My Little Pony in Iceland: Day 3

This was our one lazy sort of day. So after stuffing ourselves at breakfast we took a walk down into the old town to go to Reykjavík 871±2 , an exhibition of an archaeological excavation of a Viking age longhouse, from about 930 AD. After our strange run in with Swedish Museums, we wanting GOOD viking information, or at least, logical and unstrange information. We also ventured over to the harbour to get a few pics and then popped inot the strangest flea market, ever. Words cannot truely paint a picture of how weird this place was. You just have to see it for yourself. We had been told that the national food, and their best food, was the hotdog. We stopped at mall hotdog stand, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, in central Reykjavík to fule up for our horse ride!

Ben grew up on a farm, therefore he does not like anything farm-like. I grew up in the city, therefore, the farm fascinates me. It was very important to me to see and ride Icelandic Horses (my horse bit me when I called it a pony). The barn supplied all our riding gear which was very waterproof and wind proof, and we needed it. The weather was still not very nice. What makes these horses so special is that on top of being able to survive in this harsh climate, they can do 5 gaits. The fourth gait is a four-beat lateral ambling gait known as the tölt. We were able to sit it, even Ben was able to do it with no experience. The Pace is the fifth gait, which is for racing and is very hard for a person to sit on top of a horse while they do it, so needless to say, we did not do that gait. Our ride started into beautiful Heidmork with its numerous caves and canyons. The moss on the lava fields was breathtaking. It even started snowing a bit, which made the moon like landscape even more unique and interesting. My horse really wanted to go, so I was at the very head of the queue and we rode fast. It was great to get my confidence back on, and after fighting for dominance, my horse conceded and the second half of the ride was very enjoyable. No more of the horse trying to brush me off into their scraggly “trees” and no more biting. I even caught Ben smiling a few times, so I know it was not all painful for him.

After being dropped back off at our hotel, we took a hike up the mountain near us to go up to Perlan or The Pearl, a glass dome resting over five hot water tanks. We were hoping to get a wax figure museum tour of the Nordic Saga, but like everything else in the town, due to Easter, it was closed as well. It had great vistas over the city and it was actually clear enough to get views of their tabletop type mountains and sprawling cityscape. This is where we encountered our friendly bunny and the sunken troll living areas. You would have to see it to believe it.