path along the river that runs through its center and try and visit a waterfall we’d seen cascading down the eastern slope of the mountain. We walked past a fisherman standing in the middle of the stream, casting his fly, and found a path running through a farmer’s field that led up to the waterfall. “We’re in luck,” I thought!

It being only two days post-COVID, I wasn’t sure about our stamina, and we hadn’t brought any water. “Just follow the path to the waterfall and see where we go from there,” we agreed. After taking in the beauty of the cascade, we knew we had to continue climbing because the best way to see a place is from the greatest height you can reach. As the photos show, we were right! We didn’t see another soul on the path. Back down in the village, we enjoyed the sun’s warmth and temperatures in the mid-teens Celsius, then took the tender back to the ship. Neither of us can imagine a day on this cruise better than this one, and it reminded us yet again why we travel. It also reminded us why we stay in shape; so that we can walk the path less travelled.

Akureyri, the town we visited next, lies just 100 km south of the Arctic Circle, placing it 300 km further north than Yellowknife. With a population of about 18,000, Akureyri is the administrative, transportation, and commercial center of north Iceland. The Island Princess sailed 60 kilometers up the longest fjord in Iceland to reach it. Our plan for the day called for a visit to the local tourist information center for some ideas on local hikes and attractions. The thing I wanted to see most was the botanical gardens, the most northerly in the world.

Stepping off the ship shortly after 8:00, we started stripping off layers before we’d even walked the first kilometer. The sun had peeked through the early morning clouds, and we were treated to wonderful weather for the time of year and the latitude. The young man at the local youth hostel gave us a map and provided enough local knowledge to get us started on what would prove to be another very enjoyable morning. The botanical gardens were even better than advertised; an amazing collection of plants, well curated and well cared for.

From the gardens, we walked down one of the main drags past neat houses, nice parks, and a first-class outdoor heated pool complete with waterslides, and made our way to the small river that flows though the town, the Gesla. We followed a trail that climbs out of the town. The ‘trail’ turned out to be of the paved, multi-use variety, as nice as we’ve seen anywhere. It was laid out so that you had the impression of not being in a built-up area at all. Other guests on the ship paid a fortune to see the botanical gardens and drive to a waterfall. We had this trail to ourselves with a deep gorge and a few nice waterfalls to look at as well. And we'd never left the town! After 20,000 steps, it was time to get back onboard before the rain hit.

Akureyri is a good example of clever land use planning, and it’s not something I was expecting in this part of the world. While I’m sure the winters can be long, cold, and dark, I can see why people would want to live here. The standard of living is obviously quite high, and the town offers everything one would need for a happy and productive life.

Our third day in Iceland was spent walking around the village of Grundarfjordur, population 872. It’s surrounded by misty mountains and guarded by Mt. Kirkjufell, Church Mountain. Grundarfjordur was one of the first places settled in Iceland and is today a successful fishing and trading center. We walked through the tidy village and on the three-kilometer trail toward Kirkjufell. The weather alternated between rain and dappled sunlight as we tried to capture the mountain framed by a rainbow. There were cascades and waterfalls along the way. Like the other places we’ve visited in Iceland, this village is neat, tidy, and orderly; people are obviously proud of their place. Before boarding the tender that took us back to the Island Princess, I took a photo of the local seiner fleet and the handsome Icelandic flag.

Speaking of the fishery, in 1972, Iceland declared a 200-mile limit on its territorial waters to protect its main industry, effectively banning foreign fleets. European nations, especially the United Kingdom, refused to accept the decision, and many confrontations took place on the seas between Icelandic and British vessels. It was called the Cod War and, long story short, Iceland won. Today, the fishery remains the country’s most important industry. And, by the way, Iceland has neither army, navy, nor air force; just the Coast Guard to protect the fishery and come to the rescue of those in distress.

