The Land of Fire and Ice: Akureyri

What a week. I apologize for the late entry, this weekend was such a whirlwind of traveling I just did not have the time or energy to write. I started off the week on Monday by taking my first final exam in Iceland. One class down! Tuesday, Laura, Sierra, and I decided to try one of the restaurants on our list of places to go before leaving. The name of the restaurant was Sjavarbarinn, the Sea Bar in English. It was a buffet of fish served in all different forms; from mashed fish to fried fish, this place was definitely an experience. I have to admit, the fish soup in the beginning was my favorite, I learned I'm not a huge fan of mashed/creamed fish. Never-the-less, one more places we have experienced in Reykjavik. Thursday I was able to try a new cafe, as I had a large paper to write still before the weekend began. I went to Mezzo Cafe, a lovely place with delicious coffee and a wall of windows looking out onto the street. Friday morning we woke early to begin our journey to Akureyri. Akureyri is a town up in northern Iceland nicknamed the Capital of North Iceland, with a population of 17,754, making it the second largest urban area after Reykjavik. We planned on driving up Friday, knowing we would make many stops along the way, exploring Saturday and parts of Sunday, and driving home Sunday evening. The supposedly four hour drive took us about eight to complete. We stopped many times for snacks and pictures, and made about a two hour detour to see an amazing rock formation in the north called Hvítserkur. To get there we had to drive down a gravel road for about half an hour, a bumpy ride to say the least. Then we spent quite a while climbing in and around the rock, as Sierra stated "a very interactive site". The rest of the drive consisted of beautiful snow covered mountains and more sunshine than we've seen in months. We reached the city around 6:30-7ish and decided to skip making dinner to go out instead. Laura found us a nice little restaurant to go, where we all ate delectable pizza. Saturday we picked up Laura's Icelandic friend named Marteinn, who promised to take us on an adventure, and that he did. First we stopped by the waterfall Goðafoss. It was pretty, though we have now seen quite a few waterfalls here in Iceland. After the waterfall, we were taken to a geothermal area called Hverir, with many boiling mud pools, steaming fumaroles and sulfur pits. It was smelly and muddy, but quite a surreal sight to see the land smoking and gurgling. Next he took us to Dimmuborgir, or the Dark Cities. This is a large area of distinct lava formations and in Icelandic folklore is said to be the dwelling place of elves, troll, and the 13 Icelandic Yule Lads. The next exploit was one of my favorites so far. Marteinn led us through lava fields and eventually down a crack in the earth to a cave filled with naturally heated water. The water was as warm as a hot tub, yet more clear than any natural water I've ever seen. It was spectacular, and very difficult to leave behind. That night we tried the little Indian Curry place right next to the hostel we were staying, and man it was tasty. Sunday morning we woke up and traveled to an Icelandic farm that Marteinn's friend lived on. He showed us all his cows, goats, sheep, chickens, and my personal favorite, the Icelandic horses. Before we left for home, the two boys made us an omelet with fresh eggs and gave us milk straight from the cow. Such a delightful way to end the journey. The drive home seemed long, as we were all a bit tired from the eventful weekend, though we took a wonderful scenic route home. With mountains to my left, a cliff overlooking the ocean to my right, and the West Fjords off in the distance, it was hands down my favorite road in Iceland. This weekend was one of the best weekends here; we had the most perfect weather we could have asked for, met some extremely nice people, and saw sites so beautiful it felt unreal. Now back to real life.