It looks like paradise, doesn’t it? And it is, except for one minor flaw. The clue is in the name, Lake Mývatn, meaning “midge lake”. And yes, it really is bad in the summer for midges, so even if you don’t think you will need it, bring a hat and even better a hat with netting if you are going here!

In case you are wondering what TV socks are, this excerpt is from the book:

“When TV broadcasting first began in Iceland in 1966 it soon became the center of attention in people’s homes…People ate special TV snacks on TV nights, everyone had their own TV cup to drink from as they watched, and each home had a special TV blanket. The housewives even knit special TV socks that the whole family was supposed to wear while watching TV, to prevent their feet from getting cold while sitting still.”

What a great idea! I’m fed up with slippers that expand to the point where they are too big to wear anymore.  I like these because they are multi-coloured and something between slippers and socks. And I like that you could make them out of any 4 colours that you want and make each sock either the same or differen – oh, the possibilities!

The bit that I did not know how to do is sewing them up at the end. You also sew/embroider/crochet if you can over the top whatever pattern you want, ie zig-zags, or laces, or anything you can think of. Sewing scares me! I had to enlist help for those last steps.

Cool pattern across top of socks

I  made my first attempt using leftover yarn in 4 quite random colours. I think it came out looking pretty good – or is it just because I like multi-coloured things? Here it is before the sewing up stage:

How can that become a sock?? No heels, no left/right, all very easy.

After sewing up by clever Mr I’d Rather Be in Iceland:

Back view – looks like a fish! This grey colour is one that changes as you go along so this is all one colour, although it has darker bits and lighter bits.Neither of us can embroider or crochet, so not a lot we could do with the top pattern bit. I think this looks like cool laces though:

And finally on my foot!

I have to admit, I don’t really understand how it all came together because it didn’t seem like it was going to go up my leg at all as it was so small, and it doesn’t have any kind of sock shape when not on your foot. But it worked! And if I could do this, any of you beginner knitters could, the knitting is very simple.

I’m really looking forward to buying lopi in Iceland for more of these. I can think of many colour combinations but am wondering if I should just go with colours I like as I think pretty much anything would look good? I can’t wait to hold lots of colours together and experiment. I just have to try not to buy every single colour! Very exciting.

On to sock two now…

Have you ever worked on something that came out better than you thought it would? And do any of you Icelanders actually have such a wonderful thing as TV socks??

“How am I supposed to do all this during the week AND do a long run? My legs are killing me.”

“What flavour is that recovery drink you got?”

These are the types of conversations that my Running Friend (RF) and I have. It is particularly bad now that we are both training for the marathon. We can and do talk about the most miniscule aspects of our running for hours. These are probably the top 5 topics:

5. Long runs

4. Fuelling

3. Pain

2. Going faster

1. The actual marathon and how are we ever going to do it??

It is great to have someone to talk about all this with. You have probably all fallen asleep reading that list, but if you are running and particularly training for something, I promise you these are all topics of immense interest.  We both started running at the same time a few years ago and have seen each other progress so much from not being able to run for 5 minutes to being regular half-marathoners. In fact we probably have more faith in each other’s abilities sometimes than our own.

Now as we are more than halfway through our marathon training it was the perfect time to do a half-marathon as a bit of a test race.

We set off at the crack of dawn to give ourselves time to get there an hour in advance, plenty of time to do all those things you have to do before a race. Well, when we got there it transpired there was NO PARKING and everyone was having to drive back way, way out of the way, practically back at the entrance. It took us 20 minutes to do that and we could see that we were now at least a mile away from the race area. Doing any extra exercise at all on a race day is NOT HELPFUL.

Also, as we were creeping along looking for parking it became obvious that this was a very windy spot for a race. It was all very open and exposed, and everyone who was lucky enough to actually be walking to the race area was very bundled up in hats and coats and the trees were being bent over by the wind. Hmm, it was 10 degrees and mild at home!! Luckily we had our winter clothes with us but it was not a pleasant mile plus walk down to the race area. By the time we got there it was 20 minutes until race time and suddenly we were feeling rushed and having to queue up for various things. After all that, they decided to delay the race start time as everyone else was also having the same problem.

