ICELAND - February 2017
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| That's the plan!! |
Six weeks after Christmas and we have another week-long break from school! Not to mention, 4 short months left in this part of the world and endless places to explore. That said, we packed up and headed out to a destination that would remind us a lot of home back in Michigan during February, ICEland!
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It's like they knew we were getting on the plane...
Good news... We didn't use them... but I kept them :) |
Our first night we spent getting acquainted with the "downtown" and learning the ropes in the county known as the land of fire and ice. Of course we had to do some research and try to impart our limited knowledge of this country and it's unique history on the girls! One fun fact that they found interesting (or at least pretended to) was that Iceland is, in geological terms, a young country and lies directly above a hotspot known as the Iceland plume. Seismic activity at location around 16 to 18 million years ago is believed to have caused the creation of Iceland’s land mass, which is characterized by numerous volcanoes and hot springs... more on those later!
After a dinner of local fish and chips (which were not nearly as good as those from Ireland) and some exploring of the Volcano museum, we called it a night and hit the hay to get a good nights rest before our road trip to Vik.
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| "Honk if You're Hungry".... Seriously... they put buttons like this on a plane with children? |
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| Loved this guy... Annelyes's new nickname is Lancelot! |
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| Such a good example he is setting... good thing Iceland claims to have the cleanest water in Europe! |
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| Souvenir shopping on day one... really means raising havoc and getting acquainted with all the local specialties. Lo particularly loved this hat... I didn't have the heart to tell her it was rabbit fur... "It's so soft Mom... it feels just like a kitty..." |
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How could I forget our pre-dinner snack... the famous
Icelandic lamb-hot dogs! While the ketchup/mustard were of
textures and consistencies unfamiliar to the girls, after a couple
bites the unique taste was readily appreciated and subsequently
devoured! We learned that sheep outnumber humans in Iceland
nearly two to one and that Iceland doesn't allow the import
of any live animals... so... the lamb eaten today is free-range,
grass-fed, organic and hormone free, just like the lamb that
has been eaten in Iceland for hundreds of years... and boy
was it delicious! Also, the casing were natural, giving each
bite a nice snap, just like the sausages on the farm in Ohio! |
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| HAPPY |
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| CAMPERS! |
The next morning, we headed out towards Vik which would call home for the next two nights. We had planned lots of pit-stops along the way to keep the journey interesting and free from "are we there yet."
However, my pit-stops started backfiring quickly! The first stop was a geothermal village which was well known for some of their natural pools. Poor planning on my part, resulted in our arrival a hour before the pool opening. Needless to say, some of us were EXTREMELY disappointed. We promised lots more opportunities for swimming in the coming days, which helped persuade them to get back into the car and progress forward.
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| "Laugaskard"... the gate may as well have said "CLOSED" your parents suck! |
SeLjAlAnDsFoSS ~ The next stop also was a bit of a disappointment (0 for 2 in the "vacations to remember" category)... for ~67% of the females in our family!
Seljalandsfoss is one of the best known waterfalls in Iceland which drops 197 ft and is part of the Seljalands River which originates in the volcano glacier Eyjafjallajökull (the one that resulted in the ash cloud which grounded planes for 5 days a few years back)!
One of the interesting things about this waterfall is that you can walk behind it into a small cave! Super cool...so long as you have waterproof clothing on before you do it! Because we saw some other tourists walking down from this experience completely drenched, we explained to the girls were weren't prepared to venture behind the falls at that moment, but would do so on the way back...{insert lots of "ahhhh mom... please, can't we just, it will be fine, everyone else is going back there, we won't get that wet, our clothes will dry, just for a minute, can't we just see... "} disappointment #2 and its not even noon. And we press on... as I start to question how I ever dreamed this would be "fun."
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I love how pictures can mask the true emotions of the moment :)
10 years from now looking back... remember how much fun we had there... |
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| So thankful for other tourists who see me snapping pictures of my 3 loves and ask if we want a family picture! |
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| DISCLAIMER: I took more pictures of the landscapes here than any other country. They were truly incredible and I wish my photography skills were better! Nonetheless, the views from the car were some of my favorite memories from this trip... we couldn't get over how varied the weather and landscapes were in such short spans of time. One minute we were in dense fog, not able to see 4 feet in front of our faces, then the skies would open up to a bright blue or a blizzard would blow in. Mountains were met with vast plains that looked like the surface of the moon... |
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| We made lots of pit stops while driving to observe the horses... |
The next stop ("another waterfall") was Skogafoss Waterfall. The Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in the country with a width of 82 feet and a drop of 200 ft. Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces, a single or double rainbow is normally visible on sunny days... and lucky for us, it was sunny when we got there!!!
