Iceland final days

Miles and Tracy headed home for work but Kari, Thomas and Colin have a couple last days at our home exchange in Iceland. Today they went to the Nautholsvik Beach which is the warmest in Iceland and it is the warmest time of the year. It was freezing. They had a quick dip and then hit the outdoor hot tub they have there. One guy in the hot tub said he swims all year round and has to break the ice with each stroke in the winter sometimes.

They then went to Sagas Museum, which told the story of iceland from about 500-1500AD. It including info on Leif Erikson (Leif the Lucky) who landed in Newfoundland around 1000AD.

Last stop was to Baejarins Beztu, which a famous hot dog place in iceland. Has been selling hot dogs for 80 years.

Train to Bergen

After enjoying a scenic morning run in Flam, we walked past our new friend and caught two trains to get to Bergen.

We hiked up Mt. Floyen and enjoyed the view of the city and beyond. Fun ride down hill in funicular.

Train to Flam and exploring the fjords

Today we took 2 trains to get from Oslo to Flam. The second train took us down 4000 feet in 20 scenic and winding kilometres to the mouth of the fjords. These fjords have been designated a UNESCO world heritage site.

We enjoyed an exciting fjord exploration boat ride admiring the waterfalls, steep cliffs, goats, porpoises and small villages. Our tour brought us to a point still 170km from the open ocean.

Tonight our hostel is very unique - a 300 year old farmhouse with traditional furnishings.

Oslo, Norway

We arrived in Oslo late last night and allowed ourselves a slower start this morning. This afternoon we did a guided cycling tour of the city - very fun despite my flat tire and some rainfall. The first picture is us in front of the Royal Palace of Norway.

The second photo is us outside city hall. The third shows some of the beautiful wall murals in the interior of the hall.

One of the highlights of the bike tour was checking out Vigeland Sculpture park with fantastic human sculptures depicting fertility and inter-generational life.

Swedish ship...and Abba!

We enjoyed another day in Stockholm - it was surprisingly hot and sunny. Started the day with an attempt at Escape Room - zombie style!

Then walked through town to Viking Ship museum - crazy story of Vasa Viking ship which launched and sank in 1628 in 20 minutes!

Moved on to Abba museum - SO fun!!

Stockholm, Sweden

We flew to Stockholm this morning arriving to sunny weather. Walked to our backpackers' hostel which is a neat one in a central location.

Walked around Stockholm admiring the architecture and scenic water views before taking a bridges boat cruise to check out all the surrounding islands and unique coastline both on the Baltic Sea and the lake on the other side of the locks.

The last two pictures are of the Viking ship museum and the local ski hill.

Miles and Kari went and ran a workout with Colin and checked out the original stadium from the 1912 Olympics!

Fun at Tivoli Gardens

Denmark is the home of the world's two oldest amusement parks and today we checked out one of them - Tivoli Gardens. Apparently the park was the inspiration for Disneyland and we could see many similarities.

Lots of thrilling and unique rides...

Enjoyed a anamatronic ride similar to "It's a Small World" but covering the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen.

Candy shops are common place here with loads of colourful treats - apparently the Danes love their candy!

On to Copenhagen, Denmark

Early this morning we flew to Copenhagen. What a beautiful city!

We took an informative walking tour of the city checking out the sights. In these pictures, Kari is in front of the coloured buildings of Nyhavn ("New Harbour"). Colin is in front of Christiansborg Palace.

The kids are facing City Hall and Colin and Tracy are in front of the Queen's palace (Amalienborg). Enjoyed learning from the guide some ideas as to why Danes are the "happiest people in the world". Impressed with the focus on higher education with free tuition. Also love the well-used bike lanes!

Racing in Reykjavik

We lucked out and timed our trip well so we were able to participate in the running events today. Big day as Miles beat Colin for the first time. They raced the 10km and Miles came 8th overall and won his age category! Later in the day Kari and Tracy raced the 3km which was crazy mayhem but fun.

Not to be outdone, Thomas got in a swim workout at the local pool. We hung in the natural hot tubs and warm pools while he swam.

Tonight we enjoyed watching live performances of 3 Icelandic bands at the Reykjavik cultural festival.

Rest day in Reykjavik

Today we took it easy and poked around town. Boys had day of data to Pokemon hunt.

The cost of living here strikes us as extraordinarily high and nothing is inexpensive. Feeling very fortunate to have a home and car exchange.