Spring Break in Iceland: Hluti Tveir (that's Part 2, Iceland Style)

WATER WATER WATER

Because there was so much to see in Southern Iceland, we decided to drive back and stop for the sights that we didn't have time for the day before.  One of the most interesting spots, both visually and geologically, are the beaches near Vik. Reynishverfi beach boasts the famous columnar basalt at the bottom of the cliffs near the ocean. They were created by cooling lava flow.
  

Just offshore are more basalt columns. These columns, the Reynisdrangar needles, are the remains of two night-trolls who tried to pull a three-masted ship to land. They took too long and at daybreak, the sun turned them into stone.

Across the beach to the west is Dyrholaey and its arch.

From Vik we drove back west, stopping to see the many waterfalls along the way. The first was Seljalandsfoss - where we got to see the back side of water...
 

Around the corner was Gljúfrabúi, the troll gorge canyon. We all loved climbing up to the top, then into the grotto at the bottom.

Next was Skogafoss. We arrived just in time for a view of the rainbow.

 

We hiked up to the top, where we got a view of the river that led to the falls.

Around the corner was the Skogar folk museum, where we could see the old-time turf houses.  

Our last stop was the Seljavallalaug pool, heated by natural hot springs.

Anil and I decided to hike further up the valley while Mat, Lizzie, and Gemma soaked in the pool.
 

A RAINY DAY IN REYKJAVIK

Unfortunately, our rescheduled glacier hike was cancelled again on Friday because of rain. Instead, we spent the day exploring Reykjavik.

Hallgrímskirkja

Next, we found the Phallological Museum, the world's only penis museum:

 

It was an exhausting morning, so we had to stop for some nice hot soup before exploring the city...

Downtown Reykjavik is easy to navigate, and interesting with all the graffiti murals:
 

More sights in downtown Reykjavik

We were in Iceland the day the Prime Minister resigned (then un-resigned, then maybe resigned...), so there were several protests in front of the Parliament building

LAST DAY

For our final hurrah, we started the day at the Leiðarendi Cave, in the Tvibollahraun lava field.

The hike to the caves

The cave entrance  

Several areas were tight squeezes, and it's lucky we had on hard hats!

The rest of the day was spent resting and relaxing, at the famed Blue Lagoon spa.

We had a great final Icelandic dinner, which included minke whale, puffin, and goose.

On the last morning, before catching our flight, we had a nice brunch (including Skyr, our favorite icelandic yogurt)

















and stopped at the flea market.





















It was a bright, sunny day - a lovely last look at the Reykjavik harbor.

Along the harbor

Harpa Concert Hall

The Sun Voyager

 Thank you Iceland!