Iceland: The land of fire and ice

The Reids had spotted a great deal for 4 days in Iceland, so for the second Bank Holiday in May we jetted to Reykjavik for some sightseeing. Our package included flights, hotel, transfers and a variety of excursions which really made for a low-stress holiday pretty much everything was pre-organised - a welcome change from indepenednt travelling given our big trip in Israel and Jordan just weeks before.. On reflection it was a great way to do it - particularly given our mammoth self-guided tour of Israel a couple of weeks previously - and everything was efficiently done so we were pleased we did it this way.

We arrived at about 11pm local time and it was still light – an indication of how far north Iceland really is, and how dark it must get in the winter. A great option for Northern lights if you do go in winter. Generally the trip was pretty cold even for the end of May – we were a little under-prepared but got through alright.

Day 1 – Whalewatching

A morning at leisure wandering the few streets of the small town of Hafnarfjordor then a midday pickup from the hotel to go whalewatching. A really efficient service and we were on board a pretty large boat that probably held 200 people. Out on the ocean it was pretty cold, and the boat came prepared with enough padded onesies for all.

These were well needed as outside the harbour the wind got up and sitting outside was the only option to get watching. Clearly they’d spotted a few whales in their time, and they really hone in on where the whales would surface.

We got caught in a tourist trap that evening though. Unfortunately our first choice for dinner was full, so we happened upon the Viking Restaurant. It's a really big place, and there weren’t many people in so the atmosphere was a little sparse, though they did have a wandering guitar player. Unfortunately the food wasn’t that great, and was relatively more expensive than the rest of Iceland and our honest and polite feedback was discussed forcefully. Not to worry, we didn’t need to go back (and nor should you if you ever get the chance!_.

Day 2 – Free time

No tours scheduled for today, what to do? Hire a car and explore! In the morning we heading off to the famous Blue Lagoon , an outdoor geothermal spa. As the weather had closed in and was foggy and rainy it made for an atmospheric setting. No photos inside though – here’s one from the area outside:

Continuing our tour we landed upon Viking World, a museum that covered some of the history of Iceland, with archaeological findings, but the highlight was the Viking Ship Íslendingur, a replica of ancient Viking vessels that was built in the 1990s and sailed from Iceland to the USA following the journeys of centuries ago.

After the disappointment of the previous night, we hit the jackpot with an Icelandic Tapas Restaurant in Reykjavik central. The highlight was the Icelandic Tapas menu, which included whale, local fish and puffin! A great success.

Day 3 – Golden Circle tour

Another tour from Reyjkavik excursions, this time a tour ofthe Golden Circle . Four main stopping points, the first being a strange stop to a commercial tomato growing farm where you get an explanation of how they grow tomatoes in the non-traditional climate using geo-thermal heat, followed by the chance to try some of the local produce. Next stop was a geyser field, which an array of geothermal activity, much like Rotorua, though less suplpherous. One geyser tended to erupt every 4/5 minutes, making for a chance of great shots. Our silly blog format doesn't let us post portrait-pics so turn your head for this one, a selfie at the top of a hill with the geyser erupting in the background.

After another tourist targeted lunch and gift shop it was onwards to the Gullfoss, an epic waterfall that is like Huka Falls, but way bigger and more intense. 

The final stop was the junction of American and European tectonic plates, an area undergoing constant change, and also we think a location for Game of Thrones - hence the title of this blog post.

Quite a good tour, though a lot of driving meant for frequent sleeps on the bus, and we were pretty pooped at the end of it.

Just a short walk from our hotel was a branch of AmericanStyle, good food and relatively cheap prices.

Details – we stayed at Hotel Harnarfjordor. A fairly consistent hotel, some rooms had cooking facilities, and the breakfasts were good. Heating was by way of geothermal hot water so you were always toasty when you got back from the great outdoors. Tours and transfers were supplied  by Reykjavik excursions – efficient and wi-fi on the buses. Flights by Wow air - a good solid budget airline.

The Holy Land and a side of Jordan

A visit to the Holy Land had always been on our wish list, and we finally got there – plus a quick jaunt in Jordan – in April/May 2014. Io be honest, it took a lot of work to figure out the best way to travel as independent visitors, so hopefully  the following account of the wonders and warts from our 16 night adventure will be a useful resource.

