Iceland to Switzerland

We did find a beach covered in quartz! It also had feldspar and amethyst, and I even found mesolite formations in the basalt rocks along the shore. We combed the tiny beach of black and white pebbles in a race against the tide, and finally tore ourselves away to drive on to the West Fjords. Iceland is an incredible place to go rock hounding. The rest of Iceland was a whirlwind. I counted all the different organisms I ate: 15. Beef, lamb, lobster, salmon, goose, duck, cod, catfish, Arctic char, flounder, tuna, mussels, scallops, horse and puffin. I avoided the Minke whale and never saw shark on the menu like I heard I would.

My favorite landscapes were the lava fields, especially around Snaefellsjokull, the glacier/volcano on a peninsula north of Reykjavik. I've never seen such neon green moss. We stayed at the Budir Hotel on a windswept beach with nothing but the gloomiest black church nearby. The lava fields looked like a sea frozen in the midst of a storm. The rain clouds never dissipated enough to see the glacier, but the sunshine broke through and created a super bright double rainbow across the barren landscape.

Our last day in Reykjavik was also Pride Fest, so we avoided the crowds and walked a lap around the town, picked up various woolen products, and witnessed a glowing orange sunset next to the silhouette of Snaefellsjokull from the rocks along the harbor.

After a long day of flights and layovers through Denmark, we arrived in Geneva. Fondue was first on the list, then sleep. Today, we rented a car and drove along the north shore of Lake Geneva through terraced vineyards interspersed with mansions, ate a picnic lunch in the shade of the cathedral in Lausanne, and climbed the hill to Gruyere to immerse ourselves in more melted cheese - raclette. Standing on the edge of the castle, we could hear the clanging of the cow bells and see skydivers landing in the hay fields below.

Next - the Alps.