Iceland, Day 5: Part 1

Mood Music! Justin put this on a mixtape when we first started dating, and that’s how we discovered we both loved Iceland:

Today was so full of stuff that I’m splitting it in two.

We started the day at Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that blew up in 2010 and stranded a million people in Europe, including my ex-roomate Dan. This volcano is literally someone’s backyard.

The people who live there did what anyone would do in that situation: they built a shack across the street and made a museum! There were tons of crafts made out of volcanic ash and lava, like candle holders and soap. This is where I got my second-favorite souvenir (it means “I don’t speak Icelandic”):

This is also where we encountered our stalker for the first time. At first I was like, “Oh, that is the cutest van!!” but then we saw it everywhere and it was like a Japanese horror movie where the adorable child is actually a demon who swallows people whole:

Up next, Skógar Folk Museum and the Communications Museum! We made friends:

Skógar Folk Museum is full of amazing Icelandic art:

There was also a taxidermy room, where we discovered us in a past life (the mouse in the background is Chauncey).

The Communications Museum was incredible: old rescue vehicles, exhibition gear, and literally every piece of technology that has landed on that island. My AV Club President husband was in heaven:

Next: TURF HOUSES! TURF HOUSES! HOBBIT HOUSES! OMG!

Found my birth parents.

Sure, these homes are covered in dirt, but they are fancy as hell on the inside!

These homes were exactly my size. We came across one room with cots lining the walls. Your arm span is equal to your height, so here is proof that I fit in hobbit beds:

Look at me. Just tickled to death.

Justin was waaay out of his element, but my people and I did not run him out of town with pitchforks:

There were at least 10 structures, and I fawned over every inch of them.

There were even a couple two-story turf homes! Justin is literally 2/3 down the staircase here:

On the same property was Skógafoss! Pictures never do these things justice, but just look at this son of a bitch:

That guy in the red jacket on the bottom left? That is our Happy Camper Stalker, in the second of many sightings. At one point, only the three of us were left and when he walked past Justin, I thought my husband was going to get stabbed. Did I mention he looked exactly like Jen’s uncle Bob?

He stood in the same pose for a long time. No, like: a loooooong time.

Anyway, this is the day we really got to experience all the green magic moss. Justin took about 6,000 pictures of it. I felt like I was in New Zealand or on another planet.

Justin bought us rain jackets and rain pants for the trip, so we could go right up to the bottom of the waterfalls and stuff. Plus, it was a little drizzly all day, but with our outfits it didn’t matter.