The ship docked in Reykjavik at 8.00am this morning. We had breakfast in the cabin, while getting ready for our 8 hour Excursion, called the Golden Circle. We met in the Theatre at 8.45 and then transferred to a bus for the day. Our first stop was at what looked to be a small shopping mall, however, this was the site of a 2008 earthquake, in the town of Skjalftinn. Originally the plan was to have a multi storey building, but when they were excavating they found that they were building over a rift. So the mutil storey plans were scrapped and they increased the foundations, knowing that they were over a rift. In the building they have a glass floor over the top of the rift, which is lit, it is about 2 meters wide and 3-4 meters deep. After the centre had been built, they had an earthquake measuring 6.3 in 2008, and building survived and there are displays in the library of the earthquakes effect.
From here it was about 1 hour drive to the Thingvellir National Park - a UNESCO World Heritage Site, about 60 klms from Reykjavik. The scenery was amazing, through moss covered lava fields. Our first stop in the Park was the Iceland Geysers, which are hot springs. We stopped here for lunch, which was provided. John was very impressed with the Leek Soup.
A short drive further was the Gullfoss or “Golden” Waterfall. This is a twin cascade, and one of the most powerful in Europe. It is truly amazing.
We then drove further through the National Park to Thingvellir, through the valley between the Tectonic Plates. Icelanders regard this site as sacred, and the world’s oldest legislative parliament was founded here in 930. The bus made a stop and those that were able climbed the path to the top of the North American Plate.
From here we headed back to the ship in time to get ready for an informal dinner with James and Yas.
We then drove further through the National Park to Thingvellir, through the valley between the Tectonic Plates. Icelanders regard this site as sacred, and the world’s oldest legislative parliament was founded here in 930. The bus made a stop and those that were able climbed the path to the top of the North American Plate.
The ship was docked in Reykjavik over night and after breakfast in the dining room, we caught a taxi into the old town. The drive from the ship was around the waters edge, and drove past the house where Gorbachev and Reagan had their summit meeting, past the new concert hall, which appears to be made of all glass. Reykjavik is the largest community in Iceland with an approximate population of 115,000. Our taxi driver took us right to the centre of town, the first thing we saw was Jamies Italian Restaurant !!!.
It was a lovely sunny day with the temperature reaching about 19 deg. People were sitting in the park and all the tables outside the cafes where taken by people enjoying their morning coffee in the sun. We wandered around to what appeared to be a town square, where there was a small market. We found a coffee shop for morning tea, and then explored the town a little more, before catching a taxi back to the ship
We left Reykjavik about 30 mins late, and about 2 hours after leaving it started to get quite rocky !!! This got worse during the night, to the point where everything seemed to creak. Both the indoor and outdoor pools were closed, and the waves from the indoor pool (which was only half full) at first were overlapping the boundary of the pool area. Later in the night the waves were actually reaching the balcony of the next deck. It was quite an uncomfortable night for everyone, even the crew.
It was a lovely sunny day with the temperature reaching about 19 deg. People were sitting in the park and all the tables outside the cafes where taken by people enjoying their morning coffee in the sun. We wandered around to what appeared to be a town square, where there was a small market. We found a coffee shop for morning tea, and then explored the town a little more, before catching a taxi back to the ship
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