To get to the top of the waterfall we had to climb 427 or 436 stairs (Loralye and Annelyse's counts, respectively)... they were a dodgy set of stairs to say the least, yet the pride on their faces when the reached the top was worth it, not to mention, the math we got to do in the car after the fact, which involved the principals of a carrying for addition and multiplication to figure out how many steps we climbed given we had to do it twice, were just frosting on the cupcake!
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| Racing to be the first up that rickety set of stairs! |
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| We made it! Given that I am vertically challenged, this was the best shot I could get from the top, with both my ladies and the point-of-interest in the picture! |
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| Looking down... we were a way's up there! |
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| Such a sunny day, Tweedle Dee couldn't keep her eyes open for the picture |
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| One of my favorites from the trip! |
According to legend, the first Viking settler in the area, Þrasi Þórólfsson, buried a treasure in a cave behind the waterfall and the locals found the chest years later, but were only able to grasp the ring on the side of the chest before it disappeared again. The ring was allegedly given to the local church.
Regardless of what was back there, we were damp enough standing 30 feet away, so we didn't pursue going in any further!
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| Still has her eyes closed... |
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| 60 degrees, sun is shining and frolicking under a rainbow... they could have stayed here for days! |
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| Making me a nervous wreck... |
Next we wandered down to Reynisfjara which is a black sand beach. There are amazing cliffs lining the beach with basalt columns resembling a rocky step pyramid. The locals told us (on several occasions) that the waves at Reynisfjara are especially strong and unpredictable, which have resulted in many unfortunate events. So, be sure we didn't end up on any signs, I tried to take pictures from afar!
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| A safe distance from the "Sneaker" waves |
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| They waves were crazy-big... |
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| Goofy Outtake |
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| Our tiny cabin is at the bottom of the hill. |
After a long day of "nature" we arrived to our little log cabin, at the bottom of the volcano glacier Eyjafjallajökull and wasted no time in finding the hot tub. The girls were so geeked to jump into a tub of hot water after disrobing in the cold, dark night. While the Northern Lights eluded us on this trip, the sky was so full of starts it looked like a planetarium as we soaked in the tub... well, two of us soaked and the other two of us, imagined like we were in an Olympic sized swimming pool outside of civilization. Let's just say, it was a good thing this tub was naturally feed by a spring, because otherwise, there would be less than half the water left after we got out!
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| They loved the cabin, fuzzy stools and chess board! |
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| Ready for the hot tub! |
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| Crazy Kids! They thought this was the GREATEST thing EVER! |
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| Troll Faces |
The next day, our plan was to go on an excursion on the east coast of the island and do an ice cave tour, however due to the rain, the caves were flooded and our trip was cancelled... such is life. So, on the fly we figured out some things to do with the help of an amazing blogger who had mapped lots of great options for touring the southeastern side of Iceland.
The morning started out really foggy which made for a rather eerie drive. Quickly we noticed the mossy green landscape that looked like a proper home for a Troll Family! We did a bit of quick research and learned that we were driving through the Eldhraun Lava Field. This enormous, beautiful lava field was formed in an eruption in the 1700s. There's a little picnic area on route one where you can stop and take a little walk to see the vastness of the lava, however, it was raining and wet, so we opted for some a quick "hike" a few pics and snacks in the car!
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| The ground looked as though someone could pop up at anytime... Made for lots of good conversations and stories about Trolls! |
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| I wish I captured Lo better, because I love the way Annelyse is looking adoringly at her! |
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| There were signs that said to take care not to step on the moss because it takes "ages" to grow! |
We drove on to our next point of interest which was the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. This lagoon is one of Iceland's most visited attractions and once we arrived we understood why! Jökulsárlón is a glacial lagoon with floating icebergs from Vatnajökull and it's gorgeous.
I took way too many pictures here, because I couldn't get enough of the colors.
