[[Tenebrous Dragon|Home]] / [[Τα ταξίδια|Travel]] / [[2026-06 Selfoss|2026 Selfoss, IS]] # 2026 Selfoss, IS > [!trip] > ![[2026-06 Selfoss cover.jpg]] > - **When** Sunday 21 to Monday 29 June 2026 > - **Where** [[Σέλφος|Selfoss]], the [[Golden Circle, Iceland|Golden Circle]] and [[Ρέικιαβικ|Reykjavik]], [[Ισλανδία|Iceland]] > - **Why** The [[Dynalist Inc|Obsidian]] team retrea > - **How** [[Icelandair]], direct from [[Μινεάπολη|Minneapolis]] > - **Stayed** Two villas in the Selfoss area > - **With** The Obsidian team and my spouse > - **Carried** The [[CabinZero loadout|CabinZero]] and my [[Hip pack loadout|Fjällräven hip pack]] %% Specific and sensitive trip details available in [[Trip reference numbers#Selfoss 2026]] %% This was the Obsidian team retreat, and my first time outside the USA. I travel slowly and my team moves fast, and it was still more than I could have hoped for. I am looking forward to going back on my own. ## Days ### Sunday 21 and Monday 22 June **Getting there** I somehow managed to get my spouse packed into one bag (which is a battle, I assure you.). On the plane, I sat next to a lovely couple headed for Barcelona and then a cruise through the Greek isles. She had gone to Greece 50 years before and then came back and married him. Now, for their 50th, she was taking him to Greece. I think it's awesome that they are doing that. It also made me think "I really don't want to be waiting until I am old to be doing all this travel". As the "night" hit, I checked the price of the wifi on board. It was 24€ for 6 hours? Peaches.... I resisted the urge to order. I ordered a tapas box instead while reading a book, and it was surprisingly tasty, better than anything I have had from [[Delta Air Lines|Delta]] as far as their prepared food items. I also became a human cane, because more than a few people missed the headrest when walking the aisles, and used my head instead for stability. The plane entered midnight Central time sometime over [[Greenland]], and the sun was visible the whole time from the left side of the plane. The right side was light, then dark for an hour and a half, then light again. I think this may be among the furthest I have been from "home", though I guess [[2024-01 Hawaii|Hawaii]] might be further? On the plane my mind was still mostly on the Mediterranean. My consulate appointment was closer then, because I had not rescheduled it yet. The late spring in [[Μινεσότα|Minnesota]] had been very, very cloudy. I was needing some sun, and knew that Iceland would likely only give me one day of sun. ***Narrator**: And she was right. There was only one day of Sun on her trip.* --- We landed Monday morning, and it was a whirlwind just trying to get coordinated and meeting up with everyone, but also calming. We picked up our rented vehicles at the airport. Iceland is slower than Minnesota, which is slower than California. The people we were with, however, were much faster. My teammates are always go, go, go. That is not me. I am a slow traveler. I just want to go and immerse and live and *be*. Trips are not to mark off checkboxes on a card. That night I had a delicious dinner from [[Samúelsson Matbar]], in [[The Old Dairy Selfoss|The Old Dairy]] food hall in Selfoss: Lamb and potatoes and pickled cabbage and cucumber. It tasted like a home cooked meal that I would have made back in Minneapolis for myself. It seemed expensive at first, and I forgot about the ISK to USD conversion. Grand total after conversion? $25. That same quality of meal would be over $75 USD in Minneapolis. This was my first introduction to what higher quality of food standards gives you. ### Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 June **Slow days** On Tuesday morning my spouse and I went to Selfoss to pick up an ethernet cord for [[Licat]], and we added some groceries that people were missing, plus things to cook for lunch. We stopped on the side of the road and took some pictures of the landscapes. The rest of the day we mostly stayed at the villa. My spouse and I made Κοτόπουλο με πατάτες - which is Greek chicken with potatoes - for lunch for the team. The team spent most of the day catching up and talking in person about work items we wanted to flesh out, and made some good design decisions. I got some work done too on my side of things. Later that evening, I sat in the warm tub for a while, with a warm cup of lemongrass and ginger tea, listening to the rain. --- On Wednesday we did another supplies run in Selfoss, since we basically did one every