Blogs from Southwest, Iceland, Europe - page 53

Visit to Reykjavik. The first thing that any visitor to Reykjavik should do is to visit the Tourist Information Centre at Aðalstræti 2 • IS-101 Reykjavík. Ask anyone, it is in the downtown Reykjavik area and is the Tourist Centre where you meet for walking tours throughout the day. They have a number of well kept secrets the biggest being the Reykjavik Welcome Card, it costs about $12 per day and gives you free travel on all the Strætó City Buses and the Viðey Island Ferry. You can also pop into this centre during the day for free Internet access with this card. The card also gives you unlimited free admission to the following which are open during the holiday season including June, July and August: - - All Reykjavik Thermal pools, there are seven of ... read more

Less than a week after returning from sunny Ecuador I'm heading to a place significantly colder - Iceland. Although it was certainly cold (our first couple of days anyway) I can't agree with the naming of the country at all as I had to wait until we say actual icebergs before I had seen any ice at all. Still, had a late night arrival in Reykjavik followed the next day by an early morning start to our tour stopping first at Thingvellir. Thingvellir National Park, or 'Parliament Plains', is the site of the first Icleandic Parliament in 930 and the parliament created at that first meeting continued until 1789. The Law Council met every summer there as well as becoming a meeting place for traders. More interestingly (seeing as there are no remaining buildings to show ... read more

We started our Iceland adventure on a busy Friday evening at Heathrow. The flight to Reyjavik was smooth and we were soon there. Our first accommodation was at the university just across from the main cathedral. Memories of 1970's college halls of residence came flooding back. The furniture even looked the same. We awoke throughout the night to the sound of what seemed to be a seal clapping but in the morning it was only the metal wires of the flag pole outside. Rekjavik was dull and gloomy but as an optimist I knew the weather would cheer up. They have a saying in Iceland that if you don't like the weather then just wait 15 minutes. (Rekjavik seemed a rather plain, uninteresting place but then I am not much of a town person and the ... read more

So it was onto my next adventure, Iceland. As the name suggests, I was expecting it to be pretty cold there, but I was pleasantly surprised when I turned up and it was actually warmer than London! My first day, it was about 23-25 degrees. Very nice! It didn't last though, and although it got cooler, there was no need for the thermals I took along. Anyway, I landed in Iceland, in a place called Keflavik and made the trek to the capital, Reykjavik. I must say I was a bit surprised by the city, and the country in general. I didn't realise it was as small as it was. Reykjavik has a population of 200,000 and the country in total is only 100,000 more. Also it is very volcanic, so much so that all the ... read more

Just a quick note to Johann who commented on yesterday's entry. I meant no disrespect to the people of Iceland. Also, I was not expecting tropical weather, it was a reference to the song "Tropical Iceland" by the Fiery Furnaces. Ok, from the top then. I woke up around 1PM after taking a nap to try and counteract the onset of jetlag. First checked out the square and area immediately around the hotel, then went down by the harbor and through a flea market that is setup indoors near there. Headed to the other side of town and got lunch at Solon, which was a pretty mediocre rendition of fish & chips. I wandered around the town for a few hours and I must say, it's very clean and I didn't run into any areas that ... read more