I won’t bore you with details of the actual race once we got going except to say it was all a little quiet and dull with hardly any spectators or atmosphere and the wind was terrible in places so it wasn’t the most fun race I’ve ever done. But we both beat our previous best times and RF even beat our ambitious timing goal so we were both very proud of ourselves. My race strategy was also better than it has been in some other races. I managed to eat and drink pretty much the right amount without becoming ill (I could still have drunk more – need to work on that). Mentally, I didn’t get rattled by people overtaking me and didn’t speed up to try and stop that happening. That can be quite deadly for your legs but it’s hard not to do it. I also didn’t do huge sprints to get around other people. My pacing was much more relaxed and consistent and in fact I did get overtake loads of people in a particularly slow, calm, and zen-like fashion!

Post run bliss (yes, they are from Iceland). Mars bar not pictured as it was demolished immediately post-race.

Then we had the loooonnngg walk back to the car. Seemed even longer this time. And when we got there, would you believe RF’s car door opener gadget’s battery had died! It did seem like for a minute that we wouldn’t be able to get into the car at all. It’s pretty funny in hindsight and hysteria did set in once we were finally in the car, but somehow that would have been the perfect ending to a weird race.

Well, I’m still nervous about the big race and don’t know how I will do twice today’s distance. The good news is that I have improved as a racer and got a new best time despite quite miserable running conditions today. The race is being slated for its poor organisation and lack of atmosphere on the runner’s forums so it’s not just me complaining!

No more races for me now until the big one, but March’s training is going to make it the month from hell…if you’re still interested in reading about my running you can read more on my marathon training page.

The Day is Dark is the latest in the series about detective Thóra Gudmundsdóttir to be translated into English. A group of Icelanders working on a project in Greenland  have had some of their members vanish, and they are returning with Thóra and Matthew to investigate further. But not all of the group have returned, and some of those who have start showing their true colours when kept in isolation again.  And why are the local villagers so afraid to go near their camp? And why are there bones in desk drawers??

Yrsa has gone out on a limb with this book by setting it somewhere other than Iceland. She has chosen Greenland as a place that is seen by Icelanders as dark, remote and empty. She explores some of the stereotypes around natives of this country, most of which would be unknown to the wider world. This book also differs from her earlier work by putting Thóra in an ongoing, dangerous situation, rather than just coming in after the events have already happened. There was a real feeling that anything could happen in this cold, dark place and both the villagers and the people that she was with were suspects at all times.

One thing that I found a little disappointing was that although Matthew was a main character in this book, the romance between him and Thóra is still in limbo. Is it going to develop further, or not? I’m not sure if she is taking a leaf out of Indriðason’s ongoing Erlendur-story-that-never-is-explained but I’m now at the point where I want answers to these things! Especially as we are always behind waiting for translations.

The book ends on a slightly spooky note. As usual, leaving something to the reader’s imagination is better than spelling it out and she has done it well. She also manages to make you sympathetic towards the Greenlanders although none of them were particularly “nice” characters.

Well worth a read although slightly different than her earlier books, and I applaud her for moving into new territory.

On a side note, if you are interested in Greenlandic culture, a book I found really interesting was The Explorer’s Daughter by Kari Herbert. She spent some of her childhood there with her explorer father, and returned 20 years later to find a different world.

For some reason you want to go and stand inside these spaces just because you can.

Bigger than you thought? Get out of my picture now...

This formation is called Kirkjan (the church) for obvious reasons:

Be careful if you visit though, as this area is said to connect earth with the infernal regions. You should also look out for elves and trolls. As usual, Iceland’s natural landscape is so dramatic and unexpected that you could imagine all kinds of things happening here. (or am I reading too many Icelandic crime books?)

Modrudalur, Iceland

In case you are wondering what those green humps are at the front of this picture, they are covering a little building where you can get petrol. Yes, this is a turfed petrol station! Don’t you love how it just blends into the landscape?  Here’s a picture of that station from the front:

Turfing isn’t unique to Iceland but I am guessing that this might be one of a kind.

When I was little, I loved the time in the Little House on the Prairie books when they moved into a sod house. It sounded like so much fun, but really must have been very dark and oppressive particularly in winter.

Side view of turfing

Therefore it surprised me that I found the folk museum at Glumbær a little dull. I’m willing to give it another try on our next visit, but I think we spent a little too long there and you could go around it quite quickly.

Glumbær buildings

A happy dog at Glaumbær

The museum does show you a way of life that is long gone in Iceland and makes you realise what hard lives these people had living in buildings like this. Can you imagine life in a turf house?