day. Later we drove to the [[Secret Lagoon]] hot springs in [[Flúðir]] and went to [[Kerið]], the crater. The Secret Lagoon was very nice, but I wasn't in the best mood because of personal reasons. One thing really stuck out to me. I was sitting in the hot springs, and I went to go look at the cold pool. Some tourists were getting in and jumping out because it was cold, while a pair of locals sat there, relaxing and letting the cold be cold. I got up to the edge, put my legs in, took a deep breath, and exhaled as I sat down. One of the locals looked at me, nodded their head up, and said "Good." I ended up sitting there for 10 minutes, breathing, feeling my body switch from nothing to generating heat very quickly, until I started getting warm in water that was about 6°C. Looking back on it.. that is very much "me". I see a challenge, I take it. I see something hard, I do it. I see locals walking one way, I get in line and walk the same way. The fish dinner was from [[MAR Seafood]] in Selfoss. It took a while for them to get us our food, because they had another large group there and the kitchen staff were overworked. They kept apologizing to us, and at one point I just told them "Hey, relax, it's okay. We're patient and enjoying our night." The staff seemed appreciative. The French wine person, the sommelier, was very nervous, and [[Kepano]] helped him feel at ease by speaking French to him. He doesn't always look it, but Kepano is very kind. ### Thursday 25 June **Tomato farm, waterfall and Strokkur** The tomato farm, [[Friðheimar]], was really, really good, and I applaud what they do. We ate in the greenhouse, and we were encouraged to go look at the tomatoes and bees while waiting for our meal. I had a tomato salad, an iced tomato coffee latte and a tomato bruschetta appetizer. Soooo much tomato. The tomatoes there, I have to say, give the Greek tomatoes I had later in [[2026-08 Athens|Athens]] a run for their money. At every table were basil plants for you to clip off fresh basil for yourself as well. Our server also had some nice runic style and themed tattoos which I complimented (He went a little pink and said he liked mine, my necrotic magic one on my forearm, and that mine made him want to look at getting color tattoos). I did see horses in the pens outside. Full disclosure, I grew up in rural California where horses went up and down the street often, so they were not so magical to me. [[Aliya]], however, was enamored. At [[Gullfoss]] it was raining off and on, and very dark and overcast. I was so glad I brought my [[Wool white torrentshell 3l rain jacket|Patagonia packable jacket]]. You can go down to the falls and look at them in the ravine, but I stayed up top, and I think I got the better view. I walked further to where I could see the falls *AND* the waters that fed them. Down in the canyon, because it was so rainy, you just got wet and could really only see and hear within a few feet of you. Everyone just looked at the falls and dead ended themselves, but I left myself more room for more view. What the others missed was seeing what *not damming up the falls* protected. That is what Gullfoss is famous for, being protected so people can come and enjoy and witness it, in large part through the efforts of [[Sigríður Tómasdóttir]].[^ice-gullfoss] On the way back from Gullfoss to Selfoss we stopped at [[Geysir]] to see [[Strokkur]]. You can climb to the top of the hill there and see all the geysers. It was very rainy and windy, and I remember pulling my hood closer to my head so I wouldn't get water stuck in my ears. My [[Lone peak 9|Altra trail runners]] really pulled their weight on this day, because they kept me from slipping on wet rocks multiple times. The main geyser did erupt every few minutes, but it was more like a bubble burp in sound. It's not like [[Old Faithful]] (which I have only seen in video), which has a powerful rumbling. There were also many smaller geysers that bubbled. [[tgrosinger]], [[codedmart]], my spouse and I went up to the top. Kepano, Aliya, [[Liam]] and Licat went back to the lodge center to warm up. We stayed at the top for a few moments and then made our way back down when the weather turned worse. Sadly, being left behind on the climb up is a bit par for the course for my team. They rush. I don't. It does not make me happy at all that they do that, but they are also used to working together online, and I don't think any of them participate in hiking clubs with rules about sticking together. Still, I am proud of myself for going up, and making it down, considering it was steep and I was a lot more out of shape then. Kepano cooked dinner, an Italian tomato chicken pasta with a side salad, and for dessert we had yogurt with fresh berries. I will one-up him on Saturday with our meal. . ### Friday 26 June **Reykjavik day** The team was in Reykjavik that day. On the way over, the car had me, [[Dharam]], Aliya and my spouse. We took the northern route, Route 435, from Selfoss to Reykjavik and went through the mountains alongside the geothermal pipes, and it was fully paved.