FFF #2.2 – Gljúfrasteinn and Cafe Álafoss
[Happened 28 Sept 2014. Written 1 October. Maybe.]
The weather forecast looked promising, and the fall colors were busy being colorful, so I decided to venture a little further afield than usual, and visited Gljúfrasteinn. Gljúfrasteinn (TripAdvisor) is where Iceland’s only Nobel laureate, Halldór Laxness, lived with his second wife, Auður, for some decades. It’s a little outside the main city area, about a 20 minute drive from our home.
I found out when I’d arrived that there is no photography inside the house, but there’s a pretty good gallery on their webpage. Every guest gets their own audio-player and headset, and walks around the house in quiet listening to a well produced and interesting audio-tour.
My impression was that Halldór and Auður were cool cats in their day and age. And I definitely came away thinking that Halldór was exceedingly well married! Not only did Auður decorate the house to perfection, and produce her own sewing-art, but they also had a lot of friends (including many artists who gave them art), and routinely hosted parties, large and small. The art in the house is really quite interesting and surprisingly colorful. Although their speaking style sounds very old-style to my modern ears, they were probably considered somewhat avant-garde back in the day!?!? (I’m guessing!)
Anyway, to make up for the lack of pictures indoors, I took a bunch of photos of the surrounding area.
After I’d had my fill of nature, I drove back and made a quick pit-stop at the Álafoss Cafe in Mosfellsbær (aka Mos-Eisley) before heading back home to the peeps. (45 images total)
Looking towards the city, which is hiding behind that hill/mountain there in the distance. See that bridge up close on the left? A river runs under it.
Outside Our House
[27 September is when it was at, but today is 27 December 2014. Which is both close and far away.]
The weather was pretty good, so the kids got kicked outside. I tagged along since they have trouble being responsible for Emma for more than 15 minutes or so. (7 images total)
A small selection of the boys in the neighborhood on display.
At the Summer House With Finnur’s Parents
[Photos from 19 and 20 September, but layout and words from 27 December 2014. Formally.]
Finnur went on one of his Everton pilgrimages to Liverpool over a long weekend, and since there’s strength in numbers when it comes to herding kids and keeping them alive, I invited myself and the kids along with Finnur’s parents to their summer house at Laugarvatn. (10 images total)
This is what happens when Emma’s given chocolate cookies/biscuits to keep her quiet during the 1-hour long drive. Charming!
Coffee Gathering at Finnur’s Parents’ Place
[We’ve made it to 14 September 2014, although today is technically 27 December. Oops?!]
Finnur’s dad’s birthday had come and gone in August, but the delivery of his presents from his kids had gotten delayed due to … something. I can’t remember any more, but it probably had something to do with us being tardy.
Anyway, we went to deliver the presents and got good company and yummy food in return. (4 images total)
Þórarinn being presented with a bunch of hot-tub related things.
Fake Football Fanclub #2.01 – Hafnarborg and Gló
[Written 14 September 2014. Same-day craziness! Don’t get used to it…]
The football season is well and truly under way in the UK, so it was high time to go do something FFF-fabulous!
A friend had mentioned an art gallery, Hafnarborg, in the neighboring town of Hafnarfjörður (Harbor-fjord), so I called up Adda (my resident Hafnarfjörður local expert) and badgered her into coming with me. I didn’t want to get lost! (I’m joking!!)
So, to Hafnarborg we went, where the works of a few contemporary Icelandic artists were on display. (23 images total)
The art gallery lives in this big building, and so does a branch of the restaurant chain Gló (Glow). The building incorporates another older building (a pharmacy) which was gifted to the museum.
Kids Being Adorable
[After Thingvellir I took the kids to a local playground. So yeah, happened on 13 September, written up on 27 December. Of the same year though!]
After Emma’s nap, there were still a lot of hours left in the day, so I took her and Bjarki to Bjarki’s old daycare, where we hung out for a bit. (3 images total)
This is what big brothers are for!
Idyllic Day at Thingvellir
[Here is a blast from the past: A trip to Thingvellir on 13 September 2014. This was formally documented on 27 December 2014. Enjoy the snowlessness!]
Finnur wanted to fly his drone around Thingvellir during autumn-color season, so we drove there one Saturday morning, and hung out for a bit. (40 images total)
Bjarki being a happy camper.
Fundraising Day at Work
[Occurred on 12 September, blogged on 27 December of the same year. As in 2014.]
The company I’m working for, Marel, is one of the largest in Iceland. They like projecting a “we’re a responsible company”-vibe, so they’ve taken to sponsoring an SOS children’s village in Africa via an annual fundraiser, called Tour de Marel.
This year the goal was to walk/run from Iceland to the village in question, for a total of 6500 km in 24 hours. Employees were encouraged to go a 5 km route during the day, and then a bunch of running groups showed up the following (Saturday) morning and finished the total off. (6 images total)
Me walking the 5 km circuit. My heel was still really bothering me so I took it very easy. The company is located right next to an undeveloped area, also known as nature.
Photo Exhibit – Cold Countries
[On 21 December I found these images from 07 September 2014 lurking in a photo folder. Figured they should get equal treatment.]
Not only did we jam berries and craniums on 7 September… Anna and I also went downtown to get more manga books for her at the main city library.
While we were there, we popped on up to the top floor to take a quick peek at a photography exhibit that was about to end. It was by Ragnar Axelsson (RAX), one of Iceland’s top photographers. He’s spent a lot of time in cold countries, documenting ways of life that are vanishing as modernity takes over. He’s one cool cat. (6 images total)
This was the last day the show was open, so the place was busy.
Jamming Berries and Craniums
[Written 16 December 2014. Don’t tell anyone but this actually happened on 6-7 September 2014! ]
I’d only been at my new job for a few days when an email went out reminding everybody to submit their homemade jam for the jam-making-contest the week after.
Now, I have never made jam. Ever. But, I’m eternally competitive, so I was determined to try. (12 images total)
Saturday 6 September 2014
I’d seen a redcurrent bush (rifsberjarunna) by one of the local playgrounds that I figured might still have some berries, so I took the kids there one fine Saturday. We were in luck, because although almost all the obvious berries were gone, there were still juicy clusters hiding down low, and inside the big bush. Anna and Bjarki were a huge help in picking from inside the bush, and Emma helped by not running away.
It’s hard to take photos up into the air when you’re sitting/squatting/lying on the ground.