Uncategorized Iceland

We have more pictures, so why not post a few more?  

Akureyri

Leaving Reykjavik

I don't know what this poster is for, but I am pretty sure it was awesome.

Successful Apparel

Iceland is lousy with waterfalls

 See what I mean?

Driving to Hofn

Black sand beach (allegedly good for bird watching...we didn't stick around to find out due to the cold, windy, rain)

the restaurant at our hotel in Hofn had interesting pizzas (according to the guidebook---we didn't actually eat there)

Ocean near Hofn

Knafla Volcanic Area

Knafla Volcanic Area

The ground is hot!

Knafla Volcanic Area

Knafla Volcanic Area

Sheepers and Icelandic Horses

 I certainly didn't expect this to be the case, but a major highlight of the trip was seeing Icelandic sheep and horses.  The sheep have very expressive faces, and some are even leadersheep (which are bred to be smart and help the farmers out--they tend to be thinner too).  The horses are smaller than average and have awesome 90s skater hair.

fat and in the road---definitely not a leadersheep!

I wasn't kidding about liking the Icelandic sheep and horses....

Icelandic Food

Iceland is known for some pretty odd foods, and although I enjoyed having sardines with my continental breakfast (seriously!), we stayed clear of fermented shark meat, whale, and puffin.  I did eat lobster (well, technically langoustine) sauteed in garlic (not pictured), on pizza. and in a sandwich.  

We also ate some amazing fish---arctic char and Icelandic catfish, both of which were delicious.  The catfish was quite a surprise---definitely not what I expected.  One of my favorite foods was something called "mashed fish" which was essentially a really thick stew served over Icelandic rye bread (it's that yellowish stuff in the picture below).  Also pictured on this plate is some A-M-A-Z-I-N-G rye bread ice cream.  Seriously, it was scrumptious!  It's apparently an old family recipe (which they more or less let me in on once we declared we were going to try to get Full Tilt to try to make it).

We didn't eat any of these...

The Ring Road to Akureyri

We headed out of Hofn, driving along the coast and then over the mountains into the cold desert and finally past Lake Mytvan and into Akureyri.  It was amazing the difference in the landscape throughout the day.  

 Our trip across Iceland took us on the Ring Road, which is the main (and often only) route around the country.  Because most of the population lives in Western Iceland (two thirds of the ~300,000 in Reykjavik alone), the roads in the eastern half of the country are small typically two lanes with frequent one lane bridges.  To get from Hofn to Akureyri, we traveled on an even less developed portion.  I repeat that this is THE MAIN ROAD!

 Waterfall (foss in Icelandic) along the road

Cold Desert

 The Knafla volcanic area

Our indie rock cover album

 Godafoss Waterfall

Akureyrarkirkja, the church in Akureyri done by the same architect as the one in Reykjavik.

(yes that is a boat hanging in the sanctuary)

 The Botanical Garden in Akureyri:

 My dream for the front yard

  In the cafe at the botanical garden

Hof, the Music Hall

Iceberg Lagoon

Monday morning, after an Icelandic continental breakfast (skyr, toast, cheese, meat, cucumbers, etc), we took off for the southeastern coastal town of Hofn.  

On the way, we saw the pesky volcano Eyjafjallajokull that caused all that trouble with flights a couple years back.  

Plus wreckage of a bridge from a different volcanic eruption.

Hofn is famous for its computer-literate crustaceans as demonstrated by their welcome sign (or maybe it's the lobster capital of Iceland, one of the two).
  

About an hour from Hofn is Jokulsarlon, a spectacular lagoon created from a melting glacier.  Apparently, it's the proximity to saltwater and not global warming that causing the melting.  We spent a lot of time here both walking around and taking a boat tour.  We saw seals swimming around hunting for salmon.