My Icelandic Diary

Actually, Red Baron didn’t want to fly anymore in this lifetime, but who can resist a charmingly presented suggestion to visit Iceland?

In the background, the Mainhatton skyline at dawn

So at 7:25 a.m. in Frankfurt, we boarded an Icelandair plane for the three-and-a-half-hour flight to Reykjavik.

I tasted and tested Icelandic ESJA beer on the plane

The international airport is no longer near the city center but at Keflavik about 50 km to the west, so after a 45-minute drive we - having been woken up at 4:00 a.m. - arrived at our Reykjavik hotel quite tired.

There we realized that the winter clothes we’d packed weren’t enough for the windy, rainy, and chilly 13 °C weather. So Red Baron bought a bonnet, which he didn’t end up needing at all in the days that followed.

For we’d brought the warm, Central European weather with us; during the trip to Iceland’s east coast, we had sunshine and temperatures as high as 25 °C.

After our first night in Reykjavik, our small group traveled in a minibus with a luggage trailer to the Gullfoss waterfall and the Strokkur geyser.

Thanks to our tour guide, Andri, our trip to Iceland became an unforgettable experience. As a native Icelander with a German education, he knew exactly how to bring his homeland to life for us in all its facets. Even when answering difficult questions, his explanations were seamless. Lucky are those who travel with this multitasker - that is, he was also the driver and the one who took care of our luggage.

Over millions of years, the Hvítá River had carved a deep canyon into the ancient lava rock. Upstream, we caught sight of the imposing Gullfoss waterfall. 

A text from a 1907 travel book reads:

 
No waterfall in Europe can match Gullfoss. In both ferocity and fury, it outdoes Niagara Falls in the United States. The power of thousands of untamed horses flows down into the gorge, year in and year out. Gullfoss will surely be harnessed for electricity production to supply the inhabitants of the southern part of the country with an abundance of light and heat.

But Sigríður from Bratthold was against it. She fought for the preservation of this cultural monument:

The weather was cold and windy.

King Christian X of Denmark visited Gullfoss on June 19, 1936:

A last look back on Gullfoss before we left for Geysir.

In contrast to Gullfoss, the Strokkur geyser was a disappointment.

An information panel at the entrance to the site stated: A geyser erupts intermittently and spits hot water to heights ranging from several centimeters up to tens of meters. Strokkur does it every 8 to 10 minutes, reaching heights of 25 to 35 meters.

Click to enlarge

The base of a geyser is a long column of water. A vent extends several tens of meters into the earth, where temperatures reach up to 100°. When the water at the bottom is heating up and subjected to too much pressure from the water column above, it superheats, abruptly forming steam and releasing the pressure by ejecting the water column above as a geyser.

Visitors waited patiently, cameras on their cell phones ready, for Strokkur to erupt.

Finally, the geyser emitted a small puff of steam. Was Strokkur suffering from the weather?

Having experienced Old Faithful at Yellowstone, an American tourist voiced his disappointment. Well, Old Faithful has eruptions of 25 to 55 meters but only at intervals of 30 to 100 minutes.

More impressive was the steaming landscape.

The Litli Geysir by the side of the trail was trying its best and cheered us up.

On the map above, the Geysir proper is marked nearby, which, however, only erupts following earthquakes, like in 1896 and 1930. The last time the Geysir erupted was in 2000. We didn’t have time to wait.

Stay tuned for more.
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Nancy

On the second day of the Museumsreise 2026, our group explored Nancy, Lorraine's capital.

  

The first stop was the Musée d'École in the Villa Majorelle. Its interior was crammed with Art Nouveau furniture, paintings, and other objects.

Portrait de M. et Mme Corbin by Victor Prouvé painted in 1906

This eyecatcher is an example of the Nancy School. The painting depicts the wealthy class, with a newspaper-reading husband and Madame striking a pose. The background is filled with decorative glass art, an Art Nüoveau rose window. 

An Art Nouveau vestibule

Marcel Corrette: Le goûter sur la terrasse 1938

And here are Mr. and Mrs. Corbin again, shortly before World War II, having a snack on the terrace.

Rich people lived in style and sat on a canapé whose back was decorated with a hard-working Lorraine miner.

Victor Prouvé: Portrait des Demoiselles Moulins, 1903

And again, Victor Prouvé: He painted the granddaughters of the orchestra director at the Nancy Opera, all of whom, of course, play the piano.

Then we went up a flight of stairs to the first floor, where we met ...

 

... a cluttered bedroom ...

... a bathing paradise (?) ...

... and a contemporary stained-glass window.

It was hot, and those saturated with Art Nouveau gathered in the shade in front of the museum before the scheduled departure time. Our bus took us next downtown to Square Stanislas.

 

We had to walk a few meters and passed the Prefecture of the Department of Meurthe-et-Moselle.

And there it was in all its splendor, Square Stanislas. For its history, you may wish to consult the information (in German) that Professor Asch sent to the participants as an email attachment before the excursion.

To Stanislas, the Benefactor, from a Grateful Lorraine, 1831

In the background, the rather grand city hall.

The corners of the square are richly decorated with golden arches and fountains.

In the distance, a slender, pointed, tall church tower could be seen. I left Square Stanislas, walking down along a street lined with magnificent buildings and through a triumphal arch, heading in the direction.

Saint Épvre (©Krzysztof Golik/Wikipedia)

Suddenly, I found myself standing in front of a Neo-Gothic church. Built in the 19th century, the cathedral is dedicated to Saint Épvre and is a landmark of Nancy.

Épvre comes from the Latin aper, which literally means "boar." Saint Épvre was a bishop of Toul in the 5th century. He is regarded as a particularly compassionate pastor and is said to have been especially dedicated to helping the poor and the sick.

