Round 2… The Gunthers take Iceland

I’m completely excited to be going back to Iceland to visit for the first time since I lived there two years ago! (Wow, how time flies…) Though I’ll only have a week this time, I’m super pumped to be going with my brother!!

Since that amazing summer, I’ve thought about Iceland and the friends I made pretty much every day, and have been looking forward to the chance to share that piece of my life with my family and friends. Garrett has given me the chance to do this by rearranging his summer of European travel to include a stop in Iceland on his way back home.

When he first asked me if I thought we could find him a place to stay for a few days so he could visit Iceland, I immediately thought of the one and only Lena Dis who (very awesomely) came to visit me here last summer! She very kindly said that she would find a place for Garrett to stay, no problem…then suggested that I come too. Of course my first reaction was a “yea–ooook, Lena. I can’t just come to Iceland…” But after thinking about it, I realized maybe I could? I did have enough time to save some money and I worked out a deal with my parents for them to (so generously) pay for part of my flight costs. Additionally, Lena was offering us a place to stay so there wouldn’t be hotel costs, etc. At that point, the decision was simple: of course I would go!

This will be the first trip Gar and I will go on together (sans mom and dad) and hopefully won’t be the last! (Philippines 2012 + Carlee, here we come…) I can’t wait to show him where Lee, Casey and I lived, the fields we played on, of course the unbelievable landscapes, make him eat rotten shark/Skyr/lobster soup/waffles from the Waffle Van, drink Brennivin/Viking beer/my favorite mojitos, and to meet some of the amazing people I get to call my friends!

Stay tuned for some more fun adventures…

Back to the real world!

Oh yea, I also came back to my brother with a mustache...!

It’s been a little over a month since I’ve been back, and I’ve done a lot in that short time. I’ve gotten to see my friends and family again, gone to the beach, went to Louie and Melissa’s wedding, seen Garrett play a few games, visited Chico and saw the Chico girls play, visited Court and Bri in their new San Diego apartment, started an internship with SutherlandGold in San Francisco and found/moved into an apartment of my own in Sunnyvale!

 

So far I’m off to a good start in this new chapter in my life. I had one of the most unbelievable summers I’ve ever had and could ever ask for and I’m looking forward to doing more great things in the coming months.

 

I have no idea how I could ever fully thank Petra and all the Icelandic girls for everything they did for me in not only getting me to Iceland but for taking such good care of me while I was there. Without a doubt I’ll be going back to Iceland to visit as soon as I can! I’m also hoping that I get the opportunity to show as many members of my new Icelandic family the hospitality they showed me. I’ve told them many times before, but I’ll remind them again: that they’re all MORE THAN welcome to come to California any time they want!

 

I love Iceland and it will always hold a very special place in my heart but deep down I will always be a California girl and it’s good to be home.

I'm baaack!

After my last minute packing and a quick visit from the wonderful Katrin, Val got me to the airport with plenty of time. I had a lot of time to enjoy lunch and take my time getting to my gate. I knew I would be pressed for time once I landed in New York so I tried to enjoy being stress-free as much as possible.

 

The flight was easy between sleeping, eating and watching 17 Again, but as soon as New York was visible during our descent I could do nothing but stare out the window with a smile on my face. Even though I’ve never actually been to New York, it gave me an unexplainable sense of comfort that got even stronger once I got off the plane.

 

Although I only had about an hour and 20 minutes between the time I landed and my connecting flight to LA’s departure (which I realized the night before–ahhh!), I was determined to make it happen! In that short time I had to get off the plane, get my bags from baggage claim, go through customs, get from the international terminal to the domestic terminal, check in, go through security and finally arrive at my gate. I had my parents on-call, waiting to hear if I made my flight or if I was going to have to wait until the next flight (7 am the following morning, FYI).

 

Luckily, despite my gross sweaty reaction to the stress and running through the JFK airport, I was able to make the good news phone call that I made it–with a few minutes to spare! I was more relieved than I can even express, but I was slightly embarrassed that I literally looked like I’d just played an entire soccer game in a fleece jacket, jeans and UGGs. But finally, I was on the home stretch of my journey: just five hours from the wonderful California…

 

Dad met me at baggage claim and it was so strange not to be seeing him on a computer screen! He was pretty excited to see me again…I guess I was pretty happy too. On the drive and once I got home it was a weird feeling of familiarity. Everything looked at felt just how I left it but it wasn’t Iceland!

