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- IMG 2434
The church was locked, but we were able to peek into the windows. It almost looked as if you were looking into a child's play house version of the church. It had all the usual elements of a church (pews, baptismal font, choir loft, altar), but they were at such a smaller scale. And everything looked like it had just been given a jaunty coat of paint. It was surreal and adorable. - IMG 2433
The church was locked, but we were able to peek into the windows. It almost looked as if you were looking into a child's play house version of the church. It had all the usual elements of a church (pews, baptismal font, choir loft, altar), but they were at such a smaller scale. And everything looked like it had just been given a jaunty coat of paint. It was surreal and adorable. - IMG 2430
In 1816, the national Lutheran church decommissioned the church at Budir. A woman named Steinunn Sveinsdottir protested, and received permission to rebuild the church herself in 1848. The door ring is inscribed with the words "this church was built in 1848 without the support of the spiritual fathers." Sveinsdottir is buried in the churchyard. - IMG 2429
Black church at Buðir - IMG 2427
Buðir, the site of an adorable tiny black church. The church was originally white, but it was difficult to maintain against the weather and salt air. In the 1990's, tar was applied to the exterior to protect it against the elements. The black color was seen as a novelty and the church at Buðir as been the site of many destination weddings ever since. - IMG 2426
Buðir - IMG 2423
Axlar-Bjorn's farm - IMG 2417
We made a quick stop nearby at Öxl to see the place where Axlar-Bjorn, Iceland's first (and only) serial killer, lived. In the 16th century, he opened his farmhouse to tourists as a guesthouse. If he thought hey were rich, he would murder them with an axe and steal their possessions. When he was apprehended, he was executed. They feared that he would return as a ghost, so they dismembered his body and distributed the pieces in various geographic locations to prevent his body from being able to reassemble itself. - IMG 2409
We made a quick stop nearby at Öxl to see the place where Axlar-Bjorn, Iceland's first (and only) serial killer, lived. In the 16th century, he opened his farmhouse to tourists as a guesthouse. If he thought hey were rich, he would murder them with an axe and steal their possessions. When he was apprehended, he was executed. They feared that he would return as a ghost, so they dismembered his body and distributed the pieces in various geographic locations to prevent his body from being able to reassemble itself. - IMG 2405
Angel and Hoi Ming with a statue of Bárður Snæfellsas, Arnarstapi - IMG 2401
Bárður Snæfellsas was a half-troll / half-man who is the subject of his own Saga. He left Norway, refusing to pay taxes to King Harald during Settlement times, sailing with 30 men for 50 days before reaching Iceland. His Saga functions as more of a parody of the other Icelandic Sagas. This is yet another testament to the Icelandic dark sense of humor. Whereas it was believed that the earliest Icelandic settlers threw two high-seat pillars from their ship to determine where to make landfall, Bárður Snæfellsas defecated and decided to settle wherever his feces washed ashore. This place turned out to be Djúpalónssandur, the beach we visited yesterday. After many adventures, Bárður Snæfellsas disappeared into the ice cap of Snæffelsjökull; henceforth his spirit is inextricably linked to the landscape. - IMG 2393
Arnarstapi - IMG 2378
Arnarstapi - IMG 2373
Gatklettur - IMG 2371
Gatklettur