05.47 I just got such an urge to go out on the balcony and shout out ”Good morning Gävle!" However, it is not a good idea. It is certainly morning. The balcony, however is behind a glass window and Christer, Roberth and I are in Sundsvall. Today we're going out into the world for some travel.

06.32 The sun rises in the sky. Roberth and I sit on the couch. Within half an hour we will go down to the railway station.

07.08 Today's journey began with Roberth mistakenly waving off the bus we were supposed to go with to the railway station. We had to take the one that came soon afterwards. It does not have the same destination, we have to change in the center. It all went wrong when Roberth asked if it was the 05 bus we were going with. It was said yes, meaning the time and Roberth waved off bus 4.

07.29 Our bus stopped in the center of Sundsvall. From there we made our way on foot to the train station instead of using another bus. During the walk World War II and the Holocaust were mentioned. Christer was about to talk about his pupils but happened to say ”my Nazis" instead. Now we're on the platform waiting for the train.

07.59 Christer and I sit in the carriage 2 and at seats 51 and 52. Roberth is in carriage 1 and place 52. In the train everything is marked up and written. It is also in Braille. This applies to seat numbers, toilet and where to throw garbage and newspapers. This is great for the blind to know.

Roberth and Peter on their way through an empty Sundsvall.

Peter and Christer are having a coffee on the train going south.

10.00 The train moves slowly past the narrow conifers. We now indulge ourselves with some coffee in the bistro.

11.09 Arlanda airport and disembarkation is approaching. There will be some common rituals.

11.24 The first part of our trip is done. We have made it to the airport and Skycity. Here the moment until we take off will be taken care of.

11.41 Roberth with a bout of gastritis or something has bought and eaten a pasta salad. We sit on a bench in the domestic terminal.

12.21 Christer and I just got us something to eat. This time Sky Grill offered us food, it was pork chops and lamb. Starbucks at Sky Bridge is closed and even the mobile phone shop next door. Roberth needs to get hold of a cable to his phone.

12.41 Last call for flight IR752 Tehran was just heard. That flight is not for us. We're going to another capital city and another country starting with the letter I. It is time for Reykjavik and Iceland. The check in went just fine, no queue at all.

Icelandair are taking us to their home base.

Of course Christer is reading Icelandic literature during a trip to Iceland.

A frosty Iceland can be seen underneath our plane.

13.36 Roberth has found a new cable. It has, however, an adapter attached to it so there was no deal. It was unnecessarily expensive. Christer and I drink coffee at Starbucks. Afterwards we will go to gate 7. It is the same gate we had on the New Year's trip and also last Easter.

13.56 Now we are in position on board the Icelandair plane. Roberth's place was busy but it all worked out. On the seat in front of me it says Björgunarvesti undir sæti. This means that there is a life jacket under the seat. Christer just read in the airline's magazine that 24th of April is a public holiday in Iceland, a day when summer is welcomed. Now the watches are backed two hours. It is one hour between Iceland and Sweden but Iceland has not summertime so therefore there will be two hours.

CHANGING TIME ZONE

13.14 Our plane have flown over the Norwegian border, the Oslo fjord and Hardangervidda. Mountains with snow are visible below us. We have been given a glass of juice and a munÞurrka, a tissue that is.

14.42 Beneath us are just clouds and seawater. Though there's probably more in the sea than water, I can not see everything in the sea.

ICELAND

15.14 Now we believe that we in fact have Iceland below us. I hope to see more of and stay longer on the island than the last time I was here in 2005. Then I walked out of the terminal, across a parking lot and onto the grass. Photos were taken and then I went back in to fly on to the United States.

16.23 On landing at Keflavik International Airport, we were greeted welcome home in Icelandic. Once inside the terminal we visited snyrtingar, which are toilets. After withdrawing money, we are taking a coffee at the Kaffitar. There were problems for Roberth to get his money. The ATM said that there was no money on Roberth´s account. We just wonder if it is right or wrong.

16.46 Christer and Roberth has visited a newsstand and bought a detailed map, or ferdakort as the Icelander says. The map of Iceland is needed when the trip around the island begins on Monday.

17.04 Christer and I have temporarily left the terminal to explore the surroundings. We mainly tried to find the place where our bus will depart 17.30. It's windy and cold here.

17.21 I, we think and hope we are where the shuttle bus K Express will pick us up. Christer read in a magazine on the plane about this bus. It is cheaper and takes us to the center of Reykjavik near our hotel. Christer and Roberth have come to Iceland for their first time and I have returned and already beaten my record of time staying here.

Keflavík International Airport.

Roberth is trying to enjoy an expensive taxi trip.

