Iceland: March - April 2019

April 1, 2019 through April 2, 2019

Here we go…

This morning we took Delilah, Duke, and Nova to the Wag Hotel for their stay while we are in Iceland. Delilah is always easy to drop off and doesn’t even look back when they take her to the room. Afterwards we went back home and did some last minute stuff before going to the airport. Uncle Tony picked dropped us off and we arrived at the airport about three hours before our flight – which was awesome!

The flight was 8 hours and about 20 minutes, which meant that we had a strong tail wind because we arrived about 20 minutes earlier than scheduled. Henry and Natalie did great on the flight with Natalie sleeping most of the time and Henry coloring or watching movies. He ended up sleeping the last two hours of the flight. Passport control went by very quickly and customs was basically non-existent and you only needed to go through if you had something to declare. The weather was shockingly cold, made worse by the wind.

After arriving at the Reykjavik Downtown Apartments, we went to the Blue Lagoon. Jessica, Henry, Natalie, and I ate our lunch there. Jessica and I each had the Fish of the Day, which was a fish called Wolf Fish and has similar taste to Cod but has a firmer texture, accompanied with romanesco and crispy potatoes. I enjoyed it very much and for once at my entire meal. Afterwards we drove around to a little village and went to a little grocery store. We bought bread, candy which Henry selected, tomatoes, and blueberries.

Reykjavik seems to be a clean and modern city, much smaller and with less traffic than San Francisco. People here seem to be generally friendly, although reserved.

Tomorrow we do The Golden Circle and Waterfalls Tour, which I am looking forward to very much

April 3, 2019

Today we did The Golden Circle and Waterfalls Tour…

We were picked up at around 9:00 AM and proceeded to pick up another member of our tour group, after which we headed to Thingvellir National Park. Thingvellir National Park has three main areas of interest: geologic, political, and natural. In terms of geological interest, it is where the North American and Eurasian plates are separating at a rate of about 2.5 centimeters per year. As part of our visit, we got to walk between a “stretch mark” in the rift valley. It was approximately one kilometer and Henry walked almost the entire thing by himself. In terms of political, it is the site of the first parliament in Iceland, called the All Thing. The All Thing continues to be the name of the modern Icelandic parliament. And finally in terms of nature, it has an 84 square kilometer lake in which there are four subspecies of Arctic Char and two species of crab-like animals. As part of our visit to Thingvellir, we also hiked to see the Oxararfoss waterfall. The hike was very icy and precarious, but I’m glad I did it and we got very close to the falls and they were very beautiful.

We then drove to Efstidalur Dairy Farm and enjoyed some ice cream while watching the cows. The cow barn was right adjacent to the ice cream shop and they shared two common walls. The cows ignored us and spent their time eating hay or tending to their calves. There were also two very friendly dogs and they made me miss Delilah. One of them even ran along the side of the tour bus as we left.

After the dairy farm, we made our way to Gullfoss waterfalls. These are some of the most spectacular waterfalls I’ve ever seen. We stayed at the lookout and it was quite a distance to the falls but we could still feel the cold air they produced as the crashed down into the river below. In the 1940s, some engineers wanted to dam the falls for use for hydroelectric power, but a successful protest was mounted and the falls were saved and eventually protected in the late 1970s.

After the Gullfoss we drove to Geysir, which is a geyser and where the term “geyser” comes from. We were able to see the falls erupt twice. Henry took some very nice pictures of the geyser and he had a great time. Natalie also came and saw the geysers, but then went back with mom, dad, and Jessica to have lunch. It was interesting to see that there were white colonies of extremophile bacteria growing in the hot springs near the geyser. Since these are volcanic hot springs, there was a strong smell of sulfur in the air.

After Geysir, we made our way to see the Faxi waterfalls. These are very small, but picturesque waterfalls and we had a nice view of them from a lookout area.  We then made our way to Fridheimar, which is a tomato and horse farm. They are able to grow about 370 tons of tomatoes per year because they grow them in greenhouses, which are warmed by water coming from a hot spring. They also use artificial light to give the plants adequate light throughout the year and the ground is high and carbon dioxide gas. As a result of the warmth, carbon dioxide, and light, the plants are able to grow to nine meters in length. After visiting the greenhouse, we ate tomato soup and delicious bread at the family-run restaurant. We then went to see the Icelandic horses, which Henry and Natalie both enjoyed quite well.

