Iceland Day 6 (Underwater tunnel, Reykjavic, a LONG NAP, and 5hrs of non-stop Aurora)

 

 

Entrance to the Hvalfjörður Tunnel - it is a 3.5mile tunnel that goes under the ocean to Reykjavic. The tunnel reaches a depth of 541ft below sea level.  This tunnel cuts 45km off of the trip going around the peninsula.  Cost is approx. $10. 

Harpa - The Icelandic Opera House

Hallgrimskirkja Catholic Church

The Sun Voyager in downtown Reykjavik

Reykjavik street art was everywhere on the sides of buildings.  All very classy and dressed up different areas.

Gull Brewery

A typical view through the dirty windshield.  Especially when the car runs out of fluid.  Ryan got hooked up with a "free" wash from a tour bus driver at the gas station shortly after.

Hveragerdisbaer was a neat little town.  They have an outdoor swimming pool in town that is heated year round by geyser steam.  We debated on going in, but the prospect of a nap at a guesthouse won! We found a guesthouse nearby with hot tubs out back. We slept from 3-10pm...some much needed sleep.  Good thing since the aurora that night was beyond phenomenal and we were out until 5:30am enjoying the view. 

 The pictures will not do justice for the 360 degree surround-view aurora that was all around us.  It was truly a moving and surreal experience.  Lights dancing in multiple colors over our heads, light movement that was so fast it was hard to keep up.  This night will go down as the Aurora highlight of our trip.  It was almost an out of body experience!!  I don't know how else to describe it!

You have to hang-in with a slow start cause you never know when the sky will explode into color.  -Ryan

This picture most closely represents what we were seeing for hours all above our heads.  It was crazy like God was throwing neon green water color paint all over the sky, except it just kept changing!  So glad we invested into the right type of lenses to be able to capture these scenes. -Ryan

The whole sky above us was green dancing around... Just unreal until you experience it.  -Ryan

Staying on settings on manual to capture the shot can be difficult!  -Ryan

 

The aurora was still going and changing, but we decided we should call it a night.

 

After leaving the aurora, Ryan insisted that a gas station would be open with eggs...he was getting his appetite back and really wanted eggs.  We found these eggs at the 66 station...oh, and real ones too!  Approx $6 for 10 eggs. -Shannon

The real eggs were worth it!  That hot ham/egg/cheese sandwich was perfect after such an awesome night! -Ryan