Iceland 2010 log
Below is the small log I wrote during my week away, in reverse chronological order. I've also posted my status updates from Facebook while away, which summarise the entries quite nicely. Enjoy!
Date and time: Friday 5th February 2010, 17:51 GMT
Location: Bath, United Kingdom
Status update: Matthew is back in Bath after an incredible week away. He's also now visited all but one European country - guess where he wants to go next?!
I have to admit it seems rather sad to think that it's all now over...but I've certainly come back feeling like I made the most of every moment. After writing yesterday's entry I spent the day in Reykjavik. Had a little wander around some of the more interesting buildings by the largely frozen Tjornin lake, which included the Icelandic Parliament, Reykjavik city hall and a rather pretty little church, before venturing along the waterfront and the main shopping street (where I picked up a few souvenirs and presents). Saw the little house by the water's edge where Gorbachev and Reagan met towards the end of the Cold War (Icelanders are very proud to have hosted such a conference), and also the unmissable Hallgrímskirkja, basically a massive cathedral, which was actually very pretty despite the fact that it's made of concrete! Sadly it was closed for renovation, which meant I couldn't go inside nor climb the tower, which was a bit disappointing. Instead I headed over to Reykjavik's skating rink for a bit of ice skating - which was surprisingly quiet - I had the entire rink to myself at one point - and made all the more enjoyable that they had really good skates available for hire (unlike Deeside!) Then headed over to the Saga museum in 'The Pearl' - a strange dome like building built on one of the hills overlooking the capital - which was an exhibit on various Icelandic/Viking myths, complete with some wonderful models of the characters involved. Also climbed up towards to the top of the dome, which did give me a nice view over Reykjavik - pleasing after discovering Hallgrímskirkja was closed! Had a coffee with a friend from school who is in Reykjavik as part of his course which was enjoyable; also picked up a few tips on cheap places to shop and eat. In the evening I went to the 'Volcano show' - basically a show put on in a mini-cinema by a slightly eccentric eruption chaser, but there was some fantastic footage in there - what I found most amazing was that of the effect of the molten lava and dust from one eruption trying to engulf a small town in the south of the country. Today hasn't really had too much to it in comparision since it's just been travelling home - I had to get up at 4am to catch the bus to the airport this morning so am rather tired! Back to reality though now - at least until I get the chance to visit that 47th (and final) European country that has eluded me thus far...
Location: Bath, United Kingdom
Status update: Matthew is back in Bath after an incredible week away. He's also now visited all but one European country - guess where he wants to go next?!
I have to admit it seems rather sad to think that it's all now over...but I've certainly come back feeling like I made the most of every moment. After writing yesterday's entry I spent the day in Reykjavik. Had a little wander around some of the more interesting buildings by the largely frozen Tjornin lake, which included the Icelandic Parliament, Reykjavik city hall and a rather pretty little church, before venturing along the waterfront and the main shopping street (where I picked up a few souvenirs and presents). Saw the little house by the water's edge where Gorbachev and Reagan met towards the end of the Cold War (Icelanders are very proud to have hosted such a conference), and also the unmissable Hallgrímskirkja, basically a massive cathedral, which was actually very pretty despite the fact that it's made of concrete! Sadly it was closed for renovation, which meant I couldn't go inside nor climb the tower, which was a bit disappointing. Instead I headed over to Reykjavik's skating rink for a bit of ice skating - which was surprisingly quiet - I had the entire rink to myself at one point - and made all the more enjoyable that they had really good skates available for hire (unlike Deeside!) Then headed over to the Saga museum in 'The Pearl' - a strange dome like building built on one of the hills overlooking the capital - which was an exhibit on various Icelandic/Viking myths, complete with some wonderful models of the characters involved. Also climbed up towards to the top of the dome, which did give me a nice view over Reykjavik - pleasing after discovering Hallgrímskirkja was closed! Had a coffee with a friend from school who is in Reykjavik as part of his course which was enjoyable; also picked up a few tips on cheap places to shop and eat. In the evening I went to the 'Volcano show' - basically a show put on in a mini-cinema by a slightly eccentric eruption chaser, but there was some fantastic footage in there - what I found most amazing was that of the effect of the molten lava and dust from one eruption trying to engulf a small town in the south of the country. Today hasn't really had too much to it in comparision since it's just been travelling home - I had to get up at 4am to catch the bus to the airport this morning so am rather tired! Back to reality though now - at least until I get the chance to visit that 47th (and final) European country that has eluded me thus far...