Jerusalem highlights

Ah, the home of religion – for Christians, Jews and Muslims. We had a few days exploring the city, old and new, taking in:

• A free walking tour of the Old City with New Jerusalem Tours (do pay a tip though!): highly recommended as a way to get your bearings and learn plenty, like why there is an Armenian Quarter, that most Armenian surnames end in ‘ian’ – think the Kardashians, and why Armenian monks wear peaked hoods. I don’t know why the facts that stayed with us were about the Armenians quarter rather than the Jewish, Muslim or Christian quarters?

•  A visit to Temple Mount, the site of Muhammad’s ascent to heaven (for Muslims), the site where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac (for Jews), and the home of the famous golden ‘Dome of the Rock’ mosque. It’s only open for a couple of hours a day to non-Muslims – check the times before heading there. The queue got pretty long after we arrived, but we think everyone got through security (we were told by our tour guide not to wear jewellery with eg a cross or Star of David, so Lou had tucked hers away, but no one seemed to be looking for them). Blokes need to wear long trousers. Non-muslims can’t enter the mosques but there’s a beautiful view over the Mount of Olives and it’s a lovely peaceful place to walk around and take in the stunning colours of the Dome of the Rock.
• A wander down the Mount of Olives, taking in the Chapel of the Ascension (complete with Jesus’ ‘footprint’ in a rock), Dominus Flevit church and the Garden of Gethsemane. Lou’s highlight was the spacious, modern Church of all Nations at the bottom, and Dean’s was St Mary’s tomb which was pretty dark and dingy to be honest.



2000-year old olive trees, possibly in the Garden of Gethsemane

• Plenty of time getting lost in the alleyways, playing football with the local kids, walking the footsteps of Jesus along Via Dolorosa, and nipping in to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the apparent site where Jesus was crucified and buried, and is sadly in a poor state of repair.

• A tour from Jerusalem to the West Bank (Palestine) with Abraham Tours: absolutely fascinating and very sad. In a day, we covered the reputed baptism site of Jesus on the Jordan river (which is about 5 metres wide with Jordan on the other side); the ruins of the ancient city of Jericho (the ruins show there was no wall that would have come a’tumblin’ down though!); Bethlehem, including the Church of the Nativity and a section of the dividing wall between Palestine and Israel; The field where shepherds watched their flocks by night; and Ramallah, the capital city, including a wander through the market and a stop at Yassar Arafat’s tomb. Worth doing a tour as most car hire companies won’t let you take a car into this area.



The 'baptism site' of Jesus, complete with tour buses

Even shepherds need to eat

•       The famous food market, Mehane Yehuda. It’s amazing. We stuffed our gobs twice on these pastry things filled with hummus and veg and falafel, and scoffed incredible fish and chips for dinner. 

Sampling the local cuisine

•  A few hours at Yad Vashem holocaust museum. It’s at the end of the light rail route so is easy to get to, and free to enter. It’s set in big grounds so would take ages to get around everything, but we took in the main museum, a few of the memorial sculptures and gardens, and the gorgeous, haunting Children’s memorial.

 Jerusalem top tips:

• Be prepared for extensive, seemingly unrelated, and somewhat rude questions when you arrive and want to leave the airport. I was asked the origins of my (German) surname when we arrived, our itinerary was put under a microscope, and we were grilled on who we’d visited and where we’d stayed in Jordan as we tried to leave.
• It’s very easy to grab a sheirut (shared taxi) from Tel Aviv airport to Jerusalem, just follow the signs to taxis/buses, and there are plenty of guys touting their mini-vans. Cost was 64 shekels pp and they took to our accommodation after a few other drop offs.
• The website for inter-city buses is in Hebrew only, so it’s tough to book from the UK. Instead, we asked at the information centre just inside the Jaffa gate, and they booked the bus we wanted online for us.
• Tala Hummus was a bit of a gem of a find, just up by the Jaffa gate, delicious and cheap and no problems spending an hour or so playing cards out of the heat eating hummus and lemon and mint drinks.
• Traffic to get in, out, and around the city can be mental. Leave plenty of time.
• Everything closed over Passover. We mean everything including public transport. Except for restaurants in the Muslim quarter of the old city, a few crummy little supermarkets, and a kosher McDonalds we had to visit with a handful of other forlorn tourists out of desperation one night. We thought things may be busy due to Easter, but completely missed the memo about how to survive as a visitor during Passover.
• To get to the Mount of Olives, get a public bus (check with the info centre which one, from the Damascus Gate) to the top, and wander down the path. You’ll need a decent guide book to know where to go and what you’re looking at. The Church of Mary Magdalene was closed the day we visited so check that too if you’re desperate to see one in particular. 

