ICELAND 2006
Akureyri & Reykjavik, Iceland
Yes...... the Cranstons were big stars in Iceland. When in America, Iceland's top bluesman, Magnus Erickson saw the band and was blown away. He and some of his bandmates were planning the first annual Akureyri International Music Festival and would stop at nothing to get the band over to headline the festival. We were treated like kings and EVERYONE we met in Iceland were terrific people. They were the kindest people I've ever met, especially our hosts; Maggie, Bia, Palmi, Jon and Gunna. Maggie and Bia picked us up at the airport when we arrived. The flight was only about 5 hours over, non-stop from Minneapolis. The time difference was 6 hours ahead, so we had already lost almost a half day by then.
I will start by adding some photos here to tell the story of our trip.
We had a few hours to kill before catching our next flight to Akureyri on the Northern Coast. So, we spent some time at Maggie's apartment getting to know our gracious hosts. While loading up on coffee and Icelandic hospitality, we posed for some photos for our new friends.
Once we got to Akureyri, we got checked into our rooms at the plush Hotel KEA. What a great place. Downtown was only a block away. A quaint small Northern town that reminded everyone of a small seaside town in Ireland or England.
Guess who came with us on the trip of a lifetime? Our good friends (and #1 fans.. Terry & Karen. They've gotten in the habit of traveling all over with us. Iceland, Key West (twice), and just about every in-state and out-state gig. They are gluttens for punishment, I guess.
June was the beginning of summer and it was a beautiful crisp sunny day. Gunna and her family took us site seeing all along the fjord, up through the mountains. First stop was an old abandoned fish factory. They still used the site for drying fish for export. Rack after rack of drying fish. What a site. I even found myself a date. We traveled up the mountain to the very last town at the end of the road. The last photo in the horizontal row is the beginning of the Arctic circle. The bottom row; Terry Anderson at the fish factory, Michael & Dale climbing the watch tower, Gunna and her family.
The first gig, June 3 was at a hall called the Ketilhusi and the next night was at the club Rocco. Ketilhusi was right downtown. Rocco was along the fjord. The band got a standing ovation after the show at Rocco. What a great way to start the tour.
Before the show at Rocco, the Mayor of Akureryi held a welcome dinner for us at a great restaurant in town. Before we were getting set to fly back down to Keflavik/Reykjavik for the other two tour dates on June 8 & 9, Jon took us on another romp into the mountains. First, to one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the country, Godafoss. Amazing. Then, he took us to a place (I forget the name) where the ground was so hot that the warning signs said to don't step off the path because your shoes may melt. The hot springs ground was steaming and filled with boiling pits and geysers. Very cool. Next, off to the volcanic lava fields and mountains. It wasn't that long ago (20 years?) that the whole country had active volcanos. Then, to the geothermal hot springs swimming hole. We had fun there.
Forgot these great shots. June was also the beginning of 24 hour daylight. It was just starting to change, so it would never get dark, just barely dusk looking for an hour or two about 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. This picture of Mike & Bruce after the first gig in Akureryi was at about 2:30 in the morning. The next shot is Leo (Maggie's guy) and Pat. Finally, this is Bia - and she wasn't very happy to have her picture taken.
As we flew out of Akureryi, the harbor looked pretty awesome. Once we settled in Keflavik, Maggie took us to The Blue Lagoon. This is the mother of all geothermal swimming hot springs. Four times as big as the one up North. Next on the schedule, taping a live local Reykjavik RUV t.v. appearance to promote the band and the festival (to be played later in the evening). Mike and Maggie at the studio.
At the t.v. studio, the guys had to all hit the makeup room to get spruced up. Rico and Elia (makeup gal). Shots from the studio. My favorite is the one where you can see Bruce in the picture AND in the monitor. Bruce and Dale had a little impromptu jam on the piano, then Mike and Jim joined in. One shot from the June 8 gig at the club Rain in Keflavik and two from the June 9 gig at Nasa in Reykjavik. What a wonderful trip it was. The next day we left, tired, happy, and amazed. The non-stop flight back to Minneapolis this time took about 6 hours. What a beautiful country, and great people. I can't wait to go back.
email: Rico1@aol.com
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