Out in Akureyi and Reykjavik

We spent sometime just walking the towns- everybody should know my love for polar bears. Apparently, in the winter, Iceland can freeze up with Greenland- and polar bears walk over :D

People in Iceland honestly believe in the "unseen people" - elves, trolls, nymphs, etc. Very big everywhere you go.

Cafe in Akureyi

See? I wasn't lying! I could not bring myself to eat whale though.

View of Reykjavik from our hotel room.

Downtown Reykjavik- old, European looking city.

Yep, that is really clothes hanging out to dry.

Puffins!

This was the darkest it got in Reykjavik- it is more southern, so it does get a bit dark. Very beautiful though.

So, here is proof that I actually did go to the conference, and not just play the whole time. Haha- the conference was really great- just not as interesting to take pictures of.

Kalie and I next to our poster

The Reykjavik symbol- the abstract viking's ship

So Iceland is the natural home for Puffins. They are soooo cute and funny to watch. We took a boat out to Puffin Island, where thousands of them nest during the summer.

Drying fish- the big snack, it's like fish-jerky. Not very tastey.

Once again- I had to take a picture, but I couldn't bring myself to try it.

Pingvellir

Pingvellir Park- this is a valley more inland on the West side of Iceland. It is where 40% of all of Iceland's foliage is, and where they first established parliament in 860's (yep, that old- they boast it is the oldest parliament in the world, because it is still running)

The valley is actually the meeting of the North American and Euroasian tectonic plates- so you can go dive in the fissure in the lake- pretty cold though.

Icelanders have to be creative to get around in the snow and glaciers- behold, the super-jeep.

Down in the fissure

Goose

Ever wonder where the word geyser comes from? Wonder no longer! Iceland is the answer. Here is the orignal Gyseir, for which all other geysers are named.

Yep- that's a glacier.

Gullfoss waterfalls- a double waterfall- awesome.

We treated ourselves to a nice dinner- Icelandic lobster- or what many call langostines. They are mini, so they almost look like jumbo shrimp. But the taste like the most tender lobster you've ever eaten. Yummy!

View from the restaurant- let's just say the meal was fresh.

Very large tulips.

Wool, Beach, Lagoon

Iceland is known for it's hand-crafted wool items, and we saw no shortage of them- here is a modern and not so modern spindle.

THE wool brand to wear- you'd be amazed at how much wool these people actually wear- but I guess it is cold enough.

The goods and the maker of the goods. Cute little ladies just knitting away all winter.

Dritvik-Djupalonssandur (try and say that) beach. All the beaches are black because they are all lava beaches.

It had orange seaweed- I've never even heard of that before! Very pretty with the black beach though.

This part of the island is one of the most uninhabited- can you tell?

Traditional grass house in the very small fishing village of Sjomannagardur

The Blue Lagoon- probably Icelands biggest attraction, the Blue Lagoon is a geothermic spa that has been made into a kind of resort. The water is attributed with miraculous healing powers. The with silica-based mud is used to treat all kinds of skin ailments. They have buckets of it on the sides of the lagoon to put on your face. It was soooo beautiful and felt wonderful. Definitely worth seeing.