Iceland
Hljómskálagarðurinn

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    • Day 6–7

      Vik nach Reykjavik

      August 27 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

      Heute haben wir die letzte Etappe in Angriff genommen.
      Wir haben die Wasserfälle Skogafoss, Gljufrabui, Seljalandsfoss, Sellfoss Öxararfoss gesehen. Letzterer ist direkt an der Grenze der tektonischen Platten von Nordamerika & Eurasien. Auch hatten wir die Möglichkekeit isländische Pferde zu füttern.
      Das Highlight war jedoch, dass wir die Lava vom kürzlich ausgebrochenen Vulkansystem Svartsengi bestaunen konnten & mit viel Glück konnten wir mitten in der Nacht auch noch die Nordlichter (inkl. Lava im Hintergrund bestaunen. Was für ein Abschluss dieser tollen Reise! 😍
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    • Day 13

      Day 13 - Hamburg - Berlin - Iceland 🇮🇸

      June 14 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

      Another Goodbye today 😢 We woke early to make our train and said farewell to Kim & Celina 😢 We had such a good time in Hamburg 💕

      Lucky we had Kim and Veronika's help as our train had been canceled and changed to another one but we eventually got it sorted!
      We are getting very good at the public transport now 🤣 we managed to get ourselves through Berlin train station and onto another train to the airport. Berlin train station is huge!! I think it has 4 levels of platforms!

      Navigating the airport was easy and we made our plane to Iceland 🇮🇸
      We had a good flight and the view coming into land was incredible 😲

      We landed and again we couldn't believe how easy it was to get through customs. There was no customs you just walk out!
      On to the bus to Reykjavík town, took about 45 mins, the landscape we saw here was very rocky with little growth and mountains in the distance. We found our accommodation easy just a 2 min walk from bus station.

      We walked to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, it was their 53rd Birthday today so we received free dessert 🍨 👏

      Had a wee walk around the city then home for a sleep another early start tomorrow 😴
      It does not get dark here so tonight will be interesting 🤣
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    • Day 7

      BSI Bus Terminal

      August 5 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

      McKelvie and I were up at 1:45 AM because the helpful hotel receptionist told us we'd need to be at the bus stop by 2:30 for the BSI shuttle to pick us up (she lied). We thought that was a bit strange because I had scheduled our pick-up for 3 AM. SO...we both stood in the rain for 45 minutes, waiting for that shuttle (it was 15 minutes late) to pick us up to take us to the BSI Terminal to board the Flybus to Keflavik. We're soaked, our luggage is soaked. It's going to be a long day. And McKelvie and I don't even get to sit together during the trip to Keflavik. 😕 The only good thing is that we were able to cuddle up next to the Hallgrímskirkja to get out of the wind, and it DID help keep some of the rain off of us.Read more

    • Day 7

      Pausentag

      July 14 in Iceland ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

      Ich drehe eine Runde durch Rekjavik und fühle mich wirklich wohl und heimisch.

      Der Wind streichelt mir die Nase.
      Das Wetter darf ruhig schlecht sein ich bin ja jetzt wollig warm in der Zivilisation.

      Meine Beine sind schwer und die Müdigkeit beschleicht mich.

      Meine Kreditkarte ist zwischendurch gesperrt , aber das Problem lässt sich lösen.

      Ich lese den halben Tag im Hostel auf einem gemütlichem Sofa ein ganzes Buch.
      Die beiden die mit mir beschlossen haben sich heute nicht mehr zu bewegen, kochen für mich eine riesen Portion Spagetthi mit Zucchini und Veganem Hähnchen.
      Wahnsinnig lecker.

      Danach geht es für mich ins Schwimmbad, mein absoluter Safe Place in Island.
      Leider vertue ich mich mit dem Öffnungszeiten und kann mein Erlebnis nur halb genießen.
      Allein das ist ein Grund bald wieder zu kommen.

      Zurück geht es für mich am Wasser entlang.

      Ich kann übermorgen noch nicht heim, ich habe noch nicht den ganzen Norden verschlungen.
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    • Day 24

      Kulturnachttag

      August 24, 2019 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

      Menningarnott - Kulturnacht, so der offizielle Titel für die Veranstaltungen heute. Das Ganze beginnt sehr skurril, mit Ansprache des Bürgermeisters, einer indischen Tanzgruppe und einer, sagen wir mal speziellen, Tanzperfomance. Das Alles vor gut 150 Zuschauern!Read more

    • Day 3

      The start of the actual travel

      June 6 in Iceland ⋅ 🌬 6 °C

      It can finally start! It’s a smaller car than I expected but it’s enough for the two of us – at least I hope it’s enough. Our first stop is grocery shopping, then we’re off to the Golden Circle for today.

      The car has 21’750 km on the odometer, let’s see how much we’ll add 🫣
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    • Day 13

      Reykjavik - Final Day - Final Thoughts

      November 12, 2022 in Iceland ⋅ 🌧 41 °F

      So our last day in Reykjavik. It has been an amazing trip and one of the best Holidays. We thought we would do some final thoughts:

      Reykjavik, though small, is a world class city. The people are truly friendly and the pride in their culture shows through in all they do and how they treat others. Their history has taught them to honor the earth and her resources and they do all they can everyday to sustain the resources they have been provided. Geothermal power, clean air, clean water and preserving their way of life are top of mind in all they do. When you arrive at their airport, there are signs telling you that the water in Reykjavik is the finest anywhere and please do not buy plastic bottled water but drink straight from the tap. Their streets are clean, their city is designed to be quite livable, they pay everyone a living wage and ensure the people are taken care of in a time of need. Other countries could sure learn from their efforts.

