Early Morning Ship Walkabout

 Early Morning Ship Walkabout

 

081124 Ok, I was up early and did a quick walkabout of the Viking Mars. 

New and shinny she is, the morning cleaning crew was super friendly. This ship has about 930 passengers on board for this sailing.

There are lots of little sitting areas to be found every where. There is also no problem finding a bar.

I must force myself to remember this is not an expedition ship. Rather a small luxury ship. It will be a change and interesting for me.

Here are the one handed cell phone photos I took this morn on the walkabout,

                                                                          Infinity Pool

                                                                  Skully's Place over on Videy 

                                                 World Cafe Bar

                                              Pool Bar and grill

                                                  Pool area

                                                 Explorer Lounge

                                                Theater

                                               Torshaven, lounge

                                              Viking Stuff , pretty KEWL!

REYKJAVIK POOL, GARDENS, SOLFAR, ELVES AND THE HARPA.

 Friday August 9, 2024 More Reykjavik and a performance at the Harpa tonight. 

                                           SOLFAR

Up early as we slowly adjust to this time zone and very long days. Breakfast of coffee and skyr was had in our room as we prepared for the day. 

Soon out the door heading towards the bus stop. We did stop at Braud & CO. for a ham and cheese croissant. The the #14 bus to the pool. 

We are very much enjoying the very early pool hours as it is very quite and serine.

 

 After pool time we walked to the Reykjavik Botanical Gardens. 

We like many things about the botanical gardens yet for me the diversity and the uniqueness of the flowers is beautiful. So many are different that what I have seen in the states. 



 

We arrived back at the hot dog stand for our regular order. The owner said “you look familiar  and I know you have been here several times”. We laughed and joked and he has granted us “regular local status”.  

We caught the bus and decided to get off early and walk along the sea front. We walked to SOLFAR, took some pictures ( this is where we get our campers name). 

 

There was no lacking for tourists taking photos. As several tour busses made the stop. 

From SOLFAR, we continued to the Harpa and had a chat with a cabbie about arranging a hotel pickup to transport us to the port tomorrow morning. The cabs here are metered and should be about 5000ISK. 

Walking back and checking at the 101  Bistro for breakfast tomorrow. They open at 0800.

 

 

 

We had yet been over to visit the elf stone, so off we went. Then we walked to City Hall to view the big relief map so as to check on the ports we will be visiting during our cruise. 

Then we walked along the Reykjavik City Pond, locally known as Tjörnin, see the birds before meandering back to the hotel. There is small church we have walked by several times but never found it open. Today,  it was open and it is beautiful inside and out. The name of this church is Dómkirkjan, and is Evangelical Lutheran.  



We used the time at the hotel to get the blog caught up and start packing for the transfer to the ship.

We met up with friends at the Drunk Rabbit and had a bit of food at the 101 Bistro. The fish there was excellent. 

Then it was off to the Harpa to see How to become Icelandic in 60 Minutes .

Now to the show- Brilliant, Excellent, Informative, Hilarious, and not to be missed. For me, I think parts of the show were more funny as we have experienced Iceland and it’s people over the years. There were those “yes, so true, ahh ha” moments.

 

I very much appreciated his condensing the Icelandic Sagas (History of Iceland) down to 60 seconds. Brilliant, and I have spent months reading them wishing I had a time line and name flow chart.

Back to our room where we finished up packing as tomorrow we will have breakfast, the flea market and head to the ship.

RETURNING TO ICELAND:

 To Reykjavik and Day 1:  7-8 AUG 2024



 

 On this trip we flew Iceland Air from Denver to Keflavik. An advantage of this was price and it is a non-stop. A disadvantage is we do not have any status on Iceland Air. Even with that it was a good flight and we had booked early enough to get good seats with plenty of leg room. 

We arrived on time and  made our way through passport control and picked up our luggage. There are changes in progress to the Passport Control Hall. It looks like they will be switching to an automated entry system. Also there are new WC’s in the baggage claim area with lots of capacity.

 

I should add as one exits baggage claim to ones right you find a Bæjarins Beztu Hotdog Stand. You bet I had one.

 

 



We use the Fly Bus service to get from the airport to Reykjavik. It works for us even though one must change to a different bus at the BSI (central bus terminal). We got dropped off a City Hall and had a couple block walk to our hotel, 

On this trip we are staying at the City Center Hotel. We like it. Our normal lodging is the  Center Hotel Plaza. We did get an upgrade to a room with a balcony that looks out over the park by the parliament building. 



We dropped our bags and headed out to take the bus to our favorite pool Laugardalslaug. As it was close to lunch, time we had a hot dog before swimming.  

We learned the pool is no longer free to people over 65. They do offer an annual pass only available to Icelandic Citizens.  I am actually surprised this had not happened sooner. Anyway, we enjoy a darn  nice soak and steam in the several pools available. 

 
As the City Center Hotel does not have a breakfast service, we took the bus to the Bonus Store and got some skyr (yogurt) for our breakfasts. But ice cream before Bonus.

