After catching up on much needed sleep, we were ready to head into town.
It was cold and windy. For most of our trip we knew that we’d be in much warmer climates so we didn’t really pack much cold gear. My Icelandic uniform consisted of my thick red tights, under my black tights, under my grey tights, under my pants. I also wore two long sleeve shirts under my sweater, and then topped it all of with my rain jacket. Not the snazziest outfit, but it would have to do. I also had gloves and a hat on and I was still cold. Icelanders were in shorts because, for them, it was lovely weather. Ha!
We each purchased a 72-hour Reykjavik city card that included access the local thermal pools. Now, these thermal baths are not to be confused with the more popular (and expensive) Blue Lagoon, which we opted out of. The baths are public facilities, varying in size and degree of amenities, with pools and tubs heated with the abundant geothermal energy brewing underneath. At one of our favorite places called Laugardalslaug, we soaked in five different tubs with temperatures ranging from 100.4 ºF to 111.2 ºF. Afterwards, we ran through an outdoor obstacle course (in our bathing suits) that ended with a 20-foot rope climb before running up some stairs and splashing down a slide into a larger pool. We did this a couple of times. It was fun. Without the hot baths I may have turned into a little ice cube.
On the bus, heading back home from the pool.
With our City Card we also had access to multiple museums, transportation on city buses and a ferry ride to Videy Island. We took advantage of it all.
On the first day, we took the bus into Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital city. Everything was very different.
The architecture was modern.
The colors were bright.
Sitting on the bus and listening to the locals speak the Icelandic language was one of the coolest things ever. We signed up for the city’s free walking tour. It was incredibly fun and informative.
Introducing…
The ring road or Route 1 runs along the entirety of the countries’ coast and is 1,332 km or 827.666 miles long. If you drove it non-stop it would take you about 17 hours.
On the Summer Solstice, the sun sets just after midnight and rises again just before 3 am. On the Winter Solstice, the sun rises at about 11:30 am and sets around 3:30 pm.
Iceland’s population is 323,002 inhabitants. The estimated population of Colorado Springs is 439, 886 and Denver’s is 649,495. Take a look at the map, Iceland is the size of Colorado!
There is an underground tunnel that is part of the ring road. It’s about 5,770 m (3.58 miles) long and 165 m (541.3 feet) below sea level. Yes, we drove it and, yes, it was awesome.
Icelandic is a very beautiful language but, unfortunately, it may take you a while to get the hang of. Try pronouncing these:
There is no Mayonnaise in Iceland. 😦
There are no policeman in Iceland. Well, okay, there ARE policemen, but you will probably never see them.They’re too busy updating their awesome Instagram feed. Iceland has one of the lowest crime rates in the world!
Many Icelanders are related so, there is an app which allows you to type in someone’s name and trace their genealogical information, you know, so as to avoid birth defects and whatnot.
Part of the The Game of Thrones series was filmed in the northern part of the country. You will see more of that once we post about the fun we had renting the car and driving part of ring road.
They’ve got 13 Santa Clauses! If you are Icelandic, you probably grew up hoping you didn’t get a rotten potato in the shoe on the windowsill.
Two polar bears invaded Iceland in the summer of 2008. They probably drifted south on big ice blocks that broke off from one of Greenland‘s glaciers. They drifted southwards and when the ice cubes melted they swam to the closest land, which was Iceland. They roamed the north, but had to be shot as they closed-in towards nearby villages. 😦 This story generated a lot of controversy and media coverage, worldwide.
What other fun things did we do?
We walked the path along the ocean and found a geocache.
…and a viking ship.
We walked around town…
…and made a new friend.
We visited the flea market…
…and ate a traditional (and delicious) Icelandic Hot Dog.
We also had some not-so-delicious food.
Ryan trying the fermented shark. Don’t do it!
We took the ferry to Videy Island.
Ryan was sleepy and took a nap
while I walked around.
And then had another Hot Dog.
It was great.
Here are our favorite extras, courtesy of the one-and-only Reykjavik Citywalk.
The Icelandic Sagas – The best known examples of Icelandic literature – stories describing events that took place in Iceland in the 10th and 11th centuries.
A short video clip of Reykjavík in 1926
Icelandic elf sex. Listen to an Elf expert describe previous experiences with an elf in bed (Viewer discretion is advised).
Thule beer advertisements – Thule, the hidden Island furthest to the north, is now a brewery and they have some of the best beer advertisements.
Hjálmar – Icelandic reggae.
Kaleo – A cool Icelandic band.
The Adventures of Jen and Ryan 