Two days in Iceland

We did it! We made it to the airport with lots of time to spare. The weather was dreadful on Friday afternoon. At one point there was a river running down the road outside our house but the rain had stopped and the skies had cleared by the time our Icelandair plane was ready to take off.

Fireworks were being set off at Navy Pier as we set off eastwards. They are the red dots in the center of this photograph…After my early morning start in Ohio I was soon asleep. I came to briefly as we flew over Greenland where the sun was rising over the the ice covered landscape.
And then it was time to wake up as we flew into Keflavik Airport and got our first sighting of Iceland.Finding a bus into Reykjavik was easy and we had soon left our luggage at the hotel that was to be our home for the next few days before we headed into town to find some breakfast.

Coffee and a cup cake… What more could I want?Suitably sustained we made our way to the waterfront look out point. I had to wait a few minutes to get a picture of this longship inspired sculpture without hordes of children clambering on it.Beautiful blue skies with a temperature in the low sixties made for some super reflections in the windows of the Harpa concert hall. (It’s the building at the right hand side of today’s featured image.)
We wandered on, stopping in at the Art Museum, strolling past Lake Tjornin…and making a brief detour into the National Gallery.

This is the view from the upstairs cafe…Back to the bus station to find the hand luggage I had left on the bus…

and on.

Into the National Museum for a history lesson. “Definitely worth a visit”, said Steve!!

Lots of walking. Time for a break and a nap before heading out to eat.
Catch of the Day at Kopar.So good!

Time for another walk. Beautiful light across the harbor at 8.00 PM.And back up the hill past the whale tail sculpture.A good day.

We booked an afternoon bus trip for day two so after a leisurely breakfast at our hotel we walked down the hill to the Settlement Museum, across town and up a hill to Hallgrimskirkja.
Back down the hill for a brief photo opportunity with a Viking…and back to the hotel again, ready to be picked up for the Golden Circle tour.

Safely on the bus we drove inland past lava flows and fields of cut hay,to our first stop at Pingvellir National Park. Stunning whichever way you looked.Just half an hour and then back on the bus to get to Gullfoss waterfall. I stayed up the top and took pictures.Steve went down the path to get a closer look. Can you see him? (hint… look for a bald head, jacket and jeans, front right hand side!)I have lots more pictures… you only need to ask when you see me 🙂

We could see a glacier off in the distance. I’d like to get a closer look.Forty-five minutes and back on the bus to the Geyser Geothermal Springs. A picture doesn’t do it justice… you can’t smell the sulphur in a photograph!
The highlight is the Stroker geyser that erupts every six minutes or so, making a reasonable picture a viable prospect, even for the easily distracted!We were very happy with our afternoon trip. Amazing sights and sounds. I’m already planning my return.

Fish and chips for dinner rounded out the day and we retired to our room for a very early alarm.

Yes, we were on the step and waiting at four AM for our pick up this morning!!The sun rose as we returned to the airport.Time to say goodbye…Until next time?