To Akureyri

The format of our our usual three week trip to Iceland is to spend one week saying Hi to everybody, one week kinda relaxing and meeting people for the second time, and then one week saying Goodbye to everybody. This time we have FIVE weeks total, which means that we have two weeks to actually DO STUFF. To celebrate this extra freedom, we decided to drive up north to Akureyri, the second largest urban area in Iceland to visit Jói and Kata.

Finnur got to know Jói while they were both studying computer science some 15 years ago (!!!) and they subsequently spent many years working for the same company. Kata and Jói got married in 2000 (just like us!) and are one of the very few people to actually visit us in CA since we moved there. They’ve also met up with us in Reykjavík when we’ve been visiting, so we thought it was high time we returned the visiting favors.

The drive up north took six hours total, including an hour-plus long stop in Blönduós, where we literally (totally unplanned!) arrived 2 minutes before my uncle and his family, who are spending the week there. We were greeted in Akureyri with a delicious seafood-soup and Anna made instant friends with the three girls, while Bjarki enjoyed landing in yet another toy-heaven.

Hrefna with Bjarki making a quick banana-pit-stop before
arriving in Borgarnes, due to Bjarki being extremely unhappy
in the back-seat. The banana seemed to do the trick, and
Bjarki and Anna were both asleep 30 minutes later.

In Blönduós, on the parking lot by the local rather-nice restraurant.
We called my uncle when we were getting close to Blönduós,
thinking he’d gotten there the day before. Instead, they turned
out to be driving two minutes behind our car so we met up for a quick Hi!

Getting close to Akureyri. Note the utter lack of trees.

The Disney Princess pajama-gang: Tinna, Þóra, Karen and Anna.
Anna got her pajama-dress from Kata and Jói for Chrismas
a long time ago, and it remains one of the most loved
and used presents ever!