4/26/25
Hello! Let’s start this great week with some waterfalls! After a busy Easter Sunday we enjoyed a P-day outing with several of the missionaries on Monday. We loaded up the cars to head to the south coast and find some waterfalls. We enjoyed having Elder Moyer and Elder Young ride along with us. These are terrific boys and hard working missionaries.
It’s about a two hour drive from Reykjavik to Skógafoss. We’ve been here a few times and it never gets old!
We met the other missionaries here. The young missionaries were taking a 10 mile hike and us oldies didn’t want to try and keep up with them. We parted ways in the parking lot and waved goodbye as they dashed up the 527 steps to the trailhead at the top of the falls.
We had a really wonderful day with Elder & Sister Mogenhan – Karen & Wes. We are still getting to know them and they are hilarious! They’re fun to be with, they are full of interesting stories, and they are very adventurous. Our missionary service with them is already a pleasure.
The end of the rainbow!
Just as we were leaving Skógafoss I spotted this guy off to the side of the path. I have no idea what this is! It was moving — walking around and approaching people — so not a statue. An Icelandic troll out for a hike?!
We drove a bit further south to Dyrhólaey. The views off these cliffs are unbelievable. It was very windy and we enjoyed trying to stay on our feet while exploring the views. In a month or so the puffins will be nesting here so we will definitely be back.
On our way back north we stopped at Skeiðflatarkirkja. We love these beautiful little churches.
And another waterfall, one of our favorites, Irafoss. This waterfall is a little off the main road and we are usually the only ones there. It’s gorgeous.
The next waterfall was Seljalandsfoss. You can follow the trail behind this waterfall and take a refreshing shower in glacier waterfall mist! We loved it!
Our final waterfall of the day was Gljúfrabúi. She’s hidden in the rocks and does not disappoint.
Wes & Karen were great sports as we took them around to some of our favorite falls throughout the day. They are adapting to Iceland very well and didn’t mind the wind and the water! It was a wonderful day.
We had several terrific things happen on Tuesday. There was progress made with the immigration paperwork for our newest elder who is headed to Iceland in early May. That paperwork is tricky and it takes months to process. If we can’t get the elder’s approval before they come to the country they have to have a temporary reassignment until it is approved. It looks like this one is going to pull through just in time.
On Tuesday afternoon Elder Nehren & Elder Morales both passed their practical driving exam (in a car with a proctor) and they now both have an Icelandic driver’s license! This is amazing! We’ve been working on this process for three months and I’m so happy to say that we now understand how it works and that it is, in fact possible to get an Icelandic driver’s license. 🙂 The picture below is with the woman who conducted their driving test. She was stern with the boys during their tests, but happy with their results and confident they will be safe drivers.
On Wednesday Elder Young & Elder Nielsen also passed their driving test and got their licenses. Next week our final two elders of this set will take their tests and, hopefully, pass. Then we’ll be done with the first group of elders going through the licensing process. After this, missionaries will typically get their license a few at a time, depending on how many of them come into the country to start their missions at the same time.
Wednesday evening we had a dinner appointment in Keflavik with a member of our branch who isn’t currently attending, but she loves us to visit. We decided to head south a couple of hours early to do some sight seeing and find some new places to visit. We had heard of a place called Krýsuvíkurberg Cliffs off the south coast not far from Grindavik and we went to check them out. There was a turn off the main road that took us down 3 km of gravel road. At the end of the road was a small parking area and the edge of the island, dropping off to the ocean. As we walked out to the edge we were overcome by the sheer magnitude of these cliffs.
There is a small chain “fence” that marks the edge of these 40 m high cliffs. I’m pretty sure that chain will not keep anyone safe if you happened to fall here. There were thousands of sea birds coming and going and making a racket! The waves were pounding below and you can see for miles across the water. It wasn’t very windy and it wasn’t raining and I think I could have stayed there for hours. Krýsuvíkurberg Cliffs just might be my favorite place so far in Iceland. And that is saying something, because there are so many beautiful places here. It is incredible. We did some hiking along the edge of the cliffs and enjoyed the solitude and the beauty. We will be back here again and again. This world God created is unbelievable!
We’re not sure what this structure is or who put it there, but it has a great view!
