Update from Maryland and our Iceland Trip

Sorry, I've been out again. I was so busy at work preparing for our bank conference in San Diego. Unfortunately, our trip and conference in California got canceled due to coronavirus.

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"Year of the Rat" or would it be aptly called "Year of the Wrath"? What do you think?

It's just the third month of the year yet we're inundated with much fear and uncertainty.  The Australian bushfires, locusts swarm in East Africa, Jakarta flooding and now, COVID-19. The DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia) area have closed schools, canceled events, and most or all of office workers will be telecommuting for the next two weeks. This is to contain or slow the spread of the virus.

As of today, there are 12 cases in Maryland and out of precaution, Governor Hogan has declared a State of Emergency. The grocery store shelves are devoid of hand sanitizers, masks and toilet papers. Panic buying has taken over people's sanity. It's impossible for me to tune out the news media, as it is part of my job to monitor it especially for our members. I am not panicking. However, I am scared of catching the virus, as I am still immune compromised. We just have to stay calm and keep living our lives.

Now, onto a happier post.

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Back in January, Kepi and I traveled to Iceland for the second time. COVID-19 wasn't a media hot commodity yet. It was a quick trip for five days. People thought we were crazy for leaving cold Maryland to a much colder Iceland, but that's what adventure is all about. The main purpose of this trip was to see the Aurora Borealis. Unfortunately, the whole time we were there it was cloudy and most of the time snowing. I have to tell you. My heart ached leaving Iceland without seeing the Aurora Borealis, so I bought a bunch of Icelandic chocolate to fill that void.

Below are a few of the photos from our trip. All photos were taken by iPhone.

Perched on a high hill, Reyniskyrka Church watches over Vik.

Hallgrimskirkja Church in Reykjavik. I took this photo early in the morning while we were out for a walk.

The Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. Beautiful view but the Sneaker Waves are deadly. The  small dots on the photo are snowflakes.

Beautiful, towering Skogafoss. It's a favorite. In winter time, you have to be careful walking on the rocks because they're all covered in ice.

This is Tjornin or the Reykjavik City Pond. We enjoyed our long walks here. It's a very relaxing place to be.

This is the other side of Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. This is where two tourists were caught in a Sneaker Wave. They're both okay, but I think one suffered from hypothermia and has to be taken to one of the cottages for treatment.

The Sun Voyager is a popular place to take photos.

Our early morning walk searching for a place to eat breakfast.

The main road in Reykjavik painted with LGBT colors.

Hallgrimskirkja from a distance.

The highlight of our trip is hiking towards Solheimajokull Glacier. The hike was more than I could handle. We navigated through slippery rocks, drenched with rain and got pelted with  hail.

Sadly, this glacier is shrinking rapidly. I hope that we can do something to help our rapidly warming environment.

Here's a perfect example of how the weather can change in a heartbeat in Iceland. This photo was taken when we just arrived at Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. Now, see the photo below after a few minutes.

Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach after hail storm. Of course, all the visitors ran for cover.

We have two more trips planned this year, but they may be rescheduled or postponed for next year due to travel bans and restrictions. I am hoping the airlines will be easier to deal with.

I remain hopeful that we will get through this difficult time together.

Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik, Iceland

And we're back to Iceland...

This is the Hallgrímskirkja, which was very close to our guesthouse. We've actually used this as our guide in driving and exploring the city. You can't miss this church because of its interesting architecture, and it's one of the not-to-miss icons in Reykjavik.

In the cold evenings, Kepi and I would walk around the church just observing and studying its architecture.

According to Wikipedia, the Hallgrímskirkja (church of Hallgrímur) is a Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland.  At 244 ft, it is the largest church in Iceland and the sixth tallest architectural structure in the country. The church is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 to 1674), author of the Passion Hymns. State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson's design of the church was commissioned in 1937.  He is said to have designed it to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape.  It took 38 years to build the church. Construction work began in 1945 and ended in 1986, the landmark tower being completed long before the church's actual completion.

The church is also used as an observation tower. An observer can take a lift up to the viewing deck and view Reykjavík and the surrounding mountains. The statue of explorer Leif Eriksson (1929–32) by Alexander Stirling Calder in front of the church predates its construction. It was a gift from the United States in honor of the 1930 Alþingi Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Iceland's parliament at Þingvellir in 930 AD. More info is available here.

REFERENCE:  Italicized words are from Wikipedia.

Cats Of Reykjavik

Wherever I visit, cats seem to roam the streets or just appear from nowhere.  Here are some photos of the cats we met in Reykjavik:

What a day!

"Go away!," says the black cat with piercing eyes.

This is my house.

Purr...let me sleep.

What's that?

Sshhh...quiet.

Here's one aloof cat we met. He just gave us that mean look saying, "What do you want?"

This cat loves to sleep at our guest house's living room couch. I later found out that he was featured in a book about interesting facts in Reykjavik. If I remember it right, his name is Borgata. I could be wrong, but he's a sweet cat and I did took a photo of him with his book, but then, I really don't post my face here on my blog.

What was amazing was these cats were so furry, heavy and large. I think that they do need a larger body and lots of fur to keep them warm throughout the year. Most of all, these Icelandic cats were beautiful and super soft.