First plans

Happy New Year everybody.

Less than two months to go, with a really tight and busy schedule but stealing time to blog and plan for my next trip. These past few days i have become familiar with Icelanders love for fireworks! Each house has its own fireworks!! 30 minutes of continues fireworks all over Reykjavik for the celebration of the New Year. 

Fortunately I have become friends with a few people through instagram and we have arranged a meeting. You can always follow me on http://instagram.com/nature_n_rocks/

Now the next booking is about Sónar Reykjavik.

Sónar is the International Festival of Advanced Music and New Media Art created in 1994, which is held in Barcelona for three days every June.The festival has regularly travelled beyond Spain's frontiers since 2002, with more than 30 events in different places around the world, adapting the Sónar philosophy to unique venues and environments, and highlighting the most interesting homegrown talent and the scene in the city where it takes place. Sónar organizes festivals every year in other cities, including São Paulo and Tokyo.In previous years, it has travelled to Buenos Aires, New York, London, Frankfurt, Seoul, Lisboa, Lyon, Hamburg, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Boston, Denver, Oakland and Los Ángeles, among many other destinations around the world.

Sónar Reykjavik takes place on four stages with the total capacity of 3500 guests. Beside the two main stages a part of the concert halls underground parking will be changed in to a nightclub were local and international DJ´s will perform during the festival. A scenic part of the concert house will also be changed into a stage. The line up will include around 15 international acts including DJ´s and some 30 Icelandic bands and DJ´s.

Some great examples are the following great songs. British artist James Blake and Olaruf Arnalds from Iceland.

 

Just to keep you on track, next plans include a Blue Lagoon visit and of course a Northern Light tour. Maybe meeting with my summer hosts!

Another task is what kinf of food will i take with me from Cyprus through London for an overnight and to Iceland that i will be allow to carry with me.

Talk to you soon 

TT 

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 :)