Iceland trip, 24 March 2016

It's our last full day in Iceland, and we're going to pair up and come back together in different groups throughout the day. Kate, Becca, Joe and I go to a place that's been on my list from the early planning stages, thanks to Maggie's map. It's the Hólavallagarður Cemetery, which means "garden on a hill." It's also called the oldest and largest museum in Reykjavik. It's heavily wooded, a rarity in Iceland, and has species of moss found nowhere else on the island. I take too many photos of graves, and a short walk later I take too many photos of ducks.

Gazebo in Hólavallagarður.

Swans and ducks on Tjörnin pond.

Kate and I walk downtown and I vent about nothing and everything. This vacation has been really good, but also trying and frustrating by turns. It hasn't been restful. But it has been beautiful. And thoughtful. And good challenging. Kate and I are going to meet Magnus of Elfschool so Kate can advise him on design for the elf museum he wants to build. But first we stop at Lemon and get the most delicious smoothies made from Skyr yogurt. It's cold out, threatening to snow, and my smoothie tastes like pineapple. My next trip should be somewhere tropical, I think.

Magnus has cut his hair, but is as larger-than-life as I remember. He greets several people in the cafe, and I can't tell if he knows them or just says hello to most people. He snaps his fingers to get the attention of a waiter, and it makes me uncomfortable. He asks us how we are, and when we ask him how he is he laughs and says "Horny!" It's one of the few sexual remarks he makes, so I count the meeting as a win. He asks a lot of questions about what we expect in a museum, what we prefer to see, our thoughts on wax figures and recorded stories. We have to leave after 30 minutes, but he could have talked for hours. When we leave, Kate tells me she thinks I should also put on my resume that I helped consult on the museum, too.

Murals in downtown Reykjavik.

More ghost sculptures. 

Mural by one of Kate's favorite Reykjavik artists, Sara Riel.

Spot the painted mouse.

 We're meeting the group at a vegetarian restaurant for lunch. Nothing on the menu looks good to me. When Renee and Molly arrive, they say they've already eaten, and I find I'm irrationally frustrated that we met here if half of the group wasn't going to eat here. I'm cranky and ready to be home, so I keep my mouth shut because I recognize how out of proportion my feelings are. Renee, Molly, Kate and I walk around while Joe and Becca break off to do their own thing. I want a pretzel from a specific bakery, but when we get inside they're all out and I'm more frustrated. We get a table, and I end up happily eating a delicious sandwich instead. I want dessert, and have the waitress walk over to the bakery case with me so I can point at the thing I want. It's the one in the back there, like a dense chocolate cake with frosting. She looks at it and then says "You mean a brownie?" I feel silly- I didn't realize that word translated.

It starts to snow- fat, wet flakes. The wind blows it sideways into us as we walk toward the Harpa. I'm glad this weather waited until we're almost done with our vacation because it would have been a really sad start to the trip. We go to meet Joe and Becca at a bakery for bread and cheese but they're sold out when we get there.

Back at the apartment, we make our own dinners. I bought a small serving of the infamous hákarl, a particularly disgusting fermented shark meat. I told everyone back home that I'd try it while I was in Iceland and I don't want to wimp out. We have dried cod to try first. I didn't think it was bad when I had it at the flea market, but Becca spits it out. The hákarl is so pungent it comes in a sealed container inside a sealed bag. It smells fishy but worse. We each take a small piece and try it as a group. The taste and texture don't belong together; it's like a soft gummy bear made out of rotted tuna jello. It's not good, but it's not the worst thing ever, which makes me think I just didn't take a big enough piece to get the full effect. I want to go home to Jason. And also hamburgers.

Dried cod with hákarl under the cup.