 

At a beach--with warm water!!

There weren’t any lava fields or waterfalls or Icelandic horses on the side of the road, instead we were on a real multi-lane freeway surrounded by huge buildings and cars everywhere.

 

But the biggest change for me was suddenly HEARING what everyone around me was saying! I instantly understood conversations of people walking by, what the ticket agents were asking me and all the directions I was given–without having to say “oh, what was that? I’m sorry, I only speak English…” Amazing!

 

It’s really good to be back. Hellooo California, USA…oh, how I’ve missed you!

Weeee aare the chaaampionssss

Yesterday afternoon we officially became the best team in Iceland’s first division, beating our hometown rivals, FH, 1-0.

 

It wasn’t the prettiest day, it was raining–just enough to make the grass slick, not quite a drizzle but not pouring. Right from the start it was a tough game just like we’d anticipated. It was physical and strong and I think both teams knew that if they let up at all, they would be in trouble.

 

I dealt with a lot of pushing and shoving in the middle (eventually helping get one girl a yellow card…), our defense dealt with a pretty talented, quick forward who dove ALL. THE. TIME! (Luckily their shooting was either not on-frame or Thordis made a solid save on the free kicks she bought them.)

 

It was a good game and it went back and forth a little bit, they had a few almost good chances, but I think we created more. We had a few opportunities in front of the goal that just didn’t quite make it, but our break came about halfway into the first half when I took the ball out of the air and found Tinna who then laid it back for Ellen to shoot first-time, scoring one of her famous long-distance shots. It was completely textbook, just what we were supposed to do and it was so appropriate that Ellen scored, since she has been playing amazingly in the middle. It was no surprise that she was “player of the game!”

 

For the rest of the game we continued to attack, putting a little more effort into defending our lead than before, but still pressuring their defense. When the final whistle blew it was one of the most incredible feelings soccer has allowed me to feel. It wasn’t quite as powerful as winning the CCAA conference tournament at Chico because I was so much more invested in that team, but this is definitely up there. To know how long these girls have been working toward moving up to premier and winning first division made it that much better. I am grateful and lucky to have been given the opportunity to be a part of all this and I wish them the best of luck next season! I’m not sure what I’ll be doing next summer but if I find myself with an extra three and a half months to spare, I may just take up their offer and come back! Haha–after some serious preparation of course.

 

If not though, I hope to come back at least to visit (soon) and see them play in the premier league. They better not forget about me when they all become famous!!

 

The day wasn’t over though after the game…Thordis’ parents invited the entire team to spend a couple hours at one of the nicest spas in Reykjavik, Laugar Spa. We headed straight there and spent the rest of the afternoon in a hot tub, saunas and steam rooms each with a different aroma (like peppermint, rustic, citrus, mint…) and a relaxation room. It was a fabulous way to spend some quality time with some of the best girls I’ve ever met–and to celebrate a hard-earned win!

 

BUT, the day STILL wasn’t over! From the spa we went to Thordis’ parents house for dinner. They had lasagna, salad, pasta and bread waiting for us, which was delicious. They were so great to open their home to us and it was nice to spend some time with some of the parents before I head home to see my parents! I’m so grateful for these parents here though. They have all been so incredibly supportive of me and my playing with the team. Some of them regularly made a special effort to come talk to me and congratulate me after games and the popular topic last night was seeing when I’d be back to Iceland and if I would come back to play again next season!

 

After dinner we all went downtown to do a little team-only celebrating. It was one of the most FUN nights I’ve had this summer and I’m going to miss these girls more than I can describe! The best part was that we were all wearing our first place medals AND we brought our giant trophy out to celebrate with us, hahaha. Between the dancing, free drinks (for being champions of course), the celebrity sighting (former mayor), millions of pictures and wonderful teammates, it was the perfect ending to a very long but AMAZING day!

 

Photo albums: coming soon!

