Reykjavík

Our good luck with the weather continues as the forecast is for another wonderful day.

We approached the Reykjavík cruise berth around 9:30 am and we were alongside and moored around 10.  There was a 30-minute delay in our clearance due to some issue on the shore side which was never fully explained.  Here is a link to the Cruise Port website which will give your precise location – most likely either Skarfabakki 312 or Skarfabakki 315.  Skarfabakki 315 is the one further from the cruise terminal and you can either walk about 1/3 of a mile or wait for a courtesy shuttle than runs almost continuously during busy periods.  The cruise ship Azamara Pursuit was moored in Skarfabakki 312.

While it’s possible to exit the secure area near the ship’s gangway at Skarfabakki 315, most tours will meet you in the large parking lot near the cruise terminal.  When we called a taxi later the driver was able to meet us right outside the gangway.  The staff at the desk inside the small security building called a taxi for us after we returned from our tour and wanted to head back to town.

We were on a pre-arranged tour that was a combination Golden Circle/Yarn Tour that was arranged by Craft Cruises.  Our tour bus was located near the main terminal and we walked the 1/3 mile to the parking lot because, at the time, we didn’t realize that a shuttle bus was available.  Keep in mind that this shuttle bus will only take you to the main terminal – not downtown.  There is another shuttle bus that will take you downtown to the Harpo Concert Hall for 2500 ISK.  I am not sure if this is the one-way or round-trip fare.  We never took this shuttle so I can’t offer any more details.  If any reader did take this shuttle, please give me some more details in the comments.

The parking lot near the cruise terminal was crowded with tour buses and the HoHo bus was also nearby.  You will probably have to walk around a bit to find your bus.

The most popular tour in Reykjavík is The Golden Circle.  The name “Golden Circle” was taken from the name of the waterfall Gullfoss – which means Golden Waterfall in Icelandic.  There are three primary stops on any Golden Circle Tour:  Þingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss Waterfall, and the geothermal area in Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur.  There are also a few other stops that may be added to any Golden Circle Tour including the town of Hveragerði, Skálholt Cathedral, and the Nesjavellir and Hellisheiðarvirkjun geothermal power plants.

Our Golden Circle Tour would substitute three yarn shops in lieu of the stop at Þingvellir National Park.  We would see Gullfoss and the Geysir area.

By the time we got off the ship, walked to the main parking lot, found our bus, met our guide Soffia (Contact her HERE), and were ready to go, it was almost 11 am.

Our first stop, 20 minutes away, was the Yarn Shop Alafoss.  In addition to the yarn shop, there was a small waterfall and a museum (which was closed when we arrived).  Alafoss was a large shop, with a lot of variety.

We were here about 1 hour before heading out toward Gullfoss Waterfall where we would also have lunch.  We bypassed Þingvellir National Park on the way, but we were able to see some of the tectonic plate crevices from the bus as we drove by.

The Gullfoss Visitor Center/restaurant and gift shop are about a 5-minute walk from the falls.  We were seated in the back of the restaurant at a series of tables near buffet lines that were set up for our particular tour group.  Toward the front of the restaurant is a cafeteria line for independent travelers.

Judy picked up a nice Icelandic Sweater here and did some more shopping while I did a speed walk down to the falls.

I was able to scurry to the falls and back in 10 minutes but was rushed.  Doing it again, I would have skipped lunch or grabbed something faster to give me more time at the falls.  There are a lot of different viewing areas if you want to explore – but if you want to simply see the falls, you can do it in 10 minutes as I did.

Back on the bus, we backtracked to get to the Geysir geothermal area.  Our bus dropped us off near the entrance to the Geysir and we would walk through the geothermal area and meet everyone back by the gift shop and visitor center.  The main geyser, named Geysir, has been dormant for years and you shouldn’t expect to see anything more than a marker stone.  The geyser, Strokkur, erupts every few minutes.  You will have time to see this eruption several times from various vantage points.

Back on the bus, we continued our journey toward Selfoss where we would visit Guðrún Bjarnadottir in her plant-based dyed yarn studio:  Hespuhúsið.  Her web site is HERE.  Hespa is the name for plant-based dyed Icelandic yarn.   Hespuhúsið is the name of Guðrún’s plant dyeing studio.

We were here about 1 hour before heading back toward Reykjavík and our final stop at the Storkurinn Yarn Shop, only a few miles from the ship.

We arrived at Storkurinn Yarn Shop around 6:45 and were here for about 1 hour.  In addition to Icelandic Yarn, this shop had lighter weight yarns which Judy likes to knit.  The shop had an entire wall of knitting needles and a great selection of buttons.  In one corner, there was a small selection of quilt fabric.

It was a short drive to the Cruise Terminal and our driver was able to let us off close to the entrance near our ship so we wouldn’t have to walk back down the dock from the larger parking lot.

We were back in our cabin at 8:15 pm.

We wanted to try the famous Iceland Hot Dogs- Bæjarins Beztu, located downtown, so we headed out at 8:40 pm.

We were going to head to the main terminal and catch the shuttle, but we learned that the shuttles had already quit running.  The staff at our small security/terminal called a taxi for us which would pick us up near our gate saving us the walk to the main terminal.  The taxi arrived in about 5 minutes and took us downtown for 3500 ISK (about $25) which was cheaper than the 2500 ISK per person each way for the shuttle.  The taxi ride was 10 minutes and accepted credit cards.  If are going to take a taxi to Bæjarins Beztu, ask a driver to take you to the Radisson Blu Hotel, which is right across the street.  There are several Bæjarins Beztu locations, in Reykjavík, so check out their website HERE and you may find a closer location depending on what you are doing in Reykjavik.

We were at the hot dog stand at 9:05 pm and there were only 2 people ahead of us.  As our driver dropped us off he commented that it was very unusual to have a short line.

We shared a hotdog with everything for 600 ISK ($4.37 USD)  It was very good.   The Taxi fare each way was $25 or $50 round trip.   Add in the cost of the hot dog itself – about $5 – and you have a $55 hot dog – but the memories – priceless.

It was now 9:30 pm and we were going to try Tommi’s burgers, but the nearest location was closed and the next restaurant was 4/10 of a mile away.  Unlike the hotdog place, our taxi driver told us we may have to wait 20 minutes for a burger.  Running out of time, we decided to head back to the ship.

There was a nearby taxi stand with a waiting taxi and we were soon on our way back to the Nieuw Statendam.