Dagbók Hrefnu og Finns

Kronborg Castle @ Helsingør / Lazy Shopping

2026-09-26Denmark Standard

[Photos taken 11 – 12 August 2025, posted online 26 September 2026? Life is getting more routine-ish again, phew!]

After assembling the sleeper-sofa, we decided to play tourists, and visit the nearby (30-ish minute drive) Kronborg Castle! Thankfully, it wasn’t my first rodeo with this particular type.

At the marina in Helsingør, we were pleasantly surprised by the enormous food hall, which surprised us all. The castle (of Hamlet fame) was big, impressive, and well maintained. There were a lot of sore feet by the end of the day! The “in-laws” were back in Lyngby by then and we had dinner together.

The following day was a slow shopping day in downtown Lyngby, before I drove to the airport in the evening to pick up Finnur and Bjarki, who had then finished his summer semester finals (and passed!).

Monday 11 August 2025

At the Marina information sign in Helsingør.

DTU Campus / Lyngby / Furniture Shopping

2025-08-09Denmark Standard

[Photos taken 09 – 10 August 2025, posted online 26 September 2026. Fall colors are here, but so are the storms, so few are left!!]

We spent a day biking around the DTU campus and surrounding town called King’s Lyngby. The following day we managed to acquire a sleeper-sofa, shelves, and some other odds and ends.

Saturday 09 August 2025

The owner of our AirBnb house told us we were free to use the bikes by the house. We happily did!

Hrefna & Emma -> Denmark via Gothenburg

2025-08-07Denmark, Sweden Standard

[Photos taken 07 – 08 August 2025, posted online 10 September 2026, from a cafe in Sweden!]

After a couple of days visiting family, Emma and I embarked on a train-journey from Stockholm to Copenhagen. I was feeling romantic, absolutely not in the mood for flying, and wanted to visit Gothenburg on the way. We thus took a late-afternoon high-speed train there, stayed in a train-station hotel overnight, spent a few hours wandering about Gothenburg the following day, before taking a second speedy-ish train to Copenhagen airport. There we picked up a rental car, and drove northwards.

Thursday 07 August 2025

Emma at the train station, heading downtown around tea-time.

Anna -> Denmark / Hrefna & Emma -> Sweden

2025-08-02Sweden Standard

[Photos taken 02 – 06 August 2025, posted online (hopefully) 06 September 2026. Yes, this entry is now over a year out of date. I suggest we all just deal with it, take a deep breath, and continue onwards. Today the weather is gorgeous, the sun is blazing, and the sky is blue. I’ve just returned from fulfilling a bizarre bucket list item: sleeping alone in a tent in near-freezing calm weather, all bundled up, sort of like the babies in their wagons in Iceland. It was… interesting!]

In Iceland, if you want to officially call yourself an “engineer” you have to finish a Masters degree in engineering. Perhaps because of that, and perhaps because of why not? (there’s no tuition!), Anna and her boyfriend decided to go finish their respective Masters degrees in Denmark’s DTU.

These days, young folks often get accompanied by their parents when resettling abroad, and since Anna’s “in-laws” had previously lived in Denmark for years, they took the first shift, and we the second. Complicating matters was Bjarki needing to stay in Iceland well into August to take final exams to finish his summer-school courses, so our August travels became a big jigsaw puzzle.

After much hmmm-ing and huh-ing, eventually we settled on Anna et al flying to Copenhagen to start getting settled in, and on the same day Emma and I would fly to Stockholm to go visit my brother et al over there. Emma and I would then take the train (!) to Copenhagen, get a rental car, check into an Airbnb, and then commence shopping excursions. Once Bjarki’s exams were all done, him and Finnur would fly to Copenhagen, where we’d all have a few days of “vacation” before the four of us flew back to Iceland, just in time for regular life to hit us like a pile of bricks!

Saturday 02 August 2025

Two days before moving to a different country, Anna decided to use her home grown broccoli to make a bacon and broccoli quiche.

Four Disc Golf Courses / Finnur’s 51st Birthday

2025-07-28Birthday, Us Standard

[Photos taken 28 – 31 July 2025, posted online 12 July 2026. Windy day, rain predicted later.]

Frisbee disc golf was so much fun on our ladies trip, that I dragged Emma, and sometimes Anna, out to play with me for four straight days on four different courses.

We did managed to celebrate Finnur’s birthday (although he kind of would prefer that we didn’t), but mostly we just relaxed and gathered strength for the next big thing, which was Anna’s move to Denmark to start her masters degree program at DTU.

Monday 28 July 2025

Emma by the launch pad for the second hole (?) of the course by Vífilsstaðir.