Halva at the markets

Galilee/Nazareth/Haifa/Akko highlights

From Jerusalem, we hired a car and braved the crazy (and I mean crazy, selfish, aggressive, dangerous) traffic for a couple of hours north to explore Galilee and Nazareth. The areas around the Sea of Galilee are beautiful, especially if you’re interested in Christian history like us. We enjoyed a fish lunch on the waterfront at Tiberius (not much else to see there), visited the ‘Jesus Boat’ on the shores of the Sea of Galilee which was interesting, and the church on the Mt of Beatitudes (the site of ‘blessed are etc etc’) which had spectacular gardens and view.

Loaves and fishes garden

Nazareth itself doesn’t have an awful lot to see, but this was our base for the north and we spent a couple of hours looking around the Church of the Annunciation – the site where the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary – and the church of St Joseph next door, the site of St Joseph’s carpentry shop and Jesus’ childhood home. The courtyard of the Church of the Annunciation was a highlight, with gorgeous murals and mosaics of Mary and Child from around the world. This was the only church on our visit where Lou’s knee-length shorts were too short, but they had wrap skirts to borrow for the information centre. While in Nazareth was ate at Al Amir (sign’s in Hebrew only, it’s by St Mary’s well) – some of the best kebabs and hummus we had all holiday. We stayed at Fauzi Azar Inn which was pretty, but very expensive for how basic it was (and houses a mixture of hostel and hotel guests and prices, meaning we were kept awake by budget travellers while we tried to get our £100 a night worth of sleep).

Images of St Mary and child from around the world

We spent a day from Nazareth driving to Haifa and Akko on the coast. An easy drive, so well worth doing if you’re up that way. In Haifa we visited the Ba’hai gardens, most of which were closed on the day we were there (Wednesday). So if you’re really interested in exploring them in full – only allowed with a guide – don’t go on a Wednesday! We also stopped at Elijah’s cave in Haifa, but there’s not much to see now apart from a slightly dingy Jewish shrine in a cave.  Dean loves a walled city, so we spent a great hot and windy couple of hours walking around Akko on the coast, one of the few Mediterranean cities whose surrounding walls have remained intact.

Eilat to Jordan

There are a number of border crossings between Israel and Jordan, each with pros and cons – like location, who ‘owns’ the crossing, variations in visa requirements and costs, and who’s allowed to use it. We decided to cross from Israel to Jordan via Eilat, right down at the south, as it was reported to be an easy crossing and got us closest to Petra, our first stop in Jordan. It was an easy five-hour bus ride from Jerusalem (a few run each day, you must book in advance. You get allocated seats and free wifi). It was a bit of a rude scrum to get on the bus – which is stupid since everyone has an allocated seat – and the bus stopped for food etc after about 3-4 hours so was a fairly comfy trip with great views of the Dead Sea as the sun went down. Eilat itself was a fairly tacky sea side town, but we spent one night there at the dodgy-looking, basic Corrinne hostel before taking a 10 minute taxi (30 shekels) to the border with Jordan the next day. This border was super easy to manage, we just walked from one country to the other in 20 minutes around mid-day. We’d read that you weren’t allowed to take any food or drink across but we weren’t asked. We also didn’t have to pay for a visa and were greeted on the other side with a warm handshake from Jordanian officials. Rather a different welcome from that in Israel!

  

Amazing colours in the stone, Petra

Jordan – Petra and the Dead Sea

We had arranged through our hotel in Petra for a car to take us the two hours from the border to Petra (45 JD). The ancient ‘Rose City’ of Petra is amazing. We stayed at the excellent Cleopetra Hotel where we were warmly welcomed by Mosleh, the legendary front-of-house/can-sort-anything-for-you man. Everyone we met was friendly and up for a chat, here's a taste of the fun spirit of the local Jordanian kids putting Dean through his paces:

Two nights was a good amount of time to visit so long as you’re happy to get up early to get in to Petra, it was magic to wander in before 7am while it was empty and quiet (and not overrun with tourist buses).

