Chicago Christkindlmarket 2016

Testing a blog post, let's see how it goes!

In December, my friend and frequent travel buddy, Lee, and I drove up to Chicago for the Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza. The weather was perfect for early December - cold and clear but with a few flurries here and there.

We also marveled at The Cloud Gate, AKA The Bean.

Iceland, Day One: Arrival and Stikkysholmur

The drive to Chicago and flight to Iceland both went smoothly according to plan. Our Icelandair plane had a nifty Aurora Borealis lighting scheme inside which turned out to be the only Northern Lights we would see today. But that's OK, because we had lots of fun sky watching once the sun set. 

The Reykjavik airport is very small (think of a US regional airport) but is a major connector for people continuing to Europe. Add construction in their passport control area to groggy/grumpy fliers and you'd think the atmosphere would be somewhat combative, but everyone just quietly filed into lines and waited patiently. Thankfully, we had no trouble meeting up with Eric Moore, who flew in from Dulles. Yay for small airports!

We found our car rental company and piled into the transport van, then spent 10 minutes playing Tetris with our six suitcases and miscellaneous carry-on bags to make it all fit in our Kia Sorento. Was a challenge that we won!

Diving away from the airport, it's immediately apparent that Iceland is a volcanic land: the smell of sulfur came through the air vents and took a while to become accustomed to. Not overwhelming, but definitely noticeable!

The landscape was so reminiscent to me of Scotland, I loved seeing the craggy hills and low cloud cover again. 

OK, friends, I've just realized that this blog site will no longer allow me to post pictures. ☹️ Without the pictures, the blog just isn't very fun, so I won't be making many updates. Follow me on Facebook (just search for Julie Linstruth) and Instagram (juliestruth) for all the fun. 

Iceland, Day One: Arrival and Stikkysholmur

The drive to Chicago and flight to Iceland both went smoothly according to plan. Our Icelandair plane had a nifty Aurora Borealis lighting scheme inside which turned out to be the only Northern Lights we would see today. But that's OK, because we had lots of fun sky watching once the sun set. 

The Reykjavik airport is very small (think of a US regional airport) but is a major connector for people continuing to Europe. Add construction in their passport control area to groggy/grumpy fliers and you'd think the atmosphere would be somewhat combative, but everyone just quietly filed into lines and waited patiently. Thankfully, we had no trouble meeting up with Eric Moore, who flew in from Dulles. Yay for small airports!

We found our car rental company and piled into the transport van, then spent 10 minutes playing Tetris with our six suitcases and miscellaneous carry-on bags to make it all fit in our Kia Sorento. Was a challenge that we won!

Diving away from the airport, it's immediately apparent that Iceland is a volcanic land: the smell of sulfur came through the air vents and took a while to become accustomed to. Not overwhelming, but definitely noticeable!

The landscape was so reminiscent to me of Scotland, I loved seeing the craggy hills and low cloud cover again. 

OK, friends, I've just realized that this blog site will no longer allow me to post pictures. ☹️ Without the pictures, the blog just isn't very fun, so I won't be making many updates. Follow me on Facebook (just search for Julie Linstruth) and Instagram (juliestruth) for all the fun. 

Icelandic Adventures Await!

It's departure day for Iceland! I'm traveling with what promises to be a riotous group of friends - Eric, Rich, Eric M, and Mark. Follow along with our shenanigans! 

First up - driving to Chicago O'Hare for our overnight direct flight to Reykjavik, where we'll land before 7AM (provided there are no weather delays in ORD). 

Bye for now!

Edinburgh, Part Two: Have Fun Storming the Castle!

Our first full day in Edinburgh dawned bright and sunny, perfect for trekking up The Mound to reach the castle. A word to the wise - if you're planning to go to Edinburgh, take good shoes and work on your endurance. The New Town is relatively flat, but up to and around the Old Town involves lots of hills! It reminded me a bit of San Francisco. 

View of the castle from Princes Street Garden.

The Esplanade. Pshew!! We made it. Now to navigate through all the crazy tourists.

  

Overlooking the New Town, which dates from the mid-1700s. Edinburgh is actually a small city, with fewer than 500,000 inhabitants. I know! I was surprised, too. 

Nary a breeze to flutter the Union Jack.

This way to The Honours of Scotland, the Scottish Crown Jewels. We saw the crown, sword, and scepter used by Mary, Queen of Scots, for her coronation.  Also there, the much-traveled Stone of Scone! 

We saw a demonstration of Scottish war techniques, namely, the use of pikes. Much yelling and grimacing. 

The Scottish War Memorial is lovely and quite moving, with panels dedicated to each of the Scottish regiments. 

Such a beautiful day!

Pure speculation, but I think this piper was there for activities surrounding the premier of the new Michael Fassbender movie, Macbeth, which was largely filmed on the Isle of Skye.  

Rather an intimidating sight for invaders, I should think. The Rock has been inhabited since the Iron Age.  Wow!

How aptly named.

Next up: Edinburgh, Part Three!

Edinburgh at Night

Oh, Edinburrah, you certainly didn't disappoint! After returning our rental car to the airport (2,000 miles later!), we hopped into a black cab and said, "To the Caledonian, James!" What an amazingly luxurious treat it was, staying there. The staff was so nice, even if the front desk couldn't tell us where the moon would be during the blood moon-lunar eclipse event. :) Regardless, they're still five-star in my eyes! 

After relaxing for a bit and doing the Electric Slide in our enormous bathroom, we ventured out for dinner. Tapas! In Scotland? Yes! Dinner at La Tasca will go down as one of my favorite meals - ever. The Montadito de Cerdo pulled pork with red chili sauce was divine and the sangria was perfect. No pictures, sorry! 

After our bellies were full and our spirits lifted, we walked along Rose Street and had fun watching all the stag and hen parties stumble over cobblestones and into various bars. Some pubs/restaurants had snappy chalkboards out front. This one was my favorite:

Edinburgh Castle

Home, for three nights, anyway. 

Next up: Edinburgh Castle!

The Kelpies - On the Road to Edinburgh

The Kelpies are an impressive sight to see when driving south out of the Highlands toward Edinburgh. They're new and part of a cool park complex in Falkirk. Made of galvanized steel, they're thirty meters high and three-hundred tons each - wow! They celebrate Scotland's horse-powered heritage (thanks, Wikipedia!).  

Next up - Edinburgh!