Recently all highland roads in Iceland were open again for traffic. The Reykjavik Excursions – Kynnisferdir fleet of highland busses was ready after undergoing thorough maintenance and improvement all winter long. This small fleet consists of 13 busses, 4 of whom are 4×4 vehicles and the others are bus bodies built on truck chassis.
Highland roads are usually narrow gravel roads or tracks and most rivers are unbridged. Travelling in the highlands of Iceland is an amazing adventure and an accomplishment in itself – many people like to hike, ride bicycles or rent 4×4 SUV´s to get there. We are proud of our bus fleet and specially trained drivers. It is awesome to be on a bus, crossing glacial rivers and driving tracks that in many cases can´t pass as a road, even though it´s officially a highland road! Driving such tracks you need a lot of skills and good sense – it´s not always best to cross a stream where it is shallowest, so to speak. The highland summer is very short and the vegetation in the highlands is very vulnerable and slow growing. Driving off tracks is prohibited and if someone does so, in spite of the ban, it can take several decades to heal the damage caused. The environmental factor plays a big role when we plan our highland tours as does instructing both our drivers and the passengers to treat Nature with care and respect.
Vikingbus/GPN Denmark welcomes a 2010 Mercedes Sprinter 519 CDI 12-seater to its fleet. This VIP vehicle has a full range of modern amenities, such as leather seats, air-conditioning, 2 flat-screen televisions, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, surround sound, bar cabinet, microwave oven and coffee machine, and much more!
H.M.K./GPN Norway Will be the Transportation Provider for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly 19th Annual Session
Guests of the OSCEPA’s annual session, which will take place in Oslo, Norway, from July 6 to July 10, will be transported by vehicles supplied by H.M.K. There are expected to be more than 300 parliamentarians attending. The theme of the assembly is: “Rule of Law: Combating Transnational Crime and Corruption”.
H.M.K./GPN Norway Was Main Supplier for ESH Conference in Oslo
H.M.K. was the main supplier for the ESH (European Society of Hypertension) conference, which took place in Oslo, Norway, from June 18 to 21, with 8200 attendees! Good job, H.M.K. staff! For more information, see: http://www.esh2010.com/
June 21 is summer solstice. This means that the endless bright summer nights we experience in the North will now retreat slowly to what is “normal” and then, in the middle of December it will have totally reversed. We are used to the light nights – as we are used to long, dark winter days. For the past few days we have had wonderful, warm days – even though the temperature hardly ever reaches 20°C. When the Icelanders experience such days they forget volcanic eruptions and financial crises and frolic in the sun, enjoying life.
To a foreign eye Iceland seems to have no trees at all. The road from Keflavik Airport to Reykjavik is barren of trees – in fact it consists of a huge lava field on which moss has smoothened out the rough surface. When the first permanent settlers came to Iceland over 1100 years ago the land was said to be “forested from sea shore to mountain tops”. This might have been a hyped up statement, tempting possible settlers to come to our Paradise island. Deforestation became a fact in Iceland, not due to bad weather, rather to sheep grazing, burning down of woods to create farmlands and using birch as fuelwood.
Nowadays we have had organized forestry for over 100 years and circumstances have been reversed, making Iceland a better place than ever before. In the capital Reykjavik and towns around the country well kept gardens usually surround the houses and many people take pride in trying out all sorts of exotic flowers and trees – even planting fruit trees. The best part is that you are never lost in an Icelandic wood – you just stand up.
Hansabuss Used Their Huge Fleet of Vehicles to Accommodate the Meeting Participants
Hansabuss Hired 165 New Drivers for This Service!
The Informal Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, which took place in Tallinn, Estonia on April 22 and 23, was serviced by Hansabuss, GPN’s partner in Estonia. Hansabuss was the sole transportation provider for this event.
Planning for the event began in October of 2009, and the main team consisted of Hansabuss, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Estonian Police. Hansabuss had to hire 165 new drivers, who drove 162 different vehicles. They logged an impressive 8.000 working hours.
Hansabuss is proud to have provided transportation for such an important world-class event. The staff learned a lot from this experience, and is ready to take on even bigger challenges in the future!
At the Sex and the City 2 premiere, Hampton Jitney was asked to provide shuttle service from Radio City to Lincoln center for the after party. They had 6 of their vehicles wrapped with the SATC2 design for one month and were asked to lead the caravan of vehicles to the premiere and then to the after party. View video here: Jitney @ SATC 2 Premiere
To see Ramkvillabuss’ brand new video, go to this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxrwvcAT7MI
The Pope visited Cyprus on June 4th and 5th with 36 members of his entourage. The Pope’s visit included a meeting with President Demetris Christofias and his wife Elsi, a visit to the St. Maron school to greet thousands of enthusiastic followers, as well as meetings with members of the Holy Synod and Maronite Archbishop Youssef Soueif. The Pope blessed a small olive tree, which will be planted at the Paphos airport in remembrance of his historic visit. At his farewell ceremony on June 5th, he called for lasting peace in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Aeolos Travel, GPN’s member in Cyprus, was proud to provide VIP motor coach transportation for the Pope’s entourage. See pictures above…
