July 5 – Reykjavik, Iceland

Hallgrímskirkja church

July 5 – Reykjavik, Iceland

church door

Weather – 20º!

Steps – 15,650

Last day of the tour and the only full day in Reykjavik. The old part of town is very charming with many pubs, bars, restaurants, and shops. It would be nice to spend a bit more time here. However, it is not cheep! Especially the cabs. The 12 min cab ride from the port to the hotel was $60CAN!!! The 45 min ride to the airport was $220! 2 pints was $35. Sheesh! We knew Iceland was pricy before we arrived, but being faced with it was WOW!

Þingvellir rift

As with every last day on the cruise we are off

Þingvallavatn lake and cool sky

EARLY. They need to turn 90% of the boat over for new guests. One of the very best days on a cruise (other than when we gain an hour of sleep or play Canadian Name That Tune) is when we stay on for the next cruise. We haven’t done it a lot, but when everyone is scrambling to leave, we sleep in and relax.

The one rare time our hotel room is ready early, we can’t take advantage. Our tour to 3 of Iceland’s top attractions meets shortly after we arrive at our hotel for the night, the Apotek Reykjavik

Geysir is starting

.

We had a bit of time to wander early morning

there is goes!

Reykjavik as it is waking up. I’m not a fan of waking up early, but when it’s imposed on me I like to watch patios being set up, people having coffee etc.

We were able to see the Hallgrímskirkja – the iconic Lutheran church that once I started researching Iceland you see everywhere. As with other non-Catholic Christian churches this one is interesting and beautiful in its own way, but very plain.

We were picked up from a bus stop in the centre to transfer to the bus stop where the Golden Circle tour departed from.

Our first stop about 40 minutes outside of Reykjavik is Thingvellir (Þingvellir in

little geysir

Icelandic) National Park. The reason to visit here is to see the rift where two tectonic plates (the North

Gullfoss 

American and the Eurasian ones) are gradually separating, creating some super steep cliffs. This is very cool. There’s also Þingvallavatn, the largest lake in Iceland. There is a bit of walking to this place, so we were able to stretch our legs. We are warm here…I’m glad I wore a t-shirt and a thin zippy.

About 20 minutes down the road was the Great Geysir, Geothermal Area. The

looking at Gullfoss 

entire area bubbles with geothermal activity from

Gullfoss 

steam vents and boiling mud pits. The main attraction was the geysers. Geysers the world over, are named for Geysir. The geyser ‘explodes’ about 200 feet into the air about every 10 minutes – super cool. We suspect that there is some kind of ‘manipulation’ going on as some research tells us that eruptions are infrequent – either way, it’s very cool.

This is where we have lunch. We opted for a “Golden Circle Direct” tour which is fast compared to a longer one. Getting off the boat today, didn’t really let us meet the longer tour, plus – we like getting in and getting out. We don’t need time to l

and more Gullfoss 

inger. I wasn’t sure there would be time for lunch, so I smuggled snacks from the boat, but we had time to split a quick burger.

The most popular waterfall in Iceland is Gullfoss

'helmets' near Gullfoss 

(the golden falls), our last stop. This is one of Iceland’s biggest waterfalls. The falls are on the Hvita River and 32 meters over two tiers into the gorge below. This place was chilly – we were about an hour and a half into the mountains, so the temp isn’t surprising.

The rest of the tour was the 90 ride back to Reykjavik.

buying from the bar

Back in Reykjavik, we checked in to the hotel and rested a bit. Or should I say, I rested, and Chris

watching the game

watched the Germany/Spain game. It was funny, because we had our windows open and could hear the roaring of pubs around, but about 20 seconds late – must have been a different, delayed feed.

Later we wandered a bit and found a pub for the France/Portugal game. We arrived halfway into the first half and were able to find great/comfy seats. Eventually the place packed up. We ended up sharing our table with some German people and then some Swiss guys. I’m not sure if there were any Icelandic people in the place at all.

when in Reykjavik

After the game we walked half a block to the famous Reykjavik hotdog stand. Apparently, this place has been open every day for almost 90 years. It was good, but we shared one doctored as they recommended - ketchup, sweet mustard, crisp fried onion and raw onion.

We split a pizza on the way home and called it a loooooong day.