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| Sweet Sisters! |
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| The water was so clear, we could see straight to the bottom and the reflections were stunning! |
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| Throwing stones in the water was by far the highlight of this trip! On more than one occasion, they nearly knocked the other in the head with a rock because of course they were competing to see who could throw the rock father. But watching the competition, it really wasn't who could throw it father, the emphasis was on how much force you could demonstrate their bodies exerting to hurl the pebble into the water. The more dramatic your throw, the greater likelihood of winning. |
Lo was really excited to "climb the mountain" We got them snow boots before the trip and she quickly decided they were hiking boots as well. On several occasions during this trek, she would look back and yell, "Look how good I am doing because of my hiking boots!"
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| Trying to recreate the "Pisa" picture with an iceberg... but we couldn't quite get the angle right! |
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| Ok... last one... I loved this place! |
Across the street we found some ice that we could actually touch! Of course, I had grand plans for all the awesome pictures I was going to get here. Unfortunately, those 'sneaker' waves had alternate plans. At one point, I had the girls standing on a large piece of ice and all of a sudden the waves started getting closer. Russ rushed over to save them and knocked his shin pretty good on the mini iceberg. Needless to say, he was less than impressed with any future photo requests. He also wasn't impressed with my request for a photo of his injury...
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| We started out having fun... |
"Let's do what Daddy did... Mom take our picture!!!"
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| Cold buns... |
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| Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon - Can you tell how impressed everyone is... |
After this little hiccup, we decided everyone had enough and should head back towards Vik. On the way, we stopped at some of the other sites recommended by the blogger...
While they were lovely, everyone had had enough of getting in and out of the car. But we did it anyway :)
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| The girls loved looking at all the stuff on the rocks... hope humans aren't an appropriate host for that species of fungus! |
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| View of Svínafellsjökull from the road. |
Our last pit stop before making it home for the night was the Svínafellsjökull Glacier. We didn't quite make it to the glacier tongue but got close enough to get the idea!
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| When all the sights/landmarks have this many letters, it makes communication difficult.. |
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| Another beautiful sight from the car on the drive back to Vik. |
The next morning we had a BIG day planned. We had done some research on the natural pools fed by hot springs and discovered one of the very oldest of these was located "right behind our cabin".
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We thought this was the pool... and given how it looked,
needless to say, we weren't going in.... no matter how 'natural' it was |
Seljavallalaug pool is described as one of the oldest pools in Iceland located in amazing surroundings, nested underneath Eyjafjallajökull glacier. According to the Blogger I had referenced while planning this trip... (and while I still think she is beyond amazing), the description of how exactly to get to this place, was a little "looser" than the rest of her directions.
In hindsight, I guess one needs to consider that the average person wouldn't go in search of a pool of water naturally occurring in the middle of nowhere without assuming there wouldn't be a bit of adventure in trying to find it! Needless to say this experience is one that I would bet money none of us ever forget!
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| "I think I see it" |
Upon arriving, we saw a little shed and a pool but it looked all locked up. I had read that the pool was maintained by the locals, so it didn't seem too much of a stretch that they may have opening/closing times. That said, this pool looked like it was not "fit for swimming' and I was prepared to pretend it was locked if in fact it wasn't. A short time later, we saw some adventurous-looking 20-somethings emerging from their car and asked if they knew anything about the pool. "yeah man, it's like 100 meters that way"...
Game on... Russ sent out looking for it and quickly determined we weren't dressed accordingly. Stupidly, we wore flipflops. After a quick stop back at the cabin, we set out in search for the "hot pool".
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| "We're goin' on a bear hunt" |
To set the stage, I have copied the description that we used to find this place...
Nestled in a narrow valley in the shadow of the
infamous Eyjafjallajökull volcano (the one that caused the huge Ash Cloud a few years back), this is the oldest swimming pool in Iceland.
It was built by members of a youth movement in 1923 as a teaching pool at a
time when the majority of Icelanders worked in the fishing industry but left
school without ever learning to swim. Set into the side of a mountain, it is
fed by both hot water seeping from the rock face and a nearby
spring. It is 25m by 10m, has a very basic changing room and is run by
volunteers. There is no charge. Swim lengths or just soak and enjoy the rugged
landscape.
→ COORDINATES:
63.559243, -19.622395
Turn off the R1 onto the R242 signposted
Raufarfell. Keep driving until the end of the road to find a parking area.
Ignore the sign for Seljavellir. From the parking area walk on a rough path for
approx 20 mins towards the bottom of the valley and the pool will come into
view.
