Last day

The weather has turned cold and rainy, so I mooched about town, went to all the souvenir shops, but they were either frighteningly expensive or full of Viking and penguin tatt.

I went to the Volcano house, a geological museum that shows films about two eruptions. The one about the Westman islands 1973 eruption was very interesting.

Ingunn gave me a wooden needle box, that had been made by her husband.

I got the bus out to the airport and spent the night in a motel - brilliant room but the heating made such a noise!

Back home uneventfully.

Snow!

Tuesday brought a couple of centimetres of snow, the city looked so pretty!

I went back to the National Museum which was very interesting, then got a bus over to one of the 3 buildings that make up the Art museum (didn't find it very inspiring, Erro seems vastly overrated.)

In the evening I ate at the Geysr Bistro in town, but unfortunately there was a loud woman at the next table, relentlessly criticising and bullying her small children, it was very worrying. They both just sat there staring at their laps, they obviously knew better to try and defend themselves.

A day in the City

My first lie in. Then up and out to the national museum. On the way it started with icy rain, and in a few moments my trousers were soaked, but I pressed on up to the museum on the university campus.

Only to find it is....

I trudged back home, changed clothes and got warm and dry.

.

Up to the big church tower, panoramic views

Lunch in cafe on premier shopping street, juices and healthy wraps.

In the evening, off to the English Pub to meet the family from Hull who'd been on the trips with me. Then we went for a meal, and as we stepped outside in to the freezing street, I looked up and saw...

Trip three - the South Coast

Black beaches
Glacier
behind waterfall
Uno meal 2

Trip two - Reykjanes Peninsular

Back on the bus, "Hi I'm Alison from Yorkshire" followed by "I'm John from Yorkshire", "I'm Jeff from Yorkshire" "Julie from..." Me and six people from Hull, in Yorkshire. Plus a Canadian who thought he was on Candid Camera.

Peee-ewww!

First stop, in the midst of dark lava fields, a fish drying station. The stench was unbelievable! Even the guys from Hull flinched.

Dried fish is a major export - protein pellets exported to Africa in container ships, then re-constituted as good as new.

The lava was amazing, as far as the eye could see black rubble, collapsed lava tubes, and all enveloped in green, velvety moss. They can tell the age of the lava field by the depth of the moss.

Lava fields

Sulphur pits
Hot spring

Lobster soup at Bryggjan caf

made the bus late, doilies
Blue Lagoon

Trip one - The Golden Circle

Ingunn came in to cook breakfast at 7.30am! Then GeoIceland picked me up at 8.30am on the dot, and off I went with 17 others, all Brits except for a young Aus lady and 2 rather lovely US men. The driver told us to call him Albert as we didn't have a cat in hell's chance of getting his name right.

First stop was the scene of a recent earthquake, and I had a go on an earthquake simulator! Not sure how realistic it was - it gave me chesticals a bit of a shake though!

Lots of geological features discussed, raised sea beds, stranded sea cliffs, craters, restricted lava flows, unrestricted lava flows, hot springs galore. Albert knew his stuff, and more.

Gullfoss waterfall was spectacular in a freezing wind. There are wooden walkways down to the edge, but unlike the UK, a refreshing lack of labels and 'Do not' signs. And like all the natural wonders we saw, totally free, even the parking! The National Trust would have a heart attack.

In the second picture, try and spot the people on the path to the left, to get an idea of scale.

The river has been cutting backwards for thousands of years and so has created the ravine in the third picture. There are people on the top of the right-most cliff.










Gesyer was great fun, such a bizarre landscape.

Thingvellir national park was off the scale beautiful, oh my word.

Pictures will be added later as they will speak a thousand words.

Day One, and Alison has made it into the house

Journey uneventful by my standards I.e.reached my destination country on the correct day. Driving in to the city requires a bit of adjustment, as at first glance it looks like a dump! Flat, lumpy landscape littered in clinker and belching chimneys, looks like South Wales! Then you realise it is lava outflow and thermal vents....

Hotel Brattagata is right in the middle of the old town, couldn't be better, and is in fact a guesthouse so equivalent of sharing a flat in York Shambles. Ingunn is a retired teacher, we sat and had coffee and bemoaned the modern world. She has baked banana bread and I am to help myself!

I have the ground floor to myself as the other room is unoccupied- bedroom, kitchen, dining room, shower/loo and laundry area.


To the rear of the house is an 'elf stone'. Around 60% of Icelanders admit to believing in the Hidden People, who live in stones. This one was in the way of a school development, but couldn't be moved until the Hidden People agreed. The marks from the failed attempts can still be seen on the stone....

As she advised, I made the most of a beautiful sunny day by visiting the harbour and parks, snow capped hills all around. 

First stop, the Settlement museum which houses the remains of a building from 871 or thereabouts. A peaceful, interesting display about how Iceland was settled.

The city is a real mix of quaint old corrugated iron-clad buildings, and ultra modern-style. It looks as if the city was tiny for a long time, then recently BLAM! and whole square miles have been added. An example is in the square commemorating their successful independence from Denmark in 1944.

Over on the coast road, the Harpa building was very impressive, but not very welcoming, with all the viewpoints reserved for closed-off restaurant areas. Met a nice Canadian couple in the 360-degree cinema.

Had a recce around the old harbour, where old sheds have been painted blue and turned in to cafes and gift shops/workshops.

I ate at one of the restaurants near my rooms, as I shattered. Luckily the food was fantastic, you could taste every ingredient, beautiful lemon chicken mmm...