Our first stop was to The National History Museum. Our AirB&B provided us with two free passes, so we decided to give it a go. I’m not sure I needed to see so many hope chests or scary wooden masks, but some of the history pertaining to the role of the church in early Iceland was interesting. In the museum shop, I learned about the folklore of the 13 Yule Lads and their cat. This explains the popularity of cats as pets, and the Icelandic people’s tolerance for their free roaming pets in the streets.
After a quick bite for lunch, we attended an Icelandic soccer match. Can I tell you how refreshing it was to see the young players looking in the stands for their parents and waving to them like they were little kids?
There was little pomp and circumstance. Total attendance was 687. Tickets were sold at the popcorn stand. And there were no hometown chants or songs played during the match. But it was fun to watch.
The highway leading out of the city is lined with blue lupine and horses dot every open field. I read June might be cooler, but it’s the best month to see wild flowers in bloom. The travel experts were not wrong.
We drove about half an hour to walk the trails in Helgusel to the Helgufoss. This was our first glimpse of the countryside - even through the clouds, the gray sky, and near constant rain it is still beautiful. The site was just off the beaten path - literally down a gravel road and a muddy trail. It was secluded and very quiet. I’m not sure if this is what we can expect all week at all of our stops or just today’s.
Keagan climbed to the top of the Helgufoss waterfall and then scaled a volcanic rock hill.
We headed back to the city and had soup - a lamb stew - for dinner.
Now let’s see if we can stay awake long enough to watch game seven of the NBA finals.
No comments:
Post a Comment