Imagine if Canada had done the same. I still remember that day in the summer of 1992 when the Hon. John Crosbie, Newfoundland’s representative in the federal cabinet, announced the cod moratorium on the dock in Saint John’s. Heckled mercilessly by the locals, he finally said out of frustration: “I didn’t take the fish from the goddamn water, so don’t go abusing me.” It was a memorable line but a poor excuse for a government that had done nothing to protect the East Coast’s most important fishery. Thirty years later, the cod have not come back, and they probably never will. By contrast, Iceland’s cod fishery remains healthy and vibrant, as are the coastal communities that depend on it.

The capital city of Reykjavik was our final stop in Iceland. We’d decided to rent a car to do the Golden Circle, a route that takes in three of the island’s most popular attractions. This time, we were well served by the agent at Enterprise Rent-a-Car, quite a contrast from our experience in Stockholm. Our first stop was at Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site protected for two reasons: because it’s one of the best places in the world to see where two of the earth’s tectonic plates meet, and because it’s the location of Iceland’s original parliament, the Thing, which met first in 930 AD and is considered to be the world’s oldest. 

The European and North American tectonic plates meet at Flosagja, and the two plates are actually drifting apart at the rate of 2.5 cm per year. The first photo shows where they are separating from one another. As for the Thing, it was where the Law Council met every year, beginning in 930, to make laws and resolve legal disputes. Everyone was free to attend the annual gathering and it probably turned into a pretty great party when the formalities were done with. The other photo shows the Prime Minister’s rather modest summer residence and the small church that stands beside it.

Stop number two was the Great Geysir, the most impressive hot spring in the geothermal area known as the Haukaladur Valley. The geysir is supposed to erupt every five or ten minutes or so, shooting a jet of hot water high into the air. We watched patiently for about a half hour but the best the Great Geysir could do for us was a mediocre belch. The attraction is free, so sometimes you get what you pay for. The lunch we ate there wasn’t free however: $57 CDN for two sandwiches, an orange juice, and a slice of cake. Yikes! On the bright side, the day cost us less than half what Princess passengers paid for their Golden Circle excursion, and we got to do it on our own time and at our own pace; always more satisfying.

Stop number three was Gullfoss Waterfall, one of Iceland’s most popular tourist attractions. Even for one who’s seen Niagara Falls, Kakabeka Falls (near Thunder Bay, Ontario), and Helmken Falls (near Thompson, B.C.) in Canada, I did find Gullfoss impressive. Elva said the best thing about it is the lack of development nearby; quite a contrast from Niagara Falls, also known as “Every new bride’s second-biggest disappointment.”

Back in Reykjavik after seven long hours on the road, we visited the city’s signature landmark, the Hallgrimskirkja, the towering Lutheran Church. Completed in 1986, the building is undergoing much-needed repairs to its outer cladding. The statue out front of Leif Erickson was donated by the United States of America to mark the thousandth anniversary of the first meeting of Iceland’s Parliament. And we loved the stylized viking ship, one of many examples of public art to be found throughout the city.

During our one-day driving tour around Iceland's southwest corner, we saw more agriculture than we'd expected to see, including large herds of sheep and Icelandic horses, and even a couple of golf courses. We certainly made the best of the four days we had here and are thankful for decent weather. Iceland is a country full of surprises! And it's a place we'd like to return to someday for a more extended visit.

 

EUROPE – PART 2

 

We had a good plan for our first day in Stockholm, but it started out rather badly. The route from our dock to the Slussen subway stop seemed simple enough and I had Google Maps to guide me. Unfortunately, a construction project put us off course. We finally did find a nearby station though and rode the subway to the central hub as planned.

From there, the route to Budget Rent-a-Car should have been easy, but Google Maps doesn’t work nearly as well when you’re walking as when you’re driving, and definitely not when you’re walking through different levels of a building. Long story short, after asking for directions a couple of times, we stood at the counter across from a rather stern-looking young agent who told me that my credit card wouldn’t work as four of her useless co-workers played with their phones, looking very much like a Charlottetown Public Works crew!