Finally, it was time to head back and we made a stop at Kerid crater. Which is a small volcanic crater that last erupted about 6,500 years ago.

April 4, 2019

This morning we woke up and ate breakfast so that we could go on our whale watching tour. Henry, Jessica, Mark, and I were the only ones that went. Our tour company picked us up in front of the apartments and drove us to our boat, called the Andrea. We set out on smooth seas and had very nice views of Reykjavik harbor and the surrounding mountains. We were soon out in the open ocean and, although the seas weren’t rough, the boat did go up and down quite a bit.

About an hour into the excursion we saw a pod of White-Beaked Dolphins hunting for their food, which is primarily cod. The dolphins were mostly just swimming around and we only really saw their backs and dorsal fins, but one of two of them would breach occasionally. I was situated at the front of the boat and there were a couple of times where a dolphin swam right in front of the boat, but I wasn’t quick enough to snap a picture. Unfortunately, these were the only cetaceans we saw on the excursion. I felt terrible for Henry because he fell asleep and didn’t get to see anything.

After the excursion, we went back to the apartments and picked up mom, dad, and Natalie to go to the Whales of Iceland exhibit. The exhibit contains life-sized models of the whales and other cetaceans found around Iceland, including a life-sized Blue Whale. It was a small exhibition, but interesting nonetheless.

We then made our way to the Saga Museum, which is almost right across the street from the Whale of Iceland exhibit. The Icelandic Sagas are stories about the first Icelanders and the museum puts some of those stories to life with life sized models. They also included representations of things not in the Icelandic Sagas, such as the Black Death coming to Iceland and the Protestant Reformation. The characters in the museum were modeled using residents of Reykjavik. Henry was ok at the beginning of the museum, but then said he was scared, not so much of the life-sized was statues but more of the noise. I admit, the museum was a little creepy.

After the Saga Museum, we went to dinner which was a seafood buffet. They had the fermented shark, but after talking months on end about eating it, I decided against it. I have no shame in admitting that I was quite put off by the smell, which was of ammonia.

April 5, 2019

This morning we woke up early to drive to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. We set out from our apartments and drove north of Reykjavik. At one point, we drove through a very long tunnel under one of the Fjords. The name of the tunnel is the Hvalfjörður Tunnel and is a little over 5 kilometers long, reaching a depth of 541 feet below sea level. Along the way to the Peninsula, we stopped at a turn off and Henry built a snowman. It was an ugly thing but it was so adorable how happy he was with it and how he wanted it to be perfect – putting rocks for the buttons, a plastic carrot for the nose, and being upset when he couldn’t find sticks for the arms. Natalie also enjoyed playing in the snow, although she wasn’t very happy when I threw a snowball at her.

We turned off the main highway and took a long back road across the peninsula. When we finally emerged from the back road, we took a right turn and stopped in a little town to eat lunch. I had a Vegan burger, which consisted of a patty made from barley, which I actually enjoyed. Henry ate mussels, which he loves, and Natalie ate some crab and shrimp soup, as she’s never met a soup she doesn’t like.

Driving out of the town, we made our way west and finally ended up at the famous mountain, Kirkjufell. It was very  cold and rainy, so I didn’t get out of the car for very long, but did get a couple of nice pictures of the mountain and the Kirkjufellfoss behind it. After Kirkjufell, we made our way back to the apartment.

April 6, 2019

Today was a relaxing day. We were able to sleep in and eat a slow breakfast. After breakfast we made ready and were on our way to the zoo. It’s a small zoo and, with a few exceptions, doesn’t contain any wild animals. There are mainly Icelandic farm animals, some of which can be pet: cows, pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, pigeons, a turkey, ducks, geese, Icelandic horses, arctic foxes, mink, reindeer, and some exotic animals such as turtles, a snake, iguanas, frogs, and an assortments or insects. Henry enjoyed the zoo, especially being able to climb a small mound of snow and playing “king of the castle.” Natalie liked seeing the animals from a distance, but when she was pushed closer to the cows or horses in order to pet them, she was scared.

After the zoo, we enjoyed a nice Icelandic delicacy – Domino’s Pizza, before making our way to the National Museum. The National museum contains artifacts from the settlement of Iceland through the 21st century, I was a little disappointed that the main focus was Christianity in Iceland and would have been interested to see more exhibits about the settlement of Iceland, but it was an interesting museum nonetheless. The third level contained artifacts from the 20th century and it was weird seeing things I grew up with in a museum, there was even a Clear Blue Easy Pregnancy Test on display.

