Arctic Expedition 2

We woke early today, about 4:00am. They don't serve coffee in the hostel till 7:30, bad news. We walked down to the local 10/11. Yes, that is just like the 7/11 in the USA. They sell all the usual...

But, we settled for coffee.

We sat and had a great time talking with our new friend. We call her Joy, because we can't pronounce, חֶדוָה. And, she said that her name meant "joy" in Hebrew.

After breakfast, we went over to the pools again. This time, since it was early, they allowed us to take a couple pics, as long as no one else was in the shot.

 It was a little more crowded than we anticipated, considering snow was absolutely dumping.

And, it was -3C! Turning my banana hammock into a raisin rustler.

Not my best look.

After our bath, we decided it was a great day for a walk. It was only about 5 kilometers to the first museum we wanted to see. We still haven't seen it. We got hopelessly lost, the weather warmed enough to turn the snow to rain, and our map was soaked.  We did get to see some pretty cool stuff.

Shoe repair, called Shoes & Feet

 Who says minivans are boring?

 Mt Hekla

 (Posted on a bar window) Chuck Norris was here

 Christmas in Reykjavik

Salvation Army

We stopped in a coffee shop to warm up and dry off. There, we were able to decipher what was left of our map.
With coffee in our bellies, and directions in our heads, we made it to the Icelandic Phallological Museum.

Yes Julie, a whale penis is longer than your arm.
At first it was silly and fun, but then it started to feel morbid and gross. So, we left.

Our next stop was the  871+/-2 museum.

It is a site that was found during excavation for a new hotel. Containing the oldest known wall in all of Iceland.

A very in-tact foundation for a large longhouse. And, many artifacts. We spent a very long time there.

Now we were ready to eat. This seemed like the perfect time to try hakarl, the famous Icelandic delicacy of fermented shark.
We ordered a platter with; three kinds of herring, dried haddock, and hakarl, plus a glass of  schnapps.

 The dried haddock was actually pretty good, not fishy at all. Quite a bit like jerky.

 Hakarl is so pungent that it is delivered in a sealed jar, for the comfort of the other patrons.

This was my second piece of hakarl.

 After surviving the appetizer, we had our main course. A lot less adventurous this time.

 Jules enjoyed a smoked salmon plate.

I had the lobster soup, it was full of meat, and that is butter floating on top.

We were both too beat to walk home, so we took the bus. Jules went right to sleep. I took a walk, and worked on the pictures and blog. 

Tomorrow, we go to the Blue Lagoon.

 

Arctic Expedition 1 continued

We woke from our nap, hungry. So, we got dressed and walked to Lauga-'as, a restaurant serving local cuisine.
I had the Wild Game Feast. Not for the faint of heart!

What you see here is seal steaks, with puffin breast bacon, apple sour cream salad, and candied potatoes, on a bed of green beans, with blood sauce. Mmm. Not bad, but seal meat is very rich. It has the texture of beef, but the taste changes as you chew. It starts as beef flavor, then starts to taste like liver, then as you swallow, it leaves a light fishy taste on your tongue. It reminded me of sea turtle.
Julie played it safe with the bluepoint, and loved it.

  We had a great time watching the families enjoying time together.
After we paid, the waitress asked if I had tried whale. Apparently, they eat a lot of that here. I haven't, yet...