Going to be a frosty day in Reykjavik based on my pre-dawn photo.
Also here today is the Viking Mars - completing a voyage and taking on new passengers (including Sarah S, our friend).
Our new room is quiet – we do have a neighborhood to the left of us (in the suite) but we didn’t hear a peep. The "Do Not Disturb" sign is on that door a lot and we still don't hear anything. There is no HVAC compressor running constantly and the only negative is that it is a long walk to the back of the ship and the Oceanview Café.
But steps never hurt anyone. The room is in a alcove off the main hall (our room is on the right).
The little breakfast nook is really nice.
Breakfast in the Oceanview Cafe was a complete slam – there were so many people that it was
hard to find a clean table (the table cleaning folks could not keep up with the
number of people coming and going}. I did
get a table but not by the window. That
was OK since I had seen that view for days now.
No marmalade on the breakfast buffet today – hope that’s
not a permanent issue since strawberry preservers and marmalade are key ingredients for my shipboard breakfast. Scrambled eggs
with cheddar on top plus the standard waffle - and fixings - has been the breakfast of choice
recently. I also skipped the oatmeal and
had some cornflakes and Rice Krispies today (just because).
About mid-morning, we scanned out and disembarked the ship. It is difficult to get a photo of Eclipse docked but I did get this one today.
The plan today is to once again spend the day in Reykjavik (being here for two days is a real bonus). Yesterday, we went in a direction away from the City Center (my bad – Ellen was right). We did see some interesting things but today we will walk away from the Shuttle Bus drop-off and turn left and head up the hill on Skolavoroustigur street, alongside a large public greenspace, Here is our route, which will take us to
the iconic Hallgrímskirkja Church, which is at the very top of the hill (a climb of about 7-10 blocks. Once we got away from the wind tunnel at the bus drop off site, the wind died down and, with the sun being out, it really wasn’t that cold (although you couldn't tell that from this photo).
You can see our destination in this photo.
We also came across something very familiar early in the walk.
Ellen was looking for something to bring back so she hit just about every store on the street and this street was solid stores. I was able to find a bench or chair outside the stores so she could take all the time she needed to shop. Our mobile plan has a World option so I could use the local phone system for texts and internet.
As we started our climb, I noticed that the street had been painted with Rainbows and there was a sign indicating "Rainbow Street":. This must recognize the Gay Community in Reykjavik.
On the way, we noted a restaurant, "Reykjavik Fish and Chips", and checked out the menu. Maybe a good option for lunch later.
We made it to the Church which
is a little grayer than a lot of the pictures I have seen – maybe it’s the
lighting. I got some great pictures of
this landmark. I even got one without
all the people who were there.
Hallgrímskirkja Church is an Evangelical Lutheran church and the largest church in Iceland (244 feet in height). The church is dedicated to 17th Century renowned poet/clergyman, Hallgrim Petursson, and was built between 1945 and 1986. Also constructed of volcanic basalt, the church, which is "expressionist neo-gothic", was designed to resemble the mountains and glaciers of Iceland. It is home to the largest church organ in Iceland.
There is a statue in front of the church of Leif Erikson, created by sculptor Alexander Stirling Calder, and a gift from the United States in 1930. The light was not good enough to get a picture of the explorer (I gave it a try on this picture)
Maybe on the next visit.
We started back down the hill on a parallel street. Ellen suggested we try the Reykjavik Fish and Chip Restaurant
The place was crowded but we found a table and I ordered some Fish and Chips, a Viking Beer on tap, and a Coke Zero – the bill came to be $38.94 with the most expensive item being the beer.
The Fish and Chips came in a bowl with the chips on the bottom topped with two big pieces of Icelandic Cod (I am assuming). The food was good, especially the beer even though it was not really a typical beer drinking day. There was no tipping that I could tell. The only issue was an American couple with a screaming child that they allowed to scream at the top o his or her lungs the entire time. The Ugly Americans.
