Iceland
Arriving in Reykjavik in amidst a heavy snow storm and minus degrees I did wonder what I had let myself in for as 'cold' is not my norm', but if cold is what I had to do to achieve one off my tick list , cold is what it had to be.
The next morning we awoke to more snow and our walk into Reykjavik town centre became a real adventure. As the daylight started to appear around 10am it left a real blue hue over the land which made landmarks seem surreal and super imposed. The wind was biting cold and at times uncomfortable so no surprise to see only tourists venturing along the bay and into the city. Saturday and there after till the last afternoon the snow cleared bringing clear skies and an even stronger biting wind, this left any unmoved snow as dangerous ice. Most of the roads are cleared meticulously and the pavements gritted but I soon found myself on my bottom in the most awkward position trying to rescue my camera bag from the same fate. Ouch !!
The Hallgrimskirkja Church, designed by Guojon Samuelsson, is visible from most areas around the city and is claimed to be Reykjaviks most iconic building. Its tower is amongst the city's highest buildings and arriving at the top (by lift) it provides a 360dg view of the city as far as the harbour and beyond. Down town, Tjornin, a huge pond is home to a vast array of bird life and in winter when the pond is frozen solid, hot geothermal water is pumped into it to clear an area for the birds to swim.
Walking along the bay you can't help but notice the 'Sun Voyager', a large sculpture of a Viking boat, erected as a reminder to Iceland's Viking historical past.
Just past this was a fabulous building, the Harpa, Reykjaviks concert hall - designed by a danish firm in co-operation with Olafur Eliasson and Icelandic artist. It was an amazing looking building and I was impressed with the inner design just as much as its outer. Great coffee too.
Further out of town bought us to the Perlan a domed building surrounded by four large water tanks. The Reykjavik population are super proud of this building, I thought it looked odd but hey! everyone to their own etc. The cafe on the fourth floor is doorway to a 360dg wrap around balcony which was amazing, and downstairs on the ground floor one of the water tanks hosts a small museum of well made wax figures that tell the historic story of how Iceland became populated which was quite interesting.
We booked a tour day which delivered so much more than the Golden Circle. Our tour was booked through Icelimo company, recommended by the tourist information centre in down town Reykjavik, and they didn't disappoint. Greg picked us up from our hotel in a 4WD and off we set. He explained that Iceland boasts 99% renewable energy and one of our first stops looked like a Hill-Billy moonshine factory, but was in fact an unprotected pump that produces enough electric to service hundreds of houses throughout rural locations. Very impressive. Stopping briefly at the ledge where until a few decades ago they weighted and threw immorally guilty woman off into the deep water. Later fishing the dead bodies out to give them a burial. On to the hotel used by the united nations and then to the Great Geysir. It was a non-stop information packed tour. One of the most phenomenal places we saw was Gullfloss - an impressive waterfall in the southwest of Iceland. Gullfloss is called the "Golden Falls", since on a sunny day the water plunging down the three step staircase and then tumbling in two steps down into the 32m deep crevice truly looks golden. The tour guide provided crampons which enabled us to walk down from the lookout to the start of the waterfall, a fantastic experience which enabled us to really experience the full force of the water rushing/falling over the cliffs.
As it turned dark we arrived at one of the 25 amazing places stated by the National Geographical - the Blue Lagoon. OMG awesome doesn't quite describe this place. The spa is located in a lava field in Grindavik on Reykjanes Peninsula, southwestern Iceland. Being in the dark made the experience mysterious and provided an even more dramatic setting. To end the night we saw a small display of the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) ... I would have liked to have seen a full on spectacular light show, but was very happy to spot the small amount we did.