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| Still walking... still looking... where is this pool??? |
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| Crossing the river.... surly it has to be right past here... and we keep walking.. |
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| Helping Lo over the rickety wood bridge... |
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| We found it! |
Walk approximately 20 minutes, ignore signs... really... WTF was I thinking... I swear, I am sleep deprived and two glasses of wine in when I look at this stuff and decide it is fun, not to mention, intelligent. Regardless of this escapade being the exact opposite of how we operate in daily life, it was utterly AMAZING... and makes me want to do more of it!!!
In hindsight, the trek getting there was almost as fun as taking pictures of my 3 amigos basking in the warmth of hot spring in mountains with a random, creepy, awkward chubby man (who thankfully was accompanied by a female companion and another female who refused Russ's hand while struggling to cross a river while we were doing the same). GERMAPHOBES NOTE: the pool self renews in less than 24 hours, so we assume the likelihood of contracting ickies were slim...
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| After quickly disrobing in the 'changing room's behind them in this photo... I got one shot to get a picture before the jumped in. I love it and know they will remember this forever! |
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| We made it! It wasn't as hot as it was warm... but a nice, unique dip! |
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| Goof Ball! |
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| Love this! |
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They even manage to make up games in places like this... cracks me up!
Me: Look around... isn't this cool
Lo: Yeah cool... Annelyse grab my hand and I am going to pull you around. |
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| After our dip... all bundled back up! While I was sort of disappointed not to be able to say I bathed in the pool... it was best that I was dry and able to change them in record time! |
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| Selfie by the pool house! |
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| I just love these adventures! And even more that they are willing to go along with it and try nearly anything! |
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| Cute little house built into the side of the mountain. |
After the swim, we said good-bye to our cabin in Vik and headed back towards Reykjavik to for a couple more days of fun! But not before harassing some horses and making good an the promise to go back behind the waterfall that we passed by a few days earlier. We were already wet from the pool, so why not make a day of being soggy!
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| More horse pictures |
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| They were so pretty and fairly tame... I get the feeling they get their pictures taken a LOT! |
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| Caption: Before anyone's eyes got wet. |
We arrived back at
Seljalandsfoss to fulfill our experience by going behind the falls! Sure enough the girls were game and ready for more H20 fun. Upon arrival, we all put on our waterproof gear and set out to venture behind the falls. Quickly our bravest little solider realized this whole experience would mean her face might get wet.
REWIND to two days prior when we watched people emerging from the falls COMPLETELY SOAKED to the bone. How she thought that they got that wet, but their "eyes" stayed dry, is a mystery.
We tried to rationalize with the 5 year old, saying things like... "you swim ALL THE TIME and your eyes get wet, this isn't any this different." "You can close your eyes and we will guide you through the misty parts and then your eyes won't get wet".
Nope, she wasn't buying it. Eventually, we coaxed her into going with the promise of a sucker when she finished. Amazing how quickly those tears dry up when sugar is on the line.
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| Whew... we made it! And our eyes are even open!! |
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| Probably better we can't see the faces... you know, in case the "eyes are wet" |
The next day we headed out for everyone's most sought after destination, the tourist trap that is the the Blue Lagoon! The warm waters are rich in minerals like silica and sulfur which are supposedly good for the skin! The water temperature averages 37–75 °C (99–167 °F) and was LOVELY!
The lagoon is a man-made lagoon which is fed by the water output of the nearby geothermal power plant Svartsengi and is renewed every two days. Super-heated water is vented from the ground near a lava flow and used to run turbines that generate electricity.