The museum does show you a way of life that is long gone in Iceland and makes you realise what hard lives these people had living in buildings like this.

A: Age you went on your first international trip: 16 and then not again until I was 20. That would be ancient by today’s standards.

B. Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where: None – I hate beer.

C: Cuisine (favorite): When travelling, I think the easiest places for me to eat have been China and India, as I am quite happy to exist on only Chinese or Indian food. Most places I have been have pretty generic western food available or cook their own cuisines for foreign palettes, sad but true that a lot of people aren’t very adventurous eaters.

D: Destinations, favorite, least favorite and why: My two favourite places to visit have been Iceland and India, and strangely enough it’s for  opposite reasons. With Iceland I love the emptiness and the culture – everything is so civilised, I say this all the time but it’s true. With India I loved the chaos, crowds and busy life everywhere you look. For someone who loves planning like I do, a trip to India is very good for getting you out of your comfort zone.

Least favourite: I’ve never been anywhere and thought it was just terrible as I find all the little details of a new place interesting. There are some European countries that I have been to that I wouldn’t be particularly interested in going to again as there was nothing that particularly “clicked” with me.

E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”: The Holi festival in India. Adults in India never lose their sense of fun and thought nothing of acting like children and making a mess of themselves. Westerners are always so worried about looking silly.

F: Favorite mode of transportation:  Going on Singapore Airlines A-380 in business class was luxurious and lots of fun for 13 hours (thank you, former job). But as I can get motion sickness on just about any form of transport, I would say walking is my favourite, unfortunately it doesn’t get you very far but it does get you to places you would never see otherwise.

Most memorable transportation generally was China. I saw some really horrific accidents there. AND our bus driver left us just around a blind corner once when we broke down and had we traffic barrelling up behind us for an hour while he tried to fix the bus. Also, the myth that smoking at a petrol station is dangerous was proven unfounded as we also sat at numerous petrol stations while the drivers smoked by the pumps while talking on their phones. I’m getting white hairs just thinking about this now. Moving on.

G: Greatest feeling while traveling:  Arriving somewhere, particularly for the first time. Everything just looks so different and interesting.

H: Hottest place you’ve traveled to: Singapore – hot and humid. Not my kind of weather.

I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where:  Singapore Airlines business class (thank you again former job). Also any hotel in Singapore. Asia is so far ahead of the rest of the world in customer service, it made me feel ashamed!

J: Journey that took the longest:  Flying to Australia. Yawn. Luckily, Singapore airport is a wonderful place to stop over with foot massages, nice food, a cinema, the ability to go OUTSIDE, really a nice place to hang around if you have to.

K: Keepsake from your travels: I do have a lot. You feel like if you buy things from somewhere you are taking some of the fun back home with you but it’s never the same. Something I am using a lot right now is Istex wool blankets from Iceland.

L: Let-down sight, why and where: 

Well, it was all right...

The Taj Mahal (sorry). Possibly because the journey to get there from Delhi is hard work, you then want to see something really spectacular at the end of it. And it was nice, and pretty, and symmetrical and I know the planning and building of it is an interesting story. But I found it all a bit of a letdown, as I suspected I might before I even did it. It was just one of those must-see things.

M: Moment where you fell in love with travel: Oh, where do I start?? Just about anywhere outside my small town seemed horribly exotic and exciting to me growing up. I really loved “Social Studies” when I was in school and was sure I would spend my life living with exotic tribes. I still find studying people interesting and I’m sure that is partly why I like travelling.

N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in:  I’ve been lucky enough to stay in beautiful hotels that I could ever afford for work. The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai has so much history and is truly grand. Unfortunately, this is the place that suffered the most in the 2008 bombings and I’m not sure if it would be the same now.

O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?: Animals! How many foreign zoos have I been to??

In all my zoo hopping, I've never seen these outside of Australia!

P: Passport stamps, how many and from where?  Unfortunately, with an EU passport, not as many as I should have as we don’t get them for other EU countries.

Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where:  Possibly the showcaves in Wales that had a “dinosaur park.” I’m sure little boys would find it more fun.

Dinosaurs in Wales? Of course.

