Icelandic wool with attitude...

We found these guys posing for all the cars headed to the Geysir....

Pingvellir...pronounced thingvellir

Day 2: we rented a car (a new white vw golf) and set of across the tundra to do the "Golden circle" tour...
first stop in our trusty golf, Pinvellir National Park...
This is where the American, European and Eurasian tetonic plates meet. They move apart 2cm per year and have created an isolated environment with a unique evolution pattern similar to the Gallapagos Islands. Home of volcanic activity and glaciers, this was also the first meeting place among European settlers in which to denote the laws of the time.
http://www.thingvellir.is/english/

more iceland pics from the ride...

The pooch Lucy almost brought home with us!

He is Part icelandic and part "that blast neighbor collie"!
He was pretty cute...

Tölting on Icelandic ponies!

We arrived in Iceland after a mild delay in Helsinki. I say mild as though it was delayed by three hours, we were in no rush. We were prepared and outfitted with our own cross stitch patterns and a new crafty skill. Thanks Fammo. While it did pass the time and only cause mild eye strain headaches, it was apparently very distracting to other passengers. I have decided that there are a lot of closet cross stitchers who all have a story to share on a transatlantic flight. There are even those who dream of becoming closet cross stitchers, like the Japanese man sitting one row behind me who leaned over me shoulder humming to himself and giggling every time I completed an "x".

Iceland day 1:
After a late sunset kissed arrival to Reykjavik we checked into our guesthotel prepared for a full day of riding in the morning at Laxnes farm. The horses are known for their pack animal attitude and their 5 gates including the tölt, which is claimed to be so smooth you can drink a glass of wine while riding and not spill a drop.




















The landscape was absolutely amazing! No real trees but gorgeous tundra and the first bit of sun we had seen in a long while!

Note for riding tölt: Icelandic horses do not always ride in tölt and the 4 other gates are in fact still a bumpy ride. So be cautious with the wine if that is your mission.

By the end of our day we figured out how to get our horses into tölt most of the time with an occasional gallop.

The other thing I didn't fully comprehend was the extent of pack animals they were. These horses loved being as close to each other as possible. The would bump into each other rub on each other and clean each other. I kept expecting to get kicked by the neighboring horses as is my experience with other breeds. It was amazing how relaxed they are, and when they are tired they just laid down. Again to my surprise as I assumed if a horse laid down it was sick. Silly, ignorant me...

where have we been?

Ok, sorry it has been so long since our last blog entry. Since then we spent a couple days in Helsinki wrapping up, spent a couple days in Reikyavik, Iceland, pit stopped in Boston and finally arrived in Portland, Or about a week later. We have been back stateside for about two weeks and have been running around trying to pull together the last details for the wedding and going to school/working. I just like to think we work better under pressure.

So here's the plan quick catch up on the last of the trip and then we'll be caught up and focus on the festivities!