Iceland: Blue Lagoon, Downtown Reykjavik, & Hallgrimskirja

Day 1 in Iceland began bright and early at 6:20am (11:20pm in Edmonton) with a trip to Blue Lagoon followed by exploring Reykjavik’s city centre and main shopping street, Laugavegur. Day 2 then started with a quick walk to Hallgrimskirja before the Reykjavik Excursions trip I talked about in my previous post.

I had mixed feelings about buying tickets to Blue Lagoon, because many reviews called it “touristy” and “overrated” – but the others called it a “must see”, which I would agree with. But it’s all in the timing. We arrived on the earliest bus at 9am, right when it opened. I noticed the human traffic picking up around 11am, but right from the get-go it wasn’t crowded at all.

Outdoor path to the lagoon's facilities. The sun doesn’t rise until about 10:30am.

The water was perfectly blue and comfortably warm, with temperatures ranging from lukewarm in larger areas to hot in spots near heat sources. Geothermal heating, combined with the natural surroundings, is what makes Blue Lagoon a worthwhile experience. Being able to swim in warm water in -2C weather with the ocean and mountains in the distance is definitely worth the pricy admission. I also loved the constant steam on the surface of the water. Naturally sourced silicone mud masks were thrown in free of charge, but unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of that.

The pathways out of the lagoon, in daylight, are a sight themselves.

After a 45 minute shuttle ride from Blue Lagoon to our hotel, we walked along the main shopping street of Reykjavik called Laugavegur. I surprisingly didn’t buy much other than a must-have Icelandic wool beanie as a souvenir. The buildings in Reykjavik’s center are as pictured on Google, packed tightly and ranging in colors (better seen in summer when the rooftops aren't covered in snow).

On day 2, just before the Reykjavik Excursions tour, we walked to see Hallgrimskirja, a fairly new (as in not 100+ years old) church that looks more like a concrete work of art. 

Here you can see where the organ's sound comes from - some pretty old-school "speakers". 

A man sat and played the organ as we walked around inside.

All except the last two pictures are lacking in quality because they were taken on my iPhone 5; my actual camera battery was being lame.

That’s it for Iceland! I’ll work on actually taking some pictures of Leuven sometime soon…

- Alexandra

Iceland: Þingvellir, Geysir, & Gullfoss

Here's my first post about day 2 of our Iceland stopover. My plan was to post daily, but sketchy wifi and jet lag are making it hard - so posts will happen as they happen. Subscribe by email to get notified when new posts are up!

Day 2 in Iceland involved a Reykjavik Excursions tour of a portion of The Golden Circle; this included Þingvellir National Park, Geysir, and the Gullfoss waterfall, which took about six hours total.

First stop was Þingvellir (Thingvellir, in English).  The guide explained to us how this park is a massive part of the Icelandic identity because it is home to Althingi, their parliament established in 930 that marked the beginning of the Icelandic Commonwealth. Iceland went through a few periods of switching kingdoms and rules – Dutch, Norwegian, Dutch again – so this is a place native Icelanders can identify with. Educational session over – here’s some nice pictures.

 Next, we drove to Geysir. Though The Great Geysir itself has not been active for over 15 years due to earthquakes, we were able to witness the erupting of Strokkur, Geysir’s active neighbour. There are only a handful of active geysers in the world and even less that you can physically travel to. Geysir is such an interesting natural experience because as you walk on snow and shiver in your boots there are small rivers filled with boiling hot water running and bubbling alongside the walkway. Our guide stressed not giving in to temptations to touch the water because it could actually scald you – fun stuff.

Post-erruption with some water spots on the lens to prove it.

 Last, the tour took us to see Gullfoss. All I can really say is that it’s a massive waterfall with ridiculously cold wind – and it doesn’t hurt to look at.

Once I get more pictures uploaded I'll post about walking around downtown Reykjavik and visiting the Blue Lagoon; then about Leuven so far. Just taking some time to settle in.

- Alexandra