17.26 We’ve asked a few people and looked into the room where the sign K Express is, and information on the bus times was. No clear answers have emerged. We hope that we are on the right place. No bus yet visible.

17.40 There were unfortunately no bus from K Express and we returned to the terminal. We were told that there is a shuttle bus from here. It is not until 23.30 though. Now we get to think through this properly and make our new plans.

17.52 We just have to accept, surrender, to bite the bullet. We are now sitting in a taxi on the way to our hotel inside Reykjavik. The trip will cost 15 000 ISK.

18.45 The taxi journey was over 50 km and the driver took us calmly to the Icelandic capital. On the way two cars touched each other in front of us or as the driver described it, they kissed each other. It all ended with minor damage. When the meter reached 15 000 the driver left it and it became the total amount. It is about US$134, our most expensive taxi trip ever. Luckily we are three that can split the bill. It was an expensive start on this journey. That is what happens when you try to save money. We came to the 4th Floor Hotel (http://4thfloorhotel.is) and went up the elevator to the fourth floor where there were rooms but no reception. We went back down and checked. The reception we had missed when we raced past an Asian guy cleaning. Now we're back on the fourth floor in room 406. Our elevator has two doors. However, they are not opposite each other but beside each other.

19.54 Fact is that we are a little hungry. The time has come to go out on the streets and squares to find a suitable restaurant.

Roberth is prepared to take a first look at the capital of Iceland.

We found this in a shop window along Laugavegur.

20.06 We walked along Laugavegur, a long street with many shops and restaurants.

20.20 There will be dinner at Ruan Thai Núðluhúsið/Noodle House (http://www.ruanthai.is/en), a Thai restaurant located on the second floor of a mini mall.

20.38 The first Icelandic dinner is ordered. Roberth has made a special order and negotiated away the spicy in his dish.

21.41 The food was finished and we walked slowly back home. We have noticed that the houses in Reykjavik have metal facades. From a distance they look like charming wooden houses, but it is an illusion. There are not too many trees here on the island and also the climate is very humid. We walked down to the sea, took some photos and stopped in a small supermarket where it was made assorted necessary purchases. Now we're back in room 406 where the tap water smells like sulfur.

22.15 The day draws to a close. We're going to go to bed. It's been a long day.

Dinner at Ruan Thai Noodle House.

Christer in a cold and windy environment.

Sunday 20th of April

07.52 Easter Day has begun. During the morning, we woke up early, turning and twisting. Not so strange since we had slept for nine hours. Showering here is an experience. There are puffs of sulfur which hits you in the shower which is otherwise very fresh. Enough is enough with writing. It’s time to use the lift and have breakfast.

09.26 This thing with a hotel breakfast is not a bad idea. We were offered a broad and ample selection at Studio 29, which is the hotel bar/restaurant. Most people who work here at the hotel are of Asian origin. Are the owners from Asia or is it just a coincidence? We are now planning the rest of the day.

09.51 Everything is packed and ready for the day's first outing, an urban walk. We planned and made us ready. We can, however, not go out. Heavy snow falls and blows around out there. We wait until it gets better or at least less bad. Iceland is famous for its fascinating weather, rapidly changing from hour to hour. A day may contain the most when it comes to weather.

10.34 The snowing/hailing ceased and we went out. We walked along Laugavegur and then turned up against Reykjavik's majestic church, Hallgrimskirkja which they started to build in 1937 and completed it in 1974. It is Iceland's largest church. The architect never saw it finished. It's the same with this church as the one we saw in Barcelona. Now we are taking a break on a bench inside the church. Outside it is a statue of Leif Eriksson (Leifur Eiriksson), who discovered Vinland, or as a tourist here misinterpreted it, Finland. It has been estimated that Vinland was somewhere around Newfoundland in today's Canada.

Roberth is resting in our room.

4th Floor Hotel, Reykjavik.

Snow and hail stopped us for a while.

Icelandic cars sometimes have huge tyres.

11.19 We took the lift up to the 73 meter high church tower and enjoyed the view of the Icelandic capital. It was clearly a very impressive sight to see the city, the sea and the snow-capped mountain ranges. Unfortunately it was cold and windy in the tower. It cost some money to go up but the man who would charge us were busy before the coming morning service and most tourists snuck up free. Now we have left the mighty church, walked a little along the street artist Skolavordustigur before we sat down at a combined bookstore, Eymundsson ( http://www.eymundsson.is) and cafe, Te og Kaffi ( http://www.teogkaffi.is) on Skolavordustigur 11.

