ruins explorer

With no other ideas of what to do, and the desire to see puffins, we all set off for the South Coast – in a single car this time as we had no luggage. We went straight to Seljalandfoss, a long drive, because no one wanted to go to the Njal’s Saga museum again. We did get gasoline in Hverdagerdi, but didn’t visit the lovely bakery again. At Seljalandfoss, we made an effort to do something new. Of course we walked behind the waterfall again, but it didn’t have the same magic the second time. On the other hand, Kai did it – bravely – for the first time. This time, we walked along a pathway to the left, which I hadn’t remembered from last time, and found the hidden waterfall. Several waterfalls must be passed, ... read more

Saturday We saw so much on Saturday, driving all the way from Keflavik (the airport) to our guest-house Langaholt on the golden sand beaches of the Snaefellsnes peninsula. We made a few stops worth mentioning – Geirabakeri (next to the Hauckaup & Bonus) in Borgarnes – and Eldborg, a beautiful crater. In my mind “eld” means “elf”, so it’s an elf crater; but it really means “lava ring” in Icelandic. The crater was created when the volcano blew its top off. It’s gorgeous – appearing alternatingly black, green, or brown depending on the light. We didn’t have the chance to hike up to it – as it would have taken two hours round-trip. The brief stop however was our first geological wonder in Iceland. Next, we drove all the way to Langaholt to check in. We ... read more

What we did Mystic Mountain Zipline Here is a big operation that also runs places in Costa Rica and other countries. That, however, gives you the assurance that they know how to do a zipline. We started on a chairlift up the mountain. You could make a day of it up there with their cafe, small museum, hummingbird garden, nature trail (restricted to those with a guide only unfortunately), and waterslide. However, we had a specific pick-up time so we got right to zipping. Talking to others, the famous Jamaican Bobsled ride was not worth it - too short. We enjoyed the ziplines and got to see the Bobsleds beneath us. The guides we had were really professional and great for us (afraid of heights and all). We did five ziplines, plus belayed down a tree, ... read more

Iceland is like an amusement park, by which I mean, it's just one exhilaration after another. Unlike many places where the tourist destinations end up disappointing you, or are so mobbed with people that it takes all the magic away, Iceland's sights can't disappoint, and their majesty cannot be lessened even by crowds of tour buses. On our final full day, we drove all the way to Vik, stopping at several cool places along the way. Our first stop was a friendly bakery in Hverdagerdi (forgive me, but I don't want to stop to insert the Ð all the time or the Þ). Then we drove all the way to the Saga Centre, where I was in heaven, remembering the story of Njal's Saga. On the way, I read the first section of Njal's Saga out ... read more

After a brief stint in our room, we discovered a whole new Bergen, off the wharf and into the city. It turns out that our son is a fountain lover, and Bergen is full of fountains. The best fountain for kids is the statue of Ole Bull (a violinist) and a mock rocky waterfall, and stepping stones through the fountain base. All the kids were playing in it, on it, climbing up it, and I believe this was a true highlight for K. We also continued through to the park with the lake fountain, and to the Grieghallen, where there is another cool fountain, trying to find a restaurant A. had heard of. It turned out to be some of the best food we've had on the trip (Norway is turning out to be quite good ... read more