Day 27

July 6, 2018

12:53 AM (past midnight) Iceland Time

Today when I woke up Þora’s grandson Nokkvi was here again, so we all had some breakfast and coffee together. Then I got ready for work, but then my work contacted me to let me know that I didn’t need to come in today. Since my plans changed, Þora and I decided to go explore a bit. Þora took me on a beautiful drive through Hvalfjörður. It was so beautiful, everything was green, and the water in the fjord was so still it looked like glass. We saw a few small waterfalls along the way as well. We decided to stop at a small museum called the “War and Peace museum” that was all about how WWII changed Hvalfjörður. Iceland never fought in the war, but Hvalfjörður served as a naval base for the allied powers. There were a lot of interesting artifacts in there.

 

 

I didn’t realize how famous us Snorris were until today’s drive. The museum was one of the only buildings for a few miles, and two girls came up to me and said, “You are a part of the Snorri program aren’t you!” I was a little freaked out at first but turns out that they were participants back in 2013! One of them now lives in Iceland; she just married an Icelander and the other was there visiting. Small world!

On the way back to Kopavogur, we went through the Hvalfjörður tunnel; it was the longest underground tunnel I have ever been in. It’s a tunnel that goes underneath the fjord and is about 7km long! Coming back into Reyjkavik we picked up Þora’s husband Jonbjorn from work, went home and started dinner. We ate and talked all night from 9pm until now! I really enjoy their company, they are so sweet and fun to get to know. I feel like I’ve known them for a long time even though it’s only been a few days. While we were talking, Asta emailed me with the itinerary for the tour during the last week. Oh…my…god is it going to be an EPIC trip! Þora’s and Jonbjorn showed me on a map the route we will be taking, and they were so surprised at how many cool places we get to go! They were especially excited to know that I will be passing through Djupavik where they have a summer home. Þora wants to be able to see me again before I go, so she was pretty much jumping for joy knowing that we will be staying near there for a night! Though I am so so excited for the tour, I know I will miss Þora a lot. But they are seriously planning on coming to visit me in Hawaii possibly next March! I know that all of these family connections I have made here in Iceland will last a lifetime, and I can’t wait for the rest of my family to meet them!

It’s getting late, and Þora and I are going to go to the pool tomorrow morning; it’s her birthday! Stay tuned!