Cometsgirl

Yesterday morning a group gathered just outside the Icelandic consulate. They were there because a car had driven into the old section of town, tried to turn around and instead had become hung up on a concrete ledge.

They offered counsel and console. Communication and contact. Support and skill. Hospitality and care.

The situation even became a stop on a walking tour of Torshavn’s “old town”.

A young man whom we learned was in a construction apprenticeship, was working nearby and offered to call the police.

Eventually the police department arrived to make an assessment.

“This is a job for the fire department.”

While waiting for the fire department the neighbors offered an invitation to sit and have tea while the mother sat at the window to watch for the fire department.

At last!

“We need wood.” Neighbors brought wood and the jacking up began.

Success! The car was freed. One fire department member held out a portable credit card reader for payment, we gave repeated thanks to all as a neighbor slowly backed the car off the board, drove off to nearby corner where we met up. He got out, we got in, and drove off!

Of course the next stop was coffee.

In William Wehman’s video Alphabet Soup, the letter K stands for King. The king proceeds to say: “welcome to the kingdom. This is mine. All of it. Over here and over there, every last bit of it. All of it. Mine.” My sons and I have fun repeating this every now and then.

I was thinking about that line last night, after another day of wonder and wondrous places where we traveled this day. Gazing upon the majesty before me, feeling this is all mine for this moment.

This wonder of the majesty of God’s creation in this place is all mine – it fills up my soul, lightens my load.

It both fills me with awe and quietens me at the same time.

The past two days have been filled with vistas which seem far off, but are close enough to touch. I’m reminded to pay attention to this moment. It may not come again. Stop. Savor.

I already long to return. I’m keenly aware of my age and know my returns may not be returns. All the more reason to live in this very moment.

Right now. Right here. Mine.

All mine.

And theirs too.

Still, the Iceland International airport can be daunting in distance and wait.

COVID-time can be similarly so. I woke up at 4am before the noon flight to the Faroe Islands, concerned I couldn’t prove I had purchased the required COVID test to be administered upon landing. Concerned, too, because since I had requested wheelchair assistance, I could no longer print my boarding pass.

And, too, there was a 15 minute walk to the airport from the hotel in the dark and in a blustery rainstorm.

Still everything fell into place and eventually the eight hours had passed.

Boarding Atlantic Airways for Faroe Islands was quickly accomplished.

Heavy rain when we took off.

Sunny skies as we climbed.

A quick check of weather in the Faroe Islands indicated fog around the time we were to land.

The flight crew made welcome and safety announcements first in Faroese, then English. Similarly, so did the captain.

Atlantic Airways offered free wi-fi for the short one hour flight. About all you could do was track the flight. Still, I love tracking flights.

It didn’t take long to descend – almost – all the way. Instead, the plane turned skyward and we took-off midair! Literally we changed from down to up, up, and away!

A burst of Faroese, then English, announcing we would be told more soon. I could see the flight attendant consult her notebook and nod.

Finally the captain advised us about the severe fog. He said we would circle for awhile, hoping for better landing conditions. Interspersed I heard “Sweden”, “Denmark”. We could check wi-fi and see circles.

We hung out in the blue skies for about 45 minutes. Then we could feel the change in the plane’s trajectory and soon images of green hills and colorful houses came into view.

With several loud thuds, we landed. I, alone, clapped exhuberently!

Traveling mercies.

sight. masterwort. astrantia

sound. varma river waterfall

scent. thermal energy

taste. tomato soup

vestibular. la gallery

proprioception. in balance

Our destination for last night was Frost and Fire hotel in Hveragerði. Located southeast of the capitol, Reykjavik, and a few miles north of the North Atlantic Ocean coast, it’s an area abounding in thermal energy.

The road south from the airport took us near the Gerlingadalur Volcano. We had thought about taking the one-hour walk to glimpse the lava flow and glow, but it was raining and quite windy. The landscape was stark as expected. And stunning.

We had landed at 6am so as we drove south the need for coffee set in. Soon a coffee opportunity appeared. We happened upon a charming coffee and pastry shop in Þorlákshöfn.

Back on the road…

Before we knew it, it was time for lunch. We retuned to a favorite from years past…

which gave us energy to drive down the road to Urrigafoss waterfall…

and visit with several Icelandic ponies.

At last… arrived at Frost and Fire Hotel! Time for relaxing on our deck alongside the Varga River

and an especially significant welcome… when we entered our room… not one, but two robes! I’m thinking we have full level luxury!

Tuesday night we boarded our flight for Iceland around 9pm. This was after spending about seven hours laying-over in Newark. Yes, that Newark.

We had anticipated accessing the Polaris lounge for the long hours. Since all of these super fancy lounges are closed for now, we made the best of it. We accessed a couple of 2nd tier United lounges, but we found safe spacing was better outside the lounges. So we found an open seating area where we could hang out with all the people going to Mumbai.

It was fun listening to all the announced flights going to cities around the world.

Returning to the lounge, there was now space enough to stay for awhile as we continued to wait…

At last it was time to board. A wonderful welcome awaited. Our seats made into beds and all manner of bedding and other items to make us comfortable for the night flight were offered.

Including slippers which could be used to make a headphone fit properly.

On our way; the moon lighting the sky and the sea.

The “moon over sunrise” view early the next morning to begin the day. Another welcome. We are back!

At the Reykjavik airport there are no jetways, so you grab your carry on and bounce down the stairs. Hop on the waiting bus quickly!

