European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 21, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Ice la n d s4s Flo 4 a ver spas and meanders through the rugged icelandic coast above. Sheep and fish Racks provide added hazards to a Golf course left. Min waterfalls create a stunning landscape below. Sas fue by Pony and jeep continued from Page 15 ? pressure skimmed his huge jeep Over the ice like a. Dancer. Jules Verne s journey to the Center of the Earth was set in Glacier and i enjoyed scrambling underneath it through an ice Cave looking for the Entrance to the netherworld. But it s a risky business and requires More than healthy imagination. You need two pairs of eyes one to avoid the Spiky icicles above another to sidestep the bubbling hot Springs underfoot. Until this Century most of Iceland s inhabitants lived in fishing villages or in the Countryside. Nowadays the population of 250,000 clusters around the coastal towns with nearly half living Iri Reykjavik flying Over the Central Lake my Yath one can imagine the endurance of the Vikings living in turf houses eating salted cod surviving Long dark Winters and making perilous journeys across glaciers. The landscape near the Lake looks sounds and smells As if cod went on strike after Day two. The lava formations at dimm Borgir and Namas Kard s steam jets bubbling mud pools and stench of Fulfur reveals the Earth As a living changing thing. It is no wonder that belief in magic lives on in Iceland. Not Long after was a quiet but determined Knock on my door. The owner asked if i had Ever seen the Northern lights. I grabbed some clothes and rap outside to see bands of Pale Violet Green lights shimmer across the starry sky. The pattern built to Climax then melted before reappearing in a new Guise As it danced Over the Lake. The scientific explanation might focus on Laws of Astral electricity but like my Host i prefer to believe in Good omens. As there is a lot to see around Lake Myvan i decided to Combine pleasure with learning and booked my first flying lesson at Rey Jahli d s tiny Airport in a Cessna 172. Try8gy � co owner of the charter company my flue explained the three axes 6f a plane s rotation and How they Are related to the controls inside the cockpit once we reached 2,000 feet he gave me the controls. Looking Down at the moonscape of Eldh Raun fire lava it was easy to see Why Nasa sent its Apollo 11 astronauts to train Here in the 1960s. As i banked Over the deep fissures and gaping holes i grasped More about geography than i Ever did at took Back the controls As we snaked through the Steep sided Ikuls Canyon. We could hear Dett Foss s thunderous Roar Long before we could see what guidebooks Call Europe s largest As we swooped above the crashing Falls started planning my next trip to Iceland. After All who would want to be called Hei Skur the icelandic word for stupid literally Means Man who stays at 16 stripes Magazine april 21,1994