I noticed on a map on the
restaurant table (pretty low tech) that Laugevegur, (Icelandic for “Wash Road” or the road
when the hot springs were for clothes washing) the main shopping street in Reykjavik
and the site of the Birna Brjansdottir abduction was just a block or so
away. I double checked this with a
restaurant employee and he checked on his phone and told us to turn left and we
would run into the street. We did that
and that was not the street name.
We continued down the hill and did run into what looked to be a major shopping street and my Google Maps told me this was Laugavegur. The street sign confirmed this,
Google maps also agreed.
We walked down the street, which was indeed filled with stores and restaurants and Icelanders.
I thought Birna was grabbed at 34 Laugevegur but it was actually around #31 – no matter – I was on the block when she disappeared.
I looked around for CCTV cameras - a key factor in solving her abduction and murder - but all I found was a small bubble type of camera (not the typical looking large camera). Tech advances apparently. I also did not see a single police officer on that very busy street. I took a lot of pictures of Laugevegur that I might use in an updated version of the Birna talk.
Ellen did find something of Iceland to bring home. The store had two polar bears guarding the entrance. I had to take the picture since there are no polar bears in Iceland.
When we got to the bottom of the hill, we realized that the
bus stop was several blocks away. When
we climbed to the church, we were actually parallel to the Saebraut, alongside
the water. There was a positive in that
I could get a picture of the steel installation, “Solfar” or “Sun Voyager”
created by artist Jon Gunnar Amason and installed in 1990. It clearly resembled
a Viking Ship but it is actually a “dreamboat” or an ode to the Sun.
From there it was a sprint to the Port Shuttle pick up
point. I was a block behind Ellen but we
could not get on the bus that was there – it was full. Fortunately, another bus
came by in a few minutes and after a quick security check in the terminal, we
were back on the ship. We still did not
see a place to pick up our passports.
We’ll check with Guest Relations later.
After cleaning up after our day in Reykjavik, we had
dinner in the Oceanview Café. The pasta lady (I finally asked her her name and she is
Ana and she is from Brazil) has been very nice in making me a great Spaghetti
Aioli – along with that I had a Caesar Salad and a toasted Caprese Sandwich
(not so great; Caprese Salad is best cold). The pasta was good as was the Caesar Salad. Ana has a great attitude (greets me with a smile every time and remembers my name) not always shared by
other pasta station chefs over the years.
From there, we went to the Moonlight Sonata Dining Room to
talk to the head suit, Winchester. We asked
to be switched to Select Dining from the Second Seating. We also ordered Kosher meals for tomorrow
night – we both asked for Salisbury Steak with the fixings. For dessert, we are trying the carrot cake
and Rugelach (how can anyone mess up Rugelach?).
We went to the theater for Showtime. Before the show started, the new Captain, Morphis, welcomed everyone aboard. He is of course, Greek. He then introduced the senior staff, most of them Greek, along with Manuel.
Tonight is “Broadway Cabaret” in the Eclipse Theater. This is always the best show (we missed it on the last cruise when we missed the ship). There are six vocalists on the ship – One American from Florida and five singers from the UK.
All of the vocalists were top flight but the woman with the blue skirt seemed to be a bit above the rest and perhaps the vocal captain. They did the usual song list: “On Broadway”,
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“Don’t Rain on my Parade”,
maybe a new song from “Thoroughly Modern Millie”, “Cabaret”, a song from “Anastasia”,
a medley from “Beautiful (beautifully performed by the three girls),
“You’re Just to Good to be True”, “A Les Mis” Medley including "Bring Him Home,
“On My Own” and “One Day More”,
an ABBA medley including “Mama Mia”, “A Man After Midnight”, and “Dancing Queen”, and of course, the finale of “You Can’t Stop the Beat”.
A wonderful show and a full house.
When the ship left Reykjavik at 5 PM or so, we could hear
the bow thrusters as the ship tried to exit the breakwater. Hoping that this is not a permanent wakeup
call at all of our stops.
The room is quiet and comfortable.
The seas are smooth.
Today’s
Steps 12,351.
Burned off my breakfast with this walk.
Tomorrow, Voyage #2 gets underway.
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