My last week in Iceland

It’s been a few days since I’ve written and it’s not because I’ve been lazy, my last few days living in an empty apartment (that I thought for sure would be lonely and boring) have been some of the busiest I’ve had!

 

On Thursday, we ran a few last-minute errands for Casey so she got to do everything she needed to before I dropped her off at the airport that afternoon. I was sad to see her go, it kinda sucked having to drop off both of my roommates and then go back home a friend less than I started with…at the same time it was a good reminder that I only had a few days left in this beautiful place and I better make the most of it!

 

Practice was strange…going by myself, being the only American, etc. The translations weren’t as frequent but luckily I’ve picked up enough vocab to at least get through practice knowing what we were doing. It was a light practice, as was the rest of the week, in preparation for the FINALS on Sunday. We would be playing FH, our hometown rivals, so we anticipated an intense game. We also knew for sure that Dufa wouldn’t be able to play in goal for us (since she’d been casted for the next three weeks with a partially torn Achilles’ tendon).

 

That night, Anna invited me over to have dinner with her so I wouldn’t be alone. She made a faaaantastic Mexican chicken dish layered with cheese and tortilla shells. Amazing. And for dessert she made a heart-shaped (it’s the only cake pan she has! haha) Bounty cake, which tasted like a giant Almond Joy. Also while I was there, I copied the recipe for her chocolate cake that she made for Lee’s birthday. It is honestly the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had and I can’t waaait to try it out at home!

 

We had Friday off so I tested my driving/navigation skills and drove to Akranes, a town about an hour away. Orri, Thordis’ sister’s boyfriend–also referred to by Thordis as “the tattoo guy”–lives there and I went to have him touch up my tattoo before I left. It was actually a really nice drive by myself, giving me some time to just think and enjoy the unbelievable country. It gave me a chance to get one last good look at the amazing water, the mountainsides, the horses, just overall beautiful landscapes. On the way home I took advantage of my alone time by running a few errands for myself to prepare for my last weekend here.

 

VIP! Recliner, popcorn, drinks...perfect.

That night, Lena and I decided to go see a movie…some of their theaters here have a “VIP” option, which costs a little more than a regular ticket but you supposedly got unlimited popcorn, drinks and a recliner. We had tried to see a few movies in VIP but it hadn’t worked out and I was determined to experience this before I left to see what it was all about. WOW. Andy’s words say it best, “VIP is the only way to go.” We walked in to first pass the popcorn ‘bin’ and drink machine, then into the private theater with five or six rows of La-Z-Boy style recliners. We found seats first, rather than dealing with the crowd getting drinks and popcorn, and immediately got comfortable. There were two sets of buttons on the chairs: an up and down for the back rest and the same for the foot rest. OMG, whyyyyyyy do we not have this in the states?? Or DO we and I just haven’t discovered it? It was like watching a movie in the comfort of your own home but on a giant screen, in better chairs and with endless movie popcorn and fountain drinks!

 

As soon as the crowd died down we got some popcorn and a few drinks and settled in for the movie. We were watching Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre…a new movie here about tourists on a whale watching boat just outside the Reykjavik harbor. (I thought it would be fitting to see a movie about Iceland as my last movie in Iceland!) Hahaha the movie was…”awesome” in the worst ways! Very entertaining, I don’t regret seeing it at all–and being in VIP definitely made it more enjoyable! I think we read that they’re trying to sell the movie internationally so I’m interested to see if it ends up in the states! It was for sure a “massacre” movie and had its cheesy parts…it also makes me never want to go whale watching on a run-down boat with a company whose “hours of operation” are unimpressively handwritten and posted in a small shack of an office…oh wait, DUH.

 

Anyway, VIP did NOT disappoint and I had a wonderful time!

