Tinbergs on Tour: July 22, 2025 – Reykjavik Iceland – Gray and Drizzly

July 22, 2025 – Reykjavik, Iceland - Day 2

It's nice that this itinerary has an extra day built in to get over any jet lag.

We handled the noise OK via earplugs. I slept until 5:30 AM and then hung out until the Windows Café opened at 7 AM. I got there a few minutes early and all of the tables on the port side were already taken. I found a table near the back doors and since the Sunset Veranda was closed, it wasn’t cold.

I had discussed getting cottage cheese and sour cream for breakfast with one of the suits and he said he would set it up (took my Stateroom number). There wasn't any on the buffet today but the crew member at the dairy area got the cottage cheese and sour cream for me (she said she would handle it every morning from now on). My timing was bad resulting in a cold pancake (very doughy) and cold scrambled eggs. The sour cream was a euro version but OK. The process showed promise. I’ll work out the timing tomorrow. Ellen ordered room service from a pretty extensive menu; and since the ship is small, the food arrives quickly and hot.

There are other ships docked here – yesterday, Celebrity Eclipse was here when we arrived. Today, the Fred Olsen Borealis

and the Majestic Princess are docked. There is another large ship at the other terminal but the internet did not identify it.

Azamara was running its own shuttle but we grabbed the first bus we could get on – they all go to the same place. When we got to the Harpa Complex, we noticed a guy with a tuck-tuck truck advertising tours. He quoted some price in ISK (122 ISK per $) which came to $123.06 for the two of us. We thought that was a good deal based on what we have seen for excursions from Shorex.

There was another couple already in the truck – they were on the Princess ship going from Rome to Boston (30 days - $$$$). It was not easy to get into the truck due to the low headroom, high step requiring a stepstool, and my flexibility issues – I had to crawl in and I was pretty much uncomfortable the whole time (clearly the vehicle was designed for smaller people). I discovered later than crawling left a cut on my lower leg. Good thing the tour was a one off.

The ride itself was very bumpy (my aching legs felt every one of them). We went through various part of Reykjavik (it was hard to get pictures through the plastic windows of the truck) including Embassy Row, the whaling area (not in use anymore), and the iconic church Hallgrimskirkja (I stayed in the truck and Ellen got some interior pictures).

Before we left the hill, Ellen got a nice shot of me and our guide.

We went through neighborhoods and the driver/guide who had been in Iceland for 30 years (from the US) told us that if you didn’t paint your house every year of so or install aluminum siding, the paint would peel off. He also said that the air was heavily polluted due to volcanic emissions. So that wasn’t fog but sulfur dioxide and other nasty stuff.

We made another stop at a view point.

Some people climb the hill to get a better shot but I took some good shots from the walking path (Reykjavik and the Bay)

and our guide took a nice one of us (in fact, this picture also inlcluded the Harpa Complex as well as the Hallgrimskirja in the distance.

Our tuck tuck dropped us off at the cruise ship shuttle stop. While waiting for the bus, I took a shot of Ellen in front of the Harpa Concert Center.

We took the shuttle back to the ship and spent most of the afternoon in the Living Room. It looks like the afternoons are pretty much trivia - Some kind of trivia on a worksheet, then General Knowledge and finally, Music Trivia.

The first plan to deal with the noise in the room was to turn down the volume in the Den when Felicia was performing. We would see again if that worked tonight.

After dinner in the Windows Café, we went to the Theater to get seats for the Captain’s Toast and tonight’s show. There was only one show and the place was packed. The Captain introduced his staff – he is a pretty funny Captain. Showtime tonight was the first Production Show – “Take Two” – music from the movies. The singers and dancers are pretty good and the show was enjoyable. I took a few pictures. You can tell from the white t-shirts that one of the songs was "That Old Time Rock and Roll".