Reykjavik, Iceland

 Saturday, September 14, 2024

We have arrived in Reykjavik for our two night stay before having to depart the ship on Monday.

Iceland is Europe's westernmost nation and Reykjavik is the world's northernmost capital city. Iceland, as we have learned and observed over the past two weeks, is one of the wildest places on earth, roiling with active volcanoes (33 of them are active), hot thermal springs and a lot of breathtaking waterfalls. Yet is is also one of the cleanest and most civilized countries. Icelanders are committed to finding the perfect balance between day-to-day living and harnessing its natural resources with eco-friendly practices. They heat their home using geo-thermal power, which is relatively inexpensive. One of the main roads from Reykjavik to the airport, Keflavik, is heated using geo-thermal so as not to prevent travel to and from the airport in the winter months.

Viking did end up offering several excursions for today and tomorrow; we decided to do the included one. But in retrospect, we should have just taken the shuttle bus into downtown Reykjavik. Oh well, hindsight is 20-20.

I think what they did was take their normal included tour and shortened it down to 2 hours. The main place we went was to their Open Air Museum. It was rather fascinating. They have taken a lot of original homes that were once part of the small town of Reykjavik and, instead of demolishing them, they moved them to a piece of land creating an "open air" museum. 

We discovered that Icelanders were very short back then - had to duck when entering most of them. But it gave us a feel of what life was like back then. You'll see in the church picture that Ed is bending down a bit so as not to hit his head.

Loved the small, grass covered building  that was for the sheep to get out of the rain. Plus lots of sheep grazing about. And a few chickens.

From there a drive down to the harbor with beautiful views, including our ship and the opera house with multi-colored windows.

Then the option to get off the bus or head back to the ship. Again, should have gotten off the bus but we were starting to wind down and feel tired, so we went back. Did some packing; attended another talk by Dr. Arvidson on "What Killed the Dinosaurs" - watched a destination performance by an Icelandic Festival Duo, which included a free drink - Aquivet with essential vitamins... hmmm...

Dinner in the World Cafe (didn't want to change clothes for dining room dinner) followed by a quiet evening. Here's a typical place for us to sit and read or hang out - just down the hall from our stateroom.

I checked for the Northern Lights before going to bed and although it was still a little bit light, you can see them ramping up - with the city lights showing as well.

One more day...

Betsy