We recently had a 2 week trip to 4 countries.  We made a lot of observations on our wacky journey. Some may be based entirely on the location we visited or may just be a random occurrence, but they represent what we heard or saw on our travels.  The one thing we always take away from our travels is the widening of our lens.

1. The disapproval of Trump was unanimous. One person asked “Do you know anyone that actually voted for him?”
2. Irish people love light rock. That’s like all the radio stations play.
3. I don’t care what your elementary school teacher told you, Iceland is really fucking icy.
4. Iceland is the third windiest country in the world, but the most populated of the top 3. I swear the wind was coming at us so fast when we stepped off the plane it reminded me of skydiving when the air was coming at me so fast I could not breath.
5. There is a bigass wall that separates the Protestants from the Catholics in Northern Ireland. They only open the door a couple times a day for people to pass through. Interesting to consider that only 3% of the country or so isn’t white, so they fight over religion and politics instead.
6. Ireland is two separate countries, and renting a car to go to both places is difficult and expensive. Some companies won’t let a car go to NI.
7, They repaint the crosswalk that made Abbey Road famous by The Beatles regularly to keep it looking good.
8. Mobs of tourists pose on Abbey road all the time and irritate the locals
9. Getting a cell phone shipped back to you from another country is really friggin complicated and costly. Thanks to Lauren Bostedor for her help.
10. Hundreds of citizens from one town in Belfast lost their lives on the Titanic and there is now a memorial for them and murals that list their names and streets they lived. They also have a Titanic museum.
11. There is some belief that castles should have a cat for good luck, so some castles have cat murals or sculptures. One castle had a stray that comes to the castle daily from a local farm to get fed. They sometimes let him come lounge in the reception area.
12. The language in Iceland is some combination of German and Nordic languages and is really hard to read or pronounce. Hofn is pronounced “Hop”
13. The crystal ice caves in Iceland are partially man made every year by guides joining together to scrape off the dirt from the glacier so the light will pass through the cave and glow blue.
14. reindeer are all over in east Iceland
15. The UK loves to serve bread and cheese and cold cuts for breakfast
16. machinery like microwaves and coffee makers are made very different in other countries and may take you 10 minutes to figure out how to use it.
17. Ditto with doors in Ireland called “Irish doors”
18.  70% of the population of Iceland lives in Reykjavik, the other towns have 5-30 buildings.
19. Iceland loves their Viking past and “Sagas” which are depicted in the “Vikings” show in the history channel.
20. Stonehenge is slightly more interesting than I imagined, even if it is a big pile of rocks in a field you have to pay a lot to see. There is an interesting museum there too.
21. The roads in parts of Ireland are insanely narrow and barely leave two inches on either side.
22. Driving in central London is insane. Don’t do it.
23.  you cannot make turns in the UK, everything has a roundabout that you can get stuck in for a long time. If you miss your turn off you are screwed.
24. Game of thrones is everywhere in Ireland and and Iceland. We met a Dothraki soldier, someone who does photography for them, toured some filming sites, and just missed Kit Harrington at the Iceland airport.
25. taking someone’s ashes in a plane is not that complicated, but you can pretty much plan on being searched.
26) all the cities/battle sites in Braveheart ( Edinburgh, Stirling, Falkirk) are remarkably close together.
27. The scots really do love William Wallace and have a huge, beautiful monument for him that sits atop a mountain and overlooks the site where the battle of Stirling was won.
28. Scotland omelettes apparently don’t have cheese???
29. They use 3 prong outlets in the UK, but two prongs in Iceland (but round not flat)
30. There are entire cities in Scotland that all still look like 15th century castles.
31. There are alleyways called a “close” in Scotland that people used to toss their excrement into from high windows, occasionally hitting people below 🤢😷🤮
32. The cliffs of Moher are super cold and windy in the morning
33. There is something called Black Amethyst you can find in Ireland and it is gorgeous.
34. There were vaults that people lived and worked in beneath the city in Edinburgh that were sealed and forgotten about until recent decades. You can take haunted tours there.
35. don’t bother getting a car in Dublin, you can’t park anywhere
36. The famous Blue Lagoon is beautiful, but completely ruins your hair. It can be partially restored with coconut oil
37. Glaciers are surreal. You can look down and see layers of ice.
38. Crampons (spiked things to attach to your shoes)are like the best winter invention ever.
39. Tipping is not very common in Iceland and Ireland, and they may refuse it.
40. Iceland pretty much lives off credit card machines
41. The Scots apparently love Austin Powers. Saw 3 different posters of him. In general, the American, Hollywood influence was very prevalent.
42. You cannot visit an ice cave or glacier by yourself because of the dangerousness, you need a guide.
43. You do not mention “the troubles” in Ireland.
44. Apparently sheep crossing is common in Ireland and Iceland. But in Iceland, if you hit a sheep you have to pay several thousand to the farmer for the sheep, and you get a ticket.
45. Northern Irelanders love Obama and the queen and have murals of both. In 20 years, no one defaced the mural of the queen.
46. Iceland if very expensive $15 for a hotdog, $30 for a hamburger.
47. They have different colors and lines on the pavement in the UK that indicate where you can park, where you are not supposed to park, and where you will definitely get towed if you park.
48. Long swords are indeed long and you can see William Wallace’s giant sword on display at his monument
49. The bottled water in Iceland is all natural from their island
50. Iceland has a penis museum and it is just as weird and funny as you might think.
51. Iceland has cake/bun day where everyone eats cake
52. On Fat Tuesday or “plump day”  or "bursting day"" depending on the translation, as someone called it in Iceland,  they have special buffets and serve horse.
53. Boiled sheep head is supposed to be good?? Hmm, I think they tried to pull a prank on the tourists.
54. On Ash Wednesday in Iceland they have an event similar to Halloween. Kids dress up in costumes and go to different stores and businesses singing for candy. The most popular song was set to Alouette (sp?) We did hear someone sing Trick or treat smell my feet.
55. Interestingly enough, we barely saw a police officer or police car anywhere in Europe. They just had speed cameras. Made the Us look like a police state.
56. In Ireland, if they are investigating a shooting in a major city, they set up a police checkpoint and stop and ask every car that goes by if they knew anything about the shooting.
57. Despite how expensive hybrid or electric car rentals are in the US, they are the most common and popular in the UK, and cheaper.
58. Scotland has a weird dessert made with sour grapes crumbled with cinnamon on top. It was not good.
59. England seems to be a much bigger fan of fruity tart things than sweet things. Most our sweet drinks they do not have, orange fanta is the sweetest.
60. Instant coffee in the UK is still a thing, and all the coffee and hot Chocolate they serve tastes bad.
61. Some countries have such modernized public restrooms that the water, soap, and dryer all come from the same metal bar over the sink.
62. At times the aurora borealis may not be readily apparent with your eyes, or appear like gray clouds, but appears green on camera.
63. In England Your meals are served with finger bowls to wash your hands.
64. Sea food is served everywhere, but noodle dishes are harder to come by.
65. Breadsticks in Iceland look like a pizza.
66. The pace of meals and responsiveness is so much slower we were in fits of laughter at the length of time we spent staring into each other’s eyes.
67. The Icelandic currency is called a Kroner, The UK uses Pound Stirling, Northern Ireland uses the Euro.
68. They do celebrate St. Patrick’s day in Northern Ireland, but not on the Protestant side. It looks like every other day. They may not use the same symbols though.
69. You can only get mucus decongestants from the pharmacy by talking to the pharmacist in Ireland.

