Iceland Day 7 - We Rest

I did nothing on Thursday.  It was back to cold and overcast and a perfect day to stay inside.  Also, I was trying to keep my leg elevated and iced as much as possible.

The girls and boys went out for lunch and brought me and Callie back a cup of potato and kale soup that was delicious.  I was so lazy, I didn't even get out of my pajamas until we left the apartment at 6:00 p.m. to take a 5 minute drive to Esra's mom's apartment for dinner.  Esra's entire family was there and his mom served a delicious taco soup with bread.  There was a sweet little six year old cousin of Esra's there dressed in a Frozen dress and I wanted to be her friend so bad!  She wanted nothing to do with me.

Their family was so jovial and the way they greet each other was so lovely.  Everyone who came into the house kissed everyone on the cheek and spoke a word to them.  They introduced themselves to us and asked us about our trip.  It was not formal, but it was very polite.  New practice...I am kissing everyone on the cheek when I come into their house.  Get ready for it.

World Soccer continues for ISLAND on Friday and it was going to be exciting!

Iceland Day 6 - Church and a Glimpse of Summer

We woke up on Day 6 to blazing sun and not a cloud in the sky!  Hello Summer! 

The town we were in is called Borðeyri and it is a small hamlet in north-west Iceland. The hamlet is a part of the municipality Bæjarhreppur which is one of the smallest in Iceland with a population of 100 in 2010. The municipality covers the west part of Hrútafjörður fjord.  Look at me doing some google research! 

We left the guesthouse and headed up to the grandparents house for breakfast.  

What a spread they had laid out for us!  It was delicious! 

During breakfast, Kristin and Einar convinced me to let them call their doctor about 45 kilometers away to get my knee checked out. Einar called the office and spoke directly to the doctor who said if my knee was still swollen there was very little they could do, except recommend ice, elevation and ibuprofen.  Einar gave me his prescription strength ibuprofen (600 mg) that he had for his shoulder and the doctor's recommendation to take two pills twice a day....then Einar added "But for you, maybe three times a day!" Those pills have saved my life.  Knocked out so much pain.  

After breakfast and the medical consultation, we spent some time on their patio which Einar built himself.  He pointed out some interesting birds and we soaked up the sun!  We got hot for the first time in Iceland.  I think it was getting into the 50s!  After we visited for a while, we went to an old building next to the Inn where the town was holding a thrift store type market to raise money to restore the building.  There were handmade wool items for a very reasonable price and I bought myself a scarf and a pair of Icelandic socks for my niece, The Queen, who desperately wants to visit Iceland.  The town is so small that Esra's grandma had the key to let us into the building and when we decided to make a purchase she called the lady with the credit card machine and she came down to help us! 

Next came my most favorite part of the trip!  Kristin is the assistant to the pastor at their church and she took us five minutes down the road to see it.  She is so very proud of this little church!  

CAN YOU EVEN STAND IT?  Look at it!  

This is an organ the church raised money to purchase.  In fact, for Kristin's 70th birthday party she asked for donations for the organ.  It was handmade by an Icelandic organ player.  It was gorgeous. 

Kristin even rang the church bells for us when we left.  It was an absolute pleasure and honor to get to spend some time with her here and listen to her stories of the paintings and the ceremonies they hold in the church.  

This is the pastor's house which is right next to the church.  Kristin and Einar lived her for a few years before they moved into their new home. 

This is a view from the staircase of the pastor's home.  I just can't.  I could have stared at this view all day long. 

These pictures above are of the local cemetery - also on the grounds of the church.  They take great pride in caring for the upkeep of the cemetery.  It felt like such a privilege to spend time with Esra's grandparents and get such a personal tour of their town and church.  Einar said I could come back in winter to see the Northern Lights and stay in their guest room as long as liked.  Sign me up! 

It was here that we said goodbye to Kristin and headed back to the city.  I am now Facebook friends with her and we are already exchanging messages.  Just delightful! 

