We totally slept in today!! Actually…I totally slept in today, which means that Darren also got to sleep in! Funny how that works!
Quick breakfast trying to use up extra food and then off to the mall…I know that I am not cool enough to really buy anything here, but it seemed like checking out the mall would be a good thing to do! We spent only a couple of hours there and I didn’t really do any serious damage…2 t-shirts from Esprit (like I couldn’t get those at home!) and a soft-shell jacket that was 65$ off and was therefore not even 25$...which made it worthwhile, I figure!
We visited the Harpa, the big glass concert hall, because I really wanted to go see something if there was something happening tonight. Unfortunately, there was only a random-looking show, no orchestra or anything, so we opted out. Instead, we wandered around downtown and found this really awesome restaurant called the Laundromat Café. It had awesome food – we split a breakfast-like dish and were totally full…the best deal for the food yet! It was a very hippie, relaxed atmosphere as well, which was fun! It was a busy place!
More wandering led us to witness an impromptu rap-club concert in the central square. These three people set up their own speakers and randomly started to dance/sing(ish) in the square! It was kind of odd, to say the least, but cool in the fact that they have the freedom to do that without any apparent permits or anything! And, it made for good ice cream cone entertainment (although the ice cream was excellent regardless of entertainment!).
We did one last grocery run for Fanta Limon and Bugles (shows where our priorities are!) and headed back to the tent to pay for one last night and attempt to pack! Hopefully early to bed tonight before a full day of traveling tomorrow!
Back to reality soon….
Until the next holiday!
-Allison
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
This morning I managed to sleep in until 8:45! That’s like a record for me. I tried to let Darren sleep, rather unsuccessfully, as I got excited about the things I wanted to do today!! I decided that we should each get a “Reykjavik Welcome Card” that would give us admission to all of the city pools and museums for the day for only 1900 ISK.
We headed off on foot for the zoo! It was a cute little zoo that included horses, cows, and sheep…wh
ich I thought was a little over the top considering we saw sheep by the thousands grazing all over the place the entire time we were driving around the country! We also saw the seals and sea lions and they were a hoot! Their pool was being cleaned, so they were all basking in the sun (yes, there was sun this morning!) and they were hopping awkwardly around! I have never seen these guys move so much and I couldn’t stop laughing! It was pretty awesome to see – definitely the zoo highlight!
Then it was off to the Reykjavik Art Museum…it was a display of the artist Asmundur Sveinsson. He was a well-known Icelandic artist and many of his statues are well-known. The one, “the water carrier” is of a person bent over carrying two buckets of water. I am sure I’ve seen it somewhere before. It was an interesting display with lots of information on him as well as a special section about Louis Pasteur and his pasteurization process. The museum was created when Asmundur Sveinsson passed away and is actually located in the unique house he built and lived in.
Next was a Lutheran church (that I later discovered is the main religion of the country…About 80% of the Icelandic population is Lutheran) that was really interesting because of the four spires and copper roof. We went into a second Reykjavik A
rt Museum where there was an exposition about the artist Kjarval. His work was mainly paintings and depicted scenes from all over Iceland.
We walked up the hill to the PERLAN building which was previously a water tower. It has this awesome glass dome that can be seen from everywhere in the city – consequently, it has a great view from the balcony around the dome! We enjoyed the (windy) view before heading down towards the university area.
The National Museum of Iceland was also included on our lovely card and we spent over 2 hours learning about the settlement of Iceland. It was really cool to visit the museum after we had already toured around the country because it was easier to relate to and understand the information presented having already seen the locations! The artifacts were cool to see and I am glad that I now have a better understanding of the Icelandic history.
Walking back through the centre, we decided that eating out would be a much better option than couscous at the tent! Darren finally got his fish and chips he had been craving and I had some (not so great) soup! Good seafood however, regardless!
We went for our almost-daily swim in the pool that is right next to the campground and hostel. It was super busy, but an interesting people study! I managed to do a few laps, but my eyes are now paying for it! Goggles will be appreciated on Tuesday!
