Reykjavik

Iceland Top Ten

1.  Eyjafjallajokull

2.  Icelanders

3.  Myvatn hot baths

4.  Blue Lagoon

5.  Viking, the beer!

6.  Glaciers and icebergs

7.  Tectonic plates

8.  Trying to pronounce Eyjafjallajokull - but i did not buy the t-shirt!

9.  All of the Lava rock, and not one lava lamp in sight

10. Iceland

May 23

Leaving today for London.  Bit sad which I guess is a good sign.  But still excited to be moving on!  Out for coffee, I will miss that!  Most has been very good.

And won't you know it, the morning is beautiful!  Clear blue skies and actually warm!  Relative, actually 12 degrees.  But very nice sitting outside at the coffee shop!  Hey, you can not beat free refills!

Met a girl on the bus on way out to airport.  From Norway and was here only since Thursday with a small group.  What a great place to spend a long weekend!  

Always fascinating meeting people.  She was amazed at how cheap the country was!  And here is me thinking that it was fairly expensive!  She said that the 7 went out for a nice dinner and the cost for all of them was about the same as for 2 in Norway!  ouch!  I will have to wait until I win the lottery before I get to Norway!  I think maybe she had, as she had just been to Sharm el Shek on the Red Sea, Egypt, for a beach holiday the week before!   

This is the plane to London.  Should I worry given the name of the plane is the same as one of the largest volcanos on the island.

May 22

Nice to be on my own time!  Headed out to visit the church.  Interesting as the structure is similar to churches but this one is made of concrete and stucco.  Inside is very nice with a monster pipe organ.  The Australians actually heard it being played but I was not that lucky.  Still very nice.  See the picture of the description.  Also there is a mini pipe organ.  After paying 500 Kr, you can take the elevator up to the 8th floor to have a look out.  You are actually looking out the clock face!  Take some more steps up and there is an open area to look out over the city in all directions.  The darker areas about the clock is where you are looking out.  Great views.

It seems that almost all the places have their own community pool.  No matter how big or small.  So went to one not to far away.   All heated naturally from the hot springs, a bit of sulphur smell but not too bad.  350 Kr to get in and 350Kr to rent a towel!  Just another example of what seems to be a confusing pricing structure!  Standard pool that seems to have been here for a while.  Lane pool, paddling pool and then 2 hot tubs outside with a stem room.  There is even a men's sunning deck!  Fake grass and lawn chairs.  Not many around.

Here you must take off your shoes prior to entering the change rooms and you must shower naked before entering the pool.  Same as all other places!

Then off and walking again, this time, off to the flee market.  Great place!!!!!  Lots of stuff resell goods of every shape and form.  Clothing, toys, shoes and the list goes on!  But also has a bakery, fish market and butcher.  Lots of dried fish, but have yet to try!  The Fish oil the one morning was enough to cure me!  Could taste and smell it on me all day!

Had to go out again at night!  Just to make sure I had acquired the taste for the local beers!  lol

May 21 

Slow relaxing morning of coffee with the last stragglers from the trip!  Very nice.  Enjoyed the breakfast again!  Yes I now eat breakfast, then nothing until the afternoon evening.  But still have lots of coffees!

In a new place the next couple of nights.  A guesthouse closer to the city centre, 101 Guesthouse.  Interesting place.  Several rooms, with shared toilets and showers, but it seems to be clean.  about $60 a night.  

Seems you have to have a truck like this.  Monster tires.

Off walking again.  This time for some more culture!  Over load!!!!  To the Natural Museum of Iceland.  This  covered all the history of the country.  Very interesting and an amazing display of artifacts.  Interesting to find out about the Danish and Norwegian control of the country!  Scary part is that this computer was in the museum!  Special artifacts!  Now I feel old as I remember using these.

Very relaxing afternoon.  Everyone is out this as the sun is shining and it is really very nice.  Light breeze that is keeping the temperature fairly cool yet, but still nice after all the rain and wind so far.

Spent a lot of time this afternoon sitting in a coffee shop enjoying the weather! People watching.  The women are dress up and the men are all over the map.  Very interesting.

Had a nap!  Had as planned to go out for night but had been told that nothing happens until 11 or 12 or 1.  Been a long time since I had been out or even awake at that time.

Did go out.  My 'guesthouse' is not far from the main bar street, and should note that I have a view of the ocean.  That is if you stand on window sill and lean way out!

Interesting as they seem to wander up and down the streets  with beers in their hands.  And the best part is they just put their bottles or cans down on sidewalk and guys come along and collect them!  Mostly fairly civilized even with no police around!  I got home a 1 am.