Day Three and Day Four
Reykjavík - Hafnarfjörður - Grindavík
November 25, 2008
Museum Day
Tuesday was the day we were suppose to travel to Akureyri and spend an evening in the bitter cold of North Iceland but the weather wasn't going to cooperate and our 10:30 domestic flight was canceled. We were a little bummed at first but once we realized that we would get a full refund on both our plane tickets and our hotel in Akureyri we were ready to make plans for one more day in Reykjavík. The airport in itself was entertaining. Very small. It reminded me of the airport in the early 90s sitcom Wings but the building looked a lot like the Ballston Center of MU (but only a couple of stories tall).
Finding a place to stay another night in Reykjavík was easy and we got a room right in the middle of city center at Hotel Klopp. Klopp was very accommodating and even allowed us to check-in at 10 am, which we were grateful for but not surprised. That is the thing with Iceland, everyone is laid back and easy going and everything just seems like no big deal. I guess the weather keeps the Icelandic people flexible. The weather changes by the minute, no matter the season, so a plan is never a guarantee. Speaking of weather, Tuesday was definitely a cold, wet, windy Icelandic day. Brrrrrr.
Not a lot to do outside on day like that so Tuesday became a museum day. TL loved museum day, especially the Sagamuseum in the Perlan. I'm not quite into the viking scene as much as TL but the Sagamuseum was pretty impressive. It is made up of 17 exhibits that highlight sagas in Icelandic history by using plaster figures. They were very life like and one statue was moving and I really thought it was a person at first. Here are three of the scenes depicted.
After Saga we took a long, very long, walk to city center to regroup and figure out a game plan for the day. We decided to finish up touring the cities' museums and hit both the art museum and the National Museum of Iceland. Oh it was so cold that day walking along the pond with the wind whipping through my three layers of clothing. Not going to lie, I wasn't so tough and was ready to throw in the towel and forget sightseeing but some chocolate cake at the National Museum helped and the tears were short lived.
Reykjavík Pubs
So not knowing what to do with our unplanned night in Reykjavík we decided to grab a pizza and bring it back to the hotel so we could save a little money on our dinner expenses. Reykjavík isn't known for its pizza so it was as good as to be expected. After our short food break we hit the town yet again but this time for pub fun. We started off at Cafe Oliver (where we went on day one) and watched some Icelandic Karaoke. Or at least I just watched. After several Gull's (popular Icelandic beer) TL provided some good ol' American humor as he karaoked to Tenacious D's "Tribute". Being the ham he is, TL gave the locals a laugh. But unlike the karaoke I've seen in the US, there wasn't a machine or a computer teleprompter - it was just a guy playing a guitar, two mics and a stand for the sheet music. Very cool. The guitar player looked like a blonde Christian from Project Runway. Fierce!
After TL satisfied his "I need attention needs" on stage, we headed to a quint Irish Pub where we enjoyed conservation with some locals and the bartender. Our bartender had not heard of Budweiser or Miller Lite. Crazy, but I like that fact that Iceland hasn't experienced an American invasion. Yeah, they know Coca Cola, KFC and McDonald's but that is really about it. No Walmart. Isn't that a beautiful thing?
Day Four
Icelandic Horse Riding
We rode Icelandic horses through lava fields on Wednesday. The excursion bus picked up at our hotel before 9 am and drove us to the horse ranch outside of Reykjavík near the town of Hafnarfjörður. As soon as we got to the ranch we were picking out our safety hats and bundling up in our winter gear and loading up on our horses. Icelandic horses are different from horses in America in the fact that they are much smaller. But they are sturdy and stout and very gentle. They don't kick and you can even walk behind one with no worries of getting kicked.
My horse, Kubbur, was a very short and stout guy and his name in Icelandic was the same as what they call the bottom fat pieces of Lego sets. He was a good horse.
TL on the other hand got the craziest horse in the lot. That is what you get when you tell the guides that you are an experienced horse rider. Ditta was a wild hair and had her own agenda. TL had to hold tight to her reins to keep her in line on the path. The trail took us two hours to ride and it wound around craggy old lava fields with miles of huge black lava rocks covered in lichen. The landscape was so unusual. Beautiful yet something creepy existed in its raw rustic setting.
Neither one of us had ridden a horse since we were kids. It was a ton of fun. We weren't sure if the horse ride would be worth the money, but it was well worth it. We loved it. What we didn't love was whatever TL was allergic too at the ranch. By the time we checked into the Northern Light Inn Grindavik,TL's eyeballs were swollen. Poor guy. Swollen eyeballs in a foreign country would only happen to TL.
Surprises and/or Iceland Fact
No cleaning ingredients are added to Icelandic tap water. If want, you can just grab a handful of water straight from a stream and it is safe to drink. In my opinion, you could taste the difference and the water really tasted better in Iceland.
I am so, so jealous.
Posted by: SouthToStilly | December 03, 2008 at 11:53 PM