Iceland
Spring Break 2017
After killing time for four hours, a soak in the iconic Blue Lagoon hotsprings is just what we needed!
On our walking tour, we stopped by the Einar Jónsson museum in Reykjavík. There are
dozens of beautiful sculptures in the courtyard!
Ymir, the Primodial Giant, sustained by the milk of the Primeval Cow, Auðhumla.
Ymir og Auðhumla, 1907-09
(Ymir and Auðhumla)
There's a ton of locally-commissioned artwork around the streets of Reykjavík. This mural was painted by a young girl, commissioned by her neighbor.
There's no HOA in Reykjavík, so residents are allowed to paint their houses any color they like. As such, you'll find a myriad of colors all around the city! That's also why there is so much artwork everywhere. Unfortunately, my lack of a camera and any real photography skills yielded many photos, but very few decent ones.
Icelandic traditional sweaters, called lopapeysas, don't seem to be accustomed to afros! Poor Wesley...
Seems that no matter where you are in Iceland, the horizon is either peppered with mountains or covered by the sea.
This is from the viewing area at the top of Hallgrímskirkja (don't ask me how to pronounce it...), the massive Lutheran church which dominates the sky around Reykjavík.
Back in the Einar Jónsson museum courtyard after a day spent exploring Reykjavík - this time, I wasn't rushed and could take pictures at my leisure.
Svefn, 1931-41
(Sleep)
The other side of Hvalfjörður Tunnel, one of the longest underwater road tunnels in the world! This was the beginning of our Snæfellsnes Peninsula day trip.
One of like two "traditional" Icelandic foods I ate on this trip. Iceland is surprisingly Westernized when it comes to cuisine.
Hard to see, but this is the ravine Rauðfeldsgjá. There was quite a bit of snowmelt runoff, but we made it all the way to the waterfall at the back of the ravine!
On the beach of Djúpalónssandur, there are four lifting stones. Their names are Fullsterkur ("Full strength") weighing 154 kg, Hálfsterkur ("Half strength") at 100 kg, Hálfdrættingur ("Weakling") at 54 kg and Amlóði ("Useless") at a solid 23 kg. These Icelandic sure have a way with words, don't they?
Traditionally, Icelandic men would have to lift Hálfdrættingur to their hips in order to qualify for working on a fishing boat. This friendly stranger surprised us all with how quickly he was able to lift the stone!
A small waterfall inside Þingvellir, one of Iceland's national parks. There is quite a lot of really interesting history associated with Þingvellir - you should read up on it!
One of the few regularly-erupting geysers in the world, Strokkur goes off every 6-10 minutes. Alas, I wasn't able to capture a quality video of it going off.
The waterfall Gullfoss (Golden Falls). It's hard to convey just how loud and massive these falls are unless you see them in person.
One of the places we stayed was Hestheimar, a horse ranch. If you're ever in Iceland, this is a great place to spend a night or two! They offer horse riding tours which are a lot of fun.