Iceland Trip Report, Day 1: Reykjanes Peninsula Drive, Reykjavik

DAY 1 Friday Aug 30, 2019:

Vik... what does it mean?

We find many place names in Iceland ending with vik...Keflavik, Reykjavik, Husavik, Dalvik, Olafsvik etc... there is a plain Vik as well. Wondered what the origin and meaning is....Vik in old Norse means bay or cove/inlet. So we can find Scandinavian names ending in vik, and yes, it's similar to the British place names ending of wick as in Gatwick, Lerwick etc for ports/bays

Reykjavik, means the smoke bay , because of the plumes escaping from the ground, the geothermal vapors.

Yes, we saw some blue water and smoke emanating from the ground right from the sky before landing.

We landed in Reykjavik at the Keflavik airport 9.30 am as scheduled. Got thru Immigration. 1^st chore was to draw 5000 ISK from the ATM. We then bought a chocolate from the airport supermarket to break the big note, got some coins for future use at restrooms.

Blue car rentals:

We then proceeded to pick up our rental car from Blue car rentals. They ply a shuttle but we decided not to waste time waiting for the shuttle bus at Keflavik airport. If we turn left as we exit towards Hertz/Avis etc and leave the airport building on that side, Blue Car rental is about 300m away. The walk is about the same as the distance through the car part to the shuttle bus pick-up and will be much quicker than the wait and ride.

Here's a nice statue... aubergine

The Jet Nest shows a big steel egg where a jet wing is peeking out like a little bird breaking out of its egg. The piece stands on a pile of Icelandic rocks.

The famous (!!) Icelandic wind was blowing in all its bone chilling high velocity fury.

We pulled our hoodies tight, walked to the rental office, took a token at their counter. There was a huge crowd inside and it took more than an hour to get our Renault Kadjar after taking all the insurance ensuring zero deductible.

Our Hotel Island was just 45 min drive away but we chose to drive on Reykjanes Peninsula

Bridge between two continents:

We hit up ROAD 425 and the Bridge between Continents Europe and North America on Reykjanes Peninsula was our 1^st halt before heading to the northernmost capital in the world.

The Bridge between two continents at Sandvík is a small footbridge over a major fissure which provides clear evidence of the presence of a diverging plate margin. The bridge was built as a symbol for the connection between Europe and North America.

 Reykjanes Peninsula is the youngest part of Iceland. The peninsula, with its diversity of volcanic and geothermal activity, is a Geopark and is the only place in the world where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is visible above sea level.  

Mid-Atlantic Ridge is part of the 65,000 km mid-ocean ridge that encircles the earth like a seam of a baseball. Although 90% of this mountain range lies deep below the surface of the ocean, it rises above sea-level right here on the Reykjanes Peninsula, making this  the only place on earth where it is visible.

According to the continental drift theory the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are continuously drifting apart with great forces under the gaping rifts. As the plates diverge, linear fractures, known as fissures form due to stresses created by the tension that builds up as the plates move away from each other.

BLUE LAGOON:

When we neared Grindavik, we went north on Road 43 to the famous blue lagoon... try and have a look see.

The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa with water at 37–39 °C (99–102 °F). located in a lava field near Grindavík. The water's milky blue shade is due to its high silica content. 

The lagoon is man-made. The water is a byproduct from the nearby geothermal power plant Svartsengi where superheated water is vented from the ground near a lava flow and used to run turbines that generate electricity. After going through the turbines, the steam and hot water passes through a heat exchanger to provide heat for a municipal water heating system. Then the water is fed into the lagoon.

We are not public spa people. So it was nice just to take a walk on the outside perimeter, use the rest room and then resume our drive.

Saw some Icelandic horses

Lovely scenery...

Gunnuhver geothermal area:

Next was the Gunnuhver geothermal area. A worthwhile stop, with some large steam areas. There is a path to walk around and see various geothermal features. 

Saw Seltun Geothermal Area/krysuvik also.

Drove on stopping at some scenic pullouts

We reached our Hotel Island, checked in,

had some food and drove to downtown Reykjavik. After 6 pm parking is free. We visited the famous church Hallgrimskirkja.

Hallgrimskirkja:

Hallgrimskirkja built in 1937 is Reykjavík's main landmark, inspired by the shapes and forms created when lava cools into basalt rock. its tower can be seen from everywhere in the city., It is 74.5m high: Free to enter church;

 The church has lovely stained glass windows and an enormous organ.   

  ISK 1000 to use lift to the tower. Walked up the steps at the top for the panoramic view.  There are still 40 steps to go up after getting out of the lift. Fantastic views of Reykjavík, the colored houses stand out. 

In front of the church, and predating it by 15 years,  statue of Leifur Eiríksson (c. 970 – c. 1020) – the first European to discover America. 

 Leifur landed on the shores of the new world in the year 1,000 A.D., 500 years before Christopher Columbus. The statue was a gift from the United States honoring  1930 Alþingi Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of the establishment of Iceland's parliament at Þingvellir in 930 AD. 

Laugavegur:

Next was Laugavegur  one of the main streets in Reykjavik. It runs parallel to the harbor boasts of some interesting wall street arts. 

It was all closed when we were there, we missed out on the buzz of shops.

Sun Voyager:

Drove around. Saw the Sun Voyager - a massive stainless steel sculpture by Jón Gunnar Arnason which may resemble a Viking ship, but is in fact, a dream boat and ode to the sun.

We drove back to our hotel and called it a day.

Report of Day 2, Golden circle continues here:

https://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2019/10/iceland-trip-report-day-2-golden-circle.html