12.13 The walk into town continues after a much needed break. Roberth bought a book about horses to his daughter before we walked on. Now we are resting on a bench at Ingolf Square near Vallarstræti. The weather is quite OK but a little pity on the stubborn wind. We are now in Reykjavik's oldest neighborhoods. Around here was the first settlement of Reykjavik. In 870 Ingolfur Arnarson from Norway came here.

12.32 The small white cathedral has been spotted and even the lake Tjörnin right at the town hall. At Tjörnin is a sign which advise about how to feed the ducks and not seagulls. 1. Have your bread in a closed hand. 2. Go to the water. 3. Jump and wave your arms. 4. Feed the ducks. It is simple and educational, right?

Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik.

Looking up on Hallgrimskirkja.

Magnificent view of Reykjavik from the church tower.

We escaped the cold and found coffee and culture in the book store Eymundsson.

Peter is saying hello to a polar bear outside a souvenir shop along Laugavegur.

13.06 We looked at the modern cultural center/concert hall Harpa by the sea and followed the sea on our way home to the hotel. Now we are in the room to collect energy and heat for a while. The cold wind outdoors is effectively cool.

14.30 The cold and the wind have had its effect on us. We are lazy but must get out to have lunch.

15.11 We had plans to have lunch at Café Loki near Hallgrimskirkja but they were closed for Easter. They have traditional Icelandic food with various exciting dishes. Now we wandered a bit at random and eventually ended up inside the Gamla/Old Island restaurant on Laugavegur 72.

16.22 The variety of food was not fantastic but it was tasty and just the right amount. Now we are in a park very close to the cathedral (Domkirkja) and the country's parliament, the Althing, which is a small and unassuming stone building, more the Nothing. In the park is a tent, protesting youths and police or in Icelandic, lögreglan. It hails and the journal becomes wet. The protesters want to legalize marijuana. It is apparently smoked inside the tent. We got all this information from a photographer who Roberth was talking to while writing this.

16.51 We looked around a bit more in Reykjavik's oldest neighborhood but found nothing but various restaurants. Instead we took a walk around the lake (pond) Tjörnin. Roberth and I sit on a bench. Next to us is the writer/poet Tomás Guðmundsson, yes anyway a statue of him. In front of us is the lake where some swans are swimming around. I do not know what kind of swans is. Now we leave from here. Tómas goodbye!

Stjórnarráðið, a residence of the Icelandic government.

Two gentlemen and a square.

Protesters in front of the parliament.

Domkirkja, Reykjavik.

Iceland´s small parliament.

17.52 We left Tomás on the bench at Tjörnin and went back home to the hotel. We saw some new streets and had a close encounter with some small Icelandic houses with facades of sheet metal in pastel colours. We have bought food for the journey tomorrow at the 24 hour store 10-11. Here at home, we would confirm the transport to the rental car company Thrifty tomorrow morning. Unfortunately they had closed for the day. Now we will call the tomorrow morning instead. The lift stopped at the 3rd floor before the journey continued. I do not know why it stopped there.

19.01 The map that was bought yesterday is unfolded here in our room. Now, tomorrow is planned. Where should we drive, where should we stay and so on.

19.16 Outside our window is the Penis Museum. When we first saw it mentioned among the Wi-Fi networks, we thought it was a joke, a fiction but it's true. Our hotel is next door to the unique Icelandic Phallological Museum (http://www.phallus.is/), a museum dedicated to the male organ.

19.52 Roberth just put on his jacket and already feels frozen. Now we're going out for dinner. It's the last thing we´ll do in Reykjavík and hope for something special.

Peter has met an interesting character.

Bird life at Tjörnin.

Tjörnin, Frikirkjan and Hallgrimskirkja.

Even a swan can feel cold.

Roberth and Tómas Guðmundsson are talking about poetry.

20.05 Old Vínhúsið (http://gamlavinhusid.is) is the name of the restaurant who will serve us dinner tonight. It is located on Laugavegur quite close to our hotel.

20.42 Roberth and I have eaten minke whale. The whale is very good, a bit like tough beef. Now I'll finish dinner with a cup of coffee. Christer chose pizza this evening.

21.15 Our waiter surprisingly knew some Swedish so the payment went smoothly. A little odd was that the restaurant added 20% to the bill because it was Easter Sunday. Is it more expensive to be open then?

21.25 We're back in our room. Our bodies are taking care of the food and most of tomorrow feels planned and ready. We get up around 6:30 and have plans to be breakfasted within an hour after that.

21.55 There have been some evening activities. Roberth has washed away a chocolate stain on his shirt. Christer and I have drunk an evening beer each. Now we approach the night's activity. It's called sleep.

Christer just had lunch at Gamla/Old Island, a place for traditional Icelandic food.

Puko and Smart!

Whale dinner at Gamla Vínhúsið.