Water, cough cough, water... Oh my head... Hey toilet, quit moving so I can pee.
Yes, we managed to catch a hangover. Not Sally though, she was chipper as all get out.
It was a really pretty morning, and getting some water and coffee in me, I felt human again.
We ran into our Swedes on the street, they were doing some shopping before their trip to the Blue Lagoon.
The red cross store.
Once again proving, people are people in Iceland. No judgement, be who you are. Without any PC BS!
I may blow this up, and put it on my bathroom door, too cool.
That's right, the Man, Myth, and Legend has a bar named after him in Reykjavik.
Little known scientific fact about giraffes.
A fur and leather shop.
Not a fur and leather shop.
Sweet idea
We made it. If you only get to one museum in Iceland, make it this one.
This was our second time here, both times we spent hours on the interactive displays. So much to learn. Not just about the site, which is the oldest surviving structure in Iceland, but also about the people. For instance, almost all native Icelanders are from Irish/Scottish women and Norwegian men. Another surprise, a rare gene found in some Icelanders is shared with native Americans. This firmly places them in contact with North America around 1000 AD.
The sign is related to a specific date proving the existence of the wall around the settlement during a volcanic eruption in 871 AD +or- 2 years.
I'll let the pictures tell you more.
The arrows point to the ash layer on the wall that was laid down during the eruption.
This table is one of the interactive displays in the museum. You wave your hand over the area you want to know about. An overview of the subject lights up. If you want more info, most will continue for several chapters, going more in depth as you follow.
We were hungry again, after our time in the museum. We messaged Ashley, and she came to meet us for lunch. We found a place that claimed to have the best soup in Reykjavik. Svarta Kaffid (Black Coffee) is it's name. Nice name, but their logo gave us pause. And when we posted it on FB, it caused a bit of controversy.
We had the same, "Whoa, you can't do that!" reaction, at first.
Then we remembered, this is a very color blind society. People are just people, we all look different, like different things, and are generally too busy making a good life to get bent about stuff that isn't "PC" in other countries.
To the Icelandic people, who come in every flavor, this is no more or less offensive than Ronald McDonald is to us. And yes, we asked.
Julie discussed the concept with an immigrant from Kenya. Mmba shared similar thoughts about the lack of racism in Iceland. Mmba also invited her to "come back to his place". She declined, telling him she was married. He gave it one more try with, "But your family gets to have you all the time". She told him to stop, and he did.
I find it nice for Julie to know she is just as alluring to other men as she is to me.
Now, back to lunch. The soup, and the bread bowl were out of this world.
We enjoyed every bite.
Awesome sign.
We wandered around a bit more, then went back to relax and do some blogging before dinner.
I had just finished III and was in the middle of IV, when Blogger glitched out, and I lost everything I had written since arriving. Julie thought I had just misplaced the files, as I have done in the past. Ashley tried to help, but they were gone.
Somehow Julie got the idea that it wasn't funny.
Even with the smartest woman I know on the case, it was no use.
Thank you for trying Julie. I'll start fresh when we get home.
Soon it was time to get ready for dinner. Tonight is Carin's birthday. We will celebrate at Kolabrautin Restaurant, in the Harpa.
Harpa at night.
We hit the bar first, (weird) starting the night with champagne, and a little impromptu engineering.
My glasses broke on the walk over. With some gaffer's tape, and a swizzle stick, Ashley and Carin fixed them so well, they lasted all the way home.
Happy birthday Carin! I know, if we'd act as nice as we look...
Good luck
with that.
There were these really cool mirrors on the ceiling, Josefine managed this great shot.
The Olanderssons surprised me with a nice gift of Swedish beer, and a cool hand-made bowl.
The beer is Klackabacken, it's made in Kristianstad Sweden, and gets more fun to say, the more of them you drink. Try it, "Klackabacken" now say it fast. Fun, huh?
It's a fairly new name in brewing, only around 400 years. They'll get it right sooner or later.
With our magical dinner finished, and the bill paid, (nearly broke 100,000 ISK this time, woohoo!) it was time to call it a night.
Not before we fooled around on the really cool loungey staircase though. They put seating areas along the staircase! Must be for fat Americans to rest, on their way up.
Good times, and Sally keeps up with the pack again.
We forced back tears, as we said goodbye to Oskar and Carin. They go home in the morning. Thank you for sharing this special time with us. We love you.
Now get back in that eyehole tear!
We forced back tears, as we said goodbye to Oskar and Carin. They go home in the morning. Thank you for sharing this special time with us. We love you.
Now get back in that eyehole tear!