 

 

 

We  then walked back to the hotel and checked into our room.

 

                                                                Room View

 Soon we were settled in and off to the Drunk Rabbit, our local pub. Last time we were there, they had hot dogs and Guinness stew available. We had the stew and it was rather good. 

I met some very nice folks from Toronto and we had a very nice conversation about travel. 
A friend had arranged a Geocaching meet up event. Lynn had retired to our room to further unpack and prepare for the coming days. I spent some time at the event and then called it a night after I did some laundry.

I woke up and took a peek outside and I saw the Green Lady Dance. I took a quick pic through the balcony glass and started to get Lynn up and they was gone.  Later this week the forecast is for a KP of 6 which is HIGH. 

Back to bed for a bit then up again and I did an early morning walk about, just me and the Herring gulls on the streets of Reykjavik. I hit an ATM for some cash to pay for the new ink I will get later today at Reykjavik Ink. I have been very happy with their work and they are a cash only shop.

Back to the room for some coffee and skyr (Icelandic yogurt). 

Off to the pool, today we learned one can buy a 20 visit pass which can be shared by a couple of people. So of course we bought one. 

We had a nice swim, soak, and steam. As we were leaving, a water aerobics class started so we joined in. That was fun. 

Then a hotdog was had before we caught the bus back for a tattoo appointment. 

 

I had “Þetta Reddast!” Placed on my forearm in rune characters. “Þetta Reddast!” Is a saying here in Iceland, basically meaning “it's all going to work out in the end”. Or don't worry, it's going to be okay! 



This evening we returned to the Rainbow Street and enjoyed local meat soup (lamb) “Kjötsúpa” and fish and chips at Reykjavik. 

Being near the Hallgrímskirkja (the big church sitting above Reykjavik) we wandered up the street. 



 

To our joy and surprise we heard the organ being played. This is rare as it was a Thursday evening as there are very rarely performances mid week. 

We sat and enjoy the music from the organ as it accompanied a clarinet. I learned the artists are in Iceland playing the Saturday summer recitals. The organist was Tuuli Rähni, and Salvador Rähni played clarinet. They are summer guest performers from Estonia.  



Back to the Hotel and off to the Rabbit for a night cap and fun conversation and meeting folks from around the world.




I know where I’m a gonna Go when the volcano Blows

 I know where I’m a gonna Go when the volcano Blows. 

As I write this entry we are in the final stages of preparation for a return to Iceland. I know what some are saying, “weren’t you just there”.

Yes we were and we are headed back. Probably about 18 months ago we learned of a nice rate for a Viking Ocean Cruise circumnavigating Iceland. $25 held the reservation, sounded like a good idea and now here we are. 

We have sailed three times with Viking on River Cruises and have been wanting to experience their Ocean cruises. My current favorite cruise line is Hurtigruten and this trip will be a great opportunity to compare the two. I will do a separate blog entry after this trip comparing the two experiences. Might be Apples to Oranges.

On this trip we will be flying Iceland Air to Reykjavik on Tuesday August 6, 2024. Spending a few nights in Reykjavik before boarding the Viking Mars to circumnavigate Iceland in a clockwise fashion. 


Viking Mars Itinerary per Viking: ( Their Words)

 Sat. Aug. 10 Reykjavík, Iceland Stroll Europe’s northernmost capital, admire views from “The Pearl” or visit the Blue Lagoon.

Sunday Aug. 11 Reykjavík, Iceland Discover Reykjavík’s natural sites, from waterfalls to warm springs, and learn about the Sagas.

Monday Aug 12 ĺsafjördur, Iceland Explore the history and beauty of the Westfjords, visit small villages and see wildlife.

Tuesday Aug. 13 Akureyri, Iceland Admire the architecture in Iceland’s second-largest city, nicknamed “Capital of the North.”

Wednesday Aug 14 Seydisfjördur, Iceland Stroll the city’s quaint streets or explore the surrounding majestic fjord landscape.

Thursday Aug. 15 Djúpivogur, Iceland Immerse yourself in Iceland’s nature during countryside hikes and black-sand beach strolls.

Friday Aug. 16 Heimaey, Iceland Explore Heimaey and its scenery, the largest island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago.

Saturday Aug. 17 Reykjavík, Iceland Discover Reykjavík’s natural sites, from waterfalls to warm springs, and learn about the Sagas.  



Seydisfjord and Djupivogur and the only two new ports for us. 

After the cruise we will spend a few days in Reykjavik before we fly home. 

Plans before and after will unfold as the days progress. We have a photo project we want to complete, some new INK for me, a pre-cruise event at The Harpa, some swimming and of course a daily hot dog. 



I am keeping our plans very open because of the geologic activity near Grindavík. This will be a wait and see, thus not wanting to lock in any plans.  

As we say in Iceland Þetta reddast. 

Stay tuned in to see what things we find to explore as this journey unfolds.