SPICEland 2002

This is a record to the SPICE Birmingham trip to Iceland over the weekend of 9-10 March 2002.

Saturday

After an early start from Birmingham Airport, we arrived at Keflavik Airport, about 60km form Iceland's capital, Reykjavik From there, it was but a short coach journey to our first port of call and one of the most amazing phenomena on the island.......

the Blue Lagoon.

This is actually waste water from a geothermal power station but is much nicer than it sounds. Having been used, the (still perfectly clean) water flows into a huge open air pool at some 38C. We were especially lucky to be there at a time of plentiful snow, adding to the surrealism of the experience, bathing in the open air, surrounded by snow, with your body warm and comfortable and your hair starting to freeze!

I enjoyed it from the word go!

As did the SPICE Office's Adam, seen here getting into the swing of things!

Not to mention Christine.......

.......and Sal!

SPICE stalwart Don goes it alone.......
	.......and in company!

Saturday Evening - Spice Hits Town in the Frozen North

The evening began with an "independent" journey into the centre of Reykjavik by some of the group. After finding a bar (with no Icelandic beer, but every kind of mainstream British keg ale you could think of!) a smaller group headed off in search of the Parliament Building. Considering that Iceland has one of the oldest and most established parliaments in the world (the Althing) its building was so tiny and unassuming that it was easy to miss! Then it began to snow.......

Then it was time to head back to the majority of the group to go on the Nightclubbing tour of the town. But not before some posed for some "arty" shots in the snow with the aid of uplighters.......

Sunday

Iceland's ancient Parliament, the Althing, traditionally met here on the Parliament Plains (Thingvellir), a bit like the way that the Tynwald meets on a hill on the Isle of Man. Today, the Althing keeps its extremities warm meeting in the stone building we saw last night in Reykjavik, while only hapless tourists like this one (!) get their bits frozen off in the snows and winds of the traditional meeting place

It's certainly a bit windswept in places.......

Always keep the best until last, goes the old maxim and this tour certainly did. The magnificent Gulfoss (Golden Falls) cannot be imagined until you see them. Certainly this picture fails completely to do them justice.

Though some people did stray a bit too close to the edge for the comfort of some of them!

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