Date and time: Thursday 4th February 2010, 10:15 GMT
Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
Status update: Matthew still cannot believe his luck having probably seen the most AMAZING Northern Lights in Iceland this winter! :D
So as is pretty clear from my status update, I got exceptionally lucky on Tuesday evening. Right after finishing my previous entry I headed straight down to the bus station to enquire whether the Northern Lights tour would be running - have to say I wasn't very hopeful as it was rather cloudy here in Reykjavik. But they said it was, so I got my ticket, though they were careful to point out that "sightings are not guaranteed!" A couple of hours later the tour actually left, the guide was very good and likened searching for the lights to hunting a fox - in that we didn't know exactly where we were going, nor if we would be successful. As we drove into the middle of nowhere, he explained a bit more about the phenomenon, saying that usually sightings involved green skies due to solar activity interacting with oxygen molecules, but that occasionally reds or other colours could also be seen due to the presence of nitrogen and other gases in the atmosphere. After about 45 minutes drive east of Reykjavik we came to a stop in the middle of nowhere, told it was probably the best location, and to hope for the best. As might be expected, it was bitterly cold - my gloves proved rather ineffective. There were several very faint green streaks across the northern sky, which we were told to watch. What was also amazing was how many stars it was possible to see with next to no light pollution to interfere with things. After around 30 minutes of waiting and freezing, we got a little activity when one of the green streaks became a little brighter and started waving/dancing slightly, which our guide gave 6/10, but everyone seemed to be hoping for more. It was around another hour of waiting (and, I admit, getting slightly demoralised) before we got our wish. Suddenly one of the streaks really started glowing, getting much brighter, and dancing around, lighting up the night sky and the ground we were standing on. It really was beautiful, surreal, and by far the most amazing thing I have ever seen. We were also exceptionally lucky in that we also saw some red streaks as the bands of green flickered and moved over us. I also managed to get a few good pictures - they don't do the phenomenon justice, but made me rather happy all the same. After the excitement of Tuesday night, I had a rather long though very worthwhile day yesterday doing the Golden Circle tour. This started at 9am, which meant it was still dark, but that also meant we got to see the beautiful sunrise as we headed east. First stop was one of Iceland's geothermal power plants, where we got given a presentation and introduction to how it all works, before being able to see the turbines in action, and all the steam coming out of the ground - very interesting. We then drove on further east, taking in some spectacular scenery - snow covered peaks and dark lava fields, before stopping at the Gullfloss (Golden waterfall), which was absolutely spectacular, although the spray from the waterfall and the strong winds made it probably the coldest temperatures I've ever expreienced! We then headed on to see geysirs - there was one (I forget the name) which erupts every 5 minutes or so, which made for some good pictures, and there was also a nearby multimedia show on geysirs in Iceland. Final stop was the Þingvellir national park and the site of the first Icelandic parliament - absolutely fabulous scenery, especially with us being surrounded by blue skies. Made it home at around 5pm feeling rather tired having spent a lot of the day sitting on a coach, and only briefly ventured out last night to see Reykjavik's harbour at night. Now going to head off to visit a few of Reykjavik's attractions, hoping to go ice skating this afternoon, before a meet up with a friend from school and a rather early start in order to get home tomorrow morning...
Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
Status update: Matthew s
So as is pretty clear from my status update, I got exceptionally lucky on Tuesday evening. Right after finishing my previous entry I headed straight down to the bus station to enquire whether the Northern Lights tour would be running - have to say I wasn't very hopeful as it was rather cloudy here in Reykjavik. But they said it was, so I got my ticket, though they were careful to point out that "sightings are not guaranteed!" A couple of hours later the tour actually left, the guide was very good and likened searching for the lights to hunting a fox - in that we didn't know exactly where we were going, nor if we would be successful. As we drove into the middle of nowhere, he explained a bit more about the phenomenon, saying that usually sightings involved green skies due to solar activity interacting with oxygen molecules, but that occasionally reds or other colours could also be seen due to the presence of nitrogen and other gases in the atmosphere. After about 45 minutes drive east of Reykjavik we came to a stop in the middle of nowhere, told it was probably the best location, and to hope for the best. As might be expected, it was bitterly cold - my gloves proved rather ineffective. There were several very faint green streaks across the northern sky, which we were told to watch. What was also amazing was how many stars it was possible to see with next to no light pollution to interfere with things. After around 30 minutes of waiting and freezing, we got a little activity when one of the green streaks became a little brighter and started waving/dancing slightly, which our guide gave 6/10, but everyone seemed to be hoping for more. It was around another hour of waiting (and, I admit, getting slightly demoralised) before we got our wish. Suddenly one of the streaks really started glowing, getting much brighter, and dancing around, lighting up the night sky and the ground we were standing on. It really was beautiful, surreal, and by far the most amazing thing I have ever seen. We were also exceptionally lucky in that we also saw some red streaks as the bands of green flickered and moved over us. I also managed to get a few good pictures - they don't do the phenomenon justice, but made me rather happy all the same. After the excitement of Tuesday night, I had a rather long though very worthwhile day yesterday doing the Golden Circle tour. This started at 9am, which meant it was still dark, but that also meant we got to see the beautiful sunrise as we headed east. First stop was one of Iceland's geothermal power plants, where we got given a presentation and introduction to how it all works, before being able to see the turbines in action, and all the steam coming out of the ground - very interesting. We then drove on further east, taking in some spectacular scenery - snow covered peaks and dark lava fields, before stopping at the Gullfloss (Golden waterfall), which was absolutely spectacular, although the spray from the waterfall and the strong winds made it probably the coldest temperatures I've ever expreienced! We then headed on to see geysirs - there was one (I forget the name) which erupts every 5 minutes or so, which made for some good pictures, and there was also a nearby multimedia show on geysirs in Iceland. Final stop was the Þingvellir national park and the site of the first Icelandic parliament - absolutely fabulous scenery, especially with us being surrounded by blue skies. Made it home at around 5pm feeling rather tired having spent a lot of the day sitting on a coach, and only briefly ventured out last night to see Reykjavik's harbour at night. Now going to head off to visit a few of Reykjavik's attractions, hoping to go ice skating this afternoon, before a meet up with a friend from school and a rather early start in order to get home tomorrow morning...
Date and time: Tuesday 2nd February 2010, 18:01 GMT
Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
Status update: Matthew thinks Iceland's Blue Lagoon beats Bath's Thermae Spa any day, though wishes he hadn't swallowed quite as much water as he did...
I'm currently sitting in Reykjavik's main library, which I'm told by Lonely Planet is the cheapest way to access the Internet, although it is proving painfully slow. But it is cheap, which is probably a good thing considering how much money I've already made my way through today - and not having a good feel for how much an Icelandic Koruna is worth isn't exactly helping! But anyway - made it over here yesterday - it was just over 12 hours from door to door, but I did have a lot of waiting around for trains in London (my first one got in early), the flight itself at Stansted and then the bus from Keflavik to Reykjavik last night. Headed straight to sleep when I got my bed just after midnight, and woke rather early this morning to (of course) find it still pitch black outside - it only really started getting light around 9:15! This morning I went to what is probably one of Iceland's top tourist attractions - the Blue Lagoon. It was rather surreal - the bus ride over there was nice in that I got to see quite a bit of scenery - although being a volcanic island, Iceland is generally quite barren. The Lagoon itself was simply awesome - beats the Thermae Bath Spa any day (and it was cheaper, too!) The place gets it's name from the colour of the water, which is a very deep blue, due to all the minerals and pleasant algae in there. However, it is rather cold up here (basically been hovering around freezing all day), which meant it was quick dashes from the changing rooms into the water and vice versa! Spent a good three hours in there soaking it all up before heading back into Reykjavik this afternoon. Been for a little wander around the city and picked up a few souvenirs, although I'm saving all the attractions until Thursday when I'll have a little more time and a few more daylight hours to play with. This evening I've been hoping to go on a tour searching for the Northern Lights - this morning they said it had a 50-50 chance of going ahead but it has clouded over a bit since, so I'll be heading over to the bus station to see if it'll be on shortly. Still got two more chances if it doesn't this evening, and whatever happens I've got the Golden Circle tour to look forward tomorrow - basically heading inland to see geysirs, waterfalls and the Þingvellir National Park, which I'm very much looking forward to...
Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
Status update: Matthew thinks Iceland's Blue Lagoon beats Bath's Thermae Spa any day, though wishes he hadn't swallowed quite as much water as he did...
I'm currently sitting in Reykjavik's main library, which I'm told by Lonely Planet is the cheapest way to access the Internet, although it is proving painfully slow. But it is cheap, which is probably a good thing considering how much money I've already made my way through today - and not having a good feel for how much an Icelandic Koruna is worth isn't exactly helping! But anyway - made it over here yesterday - it was just over 12 hours from door to door, but I did have a lot of waiting around for trains in London (my first one got in early), the flight itself at Stansted and then the bus from Keflavik to Reykjavik last night. Headed straight to sleep when I got my bed just after midnight, and woke rather early this morning to (of course) find it still pitch black outside - it only really started getting light around 9:15! This morning I went to what is probably one of Iceland's top tourist attractions - the Blue Lagoon. It was rather surreal - the bus ride over there was nice in that I got to see quite a bit of scenery - although being a volcanic island, Iceland is generally quite barren. The Lagoon itself was simply awesome - beats the Thermae Bath Spa any day (and it was cheaper, too!) The place gets it's name from the colour of the water, which is a very deep blue, due to all the minerals and pleasant algae in there. However, it is rather cold up here (basically been hovering around freezing all day), which meant it was quick dashes from the changing rooms into the water and vice versa! Spent a good three hours in there soaking it all up before heading back into Reykjavik this afternoon. Been for a little wander around the city and picked up a few souvenirs, although I'm saving all the attractions until Thursday when I'll have a little more time and a few more daylight hours to play with. This evening I've been hoping to go on a tour searching for the Northern Lights - this morning they said it had a 50-50 chance of going ahead but it has clouded over a bit since, so I'll be heading over to the bus station to see if it'll be on shortly. Still got two more chances if it doesn't this evening, and whatever happens I've got the Golden Circle tour to look forward tomorrow - basically heading inland to see geysirs, waterfalls and the Þingvellir National Park, which I'm very much looking forward to...
Date and time: Monday 1st February 2010, 07:11 GMT
Location: Bath, United Kingdom
Status update: Matthew is Reykjavik bound today! :D
So 1st February has finally arrived, and I'm off to Reykjavik! Still got quite a bit of packing to finish off due to my laundry taking forever to dry, but fortunately I've got another few hours before I leave. Very much looking forward to escaping Bath for a bit - and even better the weather forecast for the next week here seems to be warm but wet, while in Reykjavik it's due to be sunny (if cold!) All that practice at layering up doing tower tours at the Christmas market may well prove useful!...
Location: Bath, United Kingdom
Status update: Matthew is Reykjavik bound today! :D
So 1st February has finally arrived, and I'm off to Reykjavik! Still got quite a bit of packing to finish off due to my laundry taking forever to dry, but fortunately I've got another few hours before I leave. Very much looking forward to escaping Bath for a bit - and even better the weather forecast for the next week here seems to be warm but wet, while in Reykjavik it's due to be sunny (if cold!) All that practice at layering up doing tower tours at the Christmas market may well prove useful!...