Do you ever wonder how Todd gets some of these beautiful videos? Wonder no more! No senior missionaries were harmed in the making of this blog post. 🙂
We really could have spent hours more at the cliffs but we needed to work our way to Keflavik. As we were driving we came across a pull out for Brimketill lava rock pool. This is a natural pool in the surf that looks a lot like a fancy hot tub. I can guarantee you that the water there is not hot! So many incredible views along this part of the Icelandic shore.
Our final stop before our dinner appointment was at the Bridge Between Continents. This is one of the many places where Iceland lays across both the Eurasian and the North American continents. As the tectonic plates move apart this trench grows by about two centimeters a year.
Below, Todd is on the North American plate while I am on the Eurasian plate. Good thing we know how to compromise and come together in the middle!
On Thursday the 24th Iceland celebrated Sumardagurinn fyrsti, or the first day of summer. I found the following explanation of the first day of summer: “It is a national holiday and you could say an official summer launch party. The first day of Summer happens every year on the first Thursday after April 18th, which means that The first day of Summer is always somewhere between April 19th and 25th. Late April in Reykjavík can still be chilly but the people of Iceland are optimists. This day is about celebrating longer days and waving goodbye to winter’s icy grip with parades, parties, and all sorts of fun stuff happening all over Reykjavík. And get this: according to our folklore, if it freezes right before the big day, it’s a sign of a fantastic summer ahead! So, we put out bowls filled with water overnight, crossing our fingers for a frosty surprise.”
We did have nice weather on the first day of summer, even though it’s cooler and rainy today. My friend told me that if they don’t declare it’s summer they might not notice! There are now six months of summer ahead and it did freeze the night before so hopefully it will be a good summer.
Todd and I were busy with some mission items throughout the day Thursday and we didn’t make it to see any parades. But we did see several children on bicycles and trampolines out enjoying the weather.
Thursday evening the relief society knitting circle met again. Our relief society presidency made it a first day of summer party to knit and celebrate summer. There was delicious food and good company and some knitting was done! Apparently I am doing okay with my knitting. My teacher, Helga, supervised some work, taught me a new stitch, and sent me home with homework.
Don’t look too closely at my stitches! And, Helga is also teaching Karen to knit. Helga is trying to be patient with us newbies.
Before some appointments on Friday we did a little bit of walking in downtown Reykjavik. It’s a fun place to explore!
This is the Alþingishúsið where the parliament meets.
We took a few minutes to stop into the Dómkirkjan í Reykjavík. The organist was practicing while we looked around and it is a beautiful and peaceful place.
We also enjoyed several statues placed around the area we were walking. Below on the left is Jon Sigurdsson, the leader of Iceland’s independence movement. On the right is Ingibjörg H. Bjarnason, the first female member of parliament.
Below, on the left, is Jón Vídalín a scholar, preacher, and poet. And on the right is Bjarni Jónsson, a priest who served in the cathedral.
One errand for Friday was meeting with Jackie and Jack Anderson for lunch downtown. They are friends and neighbors of my mom and had just flown into Iceland to begin a trip. They made time to have lunch with us and visit and it was fun to spend time with them. My mom keeps having friends come to Iceland! It makes the world feel smaller!
After lunch we had a few other errands to do such as: Todd conducted a second baptismal interview with a gentleman who is getting baptized this Sunday. Then we went to pick up one of the young missionary cars that has been in the shop for several weeks getting body repairs after an unfortunate run in with a pole. 🙂 We also did our weekly YSA grocery shopping and prep work for the upcoming class and meal.
We finished off the busy week with a (mostly) at home Saturday. We both had work to do to catch up on emails, lesson preparation, talk preparation, Todd’s lesson plans, laundry, and more. It was a rainy day and it was nice to get this blog post written and get caught up on our other work. We ended the day with a dinner date with Wes & Karen. It was a working dinner with several business items we needed to sort through. It’s great to have strong missionaries to work with and we really appreciate that they have hit the ground running. We ate a place called Hlemmur Mathöll. It is an upscale food hall built in the old Reykjavik bus depot. In the pictures below you can see how it used to look and how it looks now. It’s a nice place with delicious food!
Thank you for coming along with us to enjoy the views this week! We’ll see you again next week with what I’m sure will be more wonderful adventures. Check out Todd’s social media pages for more pictures and videos! Bye for now!
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