Sarreguemines, France (catching up)

Remaining Roman arch.  Sarrguemines began as a Roman settlement. 

View of the Saar river and the Casino.  The town was famous for the beautiful pottery and ceramics they

Distinctive old architecture. 

We walked to Remelfing where we saw the Marie which is the City Town Hall. 

Bridge repair work

A friend we made on our walk

Part of our walk

Our daily walk and place for locals to swim. 

Remains of the old factory 

 

Distinctive old remaining architecture. 

One of the original streets of Sarreguemines

One of the oldest streets in Sarreguemines.  Most of the houses were reconstructed during the 18th and 19th centuries. The “help” lived in the upper floor where you see the top windows. Hot in the summer and cold in the winter. 

Someone came up with the idea of building a miniature cruise ship and giving tours. Apparently it wasn’t successful and the boat is now parked along the canal. 

Bridge art

Used on the corners of streets to protect the buildings from carriage wheels is a bollard known as a wheel guard.

Last remaining pottery firing building. The town originally was filled with these buildings all spewing out smoke. 

 

Greenland and Iceland. The conclusion of our North Atlantic Adventure

We wandered around Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. We found this iceberg left high and dry when the tide went out.

The weather was perfect, which is a rare occurrence in Greenland, so we were able to cruise into Prince Christian Sound.  We had a spectacular view of the glaciers and waterfalls that surround the bay on all sides. Eventually we had to turn around and continue on our way, but only after taking in many magnificent sights. 

. 

It was cold on deck as we enjoyed the scenery. 

My favorite picture while we were in Prince Christian Sound.  This iceberg is so blue because it was deep inside the glacier and under tremendous pressure. 

My first fogbow 

Cruising by the tiny village of Kitaa, Greenland

Not only was there traffic around Nuuk (capital of Greenland), but the fog came rolling in. 

Entering the harbor of Nuuk. 

While in Nuuk we took a boat ride to view the sights in the surrounding area.

Seeing the boat near the iceberg can give you an idea of the size of some of them. 

Beautiful scenery on our boat ride out of Nuuk. 

There were waterfalls

And more icebergs. 

Nuuk, the capital of Greenland

We cruised by another glacier

A dramatic iceberg with a hole

Tabletop iceberg which hasn’t turned over yet. 

We left Greenland and finished our cruise in Reykjavik, Iceland. 

We had an exciting 4 x 4 adventure in Iceland!

We were taken to an area where we could see close up how the steam in Iceland is harnessed.   This steam vent hadn’t been capped off yet. The power supply in Iceland is 100% renewable energy.  70% is hydropower and 30% geothermal power.

Once the underground steam has been harnessed, an igloo type structure caps off and directs the powerful steam through a long system of pipes.

Pipes carrying steam and boiling hot water are carried throughout the island providing hot water and energy to a large percentage of the country. 70.38% of total energy used in the country comes from geothermal sources. 89% of the houses use geothermal power for heating.

Endless picturesque Icelandic views

Iceland’s stark and dramatic scenery.  Look carefully and you will see a pipe carrying hot water around the island. 

Now, we leave the cruise ship returning to our barge Rabelo to continue our cruising life. 

Fossholl, Skutustaogigar, Namafjall (Skutustaoahreppur), Dimmiborgir and Vigur Island, Iceland

 

 Fossholl is located in North Iceland and is best known for its impressive horseshoe waterfall of Gooafoss

Skutustaoagigar is the name of a row of pseudo-craters in North Iceland.  They are often known as rootless pseudo-craters because they are not caused by the actual explosion of volcanoes, but are a by product of their flowing lava. 

Namafjall is a geothermal wonder of hot sulfuric mud springs and steam springs (solfataras and fumaroles). Black rivers of bubbling pools of sulfuric mud cut through a landscape rich with colorful minerals and is continuously steaming. At a depth of 1000 m the temperature is above 200 C. What the pictures cannot convey is the smell of sulphuric stench.  In the past sulphuric was mined in Iceland to produce gun powder.  

bubbling mud

Nothing can grow here

Dramatic landscape

Rivers of bubbling mud

Next we visited the dramatic and unusually shaped lava fields of Dummiborgir where we were warned to stay on the trails. People have been known to disappear when they strayed.  They can fall into holes and never be found.

We took a boat to Vigur Island just south of the Arctic Circle.  We were able to observe puffins, black guillemot and eider which nest all over the island. We had the opportunity to see the down processing house and learned about the ancient tradition of elderdown harvesting. 

The owner of the island and his family live here part of the year

We were taken on a tour of the island, and given a stick to hold over our heads. The many nesting birds were disturbed by our walking around the island. In order to protect ourselves from the swooping birds we held these sticks which discouraged them from attacking us. 

Black guillemot is black with a bold white patch on its wings and bright red legs and feet

Part of the harvesting and cleaning of elderdown. 

This is what the elderdown nest looks like. When the nests are built, some of the elderdown is taken and replaced with straw. An elderdown duvet can cost $6000.00. It is extremely rare and farming it takes backbreaking labor and a keen sense of stewardship. It is one of the warmest natural fibers you can find. The good news is it is sustainable and animal friendly. 

  

The birds stand guard by the entrance to their nests. When we walk by they take flight and protect their territory.