What  interesting things have you learned on your travels?

Three yours ago this February my dad died after complications of blood clots and multiple strokes. The final three weeks of his life were painful and difficult for him and our entire family. My dad was an unusual guy, who shared some traits with Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory. He was an extraordinarily intelligent man with a love of books, space, science, history, computers, movies, and The Beatles. Boy did he love The Beatles. He would often sit at home with his old records playing them on repeat. While we was on his deathbed, we repeatedly played his favorite Beatles tunes for him to help bring him peace.

​My dad died in Texas, but our family resided in multiple different states and it was difficult to arrange a proper memorial service that all could attend. My dad was cremated. This year we decided to take a trip to honor my dad's memory and spread his ashes in the places he would have most loved.

​Now, getting his ashes flown across continents took some doing. First I had to retrieve his ashes from my mom in Michigan and transport them to Missouri. I had to contact multiple airline carriers and TSA about flight restrictions with cremated remains, make copies of death certificates, and ensure the urn was properly sealed and packed away in my carry-on. I was stopped multiple times in different airports to have my bags searched and tested before we reached our destinations.

​1) Abbey Road & Abbey Road Recording Studios, London, England
​Any fan of The Beatles knows about the iconic Abbey Road image. We flagged down a London black cab driver to take us to the site. The place was busy with tourists walking across the street and posing for photos. We waited our turn and walked the path while spreading his ashes, then on the tree roots and hedges of the neighboring studios.  Afterward, we spoke to a black cab driver who grew up in the area who said he had never heard of that being done before, despite all the people that visit there. My dad might never had been able to visit, but he is forever a part of it now.

3) University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England
​So, you know how I said my dad was a big fan of The Beatles? Well, so much so that he got his Master's Degree from the University of Liverpool through a distance learning program. Liverpool was of course the original home of The Beatles.  In the dark of night on a rainy evening, we found a nice, gardenlike area near a technical innovations building to scatter some ashes. He could finally be in the presence of history and academia that he so loved.
​
4) Strawberry Fields, Liverpool, England
You know the song. Maybe you know this was the place of John Lennon's childhood.  At dusk we found the bright red gates to lay my dad's ashes to rest in Strawberry Fields forever. 
​

5) Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, County Clare, Republic of Ireland
​For our final memorial destination we flew to Ireland. Just as dawn was breaking on a cold, windy morning we navigated our way to the Cliffs of Moher. In one direction we could see rolling hillsides, and another we could see the crashing waves against the giant, moss covered cliffs.  As luck would have it this freezing morning, no one else was there, giving us complete solitude to gently toss my dad's remaining ashes into the winds and over the cliffs. In case you were wondering, there was no Big Lebowski moment with the ashes. They rolled over the cliffs and sea as we said our final goodbyes with the moon still shining over head. May his memory live forever in the beauty of the sea, air, and trees that surround us.

In Loving Memory of my Dad, George