Day 2:
Yesterday we woke early to the pitter patter of a steady rain outside our window. It was going to be an indoor museum sort of day by the looks of things. In order to have enough energy to educate ourselves at the National Museum of Iceland http://www.thjodminjasafn.is/english/ we first stopped at Brauð & Co. for pastries, skyr, and chocolate milk. We scarfed down the crumbly breakfast in the car since it wasn't exactly stroll around and eat croissants on the street weather.
The museum didn't open until 10am so we made an unplanned stop at the coffee shop where Erin works to say hello. Maddy enjoyed a fancy cup of hot chocolate and introduced herself to several of the wooden sculptures that live in the coffee shop.
The museum was a great way to spend a rainy morning. We were there for several hours, reading about the history of Iceland and interacting with the various exhibits. Our favorite parts were the children's dress-up area and the craft corner.
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| They had an exhibit on fancy side saddles that women used to use. |
For lunch we HAD to go to Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur http://www.bbp.is/ for a classic Icelandic hotdog. We waited in line with the hoards of tourists eager to try the famous dish. "Bill Clinton ate here once," people inform each other. "It's been on my bucket list for ages," one woman informs her husband. We all scowl as a group of either very ballsy or extremely ignorant people cut right to the front of the line and order. "I hope they give you a bad one," I think, sending them some serious passive aggressive vibes. Maddy and I finally arrive at the front of the line and get our lunch, enjoying the messy delicacy. The opportunistic birds nearby were thrilled with my messy eating.
Kolaportið was next on the agenda. We met up with Selma (a cousin) and voila, Maddy met her first Icelandic family member, however distant she may be. At Kolaportið Maddy also has the opportunity to taste hákarl (rotten shark). Good thing there was lots of nearby candy to help her wash it down. *See video below*
We did a little souvenir shopping and walked around the rainy downtown for awhile. Maddy made a friend with a local kitty who was spending his afternoon curled up in a shop window on a pricy wool blanket. What a life.
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| Maddy with Jon S. |
Maddy had a long nap in the afternoon while I visited with Asta Sol and her little boys, and then we went to the food hall at Hlemmur http://www.hlemmurmatholl.is/english/ for a late dinner with Erin.
The sun actually started to shine while we sat inside eating, so Maddy and I took advantage of the nice evening and visited the hot pot at Grótta AND later took a dip in the hot tub on the roof of our Airbnb. Now we both plan to buy homes in Iceland and have extra large hot tubs of our very own.
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| Warm toes at Grotta |
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| 10pm or so |
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| Maddy at Hallgrimskirkja with her pal Leifur E. |
Day 3:
Today was another whirlwind. We hit the road just after 8:30 and began the drive along the south coast. Our first stop was in Hveragerði at the Geothermal park. We had read that you can actually boil an egg in the hot springs there and we were determined to try it. We followed the advice to boil the eggs for 10 minutes, but they were still a little undercooked. Totally worth the low cost of admission and price per egg. Kitschy, but fun.
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| (Mostly) cooked eggs |
Skogafoss offered less kitsch and more awe. This waterfall really is a thing of beauty. The first sight of it actually made Maddy gasp. She's pretty quiet, so it can be a little hard to know what exactly she is thinking about different things that we have done. I think this particular stop was a home run. After we both checked out the waterfall up close, Maddy made the long climb all the way up the steps on the side of the falls while I waited in line for the bathroom and then waited in the warm car for her to come back down.
I am apparently not managing my time well enough tonight... It's getting late and I'm quickly running out of energy, so the following is a summary of the rest of today's adventures in picture form. Tomorrow we seek more adventure in the East Fjords and will arrive at Bogga and Elvar's house where we will stay for a couple of nights.
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| Skogafoss |
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| Spiderman was also visiting Skogafoss today. |
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| I'm teaching Maddy the fine art of Icelandic road trip peanut butter & jelly sandwich making (and enjoying) |
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| Reynisfjara black sand beach |
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| Windy stop overlooking the glaciers |
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| Jökulsárlón selfie |
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| Lobster soup in Höfn |
We ended the day by checking into our guesthouse and then driving into Höfn to have some lobster soup and explore the harbor area. It was a truly lovely day.
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