Unusual depiction of the Holy Trinity in the Typanon of St. Épvre

After lunch, the Museum of Fine Arts, located on Square Stanislas, was the penultimate stop on our excursion. I took many photos, and while looking through them, I realized that I could use them to illustrate the story of salvation. Here we go:

Frans II Pourbus (1569-1622): Annonciation, 1619

Anonyme flamand XVIe siècle: Adoration des bergers

Gerard Seghers (1591-1651): Le Christ après la Flagellation, 1525.

With the pillar of scourging in the background, Jesus bends down to pick up his clothes.

Giampietrino (1508-1549): Christ au roseau

As King of the Jews, Jesus wears a crown of thorns and a reed. Is he contemplating a second Gethsemane: "Father, must this be?"

Scene of crucifixion in St. Épvre

Wilhelm Stetter (1487-1552): Apparition du Christ à Marie-Madeleine, 1523

The risen, triumphant Christ.

Luca Giordano (1634-1705): Conversion de Saint Paul, 1685

The spread of Christianity began with Saul's conversion near Damascus.

Here are some other painting highlights.

Paolo Girolamo Piola (1666-1724): Susanne et les veillards, 1700.

Lecherous old men are much older than in the Old Testament, but here, two of them try to seduce Susanna in the bath. 

Georges de La Tour (1593-1652): La femme à la puce, 1638

Here, you are possibly wrong. The girl isn't unbuttoning her bodice; she's crushing a flea between her thumbnails.

Lorraine clearly is the "missing link" between Charles' territories in Flanders and Burgundy.

Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, was nicknamed "The Turk of the East" because of his drive for territorial expansion. In his quest, Charles fought three decisive battles (Read more in German).

On March 2, 1476, at the Battle of Grandson against the Swiss Confederates, he lost his (Hut) hat.

On June 22 of the same year, at Morat against the allied Swiss, Lorraine, and Further Austrian troops, he lost his (Gut) estate.

The following year, the duke, in a final desperate effort, staked everything on a single gamble. On January 5, 1477, in the Battle of Nancy against the allied forces, he lost his (Blut) blood and with it all his possessions.

Auguste Feyen-Perrin (1826-1888): Charles le Téméraire, 1865

The duke was found naked on the battlefield. Why hadn't the looters also taken the ring from him - the one that a servant is holding out to the approaching victors as a sign of identification?

The church rises majestically above the village

Our last stop was the basilica, St. Nicolas in St. Nicolas de Port.

St. Nicolas' altar

As early as 1093, the first church was built to house a finger from Saint Nicolas' blessing hand, which the crusader Aubert de Varangéville had brought from Bari in 1090. Due to the large influx of pilgrims, a second, larger church was built beginning in 1193. It is said that Joan of Arc prayed there in 1429 before she saved France.

A breathtaking view toward the high altar

The present-day late-Gothic basilica was built starting in 1481 on behalf of the Duke of Lorraine, René II, and consecrated in 1560. It is said that the duke was thereby fulfilling a vow he had made in prayer in 1477, should he defeat the enemy Burgundians - which he did with the help of his friends in the battle of Nancy.

Only a glance at the floor plan reveals that the church building has a slight bend. According to ChatGPT, the most likely explanation for the bend is a combination of structural factors and the lengthy construction period. The interpretation of it as a symbol of Christ's bowed head is widespread and theologically appealing, but there is no historical evidence to support this interpretation for this basilica.

Storks perched on a distant corner of a roof clattered their "Que Dieu vous protège."

 Thank you, organizers, for this remarkable excursion.

**

Strasbourg

This year's Museumsreise was a successful excursion to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, followed by a visit to Nancy, the capital of Lorraine. 

Special thanks go to Prof. Ronald Asch and Dr. Karl Schäfer for the well-prepared program.

Our group arrived at the Rotunda of the European Parliament, and before Red Baron could take a photo, they were off to the discussion with Engin Eroglu, an MEP* of the Freie Wähler party associated with the Renew Europe Group. Eroglu is a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament.

*Member of the European Parliament   

MEP Eroglu answered our questions at length

In the field of trade and foreign policy, Engin Eroglu was nominated as one of the 5 most influential members of the European Parliament in the Influence Index 2021.

Blue-eyed Red Baron took a "forbidden" photo of the debate
and was gently reprimanded by a charming female guard

We were then escorted into the plenary chamber, where 720 Members of the European Parliament discussed Urgent measures to strengthen competitiveness and secure high-quality jobs in the EU’s automotive sector. 

This is an issue that particularly concerns Germany’s declining car industry. Each MEP was limited to one minute of speaking time. Note the countdown on the screen, turning from green to red after 60 seconds.

The subject of the debate was of rather secondary importance. The crowning achievement of any parliament is the passage of the budget.

         

On our way out, we crossed the impressive inner courtyard once more.

A view back at the parliament building through transparent walls.

Some of the group had lunch on their way downtown, with the cathedral's spire guiding the way. Time was short. 

For more, here is a link to a trip to Strasbourg in 2023, especially devoted to the Minster church. Therefore, I present only two impressive photos in this blog.

 

The world-famous rose window on the rear facade and a modern depiction of Mary, the cathedral’s patron saint, in the apse.

          

There were two observations on our way back to the bus.

The Italian tagliatelle become French tagliatélles, and the German Knackwurst becomes Alsatian knak. All is served à la crème for just 10.90 euros. Enjoy your meal!!

La gloire de France hangs over Rue d'Austerlitz.

Stay tuned for a more extensive blog about Nancy.

**