York Minster, 2021

We visited the York Minster (cathedral) first in 1989, with our daughters, then again in 2009, during our first European campaign after retiring. I think we were properly appreciative both times, but this was before we had learned much about religious art and architecture. Thus my 2009 blogpost contains a few errors of one sort or another; finding which I leave as a homework assignment. Our main memory from that time, and main reason for wanting to return in 2021, was that the great east window, largest there is of Medieval glass, was out in 2009, and to remain out for several years, getting cleaned, repaired, etc. It's back in now. And we know a lot more about cathedrals.

Southside; not my picture

West window; before the east window, largest in Medieval 
Christendom; the "Heart of Yorkshire" near the top

Nave view; big church

Illuminating map

North window, five enormous lancets; Five Sisters

The great organ had been down for a cleaning and re-working
recently and is now all put back together; here, one of the Minster's
pix of the approximately 87 gazillion pipes

York's clock; given the relative youth of the place
(compared with, say, Durham or Winchester), 14th
century, not all that impressive

More organ porn

Quire porn

Crossing

Among the many tombs, memorials; deserves a better caption
than I can think of presently

Now in the very extensive crypt, looking at a capital from, perhaps,
one of the Minster's several predecessors 

The Doomstone

Finally, the East window

Later Medieval glass, of course

Scene from Revelations, always a crowd-pleaser

Vicki stands for scale by some of the bigger pipes

"No way out! No way out!"

Sculptor/stone mason workshop

East side

Alas, the chapter house was closed

Outside sculpture

FWIW, Wells, Winchester, and Durham remain safe in their
positions as our favorite English cathedrals

Arrival In London And Off To Jorvik

Icelandair got us to Heathrow, our papers all were in order, the Brits let us in, we got our arrival COVID tests right there in Terminal 2, and made our way, with difficulty, to the car rental place. The signage was clear enough, but it failed mention the shuttle bus in question no longer was running. Shifting gears a bit, we changed to a different car rental place, one that had a running shuttle service. By late morning, we were into our rental car for the week, a nice blueish Toyota Trek, a hybrid, and therefore a new driving experience for me. A rental car was necessary because we had unfinished business in Edinburgh, getting our possessions out of the camper we sold last summer. After that, we would spend a few days touring some favorite haunts before turning in the rental and settling into our flat in Bloomsbury (London). We went to York first because it was on the way to Edinburgh, and we had skipped it on our tour of the East and North in the summer of 2019. York was earlier called Jorvik by the Danes, who conquered it in 866, just prior to their settlements in Iceland. Small world.

Touching down at Heathrow

Outside the COVID test center at Terminal 2;
thankfully we won't have to use this service...

Ours for the week; Vicki subsequently decided it was too large;
nothing larger than a Fiat 500, she says

Having navigated the M25, we are now heading north on the M1,
at a rest area, having lunch, here at a Harry Ramsden's; I had 
been pining for decent fish and chips

Now in York, the driving challenge of the day: we mistakenly
turned down this lane, a full six inches on either side of the car,
only to find it not only dead-ended right into the river Ouse (of
Virginia Woolf fame?) but had precious little turning room before
the dip

The Lighthorseman, a pub, our abode for the next two nights;
never stayed in a pub before...

Iceland, 12: Departure

We handed back the camper at 6AM and were on the shuttle, COVID test results, passenger locator forms, and the rest all in order and in hand. Check-in was interesting: because of the British regulations, Icelandair had two agents at each desk, one to check the airline stuff and one to check COVID test bookings and passenger locator forms. We passed and boarded. It was an easy three hour flight to Heathrow, our visit to Iceland complete and our entry to the UK finally assured. 

Among the documentary photos showing we didn't wreck the camper

Last views of Iceland

Last views of bluebonnets

We are off to the UK

The plane's shadow on the clouds below

Iceland, 11: Reykjavik

By the time we got to Reykjavik on the 26th we had other worries, so seeing the capital city was not a high priority. We'd be back on our return tickets anyway in November. To enter the UK on June 28th, however, we had to book COVID tests on arrival and also complete the passenger locator forms required. After much research, Vicki had booked the tests, at Heathrow, but the government passenger locator forms would not accept the test bookings. Both are required for entry, even boarding. Many tries, emails, chats and attempted phone calls were of no avail. In addition, we'd dutifully had our pre-boarding COVID tests in Reykjavik on the afternoon of the 26th, with results promised in an hour; but nearly half a day passed before there was any word there. It was not until well into the morning of the 27th that all these issues eventually resolved. We were nearly too relieved to go out and do more sightseeing. There was also the ominous issue of packing up and getting the camper ready for our departure. But we persevered and found a few hours Sunday afternoon to walk around the inner city. 

We spent Saturday night at the very nice Reykjavik municipal campground, adjacent to and run by the municipal hostel. Since our departure from Reykjavik was quite early the morning of the 28th, we spent the night before parked outside Lava cars and campers. We had some further issues to address with them too.  

Our walk around Reykjavik was, um, desultory, sort of. We just wandered. I promise to do better in November.

Of course the high point, so to speak, was the
Phallological Museum; we did not go in; maybe
next time

The flea market was relatively large, indoors, and afforded me the
opportunity to sample some Icelandic delicacies I had missed,
e,g,, fish jerky (ick), puffin (tastes like chicken), and assorted
licorices

Iceland does not have an army, or a navy, or an air force, but it
does have a coast guard; this is perhaps the flagship?

The national dish, so to speak, is the hot dog, and this is the place

to get it

A combination of beef, pork and lamb; the mustardy substance

is really a sort of remoulade; beneath are both raw and fried

onions; certainly satisfied my curiosity

Hot dog stand serving apparatus

We are at ground zero Reykjavik

Reykjavik tweens

Gotta get one of these

Happy hour at the Hard Rock: I finally get to
sample the national liquor, Brennivin; sort of a
schnapps; I'll stick with the Islays

Gudjon Samuelsson's Hallgrimkirkja, Lutheran
cathedral: very much Iceland's Gaudi; educated
in Denmark, but determined to have his style
speak Icelandic: basalt cliffs soaring to the heavens

The Leif Ericsson statue; a gift from the US
celebrating--not the "discovery" of America--
but rather the 1000th anniversary of the founding
of the Althing, the Icelandic parliament (occasionally
we do something right)

A little color is good

Nearly art deco

Crenellated art deco

Definitely art deco, the national theatre, also designed by Sameulesson