dancing, guns and soup don't mix ([info]mizalaina) wrote,
@ 2004-06-23 09:13:00
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Mama I'm coming hooooooome
WOO! I loved Reykjavik and Iceland but I am so ready to come home. I'm waiting for Micheal and Brett to arrive at the bus station; they are doing some last minute shopping, but I wanted to come down here and hang out because:

1. I hate feeling rushed
2. I hate feeling rushed

On the way to the airport we're going to the Blue Lagoon spa and geothermal pool; the Blue Lagoon runs a shuttle service from Reykjavik to Keflavik via their place, so we just booked that instead of going straight to the airport.

I got up yesterday and went to see Reykjavik city hall and the Saga Museum with Micheal and Brett. We tried to see the penis museum, but apparently it has moved a few hundred kilometres from Reykjavik to Húsavíkurbær in the north of Iceland. So no penises for us!

Last night, our final night in Iceland, we decided to celebrate by having an Icelandic meal. We tried reindeer, lamb, puffin, and the most insanely fucking disgusting food ever; hakarl, which is fermented shark meat. Apparently they bury a shark in the sand for six months, dig it up, and eat the meat. I did try one piece, but oh jeebus it was bad. Other than that the meal was fantastic, probably the best I´ve had in a couple of months.

I will come back to Iceland, but next time I'm going to do more outdoorsy stuff. I'd like to try diving in Þingvellir lake, rock climbing, a visit to the fjords, and maybe rafting, with only a day or two in Reykjavik. It's a cool little down but I want to expand my horizons.

I'm just killing time here. I'm going now. Byeeee!



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[info]rhiannonstone
2004-06-23 04:40 am UTC (link)
1. I hate feeling rushed
2. I hate feeling rushed


Boy oh boy am I with you there! It took me two years to trainconvince Paul that it didn't matter that we almost always got to where we were going on time, having to rush rush rush all the time because we were always leaving/doing things at the very last minute was Not Acceptable and generally diminished the enjoyment of whatever it was we were going to go. Also, I hate rushing. :)

I'm glad you're having such a great time. Have a safe trip home!

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[info]leeble
2004-06-23 01:20 pm UTC (link)
Apparently if you eat the shark with a drink called "Black Death" (aka Islensku Brennivini) the shark tastes just fine. A friend of mine here in Chicago reports:


The first time, I tried Rotten Shark as-is: you had to ignore the ammonia odor and concentrate on the taste. I then tried it again with a "hardly innocent" punch, which was Hawaiian punch, Sprite, Peach Schnapps and Svedka Vodka – more alcohol in a fruit punch than I ever encountered before in my life. Still the ammonia odor lingered. I then had it the classic Icelandic style: Rotten Shark with a Black Death chaser and there was absolutely no ammonia odor present, an interesting phenomena and quite good.


The lingering question in my mind was why the ammonia smell disappeared with the Black Death chaser and lingered with other drinks. Last night, I was seated next to a chemist at a graduation dinner, who provided the answer: the presence of an acid of pH 3 or pH 4 neutralizes ammonia. Thus Black Death has a pH in the favorable range, but the fruit punch has a higher pH rendering it unable to neutralize the ammonia. If you could tolerate a vinegar chaser, it would be one option of a non-alcoholic ammonia neutralizer. Of course with a little litmus paper, one may be able to find a more palatable chaser than vinegar.


Household hint: if you have an accidental Ammonia spill, then drop vinegar on to neutralize it and the odor.

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