Akureyri - Iceland, day 3

After a 10 hour sleep i woke up, packed my stuff and left for the North Iceland.

Petrol, water, snacks, breakfast and off i went. I left Reykjavik at 8.30 and the route was not so fantastic as yesterday.

I only managed to climb on an old volcano crater, saw 600 meter tall cliffs, U-shaped glacial valleys, rivers, snowed slopes, a nice church and some more. Everyday attractions!!!
Then there were horses, sheep, horses, cows, horses, sheep and many more horses.

Just look at the pictures and be amazed.

The crater

Taking the horses for a walk

Road works on Route 1

Just outside Akureyri

I arrived in Akureyri at 16.30 after a long almost 500km drive. 8 hours including the stops. But it was worth it. After finding my lodge which i booked from www.airbnb.com. I am relaxing.


Maybe i will go for a walk downtown since tomorrow I have to leave early in the morning to be in Husavik at 9am.


Tomorrow its puffin and whale watching day for a start!!

Reykjavik - Day 2+

Before dinner i visited the sculpture park an amazing place where the artist managed to show the emotion through his sculptures.

After that it was time for dinner at Sjavargrillid Restaurant the most popular restaurant value wise in Reykjavik.

The bathroom

I have selected the lobster feast menu but i have exchanged the starter with a whale steak.

The steak was very well cooked and in general tastes like a nice beef steak. Was it that special to order it again instead of a noce beef steak? No.

Then the main course which was lobster+deep-fried lobster and grilled spotted catfish. A really nice plate. But again as also the whale steak did, the oil got my stomach mixed up. They were cooked in a great way.

Lastly the dessert was creme brulee. But a weird one. Creme brulee, eith a lemon granite, a strawberry sorbet, strawberries, whipped cream and Lettuce (yes lettuce like the one you have with a salad)

This dinner which is cost wise costs 55euro with a glass of wine

These past two days the weather was amazingly good. Even the Icelanders found it extremely hot. Tonight got colder and tomorrow a rainy day is expected. It was a long day. Went to sleep early

Day 2 - The Golden Circle

Last night after a night stroll, a beer at a local bar and some photos i headed to bed

Around 8 o'clock i had a wonderful coffee, called slowly brewed coffee. Basically the guy needed more than 5 minutes to brew it (and not because he was late). It was a filtered coffee but the water was poured over the grinded coffee beans slowly slowly. And it was a very tasteful coffee.

And this was the beginning of another wonderful magical day. Today i am able to say that i got to know the Earth. I saw her breathe and move. She showed me the power of water and how the scenery can change over and over again. Valleys, mountains, glaciers, lakes and much more.

But lets take everything from the beginning. After exiting Reykjavik, i followed Road 1 and then 36. A first stop to the magnificent Mosfell church. Today i wished that when i die, i would really like to be buried like these people here....Macabre yes, but again so nice.

A few kilometers before Pingvellir National Park i had this magnificent view.

I never got to know the reason why people build these piles but they looked amazing. Today i am not really sure if i can express myself. Its been over 3 hours since i left the area i am still so overwhelmed. Next stop the Pingvellir National Park. At Pingvellir you can see the house of the Prime Minister which is accessible by anyone (and not fenced as some others).

Also you can see the "Law Rock", the place where in the 10th Century, the first ever Icelanding parliament was set.

Most important for me is the ability to view the American and the Eurasian plates, tearing apart (divergent movement). The lake between the two mountains is the boundary

Breaks and faults on the American tectonic plate

To the right of the picture the Eurasian plate and to the left side the American tectonic plate

Also at the American plate's side movements still occur

 

Next stop the famous Geysir. As you probably know geysers are water springs with the characteristic of discharges of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. You can consider that the Earth is breathing. And it sure has a bad breathe. Sulfur smell allover, basically smelling like eggs gone bad. Have a look at the video and enjoy 

 

A few kilometers further to the East someone can see the magnificent Gullfoss, the Golden water falls. They are so imposing and powerful. Again here is a video and some pictures. Before the waterfalls i was able to look at the far end the Langjokull glacier. 