[^ice-435] Dharam and I had a lot of fun with that road, because the turns and switchbacks kept providing views for us to look at. It reminded Dharam of parts of his home region in [[Ινδία|India]] and Aliya of [[Καζακστάν|Kazakhstan]]. To me it had that very [[Μοντάνα|Montana]] feel. It was also reminiscent of the trips to the high desert through the San Bernardino mountains my spouse and I used to make. We got there and met up. Much of the team wanted to go on the puffin tour, and I skipped it. I went to the [[Reykjavík Maritime Museum]], stared at many old models of ships, and "caught" a giant fish.. spouse only caught a can. ![[2026-06 Reykjavik Maritime Museum.jpg|600]] From there I went to [[Deig]], the bakery at [[Le Kock]], and this is where the bartenders spoke Greek.[^ice-lekock] I had a small chat with them about renting out their home in Greece for the summer season. They do this every summer, and they love it as they get a lot of extra money and get to escape some of the more intolerable heat. I also went to the [[Ισλανδικό Φαλλολογικό Μουσείο|Phallological Museum]], and took a lot of pictures of male anatomy art... a lot. Because most of it is honestly hilarious versus titillating. My favorite (besides the Greek and Roman art) was a display called "Phallus-Doodling of the NYPD", a binder of pictures the museum received in 2024. NYPD police officers have to keep a written record of their activities in Memo Books, which are legal documents that must be presented to a court during trials and investigations. When an officer leaves a Memo Book unattended, other officers draw phalluses on the "fly sheet", or the backside of the pages, to embarrass the cop who left it lying around.[^ice-nypd] The drawings are rather impressive in their endowments. ![[2026-06 Reykjavik Phallological Museum NYPD.jpg|400]] In the afternoon, the team met up and walked around, killing time before dinner. While we walked, Licat was collecting goose feathers for their kids, as prizes for "shark coin". Later, Kepano, my spouse, Licat, tgrosinger, codedmart and I went to [[Café Loki]] and played Jenga.[^ice-loki] Turns out, I am pretty good at it (I had no clue). Kepano and I squared off for a while, trying to beat each other and the sticky painted blocks. Dinner was at [[Forréttabarinn]], where I had horse meat for the first time, along with the olive plate and a Greek salad (of course).[^ice-forretta] A lot of the team members thought the place was MID, but honestly they forget that in many cuisines food is meant to be served at room temp or cold, and not piping, burn-your-mouth hot. I enjoyed it. We then walked along the shore and the harbor back to our vehicles and drove back. Aliya had a scare with losing some jewelry at a gas station, but when we got back to the villa, Liam and my spouse found it in the car. I got home super late and got eaten by midges.[^ice-midges] Eventually I slept. ### Saturday 27 to Monday 29 June **Lamb, and leaving** Saturday was a day to rest as best as we could, and people were getting ready to leave the next day. I still did 200 emails, and I also went grocery shopping and got some lamb. That was my one-up on Kepano. My spouse and I made κλέφτικο, leg of lamb in parchment over potatoes (a very Greek dish, mind you, made with Icelandic lamb),[^ice-kleftiko] with a Greek salad, and for dessert we did different berries and yogurt. That lamb was GONE (for the most part), because everyone ate heavily. I wish we had Icelandic lamb at home. :) --- People started leaving on Sunday, so it was a day of heading back to Reykjavik. My spouse and I stopped at another coffee shop (I forgot which), and then went to [[Flyover Iceland]], which was.. terrible. I would not recommend it. It is now a joke to say *pssh* as you get misted by fake water.[^ice-flyover] Kepano and his wife, [[Aisha]], gave me a lava rock from their [[Volcano Express]] experience (which I did not go to), which was nice of them. We then went to [[Grandi Mathöll]] for lunch.