 

Saturday morning we had practice, but it would be short so Lena and I planned to do some shopping in the afternoon. It turned out to be quite the day! We started by going to her dad’s bike shop and the soccer shop in the Hafnarfjordur mall (to use my “player of the game” gift certificates!) I’d say I did pretty well with my purchases. We continued our shopping adventure with an ice coffee to go (best ice coffee ever) and headed to Kringlan (the big mall in Reykjavik). I managed to finish my gift-shopping and Lena made a few finds, including all red hi-top Converse! I love that everyone wears hi-tops here…

 

After spending hours at the mall, we went back to Lena’s house for dinner. Her mom had asked if we would like chicken or fish and since I haven’t really had the chance to have fish too often here, we chose that. When we got in, the house smelled delicious and I couldn’t wait to eat. She had made two different kinds of salmon: one with garlic and ginger and the other with peppers and spices, plus we had salad and potatoes… A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. You’d think I’d never eaten fish before, the way I reacted, but it was sooo good! (Dear mom and dad: when I get home, please have some salmon ready for me to season, flavor and grill…)

 

While we watched the end of the Iceland vs. Norway men’s national game on TV, we topped off our dinner with ice cream filled with Daim candy (bits of toffee covered with chocolate). Lena’s mom MUST want me to come back to Iceland because when Katrin came over to hang out for a bit, she came out with bowls of popcorn!! And I’m talking the good kind…the real popcorn, not microwaved, buttered and seasoned to perfection. Mmm…I told her that if I played well in the game the next day, I was blaming her for her wonderful meal!

 

Then it was off to bed to dream about beating FH…

 

Photo album: Random Iceland 2

Haukar is going premier!!

The team and family

We won game two of round two yesterday, beating Volsungur for the second time, 1-0. It was a terribly long day because we had to drive six hours to get to Husavik, play, then turn around and drive six hours back home! We left Hafnarfjordur at about 9 am and got back at 3 am. It was exhausting, but absolutely worth it since our best out of two record means Haukar is moving up to the premier division next season!

 

It was a really cold night last night so it was one of those times I was very happy to have long sleeved uniforms. We started out well and looked very confident. I’m sure much of that was the fact that we didn’t have too much pressure on us, thanks to our +3 goal differential from our previous game. We scored about halfway into the first half when Tinna finished off a great passing sequence getting us up the field with a near-post goal. We had a lot of early chances and again just couldn’t quiite put them in.

 

Starting lineup in the locker room and pre-game.

Our defense remained strong throughout the game and Volsungur probably only had a few threatening shots on our goal. Unfortunately, one of those chances ended up sending Dufa (our goalie) off the field on a stretcher. If you remember, just four games ago (the last before the tournament), she got injured, forcing her to miss the round one games. She came back last game and has been playing great, making some key saves against Volsungur, but after making a save on a corner kick, she somehow ended up on the ground in massive amounts of pain. This morning, she’s at the hospital with Val getting an MRI and an x-ray…the latest we’ve heard is she may have partially torn her Achilles’ tendon and possibly has a broken bone somewhere. I’m hoping for the best for her…one, because I would hate for her to miss the final game this weekend and two, she’s also a basketball player and that season is just about to start!

 

Luckily our back-up goalie, Thordis, bravely stepped up again in goal and I’m very thankful we have her! In the other semi-final game, FH (Haukar’s rivals) and IBV (the team from Westmann Islands who beat us twice this season), tied 2-2 (following a 0-0 tie in their first game)…so we will face FH in the finals this weekend. They move on because in the event of a tie, goals scored on the ‘away’ field are weighted more heavily than goals scored at ‘home.’ This game is for the trophy but both teams will be moving up to the Pepsi premier division.

 

My ankles are feeling very tired and very used today so I’m happily looking forward to a light jog and stretching practice this afternoon.

 

Casey is leaving in just a few hours so we’re getting ready to leave to run a few last minute errands before heading to Keflavik. Her flight is at 5 pm and tonight she’ll be back home! It’s weird that she’ll be home tonight!! …Also crazy that this time next week, so will I! I’m down to my last five days here and intend on enjoying it as much as possible since I’m not sure when my next visit will be. Don’t worry though, I’ll definitely be back!!

 

Off to the airport now… here’s a link to the article on the team moving up!

 

Photo album: Haukar vs. Volsungur, round 2

Country fun I probably won't find anywhere else.

Swinging.

Sunday, we had one of the most fun afternoons I’ve had all summer. It wasn’t anything crazy, just a drive with Katrin, Lena and Casey through the countryside stopping at a giant rope swing Katrin wanted to show us and an amazing hot spring river.

