Iceland DAy 8
Wednesday July 18th
Last day in Iceland :/
Today I did a few things I missed the first time I was in this area- I headed out to an area where they have recreated a couple of Viking dwellings- Þjóðveldisbærinn
The Þ makes the ‘th’ sound. Traditionally Thor is spelled Þor. Þor the god of Þunder. JK.
The j makes a ‘y’ sound like in Bjorn. I thought the ð was also a ‘th’ but now I’m second guessing that.
I have learned that ‘svarti’ means black. I learned that in an Icelandic podcast. Sometimes they use that when naming black-haired children 👶🏻
And then all of the sudden ‘Svartifoss’ made sense to me because it’s a waterfall falling over a cliff of black basalt columns.
Where was I? Ah yes. Þjóðveldisbærinn. I didn’t spend a lot of time there, it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Also time is $$. And they charged to go inside the longhouse :)
Today I did a few things I missed the first time I was in this area- I headed out to an area where they have recreated a couple of Viking dwellings- Þjóðveldisbærinn
The Þ makes the ‘th’ sound. Traditionally Thor is spelled Þor. Þor the god of Þunder. JK.
The j makes a ‘y’ sound like in Bjorn. I thought the ð was also a ‘th’ but now I’m second guessing that.
I have learned that ‘svarti’ means black. I learned that in an Icelandic podcast. Sometimes they use that when naming black-haired children 👶🏻
And then all of the sudden ‘Svartifoss’ made sense to me because it’s a waterfall falling over a cliff of black basalt columns.
Where was I? Ah yes. Þjóðveldisbærinn. I didn’t spend a lot of time there, it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Also time is $$. And they charged to go inside the longhouse :)
Next I visited my last waterfall- Hjálparfoss. I don’t know if Utah waterfalls will ever satisfy me after this trip. Even the waterfalls here that no one recommends are so beautiful!
I drove back through Þingvellir National Park (place where I did the snorkeling) and made it back to Reykjavik. I’m glad I didn’t plan a lot of time in the city- driving wasn’t bad... but finding parking was. Especially free parking :) I ended up parking at the church and walking around the area. The church is probably the most visited place in the city - so the streets surrounding it are covered with gift shops and restaurants. I bought a couple of things back in Akureyri because the prices seemed cheaper there (in that particular store) than anywhere else I had seen. I mentioned that to the cashier and said I’ve even been checking gas stations (they all sell souvenirs) and she told me that the gas stations have the most overpriced souvenirs. So there you have it. An insider tip if you’re ever looking for souvenirs in the land of ice.
I had a really good hot dog at a gas station that was like $7. The mustard here is really good. A hamburger and fries is usually around $20 at s gas station. I didn’t frequent a lot of restaurants. Though I did save like $9 and get the kids meal once. They even gave me a toy 🤣
I decided to splurge and buy myself a traditional Icelandic meal. I went to this restaurant called ROK. I felt a little bit better about it because It wasn’t as touristy as ‘Cafe Loki’. I ordered a fish pie that came with rye bread and hollandaise sauce. I’m not a huge fan of fish but I bullied myself into trying it. I bully myself a lot. The fish was called ‘Plokkfishur’ and I don’t have a clue what that is but it wasn’t half bad ;) I’m glad I didn’t chicken out and get the tomato soup with grilled cheese 🧀🍅🍞
I tried going to the Viking museum because it was closed by the time I got there yesterday- but it was also closed today. Perhaps it was just not meant to be. I ended the day and my Iceland experiences at the Blue Lagoon. It’s a natural mineral water hot spring (in a man made pool) about 25 minutes outside of Reykjavik. It’s pretty expensive. Like $60-$80 a ticket. They give you a free drink and a facial mask. And they only let a certain amount of people in so it’s not terribly crowded. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it! There are hot springs and hot baths all over- the Blue Lagoon is the most expensive and the most touristy... but I’m glad I did it :)
Currently I’m back at the free camping site for the night. My future looks bright. Settling in for the night- without anger and spite- because life is alright.
I listened to a story from Norse mythology about how poetry came to be. Depending on the poetry they say you’ve been blessed by drinking the mead of poetry. It is a complicated story and I won’t do it justice by retelling it here- but it had to do with murder, and mead, and dark elves, and a wise traveling god, and Odin as a bird, and a vengeful family of giants. I hope I whet your whistle. Go look up the story. Or read ‘Norse Mythology’ by Neil Gaiman.