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The cultural and educational journey to Iceland for Vera, Gustav and Gitte, August 29th – September 4th, 2022

 When the corona pandemic 2019-2021 had come to an end, and safe and efficient vaccines developed and implemented, we finally were able to carry out a long time planned journey to Iceland to introduce Icelandic history, culture and art to Vera, Gustav and their mum, Gitte.

Visiting the Blue Lagoon is a must, although it these days is flooded by tourists. Similarly, visiting the famous Álftaneskaffi to enjoy their famous pizza with lobster is also obligatory.
This time we had prepared a visit to the Reykjanes peninsula with emphasis on Reykjanesfólkvangur and its beautiful lava formations, craters, breeding areas for birds, and geothermic areas (Krýsuvík).
The Bridge Between Continents over the ravine separating the European and North American continents made a big impression on Vera and Gustav, who calculated the time since the origin of Iceland.

Like before Sigurjóna kindly offered us to use her summer house at Álftavatn, close to Þingvallavatn, as a base for our trips, for which we were very grateful.

This time we extended the journey to Höfn, where we stayed overnight, before going further northeast to see the memorial of Sigurjóna’s husband Halldór Ásgrímsson, who was a long time member of the Althingi Parliament and minister, including prime minister.
On our way to Höfn, the weather was rainy and windy, so we crossed our fingers that it would change on our way back to allow us to see all the planned attractions.

Waking up the next morning in Höfn our hopes had become true. Blue sky and no clouds  over the glaciers and mountains. We started at the Svavar Gudnason Art Museum in Höfn and continued northeast to find the memorial of Halldór, which was placed with a panoramic view towards the sea and mountains. Our thoughts of course went back to the many great times we have shared.

On our way back the first stop was Jökulsárlón, the largest glacier lake in Iceland. Very scenic in full sunshine. Vera and Gustav were also impressed by all the helicopters bringing tourists, who did not have the time to travel on their own. We of course also stopped at the highest mountain in Iceland, Hvannadalshnjúkur and the Svínafell glacier, both of which appeared in full sunshine, without clouds at the top, which rarely happens.
We also stopped to see Katla volcano, a part of Mýrdalsjökull, to tell the story of Katla and its famous eruptions. The Black Sand Beach at Reynisfjara close to Vík, Skógarfoss and Seljalandsfoss were also visited.

On the following days we visited Geysir, Gullfoss, Skálholt and the Lava Centre, where a movie showed all the famous vulcanic eruptions, and interactive media demonstrated the formation of Iceland.
We also made a visit to the Secret Lagoon from 1891 for a bath and subsequent lunch at restaurant Friðheimar nearby, which only serves tomato courses in their tomato greenhouses.Finally, the sun also came to Þingvellir National Park and off we went to show this historic place to Gitte and our grandchildren.
Our journey ended in Reykjavík, where we visited Ragnheiður and Markús and all the places where Unnur has lived. Downtown Reykjavík and its famous buildings were of course also visited.A great event was the 3D movie “Fly over Iceland”, just as Kjarvalsstaðir was visited before we returned to Denmark.