 

The swing actually was one of the best I’ve swung on in my life, but I still don’t know how I was the only one who was still scared even after I jumped off the deck! Haha woopsss… Katrin knew about it because it was near a camp where she used to work during the summer. We each took a few turns swinging back and forth, which (after the initial rush of flying through the air) was very relaxing…most likely having to do with the environment we were in. It was so peaceful near the lake at sunset surrounded by trees.

 

After swinging for a while, Katrin remembered a hot spring river she’d been to that we could actually get in so we went to see it. It was very close to some kind of power plant (I can’t remember exactly, I was too distracted!)…and consisted of two different streams of water coming together. The first place we got in was where the two connected. Luckily the cold water balanced out the scorching hot water to make it bearable, but there were parts with HOT, HOT water that ran through every so often. When those hit us, we thought our skin was going to burn off.

 

Top 10 most fun things I've done in Iceland.

When we went to leave, Casey lost her sandal to the very strong current and it rushed off downstream. Before Lena, Casey or I even made it out of the water, Katrin was already out and running after it! Haha she not only recovered the sandal but found an even better place to get in the stream. So we got back in and stayed for a while longer. The temperature was absolutely perfect and the new location was fabulous because by the time the water got there, the hot had mixed with cold and it felt just like a hot tub.

 

As we sat in the water all I could compare it to was relaxing in a hot tub (with the jets on, aka the strong current) while it’s cold outside after a long day. It was getting later at that point so the sun was very low and it had gotten windy, but it felt good sitting half in and half out of the water…more balancing temperatures. I could have stayed there for hours but it had been hours since we’d last eaten and we figured we should get back…after all, Katrin was starting school the next day and Lena had to work!

 

The natural wonders Iceland has still amaze me and that’s one of the things I’ll miss most when I leave. I’ll also very much miss all the girls who took the time to show us these things!!

 

Tomorrow, we play Volsungur again in game two of round two. We set ourselves up very nicely scoring so many goals on Saturday so as long as we play well like we have been, we should be fine. It’s a six-hour drive to Husavik, so it’s going to be a loooooong day…six hours there, play, then six hours back. Casey will be saying her goodbyes either in the locker room after the game or on the ride back, since she leaves Thursday afternoon…crazy how fast the time has gone.

 

As of today, I have exactly one week left here. This time next Tuesday, I’ll be in the airport waiting to head back to the states. We got to enjoy Casey’s real last day and my last-one-week mark with a gym/spa day and then a wonderful team dinner/bonding session at Tinna’s before ending the night with the BEST ice cream known to my stomach. Dear Haukar girls, you are all amazing people who mean so much to me and who I will miss beyond words. You are welcome to come visit California ANY time you want, and are also welcome to use my address for online shopping at Forever 21 and Victoria’s Secret!!

 

Photo album: Iceland – Countryside exploring

Keeping the games interesting…

Haukar vs. Volsungur: round two, game 1.

Today we had our first game of round two at home against Volsungur from Husavik (northern Iceland). Although we were down 1-0 early in the game, we came back to win 4-1, putting us in a very good position going into game two this Wednesday.

 

Casey scored the tying goal to get us back in the game after single-handedly getting through a couple defenders in the box and scoring a low, far-post shot. We went into halftime tied at one.

 

My PK shot: before and during the goal.

Partway into the second half, the ref called a handball in their box, giving us a PK. I took the shot and scored, putting us up 2-1 and scoring my third goal of the season! Yayy

 

After taking the lead, we shifted our formation to be a little more defensive but we couldn’t stop our momentum and Lovisa put two more goals in, in the last ~15-20 minutes of play. She did a great job high-pressuring their defense and capitalizing on their mistakes.

 

Once again, our efforts to keep playing hard and not slowing down even when we get scored on, made me so happy that I’m a part of this team. Because of our win and three goal differential, we’ve created a nice cushion for ourselves going into Wednesday’s game. As long as we play hard again, we should be fine!

 

This evening Lovisa’s family had us over to their house for a really nice BBQ. They (very thoughtfully) made me and Casey some chicken since I don’t eat hamburgers and Casey doesn’t like hamburgers too much. I’m going to miss these girls and their families so much when I go home…(as of today, that’s in 10 days!!!!)