A short ride and everyone clamors off to race up the stairs to the waiting line of people already standing in line to be processed into Iceland.

What awaited us was a wheelchair for me. Talk about priority seating! We were whisked off and away. Down corridors, up the elevator. Twists and turns, always taken to the front of each line. Suddenly we were at passport control. Documents at the ready, we were welcomed to Iceland with a big smile!

Next up Hertz. “Welcome back Ms. Heckel. Because you have rented from us before, we have upgraded you to a KIA hybrid.” A short walk to the car and we were off!

It was a blustery, rainy day. We didn’t care. Exiting the airport, we headed south to drive along the coast as we made our way to Hveragerði , about and hour’s drive away.

But wait. There’s even more welcome to follow. Stay tuned.

Several years ago, during our second trip to Iceland, my friend and I stayed in a wonderful hotel in Húsafell. As we drove the last thirty miles, we worried the hotel may be so luxurious that we might not fit in. And we wondered why in we had booked this hotel.

Our uncertainty was for naught. It was luxurious, but not ostentatious, and we fit right in. However, when we requested a second robe, as the room only had one, we learned our room did not include two robes. We dubbed it “entry-level luxury”.

The true luxury was seeing the super-wide waterfall just down the road!

This morning we presented ourselves at the Centurion Lounge at Houston Intercontinental Airport. We had entry because my friend has some upper level American Express credit card.

At the entrance to the lounge, live plants make up the design below.

We settled in, paying little notice to the small “reserved” sign on the table. We made ourselves comfortable with quite a repast for our pleasure. Make-your-own espresso drinks, and much more.

Then we were asked to move as that table and couch were reserved for a higher level card carrier. Yep. Entry-level luxury once again.

Now seated in seats 1F and one 1D on United Polaris air craft, I’m thinking whatever luxury level I have is way more than enough.

As some of you know, when I tuned 80 recently, I decided to use some of the settlement $$ I received from my 2019 car accident, to give $100 to 80 helping organizations.

This morning I received an email from Mary’s Meals in the U.K. I learned of this group years ago during travel to the isle of Iona. They are this morning’s recipient of the 80×100 project. I have abundant luxury to share.

After a few hours layover in Newark, it’s on to Iceland. We’ll take off today and land tomorrow. Registration to enter The country is complete.

Traveling mercies.

Have you ever heard this saying? It refers to an old expression used in the New England area, most frequently in Maine, by persons being asked for directions to a far distant location that cannot be accessed without extensive, complicated directions.

That’s how I feel about getting to the Faroe Islands. A self-governing archipelago and part of the Kingdom of Denmark, Faroe Islands comprises 18 rocky, volcanic islands located between Iceland and Norway in the Norwegian Sea.

My travel begins with a half-hour drive south where I will take a COVID-19 test for entry into Iceland. Assuming it is negative, I will board a flight the next day to Houston, with an overnight stay with my best friend. The next morning we’ll fly two legs (one an overnight flight) to Reyjkavic, Iceland, where we’ll spend a couple of nights. Then it’s on to Faroe Islands. A short one-hour flight takes use to Vágar Island. After picking up a rent car, we’ll have a 45 minute drive to Torshavn on the island of Streymoy, via a three mile tunnel under Vestmannasund strait.

Finally we’ll arrive in Tórshavn for a week’s stay at Havgrim Seaside Hotel!

You really have to want to get to this place. And I DO want to get there! This trip has had to be canceled twice over the past two years. It’s time.

Come along!

Oh, about that test….

Traveling mercies.

This is a word with shades of color and meaning. I’ve been thinking about awe for awhile now, having read a recent article that touched on the benefits of recognizing and experiencing awe.

I thought about it early this morning. I was sitting in my son’s backyard watching the geese do a fly-by, and a short time later arrive on foot as they walked up the alley. They were here for the daily scoops of corn my son or my daughter-in-law toss their way.

These stunning birds have been daily visitors, when they are in town, for years. I thought about the promise of food in this place, and of the geese memory that guides them here.

I thought about awe as I spent some time with the tree in the backyard. It suffered during the extraordinary freeze across Texas earlier this year. Its trunk split and has been slow to repair itself. On the other hand the tree has branched out along the trunk, instead of along the arms as one would expect. There is hope in the novel way the tree has chosen to heal.

“Trees pro­voke awe—that emo­tional re­sponse to some­thing vast that ex­pands and chal­lenges the way we see the world”, according to Dacher Kelt­ner, a pro­fes­sor of psy­chol­ogy at the Uni­ver­sity of Cal­i­for­nia, Berke­ley, who studies awe. Re­search also shows that awe de­creases stress and anxiety. It can quiet our men­tal chat­ter,

Of course I thought about being in awe of my grandson, Jack, as he set a goal and worked toward it for a number of years. He was then tested on his ability, strength, perseverance and courage. He succeeded and now has his 2nd Degree Black Belt.

I will say, too, that I also needed strength and courage to sit through the six hours of testing.

And how can I not be awed by God and God’s presence in our lives? God has brought together my Keller family’s church parish and their new rector. A wonderful man of God now serves the church where my family worships. I have known Alan for many years and now here he is with my family. Today was his first day, and here I was in town. It was a wonderful reunion!

And lest I forget the reality of travel by air. I’m awed by how planes accomplish takeoff, landing and all the time in-between. I’m in awe of myself for having the ability to fly – and do so with ease. I’m flying as I write this. The scenery is awesome. Just look outside my window.

God’s palette. I’m in awe.

Look around. Find your awe.