Reykjavik, Iceland
Let’s start with the good news: My bucket list got a big check mark today after our visit to the Blue Lagoon in Reykjavik, Iceland.
I have been wanting to visit the Blue Lagoon - a world famous geothermal spa - for years and years. Our stopover in Iceland gave us the perfect opportunity to head to the Blue Lagoon straight from the airport.
The high silica content in the water gives it a milky blue hue. The spa makes mud masks from the white, mineral rich mud underneath the water.
Our tickets entitled us to one mud mask each. Josh didn’t want to use his bcause of his beard, so I happily (read: greedily) used two. This was apparently too much for my skin to handle and, now, several hours later, my face is red and blotchy.
It was worth it though. Even with the terrible weather (rainy, cold and foggy), the blue lagoon was everything I had hoped it would be. I was primarily concerned about the crowds making it hard to enjoy, but I think the bad weather kept most people away. It was quiet, peaceful and so fun to wade around in the blue, blue water.
After spending several hours in the blue lagoon, we took a bus back to the city center to checked into our hotel.
Reykjavik is the largest city in Iceland, but it only has a population of about the size of High Point, NC. So, its quaint. Most of the buildings here are boxy and built with stone. I think it is this overarching design theme of. . .square that makes the Hallgrimskirkja (The Church of Hallgrimur) so beautiful.
It is a small church compared to many we’ve seen, but I think it may be one of the most visually stunning. It is the tallest building in Iceland and in front of it stands a huge Leif Erikson statue given to Iceland by the US in 1930. Leif Erikson is one of Josh’s Favorite historical figure, so we had to stop for a photo opp.
Because we only have one overnight in Iceland, we had to be pretty selective about our activity choices. Unfortunately, the Culture House Museum that we were most excited to see had its main exhibit closed for renovations - so we didnt go.
Instead we visited the Icelandic Phallological Museum. Yes, we went to a penis museum.
Its not what you’re thinking - nothing pornographic. It was mostly specimens of animal penises in jars of formaldehyde - including a sperm whale penis that was as tall as me.
The museum was small and pretty overpriced, in my opinion, but there were lots of people there. And, it is definitely not something you could see just anywhere.
After viewing the ding dong displays, we walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was called Icelandic Street Food and featured a small menu of all you can eat soups, stews and a fish and potato mash.
The guy running the restaurant was super nice and even gave us his vouchers for two free drinks at at nearby pub owned by his friend because he felt bad for us.
Why did he feel bad for us, you ask? Well, here is the bad news of the day. One of our bags was taken (presumably by mistake) from the airport after our flight from JFK to Reykjavik.
This is was our super fancy suitcase with a built in battery charger and a tracking system - which last tracked our bag at the bus stop in front of the airport in Reykjavik.
An identical bag was left behind on the conveyer belt. We notified the airline and they called the person whose bag was left to see if they had the wrong bag, but as of close of business today, we’ve heard nothing.
Tomorrow, we leave Iceland for Helsinki, Finland where we will immediately board a cruise ferry for a two-day trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. On the ferry, we won’t have internet or cell service. So, this whole ordeal of losing luggage has really complicated our trip.
Inside the missing suitcase is all of our electronic chargers, most of Josh’s clothes, his coat and all of both our underwear and our socks (except for one extra pair of each in our swim bags we set aside for Blue Lagoon).
So, it looks like we are going to have to work a shopping trip into our already hectic schedule tomorrow. I have my doubts that we will ever see this bag again.
Tomorrow, we are Russia bound!
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