 

Link to the tournament updates: http://fotbolti.net/fullStory.php?action=viewStory&id=80537

 

Photo album: Haukar vs. Volsungur, round 2

Exploring dried fish hangers and a black sand beach.

View from the top of the hill.

Yesterday, Casey and I decided to enjoy the sun by going exploring Hafnarfjordur a little bit and then down the road leading away from our apartment toward the country.

 

After getting some gas, we drove into a neighborhood high up on a hill to find a really neat looking house Casey had noticed from the highway. It’s a bright orange colored, tubular shaped house that looked just as interesting up close as it does from far away! We also made a bonus discovery while we were there: the most beautiful view overlooking Hafnarfjordur. Thanks to the sun, everything was completely clear and we could see everything.

 

Back a little ways down a road behind our apartments, there are wooden structures that have dried fish hanging from them. Lee and I had checked them out once before while on a run, but we decided it was a good day to take a closer look. It didn’t smell like fish at all and it looked as if most of the fish had been “harvested” except for a few hangers. Luckily one of these was pretty close to the road so we pulled over and took a little walk around. It was definitely something different than I’d ever seen before… decent sized fish completely dried and hardened hanging in clusters from wooden planks. I was fine until I actually stood under some of the fish heads and it looked like they were staring at me with their eyes (I’m pretty sure their eyeballs were still in there)…suuuper creepy! But we (somehow) made it fun and took some interesting pictures, haha.

 

Black sand beach.

We continued on down the road to the same black beach we’d found a couple days before, off the gravel road. Today was much better weather so it was a lot easier to drive the turns, hills and uneven road. It was absolutely amazing and I love that it’s close to where we live. If it wasn’t so windy (coooold wind), I would have absolutely laid out for hours and loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, it WAS windy and not so enjoyable after a while… So after soaking up some sun, enjoying the amazing landscape–and taking some pictures (of course), plus my little play sesh in the water (not nearly as cold as I expected, by the way!), we headed home.

 

After a light practice, we bundled up and watched the second half of our men’s team’s game. There was a great crowd there and we were “lucky” enough to find some open space right in front of “Mr. Haukar”–the club’s #1 fan who attends every game with his giant (loud) drum in tow.

 

Photo album: Iceland – Dried fish & black sand adventures

Best seafood ever and some other random adventures

Seabaron and the "menu."

Yesterday was probably the most busy and productive days off I’ve had this summer. We started with a few main objectives for the day and filled in the rest as we went…

 

It started with lunch at Seabaron, a small seafood restaurant with a fittingly small menu. Casey had read about it on a blog she found, The girl who ate everything (in her Iceland posts) and the girls here also gave rave reviews, telling us we had to eat there. I was confused when I walked in and didn’t see any type of menu, but immediately felt stupid when the girl working there said, “this is the menu…” (pointing to the refrigerated shelves to my left). They were stocked with trays of skewers with different fish or vegetables, this day they offered: shrimp, scallops, mink whale, halibut, blue ling, lemon sole, monkfish, vegetable, redfish and potato. She also added that they also had lobster soup (which is what they’re famous for!)

 

We each ordered a lobster soup and decided on four “fishkabobs” if you will (I’m so clever hahaha) to share: monkfish (a fish we’ve heard a lot about in Iceland so of course had to try…), lemon sole (recommended by the girls working there), halibut and scallops. When we went to pay, we were warned that this was “way too much for two people” but we’re now limited in days to come back so we had to go big.

 

The lobster soup came first and it was, in one word: amazing. It didn’t taste very fishy at all and it had a very light, creamy texture…and the lobster pieces in the soup were deeeelicious. Wow, writing about it now makes me want to go get some more right now! We were also given a sourdough bread basket along with the soup that was perfect for dipping.

 

Lobster soup (yumm) and "fishkabobs."