I asked them whether the car had Apple Car Play: “Don’t know”, they answered. “So, where’s the car?”, I asked politely. “Somewhere out in the street”, she answered. “So where do I drop the keys when we get back,” I asked, again politely. “We don’t have a drop box here; you’ll have to drop it off at our other office”, she replied coldly. “Can we use your washroom before we go?”, we asked. ‘It’s only for employees”, she said, rolling her eyes at me. “You’ll have to go inside the mall next door, go into the restaurant and ask for a code”. Sheesh!

Guided by our trusty Hortense, we headed out of the city toward our first stop, the town of Sigtuna, founded by Vikings in 980 AD and one of their most important cities in its heyday. It’s a pleasant place for a walk, featuring a lake, the oldest intact street in Sweden, numerous rune stones, and several churches, the most interesting one being St. Olaf’s.

I’m a student of Viking history and have been since I first heard the story of Eric the Red and his son, Leif the Lucky, in my two-room schoolhouse in Wellington. As we now know, the saga was more than a legend. In fact, the Vikings landed in l’Anse-aux-Meadows almost five centuries before Columbus “discovered” America. The little town museum traces the history of Viking religious belief. Before being Christianized between 900 and 1050, Vikings had their own pantheon of gods: Odin, Thor, and Frey, to name but a few. I like their “pagan” gods better than the Christian one but, without the saints, we wouldn’t have had any church ruins to look at in Sigtuna. St. Olaf’s looked striking in the afternoon sun.

Next, we drove to Uppsala, home to the oldest Nordic university, founded in 1477 and home to 50,000 students. Along the way, we saw some impressive dairy farms; it was harvest time for their cereal crops. Our stop in Uppsala was a short one, just enough time to enjoy tea and coffee on a nice south-facing terrace. From Uppsala, we headed to Mariefred, a small town on Lake Malaren and home to Gripsholm Castle. A stroll through the town featured the railway station, served in the summer months on a narrow-gauge track. The castle itself is massive and magnificent, brilliant in the late afternoon sun. We were back in Stockholm by 7:00 pm, returned our car, and took the subway and bus back to the Princess. A long day for sure but well worth the effort. No favourable review for Budget though!

Day two in Stockholm dawned bright and sunny though a bit cooler. We took the shuttle into the heart of the city and walked around a bit to get our bearings. Tip for travellers: if you need to “go” when you’re downtown, find the swankiest hotel you can, walk in like you own the place, and do your business there. You’ll be treated to the best bécosse you’ve ever sat on, and no one will ask any questions. And, on the way out, ask the doorman for directions to wherever you want to go. They’re always helpful and they always know.

My goal for the morning was to see the Vasa Museum. Elva, not being a museum person, chose to walk around Djurgarden, one of the many beautiful islands that make up Stockholm. The story of the warship Vasa is a rather sad one. She was launched on August 10, 1628 and sank less than 1 kilometer into her maiden voyage. After spending 333 years on the seabed, she was raised and sits preserved for all to see in a magnificent museum. The Vasa is the best-preserved 17^th century ship found anywhere, she’s adorned with hundreds of carved sculptures and she’s 98% original.

Our last stop before heading back to the ship was the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace, an impressive ceremony featuring disciplined soldiers and a large marching band. Stockholm is a world-class city, certainly a cut above anything we’ve seen to date on this trip. 

Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, is about half the size of Prince Edward Island and home to 60,000 people. We docked in the town of Visby next to the USS Arlington, in the Baltic Sea to participate in an amphibious training exercise with other NATO nations, in other words, to keep Vladimir honest.

Visby contains the medieval town of Dalmansporten, a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring an intact wall and narrow cobbled streets. There are ten church ruins, but the town skyline is dominated by the impressive Cathedral of St. Mary, built in the 12^th century as a Roman Catholic church and now a Lutheran place of worship. While the town is a popular tourist destination during the summer months, it was practically empty except for the 1,400 or so passengers on the Island Princess. 

Elva and I left the ship early and were among the first to wander through this magical place. We were struck by the small, tidy homes, many of them with roses and hollyhocks planted at their front doors. They had a whimsical character, and I could only imagine happy people living inside them. I’d never seen houses made of creosoted wood and the smell reminded me of the railroad ties of my youth in Wellington.

