Bill&Theresa: The Shoe Saga Finale

We got to wake up in the same hotel we will end today, in Akureyri. We also got to sleep in and start the bus ride at 9AM, which was NICE! Our 90 minute drive to the North took us through three tunnels, one of which—at 7 miles—was the longest in Iceland. We stopped in one of the fjords for a scenic look. It happened to also be near where an Iceland Air plane crashed in 1947; the 25 deaths made it the worst air crash in Iceland history.

It was a misty day!

Inside one of the tunnels
(thru the front window from mid-bus)

A tunnel into the mountain.

Our bus-mates working on a group picture.

Bill, Theresa, Mike, and MaryAnne.

Another look across a fjord.

Our next stop. I do not have those letters available!

We continued on to Siglufjordur (Siglo for short) which was once one of the most important herring villages in the world. About 1903, the Norwegians following the migration of the herring from Norway to eastern Iceland, noticed they changed their migration pattern to the northwest side of Iceland. So, they set up a processing site, which generated LOTS of profits. Iceland quickly passed a law requiring that it be run by residents. So, the Norse could either stay or go, but the money stayed. As the ships came in, women (and girls) took the herring, cut the head off, squeezed the guts out, rolled it in spices and salt, in an orderly way, laid about 450 or so in a barrel. For this, they were paid 1 kroner per barrel. Some of them could fill three barrels an hour. The men, however, were paid 1 kroner per hour, so some of the women made substantially more than the men. The site hit its peak in 1946, but by 1968, there was a 20 year moratorium on herring fishing as they had been so over fished. By then, the herring reverted to their old migration pattern, so Siglo never really came back.

The house where the Herring Girls lived.

HEAT EXCHANGERS!!!

The boat is more than half full of (rain?) water!

Through an upper room window.

It's a crowded stove, but what's with the 1/3 pots?!

Look! I found a Herring Girl!! She doesn't look busy.

We toured the building where the “Herring Girls” used to live. It was very interesting, especially as they typically slept 2 to a bed. At about 5 feet long, and maybe 30 inches wide, it was hardly more than crib. There was also a recreated processing building, with all of the old machines sort of restored. They did a pretty good job with it, including a short talk at the beginning, with samples of herring three ways. The herring was MUCH better than the shark!

Lunch!

We then went to lunch in Siglo. This was quite fortunate since there was a brand new place that opened only a few weeks ago, and as it is Sunday, options were THIN. But it was lunch on our own, except that everyone sort of had to eat there. Theresa had the “soup and bread” for 2000 ISK, and Bill had herring in a rhubarb sauce.

Bill and his Herring Girls...that other one was never going to make a Kroner!

Primary Colors!!

Three cold men! And one stole a hat!

After lunch, we drove by a fantastic airport, but didn’t stop. I’ll never know why. We did, however, incorporate a shopping stop. Theresa located a store with an enormous selection of shoes, including hiking boots. We were going to drive RIGHT BY it on the way back from lunch and before a botanical garden. Fortuitously, it was walkably close to our hotel (T Comment - it was 3.4 km away). We checked with our tour guide about asking the bus driver to drop us off, devastatingly missing the field of flowers. However, she changed our program a bit to include it as a stop since it was sort of a little shopping mall. Many of the ladies on the bus seemed delighted (the men were not as effusive). Anyway, we pulled in and Bill hustled across the parking lot to scope the options. There was a display with several boxes below, and some higher priced options on the wall (requiring assistance). Noting there were five shoes at the display, we set about trying them on. First one fit adequately. The other four were the same shoe in different colors. (Groan) It was under $100, which was also adequate, so off to pay!! Several of our bus-mates and even the bus driver were interested in my success.

I've seen a few tails (airplane) sticking through the hangar, but never a nose!

The "Christmas Village".

We pressed on to a Christmas “village”. For those who know Frankenmuth (and if you don’t, you really SHOULD!), this was no Frankenmuth. But it was a quaint little spot to look at Christmassy things, and pretend the weather matched the season.

In Iceland, they merged some Christmas with mythology.
So, they have "Christmas Trolls" which have nothing to do
with a Christian Christmas, but more "Yule".

Ho ho ho.

Fear not Frankenmuth, you are not in danger!

The last stop was the Botanical Gardens. Oh joy of joys. Flowers. Colors. As many know, Bill is colorblind, so plants are as interesting to him as perhaps a fuel farm is to many others! We were encouraged to “walk back to the hotel” afterwards, but many in the bus made it clear they were NOT planning to portage their belongings an undefined distance home. So, it became an “option”. But the garden was still …necessary. We all went through it as a group, and then Mike and MaryAnne and Bill took off on foot. It was a mere 1/3 of a mile, and we got there as the last people were coming off of the bus.

Flowers.

A flower Theresa likes.

Walking home.

The church.

The four of us headed back out to the little church and spent some Sunday time there. Then we walked back to a grocery store and bought some vittles for the night (as it was “dinner on your own”). Theresa spent time reorganizing the multiple bags for the next few days and Bill started the night’s narrative.