A Short stop in Iceland

When you fly Icelandair, you can stop in Iceland and transfer to your destination flight or you can stay a few days.  We're staying a few days because I want to see the aurora borealis.  I'm traveling with my friend Anita who grew up in northern Sweden and lived with the northern lights, but like most kids, she paid no attention and doesn't remember them.  The flight from Seattle was way too easy for present day air travel.  No lines, searches, or body scans--just a quick 6 hr trip while we slept. The FlyBus that was taking us to Reykjavik had an option of a stop at the Blue Lagoon. So we dug out our swimsuits and  stashed our luggage.  I thought the Blue Lagoon was going to be a touristy, overpriced and quick stop.  It is touristy and pricey, but felt like heaven after our flight--or probably anytime.  The setting is a barren, black lava field with large shallow pools of milky blue, warm, sea water from the geothermal power plant that adds an unworldly feel with smoke stack that spew out more steam to the steam rising from the pools of water.  The high mineral content make for a buoyancy that allows you to float forever.  One of the main minerals is silica which has formed a whitewashed coating all around the water's edge that accentuates the blue water and makes it looks bluer.The silica has formed a hard smooth crust over the lava that has the tough but soft feel of a dolphin's nose--and yes, I've felt a dolphin's nose.  The floor of the pool alternates between hard surface, black sand that quickly falls back into the water, a gooey mud that oozes up between your toes, and a form of hot water loving algae that tickles and I quickly wanted to find a more solid footing.  The same mineral-silica goo is available in several spots for smearing your face to smooth and exfoliate.  It also for sale in the gift shop.  The Blue Lagoon is touted as a medical spa with massage, steam room, and super heated water falls that cascade over your body with a force that makes it hard to stand.  But the best part was the weather--it alternated between raining, snowing, blowing, sunny and hail.  At one point our wet hair was frozen to our heads and covered in hail.  It was an unforgettable experience.

Reykjavik is a compact city of 160,00 people --half the population of Iceland-- but it feels more like a fishing village with restaurants that feature fresh fish.  Saegreifinn is one such restaurant owned by an old Icelandic speaking man who does all the cooking.   It's located on the harbor close to the fishing fleet.  Kinda hole in the wall feel with rough hewn tables and cushion covered kegs for stools. The wall decoration included a stuffed baby seal and a glassy eyed eel. The menu is somewhat limited with 2 soups and kabobs from about 6 types of sea life.  Our dinner was a large basket of warm crusty bread and cultured sweet cream butter, dark red minke whale and the best lobster soup I can ever imagine.  I don't know the status of minke whale in the world, but in Iceland, it is considered a highly desired delicacy that should be cooked med rare and it was a real treat.  It has the consistency of steak but with a sweeter taste.  All this washed down with cold, local beer--there are several to chose from.

A few thing that I've found interesting and you might not care about at all:
Iceland is one of the few places in the world with no prehistory.  There were no indigenous people living on Iceland when it was "discovered" by Irish monks and then settle in the 900's by Norwegians and their Irish slaves.  (Someone said it was settled by the most boring people in the world accompanied by the drunkest.) 
All the land was allocated within 10 years of settlement by the Norse and those property lines are still there.  There is a written history of all of the land transactions and they actually know the names of these early landowners.
In late 900s, the world's first parliament, the Alping, was formed and is still the form of government in Iceland.
Iceland remained isolated from the world until WWII drug them into the 20th century. The Icelandic language is so closely related to ancient Norse that the text of ancient manuscripts is readable by modern Icelanders
There are so many -"dottir" and -"son" common surnames that the phone book is by first name since there is a limited number of last names.
The sagas--stories of the early heroes-- make our origin myths seem dull.
Even though the Icelandic kroner lost  half it's value during the 2008 financial meltdown, it's still expensive here

It's snowing and I'm off to explore.