Outdoor Pools in Iceland in February?

Greater Reykjavik has three outdoor swimming pools that remain open throughout the year. We went to one during the Festival of Lights (Feb. 4). The Laugardalslaug swimming pool that we went to at night had 2 outdoor pools, 8 hot tubs and 1 cold tub. Great for star gazing while enjoying these thermal pools. Maybe not so great for the lifeguards who were wearing parkas!

At the end of our Golden Circle Drive on Sunday (Feb. 5) we stopped in Fludir, a small village home to the Secret Lagoon. This hot spring was hot! Due to the cool temperatures at night, one could barley see across the pool. It is not hard to spot a hot spring bath in Iceland. Look for steam rising. A great way to end the day, but too hot to stay in too long.

When we left, we drove through a fantastic Manitoba style blizzard. I did not think it was fantastic at the time. As we drove back to Reykjavik we could hardly see with toonie size snowflakes pelting down. Our "Duster" SUV had every emergency light coming on and the dim lights were failing.

The Golden Circle

Strokkur - the largest geyser on the Golden Circle drive. Bubbly boiling pots release clouds of steam that can be seen for miles while driving through this area.

Pingvellir National Park

Icelanders regard this part of the country as sacred since it is where formal government was established in 930CE. Court of law was held here.

Pingvellir is part of a belt of volcanic activity which is slowly splitting the country of Iceland in half. One area sees movement of 3mm/year.

Gullfoss Falls - The Golden Waterfall

One this day drive we passed many herds of beautiful Icelandic horses. They pose as if they are used to being photographer's models. After about my third stop to photograph these pretty ponies, the boys would not allow any more stops for horses.

A Rugged Beauty

We landed in Iceland at 6:25 in the morning. The landscape was hard to see in the darkness as we drove highway 41 to Reykjavik. Light snow made this treeless, barren landscape seem peaceful and serene. As we entered Reykjavik and orientated ourselves to the city, driving along the Atlantic seaboard was beautiful as the sun started to rise near 10:00. This city and its countryside is beautiful, cozy and welcoming.

This landscape could be described as barren and cold, but oddly from this description, when one looks carefully during daylight hours the hidden variations of blue, brown and green can be appreciated. Perhaps the camera did not pick this up.

Festival of Lights

What a great time to be in Reykjavik! The Festival of Lights has been running all weekend. Nate, Luke and I ran the 5km fun run that took us not only through the streets of Reykjavik, but through the Hallgrimskirkja Church, the lobby of City Hall, and a warehouse. A truly fun run with participants wearing lights to celebrate the aurora. Many buildings were illuminated to add festivity.

Hallgrimskirkja Church. This church took over 41 years to build and was inspired by Icelandic nature. It is a landmark that can be seen throughout the city.

Our street.

A Familiar Name

I saw the real Vogar. The city-scape on the sign post is a little misleading.

Some words I never would have thought to use together.

On the edge of town.

Ocean front views.

The word vogar is a common ending added to village and town names. It means bay. This - the real Vogar depended on fishing as well as farming.

First Stop - Toronto

A chilly stop over in Toronto. Hockey Hall of Fame was a must see. Exciting to see Wade Allison's jersey!

Farewell

When Nate was two years old we told Luke and Levi that someday we would take them to Africa. Someday was too ambiguous, so we made a more definite statement by saying that when Nate turned ten, we would take them to Africa. Well, Nate turned ten on January 29 and four days later we headed off not only to see Africa, but the world!

February 2, 2017 after the last of the farewell parties and well wishes, Abbie drove us to the airport and saw us off.