Got up this morning at the Natura Hotel Reykjavik and had breakfast. Stephen got on the bus to the airport at 8:00 am. He later wrote a note saying he arrived OK at the airport, but since we had to change our incoming airline from United to Iceland Air, he ran into some difficulties in getting the United return flight. He got it sorted out and is on his way home. He should arrive in HOU at 7:00 pm local time. I wrote Maxine about the difficulties Stephen had and she called United and said, while I will need to check in at the airport instead of on-line, there should be no problem.
After Stephen departed, I got my maps and walked off toward Reykjavik. I visited the National Museum, the Perlan and the Settlement Exhibition and had fish and chips at the Reykjavik Fish Restaurant. I don't know how far I walked today since my watch and my iphone both got busted on the trip. I figure about 4 to 5 miles overall.
The Perlan is a mirrored dome that covers huge geothermal water tanks. They have very nice exhibits of Iceland's glaciers, a cafe and a great 360-degree view of the city and surrounding mountains. They even have a man-made glacier that you can walk through. It had the actual temperature and sounds to be found inside a glacier...it was cold.
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| Perlan |
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| View of the City from the Perlan grounds |
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| Stuff Puffin exhibit in the Perlan |
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| Walking through the Perlan glacier |
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| Walking through the Perlan glacier |
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| Looking down a fissure in the Perlan glacier |
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| Walking through the Perlan glacier |
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| View of hotel and domestic airport from the Perlan observation deck |
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| City view from the Perlan observation deck |
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| Panoramic view from the Perlan observation deck |
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| Panoramic view from the Perlan observation deck |
After leaving the Perlan, I walked back down the hill toward the hotel. I ran across some surviving WWII American military structures.
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| Entrances to pill boxes on the side of the hill. |
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| Pill box |
I then walked over to the center of the city, about a mile. First I visited the National Museum. This museum covers the history of Iceland from the arrival of the first Viking settlers to the present situation. No photos were allowed inside but it was very interesting.
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| Nice house |
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| View from the National Museum toward the City, across the lake |
After leaving the museum, I passed a cemetery. We loved visiting cemeteries, so I strolled through it. Not like any US cemetery I've seem. Very random, very small plots with multiple occupants, very "natural" vegetation...not "well kept" like US cemeteries, but not untidy.
Then I got to the Settlement Exhibit. This building sits atop one of the several archaeological excavations of a Viking house. Again, no photos and very dark. Very interesting.
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| Settlement Exhibit |
Then to lunch. Stephen and I spotted this "hole in the wall" yesterday as we walked along the pier. I decided to try it today. It was very good.
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| Order counter at the restaurant |
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| Table top at the restaurant |
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| Fish and Chips |
I spent the next couple of hours looking for a suitable souvenir to take home. Yesterday, I had decided to take home a stuffed Puffin. Last night I checked on-line and found there is a 1918 US law prohibiting the importation of a stuffed Puffin. I found nothing else that I felt worthy of bringing home. I have my pebbles from the Black Sand Beach and my two samples of lava from the foot of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, the peak of which notoriously erupted in 2010 and caused widespread disruption to air traffic in Europe.
Prices are high in Iceland overall. A burger at the Hard Rock was $30.00. The fish and chips I had for lunch was $20.00 (small portion and without the beer).
Tomorrow I take the same flight home that Stephen took today. Tonight I'm having dinner at the hotel and turning in early.
It has been a great trip. I enjoyed Iceland and really enjoyed having Stephen traveling with me. I hope we get to travel together again soon. The Backroads guides were again excellent. The biking part was extremely exhausting. I will need to get in better condition before doing another journey involving biking.
