25 KM Trail in Woluwé

Aisling, Ingrid and I signed up for the 25 km trail walk that was held last Sunday in conjunction with the more well known 15 km of Woluwé, a community on the southeast side of Brussels.  As you can see above, there were less than 20 people at the start of the walk!   (There would be about a hundred trail runners that would pass us a few hours later.)

The trail itself was a great course - who knew there was so much green surrounding Brussels!  From the start, we followed an old tram track that had been turned into a walking and biking path, then we were led into the park around the Red Cloister which is now a museum and cultural center, and then into the Sonian Forest, more than 10,000 acres of winding trails and greenery.  It was beautiful.

Ingrid and I walk slow, we are well aware of that - we both have short legs and we also talk a lot while we are walking.  So we were prepared to be out for 5-6 hours (we also take breaks and try to sit down for 10-15 minutes every two hours or so - it really makes a difference in how our legs feel).  And Aisling was willing to adjust to our slower pace.  Which meant most of the other walkers got ahead of us pretty quickly.  And then the trail runners started passing us, and it was sometimes challenging to stay off the path to let them pass.  But we weren't too concerned - there was no time limit set for the trail, and we were having a good time, enjoying the perfect walking weather and gorgeous scenery.

However, we never expected that we would be going so slow that the organizers would start pulling up the trail markings before we finished - but that is exactly what happened!  To be fair, they did warn us at a certain point that that could happen, and the young man on a bike who was taking the markings away did stop when he caught up to us and made sure we had a map (he gave us his and helped Aisling download a route on her phone).  He was apologetic and friendly, and dare I say cute (even though he was probably as old as our own kids)?  So of course we forgave him. 

And luckily Aisling had a cycling map of Brussels with her, so we were able to navigate our way back out of the forest without getting too turned around, and made it back to the finish in 6 hours, as foreseen.

Luckily, they hadn't yet taken down the tent with the drinks, so we were still able to have a beer and toast our accomplishment (and get our friend above to take a nice group pic for us, which he said was the least he could do after leaving us behind in the forest, LOL!):

So if the organizers do decide institute a time limit on the trail walk next year, we might just be to blame for that.  

24 Hours in Reykjavik

Last November I had a ticket on Icelandair to go visit my mom in Texas.  A couple weeks before I was supposed to leave, the airline contacted me to tell me my connecting flight from Iceland to Texas was cancelled, and gave me the option of spending the night in Reykjavik and going out the next day (and they would reimburse my hotel).  I was a bit nervous about spending 24 hours on my own in Reykjavik, but excited as well - my husband had been there for work and it always sounded like an interesting, as well as safe place to visit.  So I started researching what all there was to do and see, and what would be feasible for such a short visit.  I quickly stumbled on this lady's blog about nearly the exact same situation, which was a big help.

The city center of Rejkjavik is about a 45 minute drive away from the airport, and is actually pretty scenic in the sense that you get a view of the desolate rocky Icelandic landscape. I took one of the airport shuttle buses (I booked my ticket online ahead of time), which was quite easy and was dropped off right in front of my hotel at about 3 pm.  I had chosen a hotel just across from the Harpa opera house (I'll explain why in a moment) so I checked in, pleased with the view out my window of the Harpa and the water, and then decided to take a quick walk down the walking path along the seaside before it got dark, to get my first glimpse of the Sun Voyager sculpture.

When I learned about Harpa during my research I decided to see if there were any concerts or performances on the night I would be there, in order to have something to do in the evening.  As it turned out, they program several English language shows specifically for tourists and the night I was there it was a two-person comedy show about the Icelandic Sagas.  So I booked a ticket and after a nice dinner (it is surprisingly easy to eat vegan in Reykjavik!) in the hotel's top-floor restaurant (with fabulous views of the Harpa and its exterior light show) I walked over to the venue.  I was surprised to see about 40 other people in the hall - it seemed like a lot for a cold Sunday evening in November - and it turned out to be an enjoyable way to spend the evening.  The two performers were funny and engaging as they took us through a quick overview of several major Icelandic sagas, performing all the different roles as they went along, as well as using volunteers from the audience.

 
I was especially inspired by the fact that the blogger I mentioned above used some of her precious time to go swimming, so I decided to plan to do that while I was there, and along the way I learned a lot about Icelandic swimming culture.  Reykjavik has several public swimming pools, so there was plenty of choice as to where and after looking at all the options, I decided to go to the Sundhöllin pool after breakfast.  When I woke at 6 am and looked out my window, I saw it had snowed quite a bit during the night and was still snowing - I only had one pair of light shoes with me (because who needs winter shoes when your final destination is Texas, right?) and wondered if I was going to be able to manage the 1.5 km walk to the pool without falling.  I decided I would have breakfast as planned and then give it a go.

It was magical walking through the dark, quiet streets at 7:30 am with snow still softly falling, and thankfully the sidewalks were okay to walk on. I got to the pool and paid for my swim and rented a towel, and ventured down to the dressing room.  One of the aspects of Icelandic swimming culture is that, since the pool water is geothermically heated and not treated with chlorine, it is essential that you wash thoroughly before putting your bathing suit on, and you are expected to do so.  Once I did that, and got my suit on, I headed out to the outdoor lap pool...and it was still dark and still snowing.   To this day, I still think back to how it felt to get into the warm, silky water and do my 40 lengths with the snow falling and the steam coming off the surface of the water.  It was an amazing experience.  After my laps, I installed myself in one of the hot pots (large hot tubs) and watched the sun start to gradually brighten the sky.  I was there for a good two hours and it was incredibly relaxing.

After the pool, I had several more hours before I had to get back on the bus to the airport, so I walked up to the main church and visited the interior, which was surprisingly plain and subdued and took the elevator up to the top and saw the sun rise even further over the city, which was beautiful.

  

Then I walked through the main shopping street (went in lots of cute little shops but did not buy anything as the myth that things in Iceland are expensive is actually true), visited the neighborhood where the city hall and government buildings were located, and treated myself to a hearty vegan lunch at Gardurinn.  Then I headed back to the waterfront for one last view of the mountains and the Sun Voyager before collecting my luggage at the hotel and posting myself at the bus stop for the airport shuttle.  I have never felt so relaxed and rejuvenated before a transatlantic flight before in my life.

How lucky I feel to have been able to experience this little taste of Iceland...  I would love to go back someday, preferably in the summer, to see some of the natural features of the island and get out of the city.  One thing is for sure -  I would certainly plan to swim again!