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General updates and things that frankly do not fit anywhere else.

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Travel

Photos: Hallgrímskirkja

It took 41 years to finish the iconic Hallgrímskirkja. The Lutheran church stood as Iceland’s tallest building from its completion and consecration in 1986 until it was surpassed in 2008 by Smáratorg Tower in Kópavogur.

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Travel

Photos: Gjáin

Not far from Stöng, the Rauðá river runs through an area in the upper Þjórsárdalur valley, an area full of particularly green vegetation and striking rock-and-waterfall formations.

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Travel

Photos: Driving in Vesturland

Our trip to Stykkishólmur was spur of the moment. We had done the Circle. We headed east to see Stöngs old and new, waterfalls, and more. We headed south to do… well, nothing. The road upon which we traveled required a 4×4 as soon as it departed the Capital Region. So, north it was.

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Travel

Photos: Driving in Suðurland

After spending a Friday evening visiting Geysir and Gullfoss, we took Skeiða-og Hrunamannavegur, a rural road north of Flúðir, back to a friend’s cabin. It was around 9:00 p.m., but as it was a week before the solstice, the sun was still three hours from setting.

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Photos: The remnants (and restoration) of Viking life

Around 1104, the volcano Hekla erupted for the first time since the Norse settled Iceland. The surrounding southern Icelandic countryside, including the Þjórsárdalur valley, was buried in ash.

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Photos: Stykkishólmur and Súgandisey

Two hours north of Reykjavík lies Stykkishólmur. The town of 1200 is commercial center of Snæfellsnes Peninsula, and likely has been since the mid-16th century.

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Photos: Reykjavík’s Old Harbor and Faxaflói bay

In 874, according to the Icelandic “Book of Settlements,” Norseman Ingólfur Arnarson threw the pillars to his chieftain’s seat into the waters off the west coast of Iceland and promised to settle where they washed ashore. It reportedly took his slaves three years to find them.

Personally, I’m curious to know what they did in the meantime.

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