Afterwards we went downtown and did some souvenir shopping. Natalie slept and Henry had fun picking out souvenirs for family members.

April 7, 2019

This morning we set out early for Vik. Vik is a small town south east of Reykjavik and has a population of about 380 people; however, since it is on the Ring Road, it has a bustling tourist industry and there are some large shops and a few restaurants around town.

We didn’t make any long stops along the way, and instead opted to go directly to Vik then stop on the way back. In Vik, we spent sometime at Ice Wear, which is a large tourist souvenir and clothing retailer in Iceland. At noon, we went to eat lunch at a restaurant overlooking the town and beach.

After lunch, we made our way to the black sands beach. One of Henry’s goals for Iceland was to collect some black sand from the beach to take home and he was able to collect two medium-sized jars full of it. The beach also has a memorial to German fishermen who perished along the coast between the years 1858 – 1952. After the beach, we made our way to Dyrholaey, which is an arch carved into a rock in the ocean. From there we drove about ten minutes to see some basalt columns along the cliffs at another beach. These columns are similar to the Devil’s Post Pile in California, but in all honesty they aren’t as spectacular. The beach was incredibly windy, so only Mark, Papa, and I went to see them.

After this stop, we slowly made our way back up to Reykjavik. The first stop along the way was Skogafoss, one of the most powerful waterfalls I’ve seen here. There is a stairway leading to the top of the falls, but none of us went up. There is also no barriers at the base of the falls, so one can walk as close to the falls as one wants. I got within maybe 30-45 feet of the falls and it was incredibly wet and cold. The falls are so powerful they create rainbows, sometimes even two rainbows. The rainbows were Henry’s favorite part.  I mention henry a lot and not natalie, because Natalie slept most of the time.

After Skogafoss, we made our way to Seljalandsfoss, another interesting waterfall on the way back to Reykjavik and also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The falls are not as powerful as Skogafoss and don’t create any rainbows, but they are located in divot in the cliff walls. What also makes these falls unique is that there is recess behind them so one can walk behind the falls and come out on the other side. Mark didn’t want to get his camera wet, Henry was too young, and everyone else was in the car, so papa watched Henry as I did the walk. It was short and easy, although slippery and wet in some areas. The thing I was most worried about was a large rock falling from the ceiling of the recess and injuring someone. The last part was a big more dangerous as we had to climb up some rock fall, but it wasn’t too bad.

Afterwards, we made our way back to the apartments. Mark, Jessica, and I went out later at night to see if we could catch a view of the Aurora Borealis, the northern lights. We drove up and down a fjord until we found a suitable place to stop and watch. Eventually, we were able to see them. They are much different than what is seen on TV or in magazines and books. They actually look like white clouds that appear and disappear relatively quickly. The only real way to see any color is to capture them on photographs, otherwise, they just look like white clouds in the sky.

April 8, 2019

Today is our last full day in Iceland it is bittersweet as I’ve had a lot of fun. The first thing we did was go to the Natural History museum. It’s a small museum and was free and geared towards children, but was still interesting. The museum contains many taxidermied animals that are indigenous to Iceland such as fulmar, ravens, and foxes. They also had a small aquarium with four different fish tanks. By far the most interesting part for me was geological exhibit. It contained examples of fossils found around iceland, mostly bivalves and other invertebrates but also had examples of different ash specimens from the eruptions of a few volcanoes around Iceland.  It was interesting to see that different volcanoes produced different types of ash.

After the museum we went to The Settlement Exhibition, which for me was the most interesting museum we went to. The museum is built around the foundations of a 10th century long house which was found in 2001. It explains the different parts of the long house and around the side walls were smaller exhibits of different tools and implements found around the long house. There was also a separate little play area set up for kids to play at being Vikings. Henry and Natalie loved it and spent the entire time playing.

For lunch we went to a place near the Settlement Exhibition and I was finally able to try something that was traditionally Icelandic – Minke Whale. It was not what I expected at all, which was for it to have a strong fishy tasted. In reality, it had absolutely no taste at all other than the spices it was cooked with and had a very very tender texture. It wasn’t bad, but wasn’t something I would necessarily ever try again.