We took an alternate route back to the city that took us on a gravel road for at least an hour - we only passed like four cars!  The scenery was magnificent.  It got the point that we were not even pointing out waterfalls anymore. They were everywhere and gorgeous.  We also stopped to make friends with some of the local animals. 

How adorable is he? 

We got back to the city with just enough time to change and head over to Esra's Dad's house for dinner.  Arnie grilled lamb chops for us along with baked potatoes and salad.  It was a glorious summer day in Iceland and we ate on the patio.  They did have to turn on the heat lamps as the evening progressed, but just to cut the chill.  

We had lots of laughs and I was feeling no pain with Einar's pills and my never ending glass of wine!  It was a full and beautiful day in Iceland and we fell into bed tired and happy! 

Iceland Day 5 - Blue Lagoon and Meeting the Grandparents

If you make it to Iceland, you must experience The Blue Lagoon.  It is a geothermal seawater pool that has healing powers.  Seriously, it felt very healing!  It is a bit expensive to visit and the only reservations available that fit our itinerary were on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m.  Nothing like leaving your apartment at 6:30 a.m. with outside temps of 42 degrees with drizzling rain to go to a pool.  Didn't seem to make sense! 

We arrived and my people found a wheelchair to get me from the car to the entrance.  The staff took one look at the wheelchair and made every accommodation possible to make it easier for me.  Iceland takes such good care of people.  I was shown a shortcut to the handicapped accessible locker room and my poor main nurse Callie drew the short stick to go with me.  We again, were laughing like hyenas and I am sure the staff wondered what in the world was going on with the maniacs in the locker room.  Once we managed to get into our bathing suits we headed out to the pool deck.  It was freezing outside.  

The pool had great ramps to get in and the water was like a hot bath.  AHHH!!!!  Felt AMAZING!!  The water took the weight off my knee and the heat felt so dang good.  Each ticket you buy comes with a free drink and a face mask.  So, free drinks means we had cold beer at 7:30 a.m. while walking through an amazing hot pool.  It was NOT the worst morning of my life!  

They have a face scrub made out of some kind of natural stuff (don't you just love how informed I am?) that we all smeared on our faces!  They have little grottos and you can hang out in the caves, drinking your beer.  It was lovely!  We stayed in the pool for about an hour and then it was time to head out.  The locker room was great and we showered and got dressed.  One of Esra's friends from his soccer days at UAH worked at the Blue Lagoon Hotel and they had a little reunion in the lobby.  It was sweet.   Here are a few pictures of the steaming pool. 

Next up, we grabbed a little breakfast and then back to the apartment to pack for an overnight stay at Esra's grandparents house in the north.  They greeted us so warmly and you could tell they were thrilled to see their grandson.  Esra's grandmother's name is also Kristin and his grandpa's name is Einar.  They were ADORABLE!  Kristin was a teacher and a stewardess and then a school principal for many years.  She also made 150 homemade Icelandic donuts to greet us!  And there was delicious Icelandic coffee!  

Einar is a goldsmith and taught the trade to many Icelandic goldsmiths. Both were interesting and funny. Kristin was telling us she had a great honor upcoming to read at the coronation of their friend who is becoming a Bishop.  Einar entertained us with so many stories of Iceland, their family and the neighbors in their little town of 15 people.  FIFTEEN people in the whole town.   

They had prepared a delicious meal for us and the house smelled amazing!  Callie was able to help in the kitchen. 

Einar had a telescope in the living room where he looked for birds, sea life and spied on the neighbors. 

Here is is showing Megan where to find the horses on the other side of the water. 

In the picture below, you can see a red building right by the water.  That is the Inn where Esra's grandparents rented us rooms for the night.  It was right on the water.  This inlet of water is called a fjord and they have seals visit regularly and have even seen whales on occasion.

Dinner was excellent!  Both meat and vegan spaghetti, salad and homemade bread.  Yes, please! 

Dessert was ice cream with fruit.  

 About 10:00 p.m. we loaded up and headed down to the Inn for the evening.