Night
-Allison
We headed off on foot for the zoo! It was a cute little zoo that included horses, cows, and sheep…wh
ich I thought was a little over the top considering we saw sheep by the thousands grazing all over the place the entire time we were driving around the country! We also saw the seals and sea lions and they were a hoot! Their pool was being cleaned, so they were all basking in the sun (yes, there was sun this morning!) and they were hopping awkwardly around! I have never seen these guys move so much and I couldn’t stop laughing! It was pretty awesome to see – definitely the zoo highlight!
Then it was off to the Reykjavik Art Museum…it was a display of the artist Asmundur Sveinsson. He was a well-known Icelandic artist and many of his statues are well-known. The one, “the water carrier” is of a person bent over carrying two buckets of water. I am sure I’ve seen it somewhere before. It was an interesting display with lots of information on him as well as a special section about Louis Pasteur and his pasteurization process. The museum was created when Asmundur Sveinsson passed away and is actually located in the unique house he built and lived in.
Next was a Lutheran church (that I later discovered is the main religion of the country…About 80% of the Icelandic population is Lutheran) that was really interesting because of the four spires and copper roof. We went into a second Reykjavik A
rt Museum where there was an exposition about the artist Kjarval. His work was mainly paintings and depicted scenes from all over Iceland.
We walked up the hill to the PERLAN building which was previously a water tower. It has this awesome glass dome that can be seen from everywhere in the city – consequently, it has a great view from the balcony around the dome! We enjoyed the (windy) view before heading down towards the university area.
The National Museum of Iceland was also included on our lovely card and we spent over 2 hours learning about the settlement of Iceland. It was really cool to visit the museum after we had already toured around the country because it was easier to relate to and understand the information presented having already seen the locations! The artifacts were cool to see and I am glad that I now have a better understanding of the Icelandic history.
Walking back through the centre, we decided that eating out would be a much better option than couscous at the tent! Darren finally got his fish and chips he had been craving and I had some (not so great) soup! Good seafood however, regardless!
We went for our almost-daily swim in the pool that is right next to the campground and hostel. It was super busy, but an interesting people study! I managed to do a few laps, but my eyes are now paying for it! Goggles will be appreciated on Tuesday!
Night
-Allison
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
It was rainy and gross when we woke up this morning…not much of a change lately and I miss the blue sky and sunshine! When it began to rain in the middle of the night I brought in our shoes that were out under the fly, so they wouldn’t get wet…and in with the shoes came a bunch of spiders!!! When I woke up this morning there were a couple of spiders on the walls, and then one in my shoe and my shirt! Uggg! I felt spiders crawling on me for hours to follow!
We pack
ed up and ate breakfast in the car in order to avoid the wind for a while! Then we headed off to see a few sights. We stopped first at Deildartunguhver Thermal Spring. This spring produces 180L of hot water per second, and is therefore the largest thermal spring in the world!! The temperature of the water is 212°F. The water has been used for central heating since 1925 and is now pumped to a few different towns – a total of 74Km – which is the longest in the world! At the water’s final destination it is still 149°F! The plant itself produces 62 megawatts of electricity as well as the hot water output! Pretty crazy use of resources! I wish we had hot water coming out of the ground in Edmonton like they do here!
From there we headed East to the town of Reykholt where the saga character Snorri Sturluson was ambushed and murdered at his farm in 1241 by orders of the King of Norway. The farm is no longer there, but there is the hot pool where he is said to have bathed as well as a partially restored tunnel that connected his home to the hot pool. Snorri’s “Heimskringla” (History of the Norwegian Kings) is his work that tells the history of Norway – that would have been lost had it not been for him.
Next were the waterfalls near Husafell. The largest waterfall in the area, Barnafoss wasn’t really anything in comparison to the many mini-waterfalls that appear as if from nowhere, out of the rock and fall into the river below. They continue on like this for over 1 kilom
eter and are beautiful! It is so bizarre that the surface can appear so solid and then there is water pouring out of the side of the rock!
We did a little off-roading here to go find Iceland’s largest lava cave, Surtshellir. It runs 1.5km long and has a few spots where it is open to go down to visit it! I was a tad freaked out by the concept of walking around in a cave, but it was neat to see how long and connected the tunnel is. Apparently, the caves were known during the Saga age and there were a band of outlaws that lived there. The farmers had to get rid of them! Kind of cool…I don’t think I could live in a cave, however…way too cold and dark!