The Monastery, Petra

We covered pretty much all of Petra (or so it felt), including the High Place of sacrifice, a trek to the Monastery up steep steps complete with souvenir sellers charmingly sweeping the dust from the steps made of dirt, and tourists on donkeys looking absolutely petrified. We also took in a number of the Royal Tombs. Petra was, of course, scorching hot and there was no cover, so wear a hat and take plenty of water (you can buy water and snacks inside too).

Back up near the hotel, we ate twice at Al Arabi which had the general kebabs etc (delicious) and a huge range of salads etc and paid a visit to a local bakery for its huge range of baklava and other yummy and cheap sweeties.

Dean and his mates at Shobak castle

From Petra, we organised a car (through our mate Mosleh) to take us to the Dead Sea which cost 75 JD and took about 3.5-4 hours with a quick stop to explore the remains of Shobak castle, and chat to the locals in Sala-al-Din fancy dress. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Resort which was new, plenty of pools and space, and lovely big rooms – we were upgraded. The best bit was the free mini-bar with soft drinks, chocolate milk and crisps. Lucky, as the food wasn’t all that great at the hotel, we just wanted a nibble one evening so ordered pizzas at the pool-side bar – they were frozen, heated in a microwave. Much more promising was Shrak restaurant, serving Jordanian fare. The resorts along the Dead Sea really are in the middle of nowhere so you’re stuck with the food wherever you stay. Take snacks!

As well as quality time poolside and in the pool, we took a couple of dips (or rather, bobs) in the Dead Sea and slathered ourselves with the magic black gloopy mud.

Pool-side drinks at the Dead Sea

Bobbing around

 Israel – Jordan King Hussain/Allenby Bridge

We used the Allenby Bridge crossing back to Israel, knowing it was the worst in terms of how long it would take and treatment of those crossing, but it was still much closer than heading all the way south again, then trekking back North in Israel. We arrived at 8am just as it opened, were marshalled through a couple of Visa desks – one to pay a departure tax and one to hand over our passports. Yes, hand them over. As in, leave them with the Visa guys out of blind trust that we’d receive them back once on the bus to the border itself. Hey, we had no choice and everyone else was doing it, but it was a relief to get them back 30 minutes later. The whole crossing took about four hours, with much of that spent in the hot sun in jostling, queue-jumping crowds.  The actual ‘visa’ part was quick and easy, it was more the queues to get your baggage x-rayed and through the doors. This border is so bad because it’s the only one Palestinians can use to get in or out of the West Bank so it’s chock full at the best of times. We think there was a big Hajj returning too, judging by the 10L containers of holy water going through – this added to the queue pressure. Our advice: get there at or before 8am, have some food and water and patience. Once through, get a sheirut again from just outside the hall into Jerusalem for 42 shekels each.

Tel Aviv

We ended our trip in Tel Aviv, jumping on a bus from Jerusalem (no need to book, they go a few times each hour). We were pretty tired by this stage, so we spent our final days mostly in relaxation mode, with every evening on the beach sunning ourselves and watching the sun go down. 

When we felt active, we:

• Visited the Hagana and IDF museums, both focused on Israel’s military history. Both fairly interesting if you’re in to military stuff, take your passport and be prepared to be grilled at the IDF museum, with Lou asked why she’d visited Egypt five years earlier – a question no one at the border asked, but which, apparently, is important if you want to look at old tanks.
• Did a free walking tour of Jaffa with Abraham tours – very hot but well worth it, and we learnt why the kiwi sweet, the Jaffa (orange chocolate flavour) is so-called, as Jaffa used to be focused on producing oranges
• Hired bikes a few times (like London’s Boris bikes), visiting Yarkon park which was beautiful and worth exploring with a river running down the middle.

Cooling off with Watermelon, Yarkon park

-     We ended our trip with the most amazing meal at La Shuk restaurant off Dizengorf St eating an incredible, unique seafood dish – too hard to even describe but it was a taste to remember.

Tel Aviv is very much a late-night party city. All restaurants seemed to be open until the wee hours of the morning, and were open on Friday (Shabat) when everything in Jerusalem would be closed.

 That’s the big adventure done for 2014, we’ll stick to a few easier, and closer to home options for the remaining months to try to get some relaxation in.