[^ice-grandi] Dharam went to Annapurna, and Licat, my spouse and I ate at [[Fjárhúsið]].[^ice-fjarhusid] At 3 PM we left and went back to Selfoss, and enjoyed the evening alone and cleaned. --- On Monday, we closed up the villa and drove Route 34 south of Selfoss, and followed the southern coast. We took 34 to 427, and at [[Γκρίνταβικ|Grindavík]] we had lobster stew from [[Bryggjan]]. I am so glad we waited to get food and coffee here. Then we took 43 back to 41, and on to [[Keflavík International Airport|Keflavík]]. The route took us through the lava fields that wiped out the road a few years back and cut the town of Grindavík off from access.[^ice-lava] Can you imagine that? Particularly in winter, when sea travel isn't easily doable. Keflavík was... stressful. We got pulled aside for secondary security screening and searched. They found nothing on me, but they kept my spouse for a while. A long while. They kept insisting he had some foreign substance on him. Eventually, they let us go and marked our tickets. I had been waiting outside secondary security for a while, waiting for him, and I noticed something. Those with flights to DC, Dallas, etc. were sent on through. Everyone who had a flight to MSP was sent to secondary screening. I was just glad to get on the plane by the time we finally boarded. Secondary security came up to us twice after that, but saw our tickets and left us alone. On the flight home my spouse napped some, and then we watched [[Agent Hamilton]] some. It's a spy thriller that felt like a standard procedural, but it was interesting from a European lens. The trip did not end until we made it back to our apartment in Minneapolis. We landed in a heat index of 41°C, and the trains were down, so we had to take a bus for almost an hour to get home (it's 10 minutes by train). ## Where I stayed > [!stay] Two villas near Selfoss > Ten of us split across two villas, which the team called Dark Mode and Light Mode. > > Light Mode, where I did not sleep, had five bedrooms and a coffee station but no kitchen, and it was in some sort of vacation community. Someone who stayed there said it felt like it was falling apart. > > Dark Mode, where I stayed, was great. It had two big bedrooms, two smaller bedrooms, a big kitchen, a warm tub, and a sauna that we did not use. The team only cooked here, since Light Mode had no kitchen. The views from the deck were great, and the cover photo is one of them. My only feedback is that it needed fans because of the midges. ## What I packed > [!pack] What was in the bag > I didn't check a bag, and everything fit as personal items. The CabinZero stayed at the villa, and the Nanobags did their work again. I took the side sling and the day pack, along with my hip pack. > > For the weather I wore a merino wool base layer and [[Olive green gowalk tight|Skechers leggings]], with my [[Sail blue compact travel hoodie|Unbound merino travel hoodie]] as the usual layer, my Altra trail runners, and my Patagonia jacket when it rained. No gloves. I wore my travel hat, the black [[Flight Cap]] with a dragon patch.[^ice-pack] > > The hip pack held my blue [[Flight Fold]] passport wallet, my [[Travelers journal|travelers journal]], floss, tampons, pens and a scrunchie. I did not need the journal, because I tend to journal electronically on the go. ## Lessons > [!lessons] > 1. **Stay awake on the flight, then nap when you land** > Watching everyone try to sleep on a plane is miserable. Just stay awake if you can, and take a nap for an hour or two when you get there. > 2. **Do what the locals do, even when it is hard** > The tourists jumped out of the cold pool and the locals stayed in. When I stayed in with them, my body started making its own heat. > 3. **Talk to the people serving you** > A small chat with two bartenders taught me that a lot of Greek people rent out their places on the islands in the summer and head to Iceland to work the tourist season. > 4. **Get bug spray that won't make you break out** > The midges were bad enough that the villa needed fans. Find a repellent that works on your skin before you go. > 5. **Stress from other people can dim a wonderful trip** > The place, the food and the views were all wonderful, and the stress of the people around me still took something off it. > 6. **Get paper tickets** > Half the time the security turnstiles don't work with phone screens, and a paper ticket gets you through. That goes for any international trip, not just this one. ## Planning notes > [!plan]- What I wanted to do > Before I left I had a short list. > > - [x] Hot tub, obviously > - [x] Gullfoss, Geysir and Strokkur from the Golden Circle, though we skipped Þingvellir > - [x] Figure out the midnight sun situation before losing my mind. It was no problem, and I slept just fine and quite enjoyed it. It is a diffuse light and not truly sunny, and the skies were a little clearer at night than during the drizzly, cloudy days > - [ ] Pick up swag, hats at least two or three. I got no hats [^ice-midges]: Grapevine, [Animal of Iceland: The Midge](https://grapevine.is/mag/articles/2018/03/05/animal-of-iceland-the-midge/), which describes midges as many species of tiny flying insect, says the lake midge does not bite or sting, and says the black fly swarms too but feeds on the blood of people and animals. [^ice-gullfoss]: Wikipedia, [Gullfoss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullfoss), which says the falls were leased to foreign investors for possible hydroelectric use, that Sigríður Tómasdóttir is popularly credited with saving them from exploitation, and that they became a permanent conservation site in 1979. Her own [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigr%C3%AD%C3%B0ur_T%C3%B3masd%C3%B3ttir) describes her as an environmentalist whose activism helped preserve the falls. [^ice-435]: Islande Explora, [Route 435 et le lac de Þingvallavatn](https://www.islande-explora.com/voyage-islande/region-sud/route-435-lac-thingvallavatn/), which says Route 435 (Nesjavallavegur) is paved, becomes winding in mountainous volcanic terrain, and runs alongside the pipes that bring geothermal hot water to Reykjavik from the Nesjavellir power station. [^ice-lekock]: Le Kock, [lekock.is](https://www.lekock.is/), which describes Le Kock as a burger restaurant and Deig as its in-house bakery, both at Tryggvagata 12 in Reykjavik. Deig's own page is [Deig Workshop](https://www.facebook.com/deigworkshop) on Facebook. [^ice-nypd]: Exhibit text at the Icelandic Phallological Museum, which explains the Memo Book practice and says the pictures were received in 2024. [^ice-loki]: Café Loki, [loki.is](https://loki.is/), which describes a traditional Icelandic restaurant at Lokastígur 28, across from Hallgrímskirkja church in downtown Reykjavik. [^ice-forretta]: Forréttabarinn, [menu](https://www.forrettabarinn.is/en/forrettabarinn/menu/), which describes an appetizer bar at Nýlendugata 14 in Reykjavik serving small plates made from Icelandic ingredients, and lists a grilled fillet of horse with onion jam. [^ice-kleftiko]: Wikipedia, [Kleftiko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleftiko), which describes it as a traditional Greek dish of slow-roasted marinated meat, traditionally lamb, most often cooked in parchment and served with potatoes. For a recipe, see Akis Petretzikis's [arni kleftiko](https://akispetretzikis.com/en/recipe/2965/arni-kleftiko), which is not the one we made. [^ice-flyover]: Flyover Iceland, [flyovericeland.com](https://flyovericeland.com/), which describes a flying theater with full motion seating, a 20-metre spherical screen, and effects like wind, mist and scents, at Fiskislóð 43 in Reykjavik. [^ice-grandi]: Grandi Mathöll, [grandimatholl.is](https://www.grandimatholl.is/), which describes a food hall of independent vendors in Reykjavik's Grandi harbour area. [^ice-fjarhusid]: Fjárhúsið, [Grandi Mathöll's page](https://www.grandimatholl.is/fjarhusid), which gives its hours and the tagline "Here beats the heart of the fishing nation". Annapurna's own site is [annapurnaspice.is](https://www.annapurnaspice.is/panta). Volcano Express, [volcanoexpress.is](https://www.volcanoexpress.is/), describes a flight simulation over volcanic landscapes in Harpa with heat, vibration and cold-air effects. [^ice-lava]: Wikipedia, [Grindavík](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grindav%C3%ADk), which says the town was evacuated in November 2023 amid seismic activity, and that a February 2024 eruption at the edge of the town sent lava over buildings and infrastructure. [^ice-pack]: Maurice Moves, [The Flight Cap](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mauricemoves/the-flight-cap) on Kickstarter, the [Mythical R.E. Patch Series 003](https://mauricemoves.com/products/mythical-r-e-patch-series-003), a set of four patches that includes a dragon, and [The Flight Fold](https://mauricemoves.com/products/the-flight-fold), a passport wallet with a landscape opening for boarding passes and an exterior pen sleeve.