We opted again to truncate our driving trip today as the roads still showed icy and opted to just head south to Reykjavík where we would be spending our next few days.
Despite the icy roads, we were able to make it to Hraunfossar, where we were the only car there when we arrived. Hraunfossar, or Lava Falls, is a series of waterfalls from the Hallmundarhraun lava field into the Hvítá River. With no one there, we pulled out our hiking poles and traversed the slippery path to the observation point and were awed by the display of multiple waterfalls. We ventured down another icy path to arrive at Barnafoss, a much more rapid waterfall known as the "Children's Falls" due to a tragic legend of two children who tried to follow their parents to church over a stone bridge over the waterfall and fell to their deaths. The mother demanded the bridge be torn down and placed a curse on it and an earthquake later shattered the passage.
Our next stop was Deildartunguhver, a geothermal hot spring that is the most powerful hot spring in Europe. The hot spring has a constant flow and plays an important role in heating nearby towns through geothermal energy.
Next door to, and fed by, Deildartunguhver is the Krauma Thermal Hot Springs, a natural geothermal bath and spa. We decided to go for another unexpected spa experience so we pulled our swimwear out of our luggage and headed inside. For 45 minutes, we had all six baths (five warm and one cold, which we did not use) all to ourselves, along with two steam rooms. The wind was a little brisk but the different heated pools, ranging in temperature from 37-41 degrees Celsius were wonderful. There was also a Relaxation Room with loungers and a fireplace.
The menu at Krauma restaurant was not appealing. Borgarnes was on our way back on route 1 so we returned there and went to a spot we had seen yesterday, Dirty Burger & Ribs. It was an American-style pub restaurant but the half-rack of ribs and burger were very good. There were likely better restaurants in Borgarnes than we experienced, but most were not open for lunch.
There was not a lot to see on the drive from Borgarnes to Reykjavík, but we made decent time as the roads had cleared. Apple Maps led us astray again and had us turn at the concert hall downtown, but we righted ourselves and found the hotel, but there was no obvious parking. J. R. got out to try to find the entrance, but there was not one on the main street. He went around the back and as he got to the entrance, saw Janie driving in the other way. He directed her to an open place near the entrance so we could unload the car and we checked in. The front desk clerk told us it was okay for us to leave the car where it was, although the next morning, a different clerk said that was not a parking lot and the parking was down the street. Our room was a bit small, but it had a refrigerator and a large bathroom and would be a good place to stay for a few days.
We headed to the bar for happy hour and after looking over the menu, decided just to eat in the hotel. Janie had lamb chops and J. R. had a lamb burger and fries. Our meals were very good and we headed upstairs to unpack everything and sort out what we were wearing the next few nights and what we had to pack up for our flight to London in a few days.
