Oh Iceland, Where Do I Start?

There's nothing more exciting than a walk-off home run.  We hit a walk-off home run with Iceland.  

We got into Reykjavik early in the evening.  Hard to tell because the sun is up 23 1/2 hours a day right now.   

We were tired from the flight from Berlin but we were hungry also.  We headed to 101 Reykjavik Street Food.  What an amazing welcome to Iceland.  Little small restaurant specializing in Fish & Chips and soups.  We walked in and were greated by Cora.  A feisty and fun Filapina.  

She asked us how many?  We said two.  She walked over to the stairs and yelled up the stairs...  "Hey Freddie!  You got a table for two?"  Visions of Auntie Helen flooded my brain.  Two minutes later, she was back at the stairs...  "Hey Freddie!  You got a table for two?"  I lost it and started cracking up.  Sonja was trying to hold it in, but she busted out with a big chuckle as well.  After we got seated upstairs, the fun continued.  She would come up to customers at other tables and say...  "You done?"  And if they said yes, she would help them leave.  All done with her great smile and personality so they felt like it was their time.  Oh, and the food was fantastic.  Possibly the best fish & chips I've ever eaten and the soups.  Oh my, the soups.  I had chicken noodle, Sonja had beef noodle... with homemade noodles.

We loved Iceland already.

The next morning, after a good breakfast, we headed to the Blue Lagoon.  A little background here.  Iceland has volcanoes.  Lots of volcanoes.  In fact, their primary source of energy is thermal energy.  Harvested from deep below the surface of the earth.  Even though it gets way below zero here in the winter time, their roads never have snow or ice on them because they use the thermal temperatures to heat the roads.  The hot water in their showers is amazing.  

Well, the Blue Lagoon is one of the wonders of the world.  Naturally heated and silica filled water makes for one of the greatest hot tubs in the world.

We spent a couple of hours in the water, including applying three different lava, algae and silica masks.  Then an hour long massage in the water and us two limp noodles could only smile.

When we were done, we had decided that we now knew what heaven was.  This was it!

Of course, we were hungry and when in Iceland, you eat fish & chips...  again.  This time at Issi's Fish & Chips.  A little stand by the side of the road and I don't need to tell you how good it was.

After lunch, it was off for one of the top 25 road trips in the world, the Golden Circle.

If you just drove and didn't stop, you could do the Golden Circle in about three hours.  Took us almost eight.  That gives you an idea of the stops and sightseeing we did on the drive.

Kerid Crater

Did I mention there were volcanoes here?  Kerid Crater is a volcanic crater lake that, in pictures, is difficult to gauge its size.  Trust me.  We were looking way, way down to the lake.

Skálholt

This was an important religious site in Icelandic history.  Archeological digs at the site show the first chapel built in the 11th century.  The grass covered roof of one of the buildings dates back to medieval times.

 

You Are Here At Your Own Risk

As you may know, I love Yellowstone.  I was fascinated by it from the first time we went there.  Old Faithful was as good as I expected.  But when you don't expect it... now, that's impressive.

I took this picture because I have no idea what it means.  You can let your imagination run wild.

As you travel the roads in Iceland, it is so impressive to see the horses.  I'm assuming they are not wild but the landscape and the freedom with which they roam, sure makes it look so.

Gullfoss Falls

On a recent trip to Lake Tahoe, we were impressed with the waterfalls in the mountains around the lake.  Back home, we have Snoqualmie Falls and Multnomah Falls.  Nothing could prepare us for this.

Þingvellir National Park

Þingvellir National Park is the only UNESCO World Heritage site on the Icelandic mainland.  It is where both North America and the Eurasian tectonic plates are right up against each other.

And as we took our stroll between the continents, Bill & Sonja's Excellent 40th Anniversary Adventure came to a close.  It was a wonderful trip.  We saw things we'd never seen before, ate fabulous meals, rode in cars, buses, trains and boats.  And we met some truly wonderful people along the way.  People, we now call friends.

If you made it through this blog, thank you.  If you only stopped by and read a short bit, thank you.  As I mentioned at the start, I do this for my grand kids.  I'd like them to know that their Grandma and their Papa, truly enjoyed life.  We won at life!