Icelandic Sagas and exploding volcanoes

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After such an amazing, but very tiring, two day trip down to the south of Iceland I'm ready for a lie in and a lazy last day in Reykjavik before flying home tomorrow. It feels like coming home whenever I get back to the Rekjavik Downtown Hostel now. What a great choice it turned out to be. The staff are lovely, it's in such a good location and really quiet so you actually get a good night's sleep. I'd highly recommend it to anyone wondering which youth hostel to pick in Reykjavik.

Saga Museum

So what to do on my last day? There are still a couple of museums I haven't checked out so I decide to go back to the harbour area and take a look at the famous Saga Museum. Basically it's a series of scenes and wax models (very detailed and realistic) depicting some of the Icelandic sagas or legends. I also see a film showing how the museum and the models were made. The actors/models had to be smothered in this gloopy blue mixture to provide a mold then the figures were painted and clothed to provide the characters in the sagas. It's hard to describe the museum and it must sound pretty lame to go round looking at wax dummies, but it's actually surprisingly good. The figures are so detailed and realistic and there's an audio guide to help you find out the stories attached to each scene.

Freydis Eriksdottir

My favourite saga at the museum is that of Freydis Eriksdottir. The story goes that on a trip to Finland in 1000AD Freydis found herself cornered next to the corpse of her comrade by natives. Instead of trying to flee she made a stand. She took up a sword from the body, opened her tunic and put the sword up against her breast as if to cut it off. This strange, bold gesture fightened the natives and they ran away.

Volcano House

My last visit is to the Volcano House and I find I'm the only one in this little cinema today. I get to see a couple of documentary style films telling the story of volcanoes in Iceland. There's some amazing footage of exploding lava, lava flows and ash spewing in massive clouds. One film totally brings to life what is must be like to live in the shadow of a volcano. In 1975 an eruption suddenly, and without warning, took place on the island of Heimaey in the Westman Isles. Just before midnight, when people were walking home from a night out, a few hundred metres in front of them a fissure suddenly opened exploding molten lava along a line in the cracked ground. The entire population of 5000 people had to be quickly evacuated to the mainland while the eruption continued for the next 7 months. This was one of the main fishing ports of Iceland and vital to their economy, so when the lava flow crept steadily closer to the harbour area something had to be done. They brought in a massive pump and trained water on the head of the flow. This crazy plan actually worked and the flow was slowed enough to stop the harbour being destroyed. It was fascinating to see some of the volunteers filmed sweeping and shoveling up the thick layers black ash that had settled all over the buildings and streets. Now Heimaey is back to normal and life goes on, if surrounded by somewhat different landscape features than they'd been used to before!

Souvenirs for my daughters

And so to the first and only shopping outing of my trip. I always take a few bits and pieces back for my daughters as keepsakes of their mad mother's adventures around the world. I hope it inspires them to go travelling themselves when they grow up. I find a lovely T-shirt for my youngest daughter and a beautifully designed mug for my middle daughter. I can't say what the oldest is getting as she's reading this! And of course I have to get our MUST HAVE fridge magnet to add to the many already adorning our fridge back home in Norwich.

Presents bought I go back to my hostel and back up my bags ready for my early start to the airport the next morning. I say my goodbyes to the lovely staff and take to my bed. I spend some time looking through all my photos taken over the last couple of weeks in Iceland and it reminds me how lucky I've been and what a fantastic time I've had.

Mum's gone to Iceland and she doesn't want to leave! This has been an amazing adventure. Iceland is truly awesome and I hope to return again. Outside the snow is falling in fat flakes and this seems a fitting end to my snowy Icelandic adventure.

Takk ferr de Kafe. See yer tamarrrer!

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