There is no way i can describe these emotions, these images that have been reported, recorded and downloaded to my brain. But for sure each day seems to be more and more amazing.

Tonight i am heading down to a restaurant that is voted by trip advisor reviews as the best one in Reykjavik. I will let you know for sure!

Tomorrow i will leave Reykjavik and head to Akureyri. A long way with supposingly not so many things to enjoy...

Iceland - Day 1

After arriving i met my car guy. He gave me the car (which he forgotten to bring  the GPS) and i drove to Reykjavik in about 25 minutes. 

After some wrong turns i made to the house where i will spend my next 3 nights.

I stay at the semi-basement

I went to sleep around 1.30 and at 6 i couldn't struggle anymore trying to sleep. So after creating the blog i left home at 8.30.

The house is cozy but weird. The toilet room is a 1x1m "room" an the shower is in the laundry room. Thank God my shower jell smells so nice because the water smells like sulfur.

And off i go!!!

Since everything opens around 10-11am i headed down to the oceanfront. First stop for breakfast. Something tasting like a donut and a "fresh" orange juice.

The day is just wonderful with me wearing just a jumper which at some points i wanna take off and the Icelanders in sleeveless t-shirts. I passed from the tourist information center where i collected many brochures and maps (they are amazingly organized). I passed from the amazing Harpa concert hall and then to solfar sculpture. From there up the hill to Hallgrinskirkja church which is outstanding. 

Harpa

Solfar sculpture

Hallgrinskirkja church

Now i had a coffee to a beautiful rustic coffee shop, the coffeemidja. I just wanna lay here and enjoy the moment. Just a few hours in a simple isolated city but it feels soooo nice!!! 

But i better keep going and explore the city. First of all they have plenty and wonderful sculptures and buildings

Dancers at the Pearl

Grass layered benches at Grotta lighthouse west of Reykjavik

A starfish sculpture near Grotta lighthouse west of Reykjavik

Lake Tjornin

Outside a house

Reykjavik port

Details from harpa

Near tourist info center

Except these wonderful sculptures, there are too many roses....

 After a long walk an a visit to the main shopping area where the souvenir prices are just outragious expensive (t-shirts for 25euro, magnets for 10, and lets not look at traditional knitwear), a visit to the Culture house was worth it. Nothing special if you a greek person and they tell you about their 13th century manuscripts. But the lady there explained the whole process of creating the leater paper and the import of minerals to produce colour which was much appreciated.

Now it is lunch time. It is 13.00 and i headed to the famous Saegreifinn for its famous lobster soup. The soup costs around 10euro and their souvlaki whale, fish or shrimp sticks are around 10euro each. I will have them dinner at another place. While waiting i am siting outside enjoying the sun because you never know when he will go away. 

OMG that is a soup surely worth its price. If you ever had shrimps (frozen or "fresh") they are always chewy. This lobster though is just melting in our mouth. The free bread and butter are so tasty and delicious.

While heading back to the house to get the car and move around the city, i heard a tour guide say "If you get lost in a icelandic forest, just stand up"

Now the afternoon started with a visit to Grotta Lighthouse. Except the amazing view (i wonder how many times should i say this) i was looking for the thermal foot pool. And i found it after a long search

Foot thermal pool

I even got chased by some birds!

Continuing I visited the manmade beach of Nautholsvik. Basically it is a small rectangular pool, a small thermal playground pool that sends the warm water into the ocean and then it is the freezing ocean. People are everywhere hot and cold

After that, where of course i walked in both waters, i stopped close by at the Pearl. 4 gigantic water tanks hold this dome which except of an observatory is also a restaurant that moves around.

Final destination for the day-tour is the famous Blue Lagoon. Had a silica mask, a wonderful time, but most of all saw another amazing place on earth (this is not a natural lagoon)

In just 14 hours i saw so many things that i think that i have been in Iceland for almost a week. Tonight i will head for some drinks and tomorrow will do the Golden Circle tour.

Not sure if i should say goodnight :)