“The Tens” @ Reynisfjara, Dyrhólaey & Kvernufoss

2025-07-27Uncategorized Standard

[Photos taken 27 July 2025, posted online 11 July 2026. Lots of rain lately, and more on the way, as summer vacation draws near.]

After a couple of fantastic days, it was time to drive back home. We decided to make a long day of it, and stopped by Reynisfjara (on the other side of the ridge by Vík í Mýrdal), before driving over to Dyrhólaey (Door-hill-island) and walking around for a bit. We drove onwards, stopped at Kvernufoss, which is next to Skógafoss, the big waterfall), and then a little ways further for a bite to eat. We attempted to play frisbee disc golf in Hveragerði, but gave up due to too many flies. We arrived back in the city around dinner-time, happy after a lovely trip!

Sunday 27 July 2025

The group by the basalt columns of Reynisfjara, as photoed by a friendly tourist. When this is written, a whole year later, that section of the rocks are no longer accessible, as an unusually strident and single-direction current this past winter moved the sand we were standing on away from the area, further west.

“The Tens” @ Þakgil and Remundargil

2025-07-26Friends, Hiking Standard

[Photos taken 26 July 2025, posted online 05 July 2026. Warm day today. Oh, what to do?… ]

The big hike of the ladies-trip was exploring Þakgil (“Thakgil” means “Roof-canyon”) and Remundargil, both a drive inland from Vík í Mýrdal, in Katla Geopark. The weather was excellent, and it was a fabulous day!

Saturday 26 July 2025

Dwarfed by nature. A couple of “boulders” at the mouth-section of Remundargil.

“The Tens” @ Vík í Mýrdal

2025-07-25Uncategorized Standard

[Photos taken 25 July 2025, posted online 04 July 2026. Yes, I’m basically a whole year behind myself, but this time around I’m ok with it. Maturity is me? Also, this year’s ladies trip is coming up soon!! ]

Few things are as wonderful as when a group of people organize an activity, invite me along to enjoy the fruits of their labor, and the only expectations are shared costs, a positive demeanor, minimal complaining, and doing the dishes!

Yes, it was time for the third outing of “The Tens”, a group of ten ladies that are connected around a core of teacher-buddies. The destination was Vík í Mýrdal (“The Inlet in Swamp Valley/Mire Dale”), the southern-most village in Iceland. The big hike of the trip was in and around Þakgil (“Roof-canyon”), where I’d e-biked with my e-biking group a few years back. It’s such a pretty area that I was excited to go back.

However, finding affordable accommodation for 10 people, even a silly number of months in advance, was difficult. We ended up renting two apartments, which may have given us a potentially expensive taste for luxury, after staying in cabins the two previous years…

Friday 25 July 2025

Proof we made it to Vík in Mýrdal. The iconic rocky pillars off the coast are quite the landmark, and the church really sets the scene. The official tourist stop for the rocks is actually on the other side of that mountain ridge, at Reynisfjara, where you’ll find basalt columns as well. We would visit there on the way home.

Backyard Action / Blooming Flowers / Summer Vacation Begins

2025-07-12Finnur's family, Laugarvatn, Us Standard

[Photos taken 12 – 24 July 2025, posted online 28 June 2026. Today marks Bjarki’s 19th birthday! Also, after mostly dry days for weeks, we’ve switched to intermittent showers, and the plants are grateful.]

The seemingly never-ending source of tasks that is our backyard got a little bit of extra attention for a few days. Flowers bloomed, bringing happy colors to our life. We upgraded our tent, summer vacation began, we visited Finnur’s parents, I kept going to the gym after tearing my calf so no more running for a while, we had social dinners, and I started prepping for my weekend-trip with 9 other ladies.

Saturday 12 July 2025

The outside seating was not used very much because we always had to pack the cushions up under the balcony, and unpacking was a little bit of a hassle. I found this garden shelter-roof thing at Ikea, and figured it would save us a bit of hassle, and also provide shelter from the sun.

Norah Jones Concert / Garmin Run Plan / Hvanneyri Folf

2025-07-01Friends, Us Standard

[Photos taken 01 – 11 July 2025, posted online 27 June 2026. Yes, pretty much a year behind my own self. Anna arrived in Iceland from Denmark last night for a summer break from the extreme heat in mainland Europe.]

July always turns into a summer-vacation count-down. Emma went to an all day scout-“camp” (her last year of eligibility, she was denied access the following year). I started jogging a bit after caving into my new Garmin watch’s insistence to make a running plan for me. We made it to the summer house with friends and played frisbee disc golf (folf) in nearby Hvanneyri.