Walked up to the Cathedral and happened upon a nice sculpture garden. Continued walking to the Pond through a neighborhood with huge houses and large backyards. There is a walking path circling the Pond where a group of small children were being escorted by their teachers. A thin layer of ice covered all but a small patch of open water at the foot of the pond. This was packed with several varieties of water fowl - swans, geese and ducks.
From there we headed along the waterfront beyond the Harpa toward the Maritime Museum. We thought the museum was free for seniors, wrong, $10/ea! We passed on the museum and walked along the marina taking in the sights and taking lots of pictures.
It was time for lunch and our itinerary was calling us to a place famous for its lobster soup, Sægreifinn (Sea Baron). The founding deceased fisherman had become something of an Icelandic icon, and today he sits in the back room with a sign that says not to sit on him! Creepy! We ordered at the counter and took our number to the long, communal wooden table in the back. We each had a bowl of creamy, peach colored lobster soup with a side of fresh bread. It is slightly sweet with celery, red pepper, tomato and quite a bit of lobster. We soon discovered why this little dive is famous - delicious!
We strolled back to our hotel sightseeing and shopping along the way. Stopped in the hotel to purchase Magic Ice Bar tickets. Our Front Desk Clerk seemed a little skeptical of this activity.
At 4:00 we headed to the Ice Bar. Everything ice, including our cocktail glasses! We checked in and were given these big, black hooded capes and gloves. Our entry fee included two cocktails. The most expensive drinks we have ever had! But the place was actually pretty cool, forgive the pun. There were several ice sculptures and little alcoves where you could sit at tables and chairs made of ice. Touristy and a little gimmicky, but worth going ONCE.
We had dinner at the Icelander Bar. A very cute, homey, casual place where almost every table was occupied. Dave asked one of the servers for the wifi password and she pointed him to the back. Big miscommunication, she thought he was asking for the bathroom! Dave had a lobster hotdog and Sue the reindeer burger, proceeded by a puffin crumpet appetizer. This was our most adventurous meal and all very good. If you had asked us if this would be on our menu a week ago, our response would have been, “are you kidding us”?!?!?
After a quick stop at the hotel, we were picked up around 8:30 at Bus Stop #14 for our Northern Lights tour. A shuttle bus took us to a main terminal and we were loaded onto a large touring bus. It was about a 45 minute drive to a big parking lot within Thingvellir National Park. We were one of six touring buses there.
With all the cameras and eyes looking up and toward the north, within 15 minutes we saw the first of the Light’s green glow. For the next hour, with varying levels of intensity, the green filled the sky’s horizon. Toward the end, fingers of green stretched upward. The tour company must have thought we got our monies worth, because almost at the peak we were loaded back onto the bus. The prime hours are usually between 9:00 and Midnight and it was approaching that witching hour.
What a spectacular night. We know how lucky we were!
2025-02-11