Now that I’m thinking about it,  something that probably wouldn’t appeal to most people and could be described as “quirky” was the Body Worlds exhibition featuring displays of human corpses. I won’t put any pictures up in case you are as squeamish as I am (I did feel quite queasy at various parts of the exhibtion) but you can look at the website if you are interested. (oh, and if you like squeamish things you might also like the Catacombs in Paris)

R: Recommended sight, event or experience: Lots of these. I would say my biggest recommendation is that if there is somewhere you want to go and you don’t know anyone else who wants to go there, either go on your own or join a group holiday. You won’t regret it. I know people who make the mistake of only going on holiday where their partner or friends will also go and they end up missing out on some great experiences. Travelling alone is wonderful, and on a group trip there will always be at least one other like-minded person.

S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling: Food that I want to eat!

T: Touristy thing you’ve done: This could be just about anything you do on holiday but I would consider attractions like Pompeii, the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye to be pretty touristy.

U: Unforgettable travel memory: Lots, just wish I had better pictures from some of the older trips.

V: Visas, how many and for where? :  Luckily, I haven’t had to get many of these. For me this kind of bureaucracy takes the fun out of travelling. I only have these for India and China.

W: Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where?: I’m boring – not a big wine drinker either.

X: eXcellent view and from where?:  Anything in Iceland obviously. I’ve also done some great walking in Tuscany and Bulgaria and see the real countryside there.

Y: Years spent traveling?:  This question makes no sense, but technically I’ll say 16 years as that’s how long I’ve lived as an expat.

Z: Zealous sports fans and where? Spanish or Italian football fans! It’s all very good natured though (I think).

I know some of you are keen travellers and I’d love to hear your answers to these questions!

Luckily, before I made that decision, I sampled a Buffaló bar on your behalf.

It seemed like it was going to be my kind of chocolate bar, feeling nice and substantial in the wrapper and like it had a lot of filling, whatever it was.

OK, maybe it doesn't look so appetising in a photo!

Although the ingredients were also in English on the wrapper, it didn’t give away what came as a pleasant surprise to me – the inside is marshmallow, one of my very favourite things!

This was just gorgeous, nice milk chocolate (as mentioned before, sugary American style milk chocolate rather than British style) with a fluffy marshmallow filling.  I could happily eat these all day. Unfortunately, I only bought one of them!!

I wouldn’t go so far to give this 10 out of 10 because I think they could have squeezed in another flavour here – maybe a sprinkling of peanuts on top or a caramel layer. Let’s give it a 9 out of 10. I’m coming to the conclusion that I might just like anything Freyja makes more than any other chocolate brands in Iceland. (if their Marketing team is reading this, samples are always welcome.)

For a more rounded view I allowed Mr I’d Rather Be in Iceland to have a (small) piece. He wasn’t so enamoured with it as he prefers less sweet chocolate, and gave it only a 4 out of 10.

Sadly, my chocolate reviews section now comes to an abrupt end for a few months. Normal scheduling to resume post-race!

Hraunfossar is situated in a lava field area (the name means “lava falls”) and as you can see, pretty much comes out of a lava flow.

I think I like it because there are so many little waterfalls, and the whole thing is wide rather than tall. You can just imagine fairies or elves living there.

Close by is its similar partner Barnafoss, meaning children’s waterfall. This name is because legend has it that two little boys drowned here.

Hraunfossar and Barnafoss are about a 90 minute drive north of Reykjavík. Check them out if you’re going that way!

When I started this blog, I thought three times a week was the right amount to post, and that was what I was going to aspire to. It did seem quite a lot at the time and I wasn’t sure if I had that much Iceland in me!

As I’ve read more and more blogs, I still think three times a week is a good figure to work towards. Any less than that and I think you lose the connection you have with your readers. On the other hand, posting every day is just too much of a commitment and I’d struggle to come up with something interesting for people to read every day.

Anyway, this week I thought I’d do something different. I’m quite impressed that I’ve kept up the three times a week since mid-November. So I thought I’d try and make life a bit easier for myself by posting only *twice* this week.

Well. It’s a bit like suddenly doing less running (which by coincidence I have also done this week)- suddenly only having two posts to have written and thought about doesn’t seem very much.  It feels like FOREVER since I’ve posted something new. I’ve got too much spare time. AND my stats have gone down – disaster! So, here I am writing a third post. Phew, that feels better. I think I’d better go back to normal next week.

Are you all waiting for me to post?!

Fellow bloggers, how do you decide how much to post? Are you a creature of habit like me, or do you just write when you feel like it? Do you write lots of posts at once and then schedule them to publish or do you publish as you write?