7.29.2011

Ice, Ice, Baby! (Part 4)

On day five of Iceland I woke up bright and early so excited to go back to Jökulsárlón, which is the largest glacial lagoon in Iceland. We had briefly seen the night before, but had to go back in order to get a up close tour of the Icebergs in the area. We had been watching a lot of Whale Wars before we had left, and I think that made us even more excited to see real icebergs with our own eyes.




Call me crazy, but they were AMAZING. Fit for an Ice Queen. The color was the most beautiful blue, and like most things in Iceland, they were as dreamy and whimsical as can be. Which I love.



We had the cutest Icelandic tour guide who gave us some Iceberg knowledge. One thing I found interesting was that people like to use iceberg ice in their alcoholic drinks, because it melts slower than normal ice. She also fished an iceberg chunk out of the water, took out a pick-axe, and chopped off a little piece of ice for us to eat. So fun, and I don't know if it was my brain playing tricks on me, but that ice was the best ice I have ever tasted. Promise. Did I mention this lagoon that we went to was the backdrop for one of the James Bond movies, Tomb Raider, and Batman Begins? Let's just pretend this is awesome even though I definitely haven't seen one of those movies...




After our car/boat contraption drove out of the lagoon, we got into our car and drove to Höfn, a little fishing community. Along the way, we were able to spot Vatnajökull, which is the largest icecap in Europe (by volume). So big it covers 8% of the country. Now, how wild is that?!

We saw some kind looking horses along our journey and Dustin begged me to let us stop, so I did. Then he got out of the car and ran to the ponies with a bag of bread in hand. I told him he wasn't very smart for trying to feed the bread to those horses. Horses don't eat bread, right? Lo and behold, they ate it. The Icelandic horses are so rad and playful. It's like a dog personality in a horses body. I want one now. Dustin fell in love with these horses (especially the ones he dubbed "gorgeous blondes") and I was dying over how much pure joy he was getting from feeding these horses bread. They loved him.


weird right?


A loaf of bread later, we made it to Höfn, stopped at a local resturant and had some lobster soup and pasta, what they are famous for. It was incredible. Fun Icelandic fact: after the meal Dustin asked the waiter if it is custom to give tips for service, and the waiter laughed at us. Their wage is included in the meal. People don't tip.


From Höfn to Egilsstaðir is where the scenery got really strange, it literally looked like we were on the moon, with nobody in sight. I can't explain it other than that and pictures don't do it justice. I litterally got scared there for a minute. The landscape was eery. But the closer we got to Egilsstaðir the less eery and more foresty it got. We saw reindeer here. This is also where Dustin wanted to pet more horses and accidentally got electrocuted by the fence. Don't worry, I caught that on video, if you're lucky you will get to see it soon enough.

Here are the pictures from that drive that was only a few hours. The landscape seems to change every few minutes:




(this is where it got looking moon-ish)



Dustin and the horses round two:



That night got COLD, and it actually started snowing. Dustin, being the good husband he is, tried hard to find us a place to stay. But every hostel/guesthouse/hotel we went to had a phone number to call in order to reach the owner. We were without a phone, and finally gave into the fact that sleeping in a tent in the snow would become a reality that night. I think by far, this was the hardest night to camp in. Looking back, pretty hilarious, but at the time, kind of daunting. Dustin pitched the tent in snow, and begged me to sneak into a nearby abandoned building that was so warm and sleep there with him (don't worry, I wouldn't give in). It was that bad. In the end, we survived. Here is a picture to demonstrate how Dustin felt about sleeping in the tent that night:

13 comments:

  1. You guys know how to travel. I want to go on your next trip with you! Or at least to England one of these days...

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  2. soo pretty! i've loved all the posts of your travels that you've done lately :) What made you choose Iceland?

    Libby on the Label

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  3. just discovered your blog and wanted to say I've enjoyed reading your posts about your adventure through med school because my husband just started his 4th year of med school! Hope his time through residency goes great!! These pictures are beautiful!

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  4. what! i wanna eat this ice. and i also want your wardrobe + your husband's. thanks!

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  5. Cutest horses I've ever seen in my life! That dreamy aqua blue of the glaciers is incredible! Lucky, lucky girl. What a trip!

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  6. I just get more and more obsessed with iceland every time I look at your blog. It's official. I'm going... and I'm taking Jenni Austria Germany.

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  7. Hello Jenna! I am Giulia a new follower from Another Diamond Day! You also went to Iceland this summer! Isn't it a gorgeous land? I can't wait to be back!
    Take care :-)

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  8. hi there. your photos are stunning. makes me want to go to iceland, too. please share, where did you get your gray coat?

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  9. Thanks everyone for the sweet comments!

    Dear Anonymous, the coat was borrowed from one of my girlfriends. I believe she got it at Zara. Isn't it darling?

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  10. Where did you get your coat? It's beautiful!!!

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  11. Thanks Anonymous, but I can't take credit for the cute coat, I happen to have the most generous friends ever. One of my friends let me borrow it for Iceland. I believe it is from Zara.

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