Reykjavik, Iceland

Wed 17 Aug 16

Reykjavik, Iceland

When we got off the ship we saw a "Hop on - Hop off" bus waiting at the dock. We hadn't thought to look for it on the net before coming here so it was pleasant surprise. They are a very good way to get an overall impression of a city the easy way. We didn't do the full loop to start with but got off at Hallgrímkirkja, Iceland's largest church and Reykjavik's main landmark. We took the lift to the top for a view over the city.

Then walked down the hill to the main shopping street, most of which is a pedestrian mall. Lots of people, mostly tourists I suspect. Again, many souvenir shops selling much the same sort of stuff. I suspect the same could be said of the souvenir shops in Sydney and every other city.

However, there were some shops selling clothing aimed at the local residents. The clothing, both for men and women, is very stylish. It appears that Icelanders like to dress up for their nights out. Bow ties appear to be very popular judging by the number on display in the windows. I was very tempted to buy some but when do I get the chance to wear one? I had noticed similar clothing shops in the other towns we visited in Iceland.

The other item for sale up here (obviously) is cold weather gear - great stuff but too warm to wear even on a cold winter day in Sydney. 

Some of the jewellery for sale is very nice (there is something about Nordic design) but expensive. It seems to be mostly sterling silver. Susan was very taken by a lot of it but resisted the urge to buy.

In the evening we went on another shore excursion, this time to the Blue Lagoon which is about 45 kms out of town. A very interesting drive through the countryside, most of which is a lava flow area, very rough rocky ground with some moss coverage which gives it a green, soft appearance. But I doubt one could walk over most of it.

 A high temperature geothermal field is used to run a power plant and the overflow water is used to fill the lagoon. The temperature of the water varies slightly around the lagoon but is generally about the temp of a comfortably warm bath. Very relaxing. Fortunately, very little smell of Sulphur.

The Blue Lagoon is one of Reykjavik's major tourist attractions with over one million visitors a year. We left about 9 pm and there were still people coming in and the car park was almost full but the lagoon is large enough so that there is plenty of space so that you don't feel crowded and are not rubbing shoulders with strangers. (Less packed than a Sydney beach on a hot summer day.)

Thu 18 Aug 16

Reykjavik

Up early this morning for another tour. This time around part of the so called golden circle. Our first stop was at Thingvellir National Park which straddles an ancient geological fault, then on to Gullfoss (Golden Falls) and next to Geysir geothermal area.

 The geothermal area was rather small and not as spectacular as the Rotorua area in New Zealand (and according to the Americans, not a patch on Yellowstone National Park. This tour did give us a very good ride through the countryside (a couple of hundred kilometres) which was very green but sparsely populated. Iceland has a population of 333,000 but a population density of only 3 persons to the square kilometre.

222,000 of those people live in Reykjavik and its surrounding suburbs and there is a very good road network which reminded me of Canberra and its roads.

 One advantage of going on tours is the information provided by the guides

We also visited a geothermal power plant. 90% of Iceland houses are heated by hot water from these plants. (We weren't told about the other 10%). Cold water is free but residents pay per use for hot water. Interestingly, 80% of the electricity produced in Iceland is used to power the Aluminium industry. Bauxite is imported, turned into aluminium and exported.

Reykjavik has many modern, impressive buildings, including its Harpa Concert Hall and we would liked to have had more time there, especially to visit more of the museums. As it was we only had time for a quick look around the National Museum. Certainly a city worth a visit.

We now have two days at sea before reaching Rosyth, (Edinburgh) Scotland.

Fri 19 Aug 16

Crossing the North Atlantic. Grey, cloudy, windy and wet.

 Stabilisers must be the greatest contribution to cruise ships. I suspect that without them it would not be possible to operate lifts on ships and without lifts, I wonder how many people would be cruising. There seems to be a lot of passengers on this ship with mobility problems and I couldn't see a lot of them climbing stairs all day and every day.