Iceland Day 5 PIctures - June 29, 2011

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Iceland Day 5 - June 29, 2011

We got another beautiful day today.  It was sunny and warm making it the perfect day for hiking.  The trails were a little hard to follow at first because they had few signs in places, but we eventually got the hang of looking for the colored stakes and cairns.  The first hour of the hike had beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, and brought us to the next lodge at Langidalur.  We took in the scenery and sun for a bit on the grassy knoll overlooking the streams.  A guide recommended that we hike to the top of Valahnjukur, so we took her advice and climbed up the steep trail that went up for 45min.  It was well worth the challenging climb for the panoramic view of the whole area including Eyjafjallajokull.  It was pretty cool to be having a small picnic right in the shadows of a major volcano.  Coming down was just as challenging.  Joe and I were thankful we brought hiking poles.  They definitely saved our knees!  Laur and Chris headed for Basar while we hiked an hour back to Husadalur.  Indulged in an expensive Magnum ice cream bar and Viking beer for Joe while we waited for the bus. 

Iceland Day 4 Pictures - June 28, 2011

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Iceland Day 4 - June 28, 2011

Had breakfast at the Gerdi guesthouse this morning…the usual European spread.  Even though Joe ate 3 salami & tomato sandwhiches, not worth 1,350kr ($13.50USD) but it was convenient.  Then we packed up the car and drove down the road to Jokulsarlon Lagoon, a popular tourist destination that was featured in James Bond Die Another Day.  Here, we saw iceburgs floating in the lagoon that had broken off glaciers in the background.  It was really cool!  There were iceburgs of all sizes: some white, some blue, some clear and others covered in black dirt.  We watched some smaller pieces drifting in the water and then hearing a crashing sound and watched a huge chunk fall slowly toward the water.  Also caught glimpses of a seal in the lagoon! We were able to rescue some rogue pieces of iceberg from the water and most of us tasted 1,000 year old ice....it was salty. This is an experience we probably will not be able to see for ever since it seems like more and more of the glacier is falling off every year.

Iceland Day 3 Photos

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Iceland Day 3 -June 27, 2011

Looks like we made the right decision with yesterday’s itinerary.  Today’s weather was completely the opposite.  We woke up to fog, cold, and drizzle and scrambled to pack up our things and leave the cottage.  Made one last stop in Husavik to try the bakeri.  I was overally impressed with the pastries we picked up this morning.  Joe liked what tasted like rye bagels and a chocolate chip muffin top while I preferred only the bottom part of a chocolate covered cinnamon roll of sorts. 

Iceland Day 2 Photos

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Iceland Day 2 - June 26, 2011

Another jam-packed day today! Drove just down the road to the beautiful town of Husavik. Boats in the harbor with the snow-capped peaks in the background were just stunning! Odvar tried to teach us a little Icelandic when we went to sign up for a noon-time whale watch. I haven’t figured out a word. The pronunciations are really tricky so I feel more comfortable using English than butchering their language. Just about everyone here speaks English, and menus are all translated. According to Odvar, Icelandic is really only spoken here in Iceland by just over 300,000. Therefore, it is necessary for the natives to learn a common language (English) so they can communicate with others when they leave Iceland. Due to the country’s isolation, today’s Icelandic is essentially what the Vikings spoke, and it is really only mastered by those who are born and raised here. As for English, it is taught in schools here, but also learned from the TV, radio and movies, many of which come from the U.S. We can attest to this having heard many hit American hits in the car. Clearly Odvar had a captive audience as he shared info about his native country.

Iceland Day 1 Photos

A brief recap in pictures of Day 1 in Iceland



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Iceland - Day 1 - June 24-25, 2011

Crazy day to be at Logan.  Since many schools got out this week, tons of people were flying to international destinations tonight making Terminal E a zoo.  By the time we made it through check-in and security, we had only 10 minutes to spare to grab Sbarro pizza to go before boarding.  Despite the rainy and foggy weather in Boston all day, we had a smooth night flight on Icelandair.  We were greeted with a complimentary bottle of Glacial Water, and the friendly flight attendants came around with more water nearly every hour to keep everyone hydrated on the 4hr 50 min flight.  Overall we rate customer service high on Icelandair, but we do have to a few complaints.  The 757 was not nearly as comfortable as the A330 Aer Lingus flight.  Joe was all in my space width wise, our bags wouldn’t fit under the seat, and it was unbelievably hot in the cabin.  The seat-back screens also didn’t work a good part of the way and food was only available for purchase.  Think we’ll stick to Aer Lingus for any place besides Iceland....