It is said that when the Vikings first saw
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Today’s Icelanders can trace their ancestry back thirty-four generations to these early explorers. The language is little changed from Old Norse used in the millennium-old stories of Viking voyages and power struggles of the Icelandic Sagas. |
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This island republic just south of
the
Natural hot water serves as a non-polluting, low-cost source of geothermal energy for homes and greenhouse horticulture. The highly literate and multilingual residents enjoy one of the world’s highest life expectancies, levels of education, and per capita income. More books are written, printed, bought, and read per capita than anywhere else. And Icelanders know how to have fun. The energetic capital, Reykjavík, is known worldwide for its cultural attractions and nightlife.
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The |
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Pressure between the European and North American plates
creates volcanic activity and the greatest mountain range in world,
dividing
the |
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The
largest lava
field on earth is found in this major town and seaport of northern
By the 18th
century, ten Danish traders resided here. The herring fishing industry
grew, as
did
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Akureyri |
Some old
wooden homes are now museums, most notably
Fridbjarnarhus, the Good Templar’s Museum, from the days of the
Crusades, and
Nonnahus, the
One of the ship’s excursions is a
polar flight to
Recommended
Tour:
Take one of the ship’s excursions or hire a taxi to the
- Godafoss “God’s
Waterfall” --where the local chieftain marked the conversion to
Christianity by throwing away pagan artifacts.
- Dettifoss--
Europe’s largest waterfall.
- Jökulsárgljúfur
National Park-- a landscape of mountainous ruins and lava formations,
with echoing Hljódakletter basalt rocks, distinctively red mountain,
Raudholar, and horseshoe-shaped canyon Ásbyrgi. Beware! Legend has it
hidden people live in the cracks.
- Dimmuborger-- a
labyrinth of lava outcroppings, often referred to as black castles.
- Stóragja and
Grjótagja—pools of natural hot water in underground caves.
- Krafla-- a caldera
last erupting in the 1980s, in an active volcanic area with a Viti
crater, believed at times to be the entrance to hell.
- Námafjall—Sights,
sounds and smells at this high-temperature geothermal red and yellow
valley are mesmerizing and other-worldly-- purple boiling sulfur pits
and fumaroles with an eerie whistling sound from steaming hydrogen
sulfide gas. Stay on the path or you could fall through the thin crust!
- Húsavik—picturesque
little fishing town and center for whale watching.
- Laufás, a
settlement going back to pagan times, has gabled farm buildings in
typically Icelandic side-by-side style, part of the
Ísafjördur
In the westernmost part of
This
remote area rich
in fish, bird life, and culture attracted worldwide attention with the
controversy over whaling. Shore excursions are offered to the fjords,
mountains, and tiny villages.
 There
are only ten human inhabitants but thousands of birds
on
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Recommended tour—the excursion by local boat to tiny Vigur Island, where Hugrún Magnúsdóttir opens her home to visitors wanting to learn about her family’s unique life collecting down from the century-old family-built stone wall where 3600 eider ducks return to nest each spring. |
In summer, about 80,000 puffins revisit their mates and underground nests, adding to the food chain. During the harsh winters, down is cleaned and cows are tended.
We sipped coffee made from the island's fresh water and savored homemade pastries inside a delightful 19th century family home that was reminiscent of Carl Larsson paintings, while university student Helga Gudmundsdottir regaled us wth popular folk and patriotic tunes.
At the end of the day, we sailed in
the Isafjörd toward the
Northwestern tip of
For an urban experience, take the
Holland America City Tour
or buy a Reykjavík Tourist Card at the
Tourist Information center for admission to museums, galleries, and all
seven
of city’s thermal pools, as well as free Internet access and unlimited
Reykjavík
bus use. Shoppers enjoy browsing along Skolavodustigur
for art work,
woolen items, pottery, and jewelry.
For a revitalizing adventure like no
other, simply relax, perhaps
with a massage, in the renowned Blue
Lagoon, set amidst a black lava field, with warm geothermal
waters rich in
silica and other rejuvenating minerals.
 Icelandic horses, descendants of
those brought by early
Viking settlers, are fearless and good tempered.
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Recommended Tour: The Golden Circle Tour, booked onboard or independently in advance, is an unforgettable drive past mossy lava landscapes, glaciers, villages, lush farmland, Icelandic horses, and stark wilderness. |
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It’s an opportunity and to peer inside the volcanic crater Kerid, and walk around a steaming geothermal field. |
 The geyser Strokkur erupts with
boiling water every few
minutes.
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Iceland Travel
offers a full range of options, and we maximized our day by
pre-arranging a
customized independent car tour with an experienced guide.
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The statue
of Leif Eriksson outside Reykjavík’s landmark
Hallsgrímskirkja was a gift from the
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Water from
under the glacier Langjökull drops |
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Top sights to see:
- UNESCO World
Heritage site Thingvellir
(“Place where
people gather”.) National
Park, -- site of one of world’s oldest parliaments,
established 930. Here Christianity was adopted in 1000AD and the
founding of
- Walk a dramatic
landscape where tectonic
plate boundaries produce spectacular rifting and expansion
of the earth’s crust.
- Gullfoss, “Golden
Waterfall”-- saved from power plant development by a farmer’s daughter.
Waters of the
- Geysir (the gusher
that gave its name to all the rest) geothermal area--mud pools boil and
the hot spring Strokker spouts every few minutes.
- Skálholt— once the
cultural and ecclesiastical center of
- Nearby
Next, we
sailed for
Ready to Go?
