Molds, Museums, and Much More- All At Your Local Iceland!
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| playing dress up at the Saga Center in Reykjavik |
We got up and after packing the tent, we headed for the next Saga museum. This one is in Reykjavík. We came in just as their geyser- fountain went off. Then we got our listening guides and went in to the exhibit. It was very well done; it consisted of fake people in settings and signs describing the scene they were in. Most of the last scenes included killing people; the earlier ones included the founding of Iceland and Vinland. A couple were about the early government, the Law Rock and the Law Speaker. For more info on that, besides what I said in another post, go to my parents’ blog, no doubt they described Icelandic government better than I did. Later, the scenes were increasingly violent, a six-year old boy that murdered another, a very bloody soldier about to be stabbed, a bishop with his head on the execution block, and a nun accused of selling her soul to the devil being burned at the stake were a few. Then we watched a video about how they made the museum. To make the people, they made plaster molds of real people posing. The children did not look to happy about this. However, the end result was spectacular. The people were incredibly well done.
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| me, Leif, and the the Hallgrimskirkja |
Next, we headed for the National Museum. There was a dotted shape on the floor that I didn’t understand. After looking at all of the tools, keys, and other interesting objects used by the ancient Icelanders, it told us that the dotted shape on the floor was actually the size of a boat that the ancient people would have had. The exhibit was very interesting; with vestments and goblets and the black plague information. There were phones you could pick up and listen to different stories, and many things about the church. There were wood panels from churches and videos, and information about different burial goods. There were 4 skeletons, a horse, a man, a woman, and a child. After beating my dad at chess (haha!) We went upstairs. We admired the sewing and the various artifacts of life in Iceland from the 17th century until now. All of the upstairs was lovely too. At the end was a table full of some turn of the century things- ration books, toys, shoes, and a hand puppet that was once part of a comedy act with a ventriloquist.
Next we went to the “torpedo” church, so named by me because it looks like a torpedo. Its real name is Hallargrimskirkja. Outside was a statue of Leif Eriksson, the explorer. This statue was from the US to Iceland. How nice of us. Inside was a very large organ and a pretty church overall. We left and spent a couple hours perusing the shops and wistfully looking at wonderful things that were much too expensive. Then we drove back to our hostel for a night.
Excitement and Additions to the Whale Chart
So we got up and left our hostel to go on our second whale watch. Blue whales are almost non-existent in this part of Iceland, but minke whales are common. We boarded our boat with a bunch of other people and started looking. Everyone on the boat missed the first whale that our guide announced was a minke whale. I was very annoyed at missing it. We continued going until somebody spotted a whale. It kept coming up, and after a short time, our guide told us it was a fin whale, the second largest whale. It is also the fastest. Fin whales are not very frequent visitors to the waters near Reykjavik. We tracked the fin whale for a while. Fin whales, unlike the photogenic humpbacks, do not show their tails before a dive and when they surface it’s not for very long. After a awhile the fin seemed to be heading out to sea so our guide said that we were now going to the place she had seen the minke whale. It had been an hour and a half and I was doubtful the whale would still be there. But after a few short minutes, we saw a whale! Minkes are not very big and they don’t show their flukes either so you have to look quick to see them. It came up several times close to our boat. We watched it for a long time before our guide said it was time to head back and that we were going to Puffin Island. Truthfully, there were many puffins flying around and sitting in the water. After about 5 minutes, we headed for shore. We stopped at a place called Café Haiti for lunch where I had an awesome chocolate cake and hot chocolate. Then we just walked around for a bit before going to our hostel again.
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| mmm... rejuvenating |
Our last day in Reykjavik was a busy day, comparing felted elves and mittens. (No, three little kittens hadn’t lost them previously). And at the end of the day, we decided to relax at the Blue Lagoon. First we saw the array of skin products. After a short shower, we went in. It was a large Myvatn Nature Baths, except there were bridges going over the water and a massage waterfall. They also had a steam bath and a mysterious hobbit-hole. On the platform, there was a drink bar that you could order drinks from while in the water. After steeping for a while, we noticed the giant tubs of face cream. After applying it and washing it off, I got Gatorade, and once I finished that, we went exploring. The hobbit-hole was a sauna, where I was dried off instantly and nearly suffocated by heat, and massage waterfall was very soothing. We stayed for hours, leaving only when the lagoon was closing. It was a wonderful day.
More pictures from Reykjavik here:
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