Shopping and Eating in Reykjavik

We went into the heart of the city of Reykjavik this afternoon. We walked around and did some shopping. Joe bought an Icelandic wool sweater and we both bought a pair of gloves. The unit of currency here is the Icelandic kroner. The rate of exchange is roughly 107 kroner to the dollar. It's strange to purchase something and be told that it will cost 2000 kroner. That's just under $20, but it sounds like a lot more. After shopping we stopped for dinner at a restaurant that had some local dishes, especially fish caught in the nearby Arctic. We had cod and Arctic Char, and it was delicious. There generally isn't any tipping here. Joe tried to leave a tip and the waitress said to him, "Don't do that!" The weather is a little chilly, probably upper 40's or lower 50's and it has been overcast. Even the locals are bundled up in wool sweaters and hats. After supper we stopped for ice cream on the way back to the hotel. They had vanilla and strawberry, but no chocolate. What kind of place is this?!!

Land of Fire and Ice

Thursday, Aug. 31 - After a five hour flight from Boston to Reykjavik, we finally landed in Iceland. Our flight arrived at 6:30 a.m. local time. Since Iceland is four hours ahead of Pittsburgh time, it felt like 2 a.m. to us. Needless to say, this is not going to be a very active day. In fact, the tour group is not running any organized tours today, so we are free to wander around on our own. On the way from the airport to the hotel, the tour guide shared some interesting facts about Iceland. The country is known as the land of fire and ice because it contains both volcanoes and glaciers. In fact, the countryside on the way from the airport was a beautiful lava landscape. About 60% of the population of Iceland lives in the capital city of Reykjavik. The tap water in Iceland is the cleanest water in the world. It is a very safe place, so much so that we saw a young (maybe 5 years old?) girl walking alone along a busy highway, presumably going to school. We arrived at the hotel around 8:30, but our rooms would not be available until 2:00. There was a large room in the hotel where we were told we could stay until the rooms were ready. So there we were, about 60 people, spread out on chairs and sofas, trying to catch up on some sleep. We finally received our room key, and after perhaps one more nap, we will be ready to explore Reykjavik!

Map of our cruise route. Cruise starts in Stockholm, Sweden and ends in Bergen, Norway.
(Pre-trip to Iceland not shown.)

This is not a blog about Kay and Joe walking on a treadmill. That would be 1) Nordic Track and 2) terribly boring. Rather, this is a blog about Kay and Joe's vacation to the Nordic countries. Now we were calling this our Scandinavian vacation, but in reading about the part of the world that we will be visiting, we learned that technically, Scandinavia consists of only three countries: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. When you add the countries of Iceland and Finland, these countries are called the Nordic countries. The term Nordic is derived (roughly) from the Scandinavian languages and means "The North". In addition to the five Nordic countries, we will also be visiting four non-Nordic countries: Russia, Estonia, Poland, and Germany, as we journey on a Viking Ocean Cruise on the Baltic Sea. As in the past, we will be keeping a blog of our travels. So if you would like to follow our adventure, stay tuned to this blog. The fun starts on Wed., Aug. 30.