Iceland

So, this is called a blog. I've decided to let go of guilt over not posting due to the fact that it appears as though the blogging craze has passed. So, I'll get to it when I get to it. And this is me getting to it. I give you-our trip to Iceland. Yes, Iceland. Yes, in February. Yes, it was cold. Why, you ask? Well, the reason for going to Iceland in the winter was primarily to see the Northern Lights. So, did we? I know you're dying to know. We'll get to that. Otherwise, I would absolutely advise visiting Iceland in the summer. It's flowing with all sorts of waterfalls and I'm guessing that in the summer, it is very green. It was mostly just tan when we were there.So, on to what you're all here for, the pictures.

This was our first stop, the Blue Lagoon. This was the other item on our reasons to visit Iceland. It's a big, geothermal spring, the obvious draw being that you can swim in the frigid temperatures, we're all familiar with this concept. Luckily there is an inside section, so we never had to be out of the water in the cold air without our robes. Let me tell you, our faces and our ears were COLD, and that picture of our feet? My toes were burning when I put them back in the water. Okay, you've read enough. These photos have not been edited or enhanced. The blue you see is the blue we saw.

You'd never guess that there was black sand at the bottom.

This is day two. We went on the Golden Circle tour. We learned all about how Iceland is situated on the American and Eurasian tectonic plates and how it is being pulled apart as a result. Our tour guide was kind of a freak about tectonics. This guy could not stop talking about volcanoes and earthquakes. I mean I suppose that was the point of the tour, but when you're on a bus all day, some quiet time is okay, too.

This is the sun coming up at 9:30. Pretty, but hard to get used to.

The rift between the two plates

Interesting rock formation

Gullfoss waterfall, one of the main attractions of our tour

Does it look cold? It was, and windy.

Next stop, Geysir. Yes that is the name of the place. The word geyser is and Icelandic word. We're a teaching blog here at Across the Pond.

I nearly lost my fingers to frostbite trying to get this picture of the bulge before the burst.

Day three, we wandered around Reykjavik. My impression of Iceland was that everything looked very industrial, but some of the older architecture was very charming. Simple, clean lines. I especially liked this building.

Hallgrimskirkja with the statue of Leif Erikson out front.

The view from the Pearl

The Pearl itself.

Wait, where are all the pictures of the Aurora Borealis? That's right, there aren't any, because we didn't see them. We stood out in the cold and dark for two and a half hours and NADA. A bit of a disappointment, considering it was one of the main reasons for our trip. Now Brandon will probably drag me to some other freezing locale sometime in the future to try again. If we had seen it, it would have been cool, but we didn't so it wasn't. It was just COLD. But we had a good time, and we left the boys at home, so that automatically raises the enjoyment level of the vacation. I think I would even go back, but it would have to be summer.