      Communicating in Iceland for Americans is very easy. All Icelanders must learn English as a second language. There is a lot of diversity in Iceland so not everyone speaks English but most do.

      For all of its volcanic activity, Iceland has mountains that are not very tall and mountain ranges that are not very long. Their landscape provides amazing vistas and dramatic skies.

      A quick random thought: Is it considered ironic that a country called Iceland, does not serve ice in their beverages (tea, soda, water)? Just asking….

      Should you travel to Iceland, here are some recommendations:

      Reykjavik Residences - the apartment we rented was in a very good area of town. It was centrally located within the downtown area and within walking distance of everything. The group that manages the property was very helpful and friendly. While not a hotel, you still received daily service with the added bonus of having a full kitchen, laundry, two bedrooms and living room. We would highly recommend this group and they were not that much more expensive than a hotel room.

      Reykjavik is very safe. We never felt uncomfortable walking in any areas of the city or on any part of our tours. Tourism makes up 50 percent of Iceland’s economy so they are very attuned to travelers and their needs.

      Food and drink are very expensive, but are generally good quality and the service is good. However, you should note they never rush you, and most of the time you have to ask for your bill. We would recommend that as you arrive in Reykjavik, if you want any adult beverages, you should buy them at the airport.

      We would recommend Apotek for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Dill, a Michelin-star restaurant, serves a pre-fix seven course dinner. The food was exceptional but there are no choices other than what they have planned for the menu that night. If you would like to try them, you will need to make reservations weeks in advance.

      Most mornings it was Te and Kaffi, great coffee drinks and hot chocolate.

      Meze was good for some Mediterranean flavors, Reykjavik Fish Company had the best fish and chips in town, however, the best fish and chips as well as lamb soup was at the Black Beach visitor center. Icelanders have a unique approach to hot dogs and they are a quick, tasty, cheap street food.

      Try the LAMB. They are truly free range. During the summer the farmers all release their stock to roam the hills and mountains of Reykjavik. At the end of fall right before winter they bring their animals back to the farms. The lamb is the most flavorful and tender I've ever tasted!

      We would not recommend any of the Vietnamese Pho franchise restaurants, they were mediocre at best.

      Toilet paper is single ply and not very soft (they could sure use some Charmin Ultra here).

      Sheri’s favorite coffee shop was in a bookstore in the oldest part of Reykjavik and is called Ida.

      Plan tours with the understanding that they take the whole day in most cases. Try not to schedule night time events with day time events. They can be very exhausting. If you go during the winter, we highly recommend taking the Northern Lights tour as soon as possible as you can reschedule if you don’t see the lights. Tours are available in two main sizes - regular bus size and mini-bus. The regular bus size is a bit less expensive, but you will get less time at the sites as there is more time devoted to the unloading and loading of passengers. We used the ViaTour website/app to plan our tours ahead of time. They are excellent for communicating and you can save things offline. Wi-Fi is available almost everywhere, including on the tour buses, so you don’t really need an international phone or SIM card. If you plan to go on the Southern tour, waterproof pants, boots and jacket are a great way to stay warm and dry.

      There is an app called VoiceMap. It provides walking tours all over the world and the one in Reykjavik was excellent. It will take at least 2 hours to complete so plan accordingly.

      For some reason door-stoops are all raised so you need to be careful entering and leaving rooms of any kind.

      Expect wind and rain. Don’t bother with an umbrella.

      The last day we found Dragon Dim Sum, it should not be missed.
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    • Day 20

      Reykjavik BSI die Heimreise beginnt

      August 29, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

      Bei mildem Wetter dackeln wir vom wirklich echt guten guesthouse Idglo in knapp 20 Minuten gemütlich zum BSI, dem Bus Terminal.
      Die Busse von Flybus fahren immer zur halben Stunde los, das Ticket kauft man online, dann hat man auch eine Platz Reservierung.
      Warten...
      Da war sie wieder, die Ungeduld...

      Immerhin sind die Busse gut in Schuss, mit Strom und WLAN.

      Und nur für die Akten: am BSI kann man sich Camping Sachen mieten!
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    • Day 2

      Reykjavik ""erlaufen""& ""aufgekauft""

      June 4, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

      Frühstück in kleinem Café mit Blick auf Halgrims Kirka, Skulpturenpark,Sonnenfahrt,Harpa,in nen" Ramschladen",finden tu ich doch überall was 🙈😉, Mittagspause am alten Hafen& natürlich wieder was gekauft...alles für Euch😊, noch zur Regenbogenstrasse....hat doch was gedauert bis die Strasse frei fürs Foto war🙈und zum guten Schluss lecker Pizza🍷Read more

    • Day 5

      Poi prova di coraggio

      October 8, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

      Ho richiesto zuppa di pesce alla panna, pasticcio di pesce e formaggio, squalo fermentato.
      Cena tipica islandese!
      La prova di coraggio è lo 🦈.
      Avvicini il primo pezzo, lo odori e ti ricordi di quando tua madre pulisce a terra non aprendo le finestre! E tu la maledici! E questa roba ora la stai mangiando...
      Ok, l'ho fatto! Segnatelo sui "cibi schifosi" mangiati. Avanti il prossimo.
      (Ommioddiocheschifo).

      Nota: mangiare un cibo simile ti fa capire cosa sia la fame e ti fa valutare quanto un essere umano possa piegarsi ad essa pur di non morire!
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Hljómskálagarðurinn, Hljomskalagardurinn

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