From there we headed off to the Hvalfjordur. There is now a 5km tunnel under the water to avoid the 40km route around the fjord, however, Iceland’s tallest waterfall is at the very end of the Fjord, so we did the long drive. We stopped at a gas station and read a bit about the whaling industry back a long time ago and it made me nauseous! Whaling was a big thing here and they killed over 1000 per year for a number of years. The movies they were showing of the process were just stomach turning. So glad that they don’t do that anymore!
We were going to camp in the fjord somewhere, but couldn’t find a camp site! Instead, we decided to do the hike up to Glymur waterfall, which is Iceland’s highest waterfall at 198 meters. The hik
e was awesome as it was more like an obstacle course than a hike! There were stairs made from tree trunks, a cave to go through, a river to cross using a wire, and ropes to climb up the side of the rock. One point even required to ‘crawl’ up the rock using my hands! It was a fun hike and the waterfall was impressive.
The weather is still not great, so we decided to head over to Reykjavik and camp in the campground in town because then we’d have use of the hostel’s indoor amenities as well! It is kind of weird to be back in the “big city” after almost two weeks in towns of less than 1000 people! Yeah!!
Night
-Allison
We pack
ed up and ate breakfast in the car in order to avoid the wind for a while! Then we headed off to see a few sights. We stopped first at Deildartunguhver Thermal Spring. This spring produces 180L of hot water per second, and is therefore the largest thermal spring in the world!! The temperature of the water is 212°F. The water has been used for central heating since 1925 and is now pumped to a few different towns – a total of 74Km – which is the longest in the world! At the water’s final destination it is still 149°F! The plant itself produces 62 megawatts of electricity as well as the hot water output! Pretty crazy use of resources! I wish we had hot water coming out of the ground in Edmonton like they do here!
From there we headed East to the town of Reykholt where the saga character Snorri Sturluson was ambushed and murdered at his farm in 1241 by orders of the King of Norway. The farm is no longer there, but there is the hot pool where he is said to have bathed as well as a partially restored tunnel that connected his home to the hot pool. Snorri’s “Heimskringla” (History of the Norwegian Kings) is his work that tells the history of Norway – that would have been lost had it not been for him.
Next were the waterfalls near Husafell. The largest waterfall in the area, Barnafoss wasn’t really anything in comparison to the many mini-waterfalls that appear as if from nowhere, out of the rock and fall into the river below. They continue on like this for over 1 kilom
eter and are beautiful! It is so bizarre that the surface can appear so solid and then there is water pouring out of the side of the rock!
We did a little off-roading here to go find Iceland’s largest lava cave, Surtshellir. It runs 1.5km long and has a few spots where it is open to go down to visit it! I was a tad freaked out by the concept of walking around in a cave, but it was neat to see how long and connected the tunnel is. Apparently, the caves were known during the Saga age and there were a band of outlaws that lived there. The farmers had to get rid of them! Kind of cool…I don’t think I could live in a cave, however…way too cold and dark!
From there we headed off to the Hvalfjordur. There is now a 5km tunnel under the water to avoid the 40km route around the fjord, however, Iceland’s tallest waterfall is at the very end of the Fjord, so we did the long drive. We stopped at a gas station and read a bit about the whaling industry back a long time ago and it made me nauseous! Whaling was a big thing here and they killed over 1000 per year for a number of years. The movies they were showing of the process were just stomach turning. So glad that they don’t do that anymore!
We were going to camp in the fjord somewhere, but couldn’t find a camp site! Instead, we decided to do the hike up to Glymur waterfall, which is Iceland’s highest waterfall at 198 meters. The hik
e was awesome as it was more like an obstacle course than a hike! There were stairs made from tree trunks, a cave to go through, a river to cross using a wire, and ropes to climb up the side of the rock. One point even required to ‘crawl’ up the rock using my hands! It was a fun hike and the waterfall was impressive.
The weather is still not great, so we decided to head over to Reykjavik and camp in the campground in town because then we’d have use of the hostel’s indoor amenities as well! It is kind of weird to be back in the “big city” after almost two weeks in towns of less than 1000 people! Yeah!!
Night
-Allison
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