Day 8: Salt Eldhus Cooking Class

Day 8: Our multiday tour of Iceland was over after breakfast this morning. Lyn and I stayed in Reykjavik for 2 1/2 days more. Today, we took a cooking class at the Salt Eldhus, where we would learn to cook some Icelandic dishes. Photo of our instructor, Elie.

Salt Eldhus Cooking Class

One of dishes we learned to cook was arctic char with fennel–orange salad. Photo of our creation. Also on the menu was cod, celeriac, and pearl onion with browned butter and barley.

Salt Eldhus Cooking Class

We also made a marriage bliss cake. There were only three of us in the class plus one observer. The class was for two hours but we all talked for more than two hours after the class, so we didn’t get back to our hotel until after 3:30 p.m. A day well spent.

I have put my photos of the Salt Edhus Cooking Class on a slideshow: Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/salt–eldhuis–cooking–class–reykjavik/

(Slide Shows, Iceland, “Salt Eldhus Cooking Class, Reykjavik”).

Northern Lights Excursion

I signed up for a Northern Lights trip tonight, which picked me up at my hotel at 8:30 p.m. I was determined to get at least one photo of the lights, not knowing that I had already had two of them that showed a bit of them. This was not the close and personal experience of being with my small multiday tour group. Eight, 60–person buses converged on a site out in the countryside––that makes 480 people. The lights were again just white––no colors to the naked eye. And it was freezing cold and very windy outside. I didn’t realize how cold it had become as we were indoors all day and then taking taxis back and forth. It was the coldest air that I have ever experienced and I grew up in the cold winter U.S. East Coast.

Then we drove to another spot to view the lights––one that had a bathroom. You can imagine 480 people and one bathroom! No better viewing at this site but it was a bit warmer here. I wasn’t dropped off to my hotel until after 1 a.m. I heard from one person that they took this tour and got back at 3 a.m. There is also a boat tour to see the Northern Lights, which I was told got people back by 11 p.m. Anyway, coming back to my hotel, I saw the Reykjavik night light in full swing––it was a Friday night.

Photo: I didn’t get a photo of the Northern Lights but one of people looking at them.

Day 9: Golden Circle Food Tour

Day 9: Today, Lyn and I took the Golden Circle Gourmet Food Tasting Tour. It stopped off at three of the sights of the Golden Circle: the Thingvellir National Park, the Geysir geothermal fields, and the Gullfoss waterfall. We had been to all three on our multiday tour, which was a good thing as it was freezing cold outside with a very strong, very cold wind, so we weren’t going to miss anything if we didn’t stay outside long to re–view these sights. This was October 24. We were told that winter in Iceland starts On October 24 and ends on April 24. It was right on time this year.

Photo: The Thingvellir National Park.

Golden Circle Food Tour

The food tour was great fun and I highly recommend it. We stopped at three “food” places. The first was at the Efstidalur Farm House Restaurant where we had a four–course delicious meal. The photo is of the entree: beef, lamb, and fish.

Two of our tourmates, a couple, were, very coincidentally, at the Reynisfjara beach, where we had our unfortunate experience with the Atlantic Ocean, at the same time as our tour group. The male of the couple was also knocked flat by the sneaker wave, which destroyed his camera. A woman on his tour was also flattened. His take of the experience: “Don’t turn your back on the ocean.” He, like Lyn, didn’t see the wave coming in.

Golden Circle Food Tour

The Efstidalur Farm House Restaurant had a glass window between the tables and the cowshed, so we and the cows could watch each other eat. I hope that the beef we ate was not one of their friends.

Golden Circle Food Tour

The second food stop we made was at Fridheima geothermal tomato farm that we had visited on our multiday tour, but this time we were offered canapes and both green and red tomato juice.

Golden Circle Food Tour

Our last stop was at a farm with turf houses. We had passed so many farms driving around Iceland on our multiday tour that it was very interesting to be able to visit this one.

Golden Circle Food Tour

We went inside this turf house, the turf put on the sides of this house to block the wind and to keep in the heat. It was very windy outside but not inside. We had our warm winter clothes on, so we couldn’t tell how warm it was inside.

Golden Circle Food Tour

At the farm, we were served a “Smack Pack” (not misspelled) of Icelandic Christmas–time snacks.

I have put my photos of the Golden Circle Gourmet Food Tasting Tour on a slideshow. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/golden–circle–gourmet–food–tasting–tour/

(Slide Shows, Iceland, “Golden Circle Gourmet Food Tasting Tour”).

Day 10: Reykjavik

Day 10: We had a half–day in Reykjavik before heading to the airport to fly home. Lyn and I were going to walk to the harbor area to view the kiosks on the pier. We didn’t make it very far as it was so cold and so windy that we decided it really wasn’t a good idea. We saw people wearing ski masks.

We, instead, decided to go into some of the stores near the hotel where we could escape the freezing wind, but they were not open yet. I did get a few photos. Here, the shopping street near our hotel.

Reykjavik

The oldest timber house in Reykjavik, 1764, which was the residence of Bishop Geir Vidalin. You can tour it.

Reykjavik

A Viking troll in front of a market. I am sure that it followed me from Scandinavia, where I was earlier in the year.

Reykjavik

Lyn and I waited until it got a bit warmer outside and walked from our hotel, pass the harbor, to the Saga Museum.

Saga Museum

The Saga Museum re–creates moments in Icelandic history with displays. This Viking warrior statue is in front of the museum.

Saga Museum

This display is of Melkorka Myrkjartansdottir, who became a slave in Norway at age 15 and was later purchased and taken to Iceland. It turned out that she was the daughter of an Irish king. Some of the first Iceland people were of Celtic origin. Some of the displays were violent in nature.

I have put my photos of the Saga Museum on a slideshow. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/saga–museum–reykjavik/

(Slide Shows, Iceland, “Saga Museum, Reykjavik”).

Going Home

Before catching our bus to the airport, I had one of the famous Icelandic hot dogs with served with fried onions. I ate in the cold at a table pretending I was having a picnic. I liked the onions but the hot dog was boiled and I didn’t think it was very good.

Our flights (Lyn and I were on the same Icelandic flight to Seattle) didn’t depart until 4:55 p.m., but we were advised to get to the airport early in case there was a work slowdown. There wasn’t (we were warned about this when flying to Iceland as well). Lyn booked comfort class, which included a lounge and food, so she went off to be comforted. I stayed in the main terminal and we met up later. Our flight was called––handicapped let on first and then a free–for–all to get to the door, where everyone was stopped because our plane had electrical problems. After eventually getting on the plane, we had to wait for the plane to be de–iced.

Days 10-11: From Snow to Warm Sunshine

Days 10–11: We arrived late in Seattle and that is when I found out that my Virgin America flight that Expedia booked me on had a time change. It left 10 minutes after my Icelandic flight would have arrived if it was on time, which still would have been impossible to catch. Lyn was booked on an Alaska Airlines plane, which she was able to catch.

Expedia said they tried to contact me about the time change and told Virgin America they couldn’t reach me (the time change was in April, 6 months before the flight). Virgin America said Expedia doesn’t give them passenger data to contact flyers, so they didn’t tell me of the time change. (Of course, I should have checked any flight time changes on my own.) The end result was that I had to stay overnight in Seattle at my own expense and fly out the next day. When I reached Los Angeles, finally, I did thank the sun god for the warm Southern California sunshine.

Photo: snow on the way to the Reykjavik airport.