Iceland

Akureyri

From the Shetland Islands, we set off towards the Artic Circle and then into the long Fiord to Akureyri, the largest town in North Iceland.

For this port, we booked an afternoon tour through the cruise company so we had some time in the morning to walk into the town, see some trolls and do some carb loading.

We saw some of the red traffic lights which were changed to be heart-shaped after the 2008 financial crisis to cheer people up. We also saw some rubbish bins which had knitted cat costumes for a reason which was not precisely clear.

I was also able to reunite my lopapeysa (Icelandic Woolen Jumper) with the land of its birth. I purchased this online (via Etsy) from a lady in Iceland who knits them to order from the tough wool of tough sheep and ships them around the world. The jumper seemed happy and was certainly warm.

From 11 am we joined the bus tour which visited two of the natural wonders in the area. First the Goðafoss Waterfall and then the Mývatn Nature Baths. Lets say right off the bat Iceland was spectacular, sailing up the Fiord in the early morning and then seeing the mountains surrounding the town was spectacular and then we headed up into the scenery.

For the Goðafoss Waterfall here is a short video from our visit on a glorious sunny day.

Then onto the hot springs at the Mývatn Nature Baths. Like many of the hot springs in Iceland, these were created as a byproduct of geothermal energy plants. Once the hot water extracted from the ground has been used to generate electricity and heat the town the water is cooled down to below 40 degrees and used for the hot baths.

The baths were hot with a strong sulfur smell and there is a swim-up bar which we did not use. Prior to entering the baths, it is a requirement to shower and wash with soap without your swimming costume on. (in separate male and female showers) we complied but there are no photos available.

Allegedly there is a photo of us in the hot baths. If this surfaces (or if I can't pay the gang of Canadian blackmailers) I will update the post.

After a warm and relaxing dip, we managed to exit the pools just as several buses of French tourists arrived and filled the changerooms. Retreating to the Cafe and Gift shop we dined on Smoked Arctic Char and Beer.

We returned to the ship past more spectacular scenery of volcanos and valleys and information on Icelandic culture from our Dutch ex-pat tour guide.

Reykjavik

Travelling halfway around Iceland we made it to the capital by midday. There were two other cruise ships in port on this day (one MSC and one Viking) and the shuttle bus service from the working port into town was a combined service run by the local tourist agency. Getting into town was complicated when the bus pulled up at the wrong end of the queue and passengers started to climb aboard. The official at the port then blocked the bus entrance and had a discussion with the driver in Icelandic which sounded like a challengeto a fight to the death. The driver shrugged and pulled forward to the shambles of a queue. Just a portent of things to come.

We managed the bus ride into the centre of what is a modern city with an interesting culture. Starting at the Opera House/Concert Hall with noteworthy drinks prices.

We then walked around town managing to not visit some of the interesting museums in the area.

Then it was time to join our food tour of Reykjavik with the following stops/menu

Fjallkonan 🐟🐑
Address: Ingólfsstræti

- Lightly cured arctic char on a chickpea bread
- Lamb on a flatbread from Vestfjords, served with carrot puree.
- Viking Beer

Messinn 🐟
Address: Lækjargata 6

- Arctic char baked in honey, butter and lemon with cherry tomatoes and almonds
- Plokkfiskur: boiled cod mashed with potatoes, onion, garlic, celery, lime, white wine, cream and butter
- Icelandic rye bread with butter

Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur 🌭
Address: Tryggvagata 1

- Icelandic hot dog with Icelandic ketchup, Icelandic mustard, remoulade sauce, deep-fried onion and raw onion

Íslenski Barinn 🍲🦈🍺
Address: Ingólfsstræti 1a

- Traditional Icelandic meat soup
- Fermented shark
- Einstök White Ale Lite

OK, let us talk about the fermented shark. From Wikipedia:-

Hákarl (an abbreviation of kæstur hákarl Icelandic pronunciation: ​[ˈcʰaistʏr ˈhauːˌkʰa(r)tl̥], referred to as fermented shark in English) is a national dish of Iceland consisting of a Greenland shark or other sleeper shark that has been cured with a particular fermentation process (buried underground) and hung to dry for four to five months. It has a strong ammonia-rich smell similar to some cleaning products and a fishy taste, making hákarl an acquired taste.

Served in small cubes kept in a sealed glass jar the smell is said to be the worst feature. Fortunately my poor sense of smell turned out to be a superpower. I ate a small cube of fermented shark followed by some Icelandic beer.

Café Loki 🍨🍞
Address: Lokastígur 28

- Kleina Icelandic Pastry & Coffee
- Rye bread ice cream with whipped cream and caramelised rhubarb syrup

This last stop involved a walk up the rainbow street to the Iconic church at the top of the hill. Then up two floors of stairs to enjoy desert. Piney enjoyed it and the food was great but given the choice again we would skip this dish and avoid the walk up and down the street.

When we returned to the bus stop to get back to the ship there was a long queue and the buses pulled up at random points in the queue. So after missed out in the first few rumbles to board a bus we headed off in search of a taxi.

Back at the ship we were tired and about to burst so no further activity was undertaken and we did not join the sailaway party at 11pm when we left the berth and then left the country.