Island Hopping 2024: Iceland; Another Day of Hunkering Down, Brunswick Pool Tables, Northern Lights

I was so determined to beat the weather today, come hell or high water …  Actually hell or blowing snow, I was going to make it to Vik or Flúðin (don’t try to pronounce it).  Finally, I decided to try to get at least to Hella, just a few miles down the road where there are some interesting Celtic caves.  We ran into a British couple in the restaurant who told us their paid driver in a big four-wheel off-road vehicle had canceled their travels today due to the weather.  That was a hint to me that I probably should not go out … but still, how often am I in Iceland.  As I was out cleaning snow and ice off of the car, a big wheel jeep-like truck pulled into the parking lot.  Again, I started doubting myself when all four passengers got out and started kissing the ground, or at least the foot of snow on top of the ground.  When I told them that I was going to try to drive the Tesla up to Hella, they politely said that they did not want to discourage me, but that I must be nuts.  I went back into the lobby to check the screen that keeps track of the road condition in Iceland and found that the road in both directions was ordered closed.  Our hotel is now technically an island in a sea of impassable snow.  We are hunkered down with a bunch of other international travelers.  This is not how I had envisioned our time in Iceland, but I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.

Red roads closed, blue road danger, snow and ice.

At one point, Sandy and I played pocket billiards (pool) to pass a little time.  I was pleased to find that it was a Brunswick Table.  

The history of Brunswick Pool Tables is a tale as rich and nuanced as a finely crafted cue stick. Picture this: It's the mid-19th century, and John Moses Brunswick decides he's done with building carriages and that billiard tables are the way to go. I mean, who wouldn't want to shoot pool instead of sitting at the south end of a north bound horse drawing a carriage?

Fast forward, and Brunswick becomes the rock star of the billiards world. They're crafting pool tables that are smoother than one of Sandy’s one-line courtroom retorts. It's like he looked at a beautiful slab of wood and some pancake flat slate and said, "You know what this needs? Pockets. And maybe some felt."

Through the roaring twenties, the groovy sixties, and beyond, Brunswick Pool Tables have been the centerpiece of man caves and pool halls alike. It's the kind of history you can't just chalk up to luck – it's a precise bank shot of innovation and craftsmanship. So, here's to Brunswick, keeping the world entertained, one perfectly aligned shot at a time.

More than fifty years ago my first job out of college was with Brunswick and shortly thereafter I was transferred to Marion, Virginia which is where all the Billiard Tables were made.  It was a thrill to me, that here, in a remote Hotel, on a lava bed on the southern coast of Iceland, was a pool table that was made in the little town (6,000 people) of Marion, Virginia.  Small world, big world, you never know where the connections will be found.  

The "Lancaster Red", Lining up her bank shot

Brunswick Tables, still the best ever made

Another cup of hot chocolate and some food from the bar made for one more good day in Iceland.  

But wait there is more. After settling down for the evening we got the “Northern Lights” call from the front desk.  That is why we scheduled Iceland in the middle of the winter...for a chance to see the Northern Lights.

In the vast theater of our planet's magnetosphere lies a mesmerizing phenomenon known as the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis. Like cosmic ballet dancers, charged particles from the Sun, carried on solar winds, collide with Earth's magnetic field. These particles (broken atoms), predominantly electrons and protons, collide with and excite the atoms in our atmosphere, particularly oxygen and nitrogen.

As these atoms return to their unexcited state, they release that excess energy in the form of light, painting the night sky with vibrant hues of green, red, and purple. This dance of light is orchestrated by the altitude at which these collisions occur and the specific gases involved, dictating the varying colors and intensities we witness.

In the end, a symphony of physics unfolds—a testament to the intimate connection between our home planet and the Sun, encapsulating the beauty of nature's interplay with magnetic fields and particle physics, and it captivates our human spirit with its ethereal brilliance.

Tonight Sandy and I, and the other residents of the Hotel Rangá were so captivated!  As Northern Lights displays go, this was probably a 3 on a scale of 10, but that matters little.  We saw them!  And, witnessed first hand, this breathtaking interaction between the Sun and its third satellite out.

Following this celestial show we looked for our fellow travelers from London, England in the hope that they, too, were able to see the Lights.  At this time we really didn’t know Nick and Elanor, but to our good fortune, they turned out to be a very interesting couple who looked forward to future travel of their own.  Another big plus is that they are both accountants.  Can’t get any more interesting than that!  We enjoyed having a nightcap with them and a pleasant conversation despite the language barrier.  Sandy and I tried to get them thinking about Ohio as a future vacation destination. 

Brennivin

Served in a Lava Rock Shot Glass