A Beautiful Day by Laugarvatn

2013-08-06Uncategorized Standard

[Written 15 September 2013.  Grrr.]

Our travel-partners, Guðrún and Snorri, headed back to the city around lunch on the Bank Holiday Monday to beat the traffic.  Shortly after they’d left, we got a phone-call from Holla and Óli who told us they were close by, and asked if they could stop by for tea-time.

Not only did they stop by with materials to make American Pancakes (Holla is a kitchen goddess!) but we convinced them to chill and stay the night.  Which they did.   We even played Pandemic!

Lucky for all of us, the following day (Tuesday) was GORGEOUS.  Here are some pics (10 total).

A lot of trees got planted around the summer house almost twenty years ago (Finnur and I had just gotten together, I still remember the tiny plants sticking out of the mud). Now these trees are BIG, and therefore cut down on the wind, but they also cut down on the view - except towards Mt. Hekla, seen here.

A lot of trees got planted around the summer house almost twenty years ago (Finnur and I had just gotten together, I still remember the tiny plants sticking out of the mud). Now these trees are BIG, and therefore cut down on the wind, but they also cut down on the view – except towards Mt. Hekla, seen here.

Holla catching a few sun-rays, while Finnur opted to stay in the shade (these ex-Californians!!).

Holla catching a few sun-rays, while Finnur opted to stay in the cooler shade (these ex-Californians!!).

The kids picking berries. The weather has been so wet this year (and thus low on sun) that there were very few berries.

The kids picking berries. The weather has been so wet this year (and thus low on sun) that there were very few berries.

Hunting for the elusive berries.

Hunting for the elusive berries.

Slim pickings.

Slim pickings.  They look bigger than they were.

Holla and Óli headed out shortly after lunch, while we hung back enjoying the lovely day (and napping). When we finally finished packing and cleaning it was dinner time, so we decided to eat at Laugarvatn. We could only recall two restaurants, and picked the better one: Lindin.

Holla and Óli headed out shortly after lunch, while we hung back enjoying the lovely day (and napping). When we finally finished packing and cleaning it was dinner time, so we decided to eat at Laugarvatn. We could only recall two restaurants, and picked the better one: Lindin (TripAdvisor page here).

The kids were a little antsy waiting for the food, so I took them outside, to poke at Laugarvatn (Lake Laugar) itself.

The kids were a little antsy waiting for the food, so I took them outside, to poke at Laugarvatn (Lake Laugar) itself.  (This picture is the other direction seen from the photo above.)

Poking at the lake. You can't really see it in this photo, but there is steam rising from the shore there.

Poking at the lake. You can’t really see it in this photo, but there is steam rising from the shore there. There is literally warm water flowing into the lake non-stop.

Ooops on keeping my phone properly horizontal! The steam rising into the air is coming from the fancy new spa, Fontana, which replaced the old natural sauna a few years ago, much to the annoyance of many locals.

Ooops on keeping my phone properly horizontal! The steam rising into the air is coming from the fancy new spa, Fontana, which replaced the old sauna a few years ago, much to the annoyance of many locals.  The old sauna was really just a very old rather decrepit building, housed on a natural steam exit, but it was free or close to free to use.  Now you have to pay an arm and a leg, and we’ve never gone.  (Here’s what TripAdvisor has to say though).

Bjarki got his meat and veggie soup shortly after we came back in, but the rest of us had to wait and wait and wait for our food. We finally asked what was taking so long, and apparently we'd arrived just after the whole place had suddenly filled up, with 40 people or so ahead of us. The food did come in the end, and it was lovely. We plan on eating there again, but arriving somewhat earlier to beat the 7:30 pm rush!

Bjarki got his meat and veggie soup shortly after we came back in, but the rest of us had to wait and wait and wait for our food. We finally asked what was taking so long, and apparently we’d arrived just after the whole place had suddenly filled up, with 40 people or so ahead of us. The food did come in the end, and it was lovely. We plan on eating there again, but arriving somewhat earlier to beat the 7:30 pm rush!