Day 20: Adventure Is Out There!

Hello!!
The last few days have been very busy! Scott and I were given the opportunity to explore Reykjavik and Borganes on Thursday and we had a blast! Driving wasn't too different, other than the traffic patterns in the Round About. I was driving and Scott helped me navigate, and we only made one person mad...oops! Sorry!

First we went to the National Museum of Icelandic History, and it was full of amazing artifacts and incredible exhibits! Everything from the very first settlers and how they managed to survive, all the way to modern day objects!



 

















The museum displayed a lot of skeletons in a class cases that were built into the floor which made it very realistic and personal 



Toward the end of the exhibits there was a room for children to play with clothes that were created to look like original viking attire, so of course I had to try it out! As you can see, the helmet was just a tad too big for me!
                   

After we explored the museum for awhile we headed into down town Reykjavik and did some shopping. We found many items that were too funny to not capture. Most of the gift shops had many of the same items such as coasters, hats, gloves, key chains, even cans of "fresh Icelandic mountain air" that you could open any time you needed a whiff of Iceland!
 

After visiting Reykjavik, Scott and I decided to head fifteen minutes outside of Hestur Farm to Borganes to do some exploring. We found a small museum based on the story of the first settlers to arrive in Borganes. It was absolutely incredible! There were wood carvings and hand painted figurines that captured the essence of life for these voyagers.

The story was a rather sad tale of a settler's son and his life growing up with brutal sports, an evil sorceress, and murders. The saga of his life can be found all over Iceland!







Once we were done with the tours, Scott and I were ravenous. Luckily for us, there was a restaurant upstairs! The food was DELICIOUS! We both had a vegetable soup to start, which had a hint of spice to the taste and consisted of vegetable broth and pureed vegetables. SO GOOD! This was served along side fresh bread and whipped butter topped with lava salt! Next we had a burger with potato wedges and two kinds of sauce. One thing that is unique about Iceland is that the source of the meat or dairy is always labeled, specifically which farm it came from. I found this to be incredibly interesting and made me feel much more comfortable knowing exactly where my food came from. For dessert, I had some amazing chocolate ice cream and Scott had pie. By the time dinner was over, we were both completely full and waddled back to the car. OH! And for a beverage we had some incredible berry juice called Northern Lights Icelandic juice, non-alcoholic and it was a perfect addition to the meal!

  

Salted butter and soup

Burger with potato wedges and sauces 

    

DESSERT!

Scott and I are now joined by the marvelous Anastasia as we explore Akureyri and visit with Snaedis's mom! Tomorrow we are planning to go whale watching, and we will all be sporting lovely Icelandic style sweaters! Stay tuned for exciting pictures and stories to come!!!

Warm Wishes from us here in Iceland!

Becca, Scott, Anastasia