Reykjavík, Iceland
On Day 1, I landed in Keflavik airport early in the morning of September 29th with very little plan. My road-trip around the Golden Circle, in a group with some other tourists, fell apart at the last minute.
After frantically finding a Hostel and getting there, I was exhausted and fed up with research, so on Day 2, I spent the morning at the Laugardalslaug geothermal pools to relax. That evening I proceeded to downtown Reykjavík to soak in the city and meet up with some other travelers.
I had an excellent evening out, and met some lovely people. Josh, who we met out of pure coincidence, was going to be driving south to visit the black sand beaches of Reynisfjara, and visit two waterfalls on the way. He invited me, and we spent the whole day driving, talking and enjoying the beautiful sights of southern Iceland.
Because I had such short notice to organize my visit to Reykjavík, I had to change hostels part way through my trip. On Day 4, I packed up my things and got ready to leave to my new home. While in the kitchen, eating lunch before departing, I struck up a conversation with a guy from California; he was on a break between semesters, and we ended up chatting for a few hours.
On Days 5 & 6, I purchased a 48-hour City Pass, which gives free access to over a dozen different galleries and museums, as well as discounts at many shops and public pools. I visited ten of the attractions, only because time wouldn’t allow me to visit all of them. My favorites were certainly:
- Settlement Exhibition, which displays many original artefacts from over a millennium ago, when viking settlers first lived in Iceland
- Maritime Museum, an interactive exhibit of the history of fisheries and naval technology.
- Open Air Museum, a collection of structures which were transported to one location, forming a village which spans centuries, and tells the history of Iceland. There is a guided tour given each day at 13:00.
On Day 7, I was planning to just relax in the common room, but I struck a conversation with the wrong person, and got dragged out for a lovely day at the public pool, and for dinner… soup in a bowl made of bread. Day 8 will be flying to London. I can’t wait to continue my journey.