the lovely icelandic summer

There WAS horse for breakfast! (Though without the hot dog condiments.) I tried a piece. It was basically like roast beef, but a tad stringy.

It was a cold, miserable, rainy day, so it's just as well it was a long travel day. The roads are so bad and the bus so bumpy that my Fitbit keeps thinking I'm walking. I logged roughly 4k fictitious steps before we stopped at a gas station for lunch. (Fancy gas station. They have pizza, lamb shanks, hot sandwiches, a frozen yogurt bar... Wish I could send R some lamb.)

The day turned into a driving tour. "People are enjoying the summer," said F as we drove through a village (nobody was outside due to the rain). "The children all have Internet."

We stopped mid-afternoon to see (of course) a waterfall (we love waterfall). The tops of the mountains vanished into the mist. It was otherworldly. At times like these, one remembers F's advice: if you ever see an elf, and you realize it's an elf, pretend you didn't. They can be benevolent or terrible on a whim, and it's safest to steer clear of their affairs.

We also visited another black sand beach. It was relentlessly gray and blustery. "This is the lovely Icelandic summer, which we cherish," said F, who stayed on the bus. After we'd seen our fill (and gotten thoroughly wet) and returned to the bus, we got a great view of a destination wedding party posing for pics. They looked so cold lmao, the bridesmaids had summer dresses and sandals. Immediately after the photos were done they all hurriedly put their coats and sweaters back on. The bride had a thick woven wool sweater to put over her bridal dress, the kind that goes for $250 in the tourist shops. I figure if you’re the bride then it’s a good time to splurge.

Tonight we're staying at a seaside hotel on the far west of the island. There's a super cozy reading nook in the lobby with a seaside view (fake fireplace, but real firewood stacked up on both sides; commitment to the bit I guess), and the hotel restaurant also looks out upon the sea. Also, after I labeled our Akureyri hotel's physical key as a charming retro quirk, the next three hotels also had physical keys. oops? or maybe it's a charming retro quirk they all share?