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!

Minnismerki Hallgríms Péturssonar, 1914-22
(Monument to Hallgrímur Pétursson)

Apparently, Einar Jónsson modeled every woman he ever sculpted after his wife.

Kona, 1925

  (Woman)

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.

This beautiful wall depicts the homes of the huldufólk, elves in Icelandic folklore.

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.

The main road heading to downtown Reykjavík. Notice how colorful the city is!

In the stairwell outside Pablo Discobar, where we consumed some refreshingly-cold adult beverages.

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)

Hallgrímskirkja at night is beautiful.

Bæn, 1939

(Prayer)

Sorg, 1926-27

  (Grief)

Vor, 1935-36

  (Spring)

   Elli og Þór, 1939-40
(Thor Wrestling with Age)

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.

On the way to Eldborg Crater, which is right below this text.

Thanks kind strangers for taking our photo!

One of like two "traditional" Icelandic foods I ate on this trip. Iceland is surprisingly Westernized when it comes to cuisine.

Probably one of the deadliest things on/around the island. I mean, just look at those teeth!!

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!

We were all soaking wet and incredibly cold in this picture, but we had a great time!

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.

Wesley wasn't the most comfortable with his horse...

...but they were practically best friends by the end of the hour! :)

A steep hill climb, plus a bit of vertical rock-climbing, and you're on the cliff next to the waterfall Seljalandsfoss. Many people climbed the hill, but pretty much nobody pushed to the very top... except us!

We were up here!

Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon in southeast Iceland.

It was a tad windy...

Mountain dog!

...but actually, I have no idea where this dog came from.

Love you, Justin!

Seljavallalaug, one of Iceland's oldest swimming pools.

One last goodbye shot of Hallgrímskirkja before flying back to the States!