Voyage Junkie

Near Reykjavik is a sweet little town called Alafoss, named after the waterfall that gave power to the mills of an 1896 wool factory. It's also home to the recording studio of Sigur Ros. We went to find Icelandic wool for gifts, and we weren't disappointed. It's a charming area with great history. Just a typical building in Alafoss. This one sold historical figures, knives, and the like. This is the wool factory . It still runs today, and we spent a long time inside deciding on just the right shade of Icelandic blue and cream wool. It's well worth a visit even if you don't craft, knit, sew, etc. A view of modern Reykjavik from the coast. We spent our last night walking around the old city again, after eating delectable crepes. As the sun set, we watched the golden light fall over the shiny chrome. The golden statue there is called the Sun Voyager  and is a representation of a Viking longship. We felt peaceful, tired, and happy after our time in Iceland. ...

Our last big hurrah in Iceland was visiting Thingvellir National Park. This proved to be probably our favorite attraction, due to the immense amount of history associated with the place. First of all, it's gorgeous. It's also historical, important in social, cultural, and geographic ways. It was the seat of Viking parliament, Althing, from 930 AD to 1798. Which is a long time . The park itself was founded on the 1,000 anniversary of Althing, or 1930, and it became a World Heritage Site in 2004. This is a vista across the land, showing part of the rifts that line the valley. The views go on for as long as one can see, even on such a small island. Here is Logberg, or Law Rock. It is where Viking lawmakers announced their decisions on cases, using the natural amphitheater created by the rocks to thunder their voices down on the people. Do you need to drown a woman? Then come to Drekkingarhylur, the drowning pool for all your drowning needs. Apparently, up until the ...

Part of the adventure in Iceland is driving the Ring Road, or Route 1. This highway goes all the way around Iceland in, you guessed it, a circle or ring. Matt estimates that we drove about 1/3 of the ring from Reykjavik to Akureyri and then back again. Most Ring Road travelers might scoff at us for this boomerang of sorts, as it seems like the typical method is to commit to the whole ring. That seems incredible if one can dedicate the time and money, which we could not last year. Perhaps in the future there will be another choice. Regardless, we loved our drive. On the way up to Akureyri we pretty much just drove after the museum in Borgarnes, in order to make it to our destination on time. On the way back to Reykjavik we meandered, stopping at any interesting site we found along the way. The first incredible view was this rainbow. We were at the start of our journey and I was driving. We came to a place where we needed to continue around a slight curve to continue on 1 while ro...

The entire reason we went to Akureyri was to be close to Lake Myvatn and the gorgeous sights that surround it. We were not disappointed in the least. The first sight we came upon was Godafoss, which I think means something like "waterfall of the Gods." It is huge, breathtakingly so. It falls from a height of 12 m and spans a distance of 30 m. The picture below gives a relatively good impression of what it is like to stand and look up at it. The area was also home to some plants we'd never seen before. It was neat to see Icelandic plants that we couldn't find at home. The water from the falls also continued downstream into other smaller falls as it continued on its way. The next stop on our itinerary as we drove around the lake was Skutustadagigar. This is a sprawling landscape of lava craters that were made when gas exploded in lava. It's impossibly green now, and cultivated for farming. There are paths that wander up and down through the craters, and yo...

We drove the ring road from Reykjavik to Akureyri on our second day in the country. Matt really wanted to go see  The Settlement Center , due to his deep interest in Icelandic, Viking, Greenlandic, and Inuit cultures, and I was happy to go as well. We started with two great exhibits on how Iceland was settled, and finished with some amazingly great food from the attached restaurant. We were super lucky to get into the restaurant as they had a large group reserving the whole place that day! Here is a great photo from the exhibit of some masks depicting Norse Gods. In order: traditional lamb stew, gluten free bread with fresh Icelandic butter and volcanic charcoal salt, and a smoked trout on rye. After our delightful museum tour and meal, we drove up to Akureyri. It's a beach town, with an upscale beach vibe. We came for the sights around Lake Myvatn, which I'll write about in another post, yet we found some nice things to enjoy in this sleepy town as well. We stay...

Last summer, in July 2018, we went for a lovely week in Iceland. Much has happened between now and then which has precluded my writing about it until now. However, Iceland and all that we experienced is still there, and I feel confident that recommendations I give from that time will still be valid. Strap in and enjoy the beauty! Iceland is one of those mystical places. It has breathtaking beauty and people who are actually happy and take care of each other for the most part. Visiting there, I felt very welcome, even as I felt the keen cultural and linguistic differences. It's a place I could return to again and again, and always find something new. We started our adventure in Reykjavik, as I believe is most common. The international airport is very easy to get around and it's also accessible to the city by bus if needed. We rented a car from Blue Car Rental  after a lot of research, and I recommend this company fully. It was a great experience from start to finish, and the...