Our next stop, the town of Ronne on the island of Bornholm, Denmark, proved to be a bit of a disappointment. It’s a nice enough place, very clean and orderly, but not much to see or do there. Its main claim to fame is the role its port plays as the assembly area for huge offshore windmills that will be installed off the northern coast of Germany. We took a stroll through town and stopped for a coffee and a tea at a café on a nice cobble-stoned street. We chatted with a young couple from Nuremburg and two musicians who play every evening onboard the ship. When it came time to pay the bill, I gulped a bit: $12 CDN!

“The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley”; so wrote Scot Robbie Burns in his poem To A Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With The Plough. I remembered the words from our Grade 11 Great Poems book. On the morning of day fourteen, a sea day before some passengers were to disembark in Copenhagen, we were summoned to a mandatory COVID test. While neither of us had symptoms, we both tested positive and were confined to our room for six days.

We knew we'd miss out on at least Copenhagen and Fredericia in Denmark, and the Norwegian ports of Kristiansand, Haugesund, and Alesund. Hopefully, we’d be OK when the ship docked at Lerwick on the Shetland Islands. Had we known about this mandatory test and the consequences of being positive, I’m not sure we’d have booked with Princess. But it’s too late for that now. Thankfully, we have a window and wifi. And this was the only thing worth seeing during our six-day confinement: the bridge between Denmark and Sweden as seen through a very dirty porthole.

Being cooped up in a 250-square-foot room for six days is no picnic. Our cabin has a toilet, a shower, a bed, and a TV. We order our meals from room service and have learned that it’s better to order something cold since it’ll be cold by the time it gets delivered to us anyway. The first day’s oatmeal reminded me of the Lepage’s glue we used in la petite école! It was all I could do to get it down. Dinner is late two days out of three; my bottle of Heineken 0 arrives with no bottle opener; my oatmeal arrives with no spoon; a nice, chilled bottle of wine is delivered to our door one evening; I don’t drink and there’s no corkscrew to open it if I did! We’re not impressed with Princess, not in quarantine anyway.

It’s a good thing Elva and I get along. She has never “rested” for six days in a row and, as for me, it did happen once when I was eight years old. Diagnosed with pneumonia and with no one to look after me at home, I spent a week in the old Prince County Hospital with a wardful of sick kids. I remember watching the Lobster Carnival parade from a window as it went past. I can’t imagine how people in community care and nursing homes must feel, being confined because of COVID.

We’d been told what would happen if we tested positive on Day 7. “You’ll be tested every subsequent day until you come up negative and, if not, we’ll let you out on Day 10.” Needless to say, we were nervous as hell as Day 7 approached. Most puzzling was the fact that neither of us had felt sick before the test. Our symptoms never changed through the entire six days we spent in our cabin.

The nice nurse arrived at our door promptly at 8:00 am on Day 7, stuck Q-Tips up our noses and disappeared. It was a long half-hour before the phone rang. I’d asked Elva to answer because she’s luckier than I am, and I’m superstitious as hell about these things. “We’re both negative,” she said, jumping up and down. We hugged one another and got out of the GD room as quick as our little feet could carry us.

It reminded me of the 1992 First Ministers’ Conference that led to the infamous Charlottetown Accord. I’d been asked to accompany the Québec delegation, led by Robert Bourassa. I stood outside the meeting room at the Delta Prince Edward and waited for the Premiers and the Prime Ministers to announce they’d reached an agreement. The doors burst open, and Frank McKenna was the first one out, waving his hands in the air, borrowing the famous line from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

The captain had announced the day before that we’d be staying overnight in Alesund, Norway, instead of landing in Lerwick on the Shetland Islands, because of forecast high winds. We put on rain gear and warm clothes and got off the ship. I jumped in the first puddle I could find, and Elva did a bit of jumping of her own. Alesund is a beautiful town with a lot of history and some beautiful cityscapes. We only had a couple of hours to visit but we made the best of it. Next, we’re off to Iceland!