Iceland is hands down the most visually stunning country I’ve ever seen.  Geysers!  Volcanoes!  Thermal Spas!  Waterfalls!  Mountains!  Vivid Green Valleys!  There are so many adventurous activities to do that I must go back one day to do what I missed!  Iceland is located where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet and there is a volcanic fissure there and it’s getting bigger each year!  I just stood in awe looking at the fissure when I saw it.

An accomplishment is I can now spell Reykjavik easily and without checking.

Blue Lagoon

It’s a thermal spa!  The Blue Lagoon is 9 million litres of water with a temperature of about 37 – 40°C.  It doesn’t get much better than that.  I regret not getting a picture of myself in the lagoon.  It’s a touristy spot, but well worth the visit if you enjoy this sort of thing.  For me, the word spa is right up there with the word wine, so I had a great time.  Combine the words spa and wine together and I’m not leaving and probably getting escorted out.

Pre-booking is recommended and a standard ticket is 6100 ISK ($70 CAD).

The Golden Circle

The Golden Circle consists of different attractions: Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park, Gullfoss Waterfall, the Geysers: Geysir and Strokkur and Skálholt.  I had an incredible day learning about and viewing these sights.

Þingvellir (Thingvellir)

  • Þingvellir is a natural wonder and it is on the UNESCO World Heritage List
  • Icelandic parliament was founded at Þingvellir
  • Þingvellir is at the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates

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Gullfoss

  • Gullfoss is a waterfall that is 32 m high with 2 drops
  • It is a spectacular sight!

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Geysers:  Geysir and Strokkur

  • Watching a geyser erupt is definitely one of the coolest things ever!
  • The Great Geysir is sleeping and rarely spouts
  • Strokkur spouts every few minutes

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Strokkur Erupting …

Skálholt

  • Skálholt is the most historic place in Iceland
  • Christianity became the religion of Iceland in 1000 AD and Skálholt is the ancient seat of the Icelandic Bishops
  • Danish rule changed the religion to Lutheranism in the mid 16th century and the last Catholic bishop was executed there
  • Today, a new Cathedral stands tall

Around Reykjavik

I spent a day walking around Reykjavik and toured the Harpa Concert Hall and Hallgrímskirkja Church (The Church of Iceland is Lutheran).  It was a rainy day and I had tea and lamb stew in a bread bowl at a local pub – it was my first time having lamb stew and it was very, very good!

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Accommodations

In Reykjavik, the Team Diabetes group stayed at the Hotel Reykjavík Centrum.  It was a smaller room, like most European hotel rooms, but it was perfect for my needs.  A standard double/twin is $436 CAD/night.

Iceland was very expensive – so plan accordingly if you’re going.  I only bought a woolen orange scarf which my Mom now has.  I believe that it came to about $140 CAD.

Things I Didn’t Do

On a return trip to Iceland, I plan to:

Greenland

I took a few really cool pictures of Greenland from the airplane.  IcelandAir offers some good deals to Europe with long layovers in Reykjavik.

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