The picture below is the room that Callie and I shared. Please look out that window and see how close we are to the water and how light it is!  It is 10:00 p.m.  Someone, please turn the sun off! 

This is the view from the little kitchen table. 

Goodnight, Iceland.  Thanks for a wonderful day! 

Iceland Day 4 - The Golden Circle

We woke up pretty early on Monday morning with plans to see Iceland's Golden Circle - it is a park near the summer house with geysers and waterfalls.  Before we get to the Golden Circle, let's stop for a minute and talk about the sun never going down the entire eight days we were in Iceland.  It never got dark.  Not even for one minute.  It was weird.  And it was hard to sleep!  This is summer in Iceland.  In the winter, it only stays light for 2 hours a day.  Who knew?  Maybe you did, I did not. 

Beautiful little breakfast put together by Esra's momma.  

First stop was a geothermic area with the Strokkur geyser.  Esra got a good spot where I thought I could see if from the car, but his mother was not having it.  She went to a hotel and sent Esra to a gift shop looking for a wheelchair for me.  Esra came back with one and I was so excited.  

Yay for wheelchairs!  

This is Esra's mom, Kristin.

Steam coming out of the ground everywhere. Smelled of sulfur.

You wait around for five minutes or so and then this happens! 

It was very impressive! 

The thermal field on the way back to the parking lot.  Steam rising out everywhere. 

I was so grateful I could see the geyser up close..it was very cool.  

Next up in The Golden Circle was Gullfoss, one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland.  I wanted to see it, but I knew there were stairs involved so I thought it wasn't likely.  We pulled up in our van and Kristin pulled up behind us in her car and said "Get in."  She told me there was an old parking lot down by the waterfall where she used to park.  She didn't know if it was open to the public or not, but she said we would act dumb and try to drive down there.  

I could see the top of the falls from the road.  It was open! 

Kristin parked in a handicapped parking spot really close!  She said "I don't have a handicapped card, but they will take one look at you and know we need this spot!" Ha, ha!

She helped me get over to the railing and it took my breath away.  

Here come the rest of the crew down the stairs! 

Look at this!!!!!!  It was spectacular! 

My main nurse!  I had to keep apologizing for being such a pain in the neck! 

The girls! 

The Icelandic princess that made this happen for me! 

Our crew!  

We drove a little further to a site called Pingvellir, Arnessysla where the North American and European tectonic plates meet and also may be the site of The Bloody Gate from Game of Thrones was filmed.  I haven't watched Game of Thrones, but this as a setting is pretty dang cool!  I could not traverse this rocky trail and stairs, but these pictures are amazing and you just need to see them!

The reports from my travel companions was that it was amazing to see!  So, if you have two working legs - do not miss this!  

We ended our afternoon at Glo for some delicious vegan food.  I had a spinach lasagna with sweet potatoes, some kind of corn mess and beets.  It was yummy.  Then there was coffee!  I parked myself on a comfortable couch while the rest of my crew did a little shopping.   

After that, we went back to our home base...the apartment on the third floor with no elevator!  I managed to navigate the stairs fairly well, with a fantastic bit of advice from my sister.  Good leg first going up, bad leg first going down.  It worked and was not too painful. 

Not going to lie, it felt great to get horizontal on a couch and ice and prop my leg up.  We had some amazing laughs that evening and I may have gotten into such a laughing uproar with Callie that I peed my pants. Not just a little bit either.  It was not my proudest moment, but my mobility was impacted and I was laughing so damn hard.  I was mortified, but I just needed to document this to remember that even with the knee challenges we laughed our butts off on this trip.  This moment was more hilarious than most.  I wish I could remember what we were laughing about, but it escapes me!  I do know that it didn't phase anybody.  I could hardly make eye contact with Brett the next morning, but we got through the awkwardness and he even washed my clothes for me.  In fact, he washed everyone's clothes all the dang time.  We called him the Laundry Czar!  He was awesome! 

Next up, we are headed to the Blue Lagoon bright and early in the morning and then back out to the country to visit Esra's grandparents up north!  Come back....you don't want to miss it!