Next came our “fishkabobs” on small trays. My favorite was the lemon sole which was so tender it fell off the skewer and had a great taste. The scallops was a close second, probably because I love most scallops! My third favorite was the halibut which I wanted to try so I could compare it to halibut at home. I think I like home’s version better, this one just seemed like it lacked a little flavor, but still tender and yummy. Monkfish was my least favorite. It also seemed to lack a lot of flavor and it was the toughest of all the fish. I’m definitely a texture person and the wrong texture can ruin a food for me…I think this worked against the monkfish. Although it wasn’t my favorite, it still wasn’t bad, I’m just not exactly sure what the Icelanders love about it.

 

After stuffing my face with as much food as I could fit, we boxed up our leftovers and took them with us to have for dinner later. (Such a good idea…) Then we spent a little time checking out the Reykjavik harbor. On our way away from the harbor up to the shopping streets, we passed a small burger place with a street sign in front labeled, “Burgerjoint,” so of course we stopped to take some pictures and order a shake.

 

We continued our walk up Skolavordustigur (another main shopping street just off of Laugavegur) and stopped in a few small shops for random shopping. We made our way up to Hallgrimskirkja (Hallgrim’s Church) so that Casey could actually see the inside. I got to see it on our Greater Reykjavik tour, but had forgotten that Casey hadn’t be able to go inside yet. Its simplicity makes it very pretty in a very different way than Catholic churches are. I just wish I got to see the outside of it without all the scaffolding and construction (it’s been like that the whole summer).

 

Then we walked down another smaller street back toward Laugavegur, noticing the cute houses and yards that almost–but not quite–seem out of place being so close to the two major shopping streets in Reykjavik. It just seems like yards with gardens wouldn’t really fit in a neighborhood only a few streets off a main street, but here they make it work!

 

We did some more small shopping, stopping in souvenir shops, Icelandic design shops and the fabulous candy shop before starting the trek back to the car.

 

A while ago, I’d noticed a “point of interest” sign near our apartment pointing to the road going away from us, toward the countryside. This past weekend, Lena’s mom enlightened me and said that just down that road there were a bunch of hot springs. This got me excited because something I’ve been wanting to do is find a natural hot spring to sit in like a hot tub! (Yes, the Blue Lagoon counts as a natural hot spring, but I’m talking in the middle of nature…;-)) So, having some time in the afternoon to kill, Casey and I set off on a driving adventure to find these hot springs!

 

Challenging my driving skills.

I had no idea how far it was or what exactly I was looking for and it ended up taking about 20-30 minutes to get there. This was fine except that about half the road was gravel with blind turns, blind hills and lots of curving around mountains. On the bright side, I did complete another “crazy thing” to do in Iceland…#20: “Challenge your driving skills.” (I’d say I did a pretty good job too!)

 

We knew we’d found the hot springs when we saw smoke coming out of the ground and then saw a small parking lot with wooden bridges going over some of the springs and a few people walking around. (Haha, not so much “in the middle of nature” as I’d hoped!) But we stopped and took some pictures and tried touching the water. It was definitely hot, not like burn-your-skin-off-instantly hot, but it probably wouldn’t have been good to sit in there for too long.) We’re going to try and go back to the geothermal area again in the next few days to see if we can find one appropriate to get in…

 

Along the way to finding the hot springs, we discovered the most tranquil, huge lake with black sand beaches. It’s crazy how relatively close all of these natural wonders are to our apartment and I had no idea! Guess you just have to know where to go…

 

The beautiful black sand beach and lake.

Anyway, the lake was beautiful and completely calm…it made me think of the boys and Brian’s boat going out wakeboarding and tubing! It would be PERFECT to go here–in some wetsuits maybe. I have every intention of making another visit to this beach before I leave, hopefully on a sunny day!

 

At that point, we had to leave to get to the clubhouse to meet with the team, so we drove as fast as we could (while still being safe!) and got there right on time. There seemed to be more people than usual inside and we noticed the gym was set up for a basketball game. Then we found out that Iceland was playing Ireland in a women’s national basketball game in our gym! I was kind of upset that we had to go drive cars from the airport to Reykjavik and couldn’t watch the game, so I’m hoping I’ll get to see another game sometime soon. Turns out that Iceland ended up beating Ireland by 9 points in the EuroBasket qualifier game, and I’m doing some research right now to see if any more games, men or women, might be played nearby!

 

Enjoy our “day off” pictures!

 

Photo album: Iceland – Our fabulous day off.