Iceland has a strict code of hygiene and guests are required to shower before bathing. Yes, a proper shower before entering. I can't tell you how many towels we dropped with our two modest ladies, trying to keep all our bits and bobs covered while, getting clean and putting the special conditioner in everyone's hair to keep it from drying out. Needless to say, Russ made it through the locker-room in 6 minutes, and we made it out in just under an hour. :- /
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| Both girls were totally put off by the fact that they had to wear "floaties". While they could touch in most places, there were some drop offs, so I was happy they had them. Too cool already... Lord help me. |
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| We all got a free drink with our ticket. Annelyse wasn't to impressed with her drink which was named "KRAP" |
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| Daddy on the other hand was very happy with his Icelandic beer! |
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| A rare photo of just the two of us. This was taken right before Lo almost spilled her entire 'free Krappy slurpee" in the lagoon. Good thing it renews itself every 40 hours! |
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| You go through the grotto aka "cave" right after you come outside... both girls loved this as a hideout! |
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| For some reason they kept wanting to go back inside. I couldn't figure out why... but landed on the fact that there were some toddlers in there and they LOVE being by the babies! |
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| All sorts of lotions and potions were available to use. Of course, the girls decided I needed a full silica mask. Hopefully that stuff works miracles on my wrinkles! They must have thought the same thing given how much is on me verses the rest of them. |
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| Love this! |
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This waterfall was also a hit.. until somoene got their 'eyes wet'
And I don't mean the lady to the right of Lo... she too didn't seem to like her eyes getting wet. |
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| The "BEST" of the 876 selfies we took while in the Lagoon! |
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| Love the lifeguard on the bridge who is dressed like an Eskimo! |
On our last day we did our final mini-road trip around the Golden Circle. We headed out early and the sun was just coming up. It was so gorgeous!
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| Tried to get a family photo with the beautiful background... still haven't figured out this camera! |
Our first stop was at Thingveiller National Park.
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| Russ found a new hat while on vacation that he was pretty excited about.... |
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| Trouble... |
The blogger came through again with a fabulous lunch recommendation!!! It was an adorable little farm that had a restaurant complete with homemade ice cream and lots of farm-to-table options! Everyone was a happy camper (farmer) after this stop!
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| The ice cream was delicious... straight from the guys eating as much grass as they wanted on the other side of the glass! |
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| The "Welcoming Committee" Both dogs ran up to every car and greeted patrons on their way into the retaurant. This was a lovely treat for the girls and of course, we had to have another conversation about what kind of dog they want and what they will name it when we get back home! |
Our next stop was Strokkur Geyser and Geysier geyser. Strokkur was first mentioned in 1789 after an earthquake helped to unblock the conduit of the geyser. Its activity fluctuated throughout the 19th century where it's height was estimated to have been as much as 60 metres.
It continued to erupt until the turn of the 20th century, until another earthquake blocked the conduit again. In 1963, upon the advice of the Geysir Committee, locals cleaned out the blocked conduit through the bottom of the basin, and the geyser has been regularly erupting ever since.
The first time it went off, it was only a little blip. In fact, I think Russ described it like a "toilet flushing"...
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| The second time around it was much bigger... thankfully... but hard to capture given it's unpredictability! |
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| We learned the Geysir geyser is now a "dud" and hasn't erupted since the 1970's |
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| "Little Geyser" |
Our final stop on the ring, was Gulfoss Falls. I am pretty sure by this point, everyone was done getting in and out of the car to see "another waterfall". That said, we took some photo's and headed towards home.
Can't wait until next time!
The next morning, we headed out towards Vik which would call home for the next two nights. We had planned lots of pit-stops along the way to keep the journey interesting and free from "are we there yet." 
The next stop ("another waterfall") was Skogafoss Waterfall. The Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in the country with a width of 82 feet and a drop of 200 ft. Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces, a single or double rainbow is normally visible on sunny days... and lucky for us, it was sunny when we got there!!! 
We drove on to our next point of interest which was the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. This lagoon is one of Iceland's most visited attractions and once we arrived we understood why! Jökulsárlón is a glacial lagoon with floating icebergs from Vatnajökull and it's gorgeous.
Walk approximately 20 minutes, ignore signs... really... WTF was I thinking... I swear, I am sleep deprived and two glasses of wine in when I look at this stuff and decide it is fun, not to mention, intelligent. Regardless of this escapade being the exact opposite of how we operate in daily life, it was utterly AMAZING... and makes me want to do more of it!!! 
The lagoon is a man-made lagoon which is fed by the water output of the nearby geothermal power plant Svartsengi and is renewed every two days. Super-heated water is vented from the ground near a lava flow and used to run turbines that generate electricity. 
The blogger came through again with a fabulous lunch recommendation!!! It was an adorable little farm that had a restaurant complete with homemade ice cream and lots of farm-to-table options! Everyone was a happy camper (farmer) after this stop! 
But before we made it home, we found the best set of horses yet! Russ rolled his eyes whenever I asked him to pull over for horse pictures... this place in particular, because you know, there was a home 500 yards away. I knew it was going to be a good experience when I saw the little sign for "Horse Candy" on a little cabinet near the road. Sure enough, it was a hilarious experiences, up close and personal with these sweet guys! 
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