A country without money.

View of the Hallgrmskirkja church from the center

When I arrived at the Keflavik International airport in Iceland, the first thing I did was to go to the exchange office to get some money, to find out they don’t use money. They offered a prepaid card, and they explained that nobody uses money, that everybody pays with their bank card. They have these prepaid cards for tourist to use, so they don’t have to pay their banks fees every time they make a purchase.

Because my bank doesn’t charge for purchases, I did not get the card. So, I spend a week in Iceland without having physical money. It is strange at first to buy everything with a card, even if you only buying a bottle of water or food from a street vendor. Needless to say, after a couple of days, you realized how practical this system is. I did not have to figure out how much money I needed to take out or taking out not enough, or too much, I really like this system. Besides you can see all the locals paying with cards also, actually, nobody carries money.

On a day without a tour, we did the free walking tour and learned that Reykjavík means “Smokey Bay." The way these tours work is that they are free, but at the end, you tip the guide. Obviously, you cannot tip with your credit card; however, they take any kind of currency, so I tip US$ 10. (I only had a 10 or a 100, so 10 it was)

Hallgrímskirkja church.

First stop, Hallgrímskirkja church. It was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson in 1937, who was inspired by the shapes and forms created when lava cools into basalt rock, and by Scandinavian Modernism as he was seeking a distinctive style of “Icelandic architecture”, and it was named after the pastor and poet Hallgrímur Pétursson, author of the Passíusálmar (The Passion Hymns).

There is a viewing platform at the top of the tower where you can see the entire city. The price of admission for adults is ISK 1000 = US$ 9.30, and ISK 100 = US$ 0.93 for children 7 to 16, and free for children under 7.

There is an enormous organ, and they offer concerts all the time.

In my opinion, the inside of the church is very plain, it looks better on the outside.

In front of Hallgrímskirkja church, there is the statue of Leif Eriksson, who discovered North America in the year 1000, more than 500 years before Columbus.

The bay with the Theater in the backgrou

 From there a short walk to the center of town, where all the stores are, the bay, and where the theater is located. OK, this theater is supposed to be an architectural design depicting a whale. After the explanations and exerting myself to really look at it, I could see something that might resemble a whale, maybe…

Then to the lake and some very nice houses on the old part of the city, and then a nice lunch of typical lamb soup, that was excellent.

Lamb soup

We went to the theather to see a stand-up comedy

Puffins and I was told there were whales

 

The third and final tour we took was to go to see the puffins and whales.

There are two types of tours. One you go on a boat and the other one on an inflatable raft. Obviously, Hailey wanted to go on the raft. So, we went, US$ 372.50.

We embarked and sat on the raft as it bounced and jumped over the waters until we reached puffin’s island. Of course, the island is full of puffins, sitting on the rocks, flying around and swimming. There are so cute and seeing them so close was great.

From there we went bouncing once again to find whales. And this was a little disappointing to me. I thought we were going to see big whales jumping out of the water, however, what we saw were just parts of little whales while they come out for air. They came out and go back in so fast, that you hardly have time to see them, much less take a picture.

The views were great, the ride was nice and we had a good time, however, it was not fulfilling to me. Hailey loved it, so I guess it is me. 

Needless to say, I am happy anyway, because she had a good time, and that is what’s important.

The whale was where the seagulls are flying

Puffin Island

The raft

The Blue Lagoon, a no so natural lagoon.

The smoke on the background is the geothermic plant

The second tour we did was to the famous Blue Lagoon geothermic natural hot spring, to find out that it is not natural. It is formed from the surplus waters from the geothermal power plant Svartsengi, located next door which was established in 1976. This runoff is what heats the water in the pool, and it renews itself every 48 hours.

The first public bathing facilities opened in 1987, and was aimed for people with skin problems as the seawater is rich in silica, chloride, natron, calcium, sulfur, carbonate, magnesium, and a blue-green alga which combined with the minerals is great for the skin and it is supposed to do wonder for Psoriasis. The algae are what gives the blue color to the water. Due to the popularity of the place, it was refurbished in 1999, adding a spa, hotel, restaurants, and a retreat center.

We took a tour, and it takes about 45-minute drive from Reykjavik to the blue lagoon, US $ 290. Once you arrive you need, once again, to take a shower while naked in a common shower room, or in one of the private showers, as there is no chlorine here either. Many signs are saying to use plenty of conditioners and to leave it on your hair, then you can put on your bathing suit and proceed to the lagoon.

The lava that shapes the pool and the surrounding is natural and the pool is excellent. There is a mud bar, where you can get a silica mud mask for your face which is included on the entry price. They also have Algae Masks that you can purchase. Anyway, you put the mud mask on your face, and once is dry you rinse it off. I did it by submerging myself in the waters, and it worked great.

The average temperature of the water is 39°C = 102°F all year round; however, it did not feel that hot to me. You can walk around the pool or sit at the cave and relax while listening to music or taking with the other people sitting there.
There is also an in-water bar, and an in-water massage too, which I don't know how comfortable would be.

After relaxing for couple hours in those invigorating waters, it was time to shower and leave.
And we felt great, our bodies were soft and smooth; however, our hair was not. A week later my hair still felt like straw. My granddaughter’s hair was terrible for over two weeks. We put what I thought was plenty of conditioners, needless to say, it wasn’t. They have conditioner in all the rooms and showers; however, I don’t think it matters how much of it you put on, the minerals in the water will dry your hair immensely, and our hair got about 10 shades lighter.
I know I submerged myself in the waters a few times, but my granddaughter did not, so that wasn’t it. We saw couple ladies with shower caps, and at the time we thought it was funny, but it is not. I would recommend everybody to wear a shower cap, it is better to look ridiculous for a couple of hours, than for a couple weeks.

All in all, the place was fantastic; however, there are many natural hot springs that you can visit for a fraction of the cost.

Needless to say, to me being in Iceland and not going to the blue lagoon was inconceivable, so, I pay, and we went.

And I am glad we did.

Iceland landscape consists of lava formation cover in moss

La abuelita viajera: Datos interesantes sobre el Parque Nacional Thingv...

La abuelita viajera: Datos interesantes sobre el Parque Nacional Thingv...: Como mencioné en el blog anterior, el Parque Nacional Thingvellir, declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO, es un lugar donde...

La abuelita viajera: Datos interesantes sobre el Parque Nacional Thingv...

La abuelita viajera: Datos interesantes sobre el Parque Nacional Thingv...: Como mencioné en el blog anterior, el Parque Nacional Thingvellir, declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO, es un lugar donde...

grandma's wanderlust: Interesting facts about Thingvellir National Park....

grandma's wanderlust: Interesting facts about Thingvellir National Park....: As I mentioned in the prior blog, Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a place where you can find many exciting p...

Interesting facts about Thingvellir National Park.

As I mentioned in the prior blog, Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a place where you can find many exciting places. Here are some facts about some of them.

I hope you also find them to your liking.

Parliament

The flag marks the spot where the Parliament use to be

Thingvellir is the birthplace of the oldest existing parliament in the world. This venue for the highest parliament in the land was selected due to its central location, making it easy for the citizens of the nation to attend the proceedings. Besides, it´s southern location and having these sessions during the summer, ensured good weather, (well, this is Iceland, so good weather is debatable). 

The river running through it was diverted so they could have access to fresh water, and the fields were perfect for camping and for the grazing of the horses.

Here is where all the laws where passed, and quarrels were executed. All the population was permitted to attend; however, only the chieftains were able to vote. 

I can image these sessions as a big party, where everybody got together to party and get drunk, after being isolated for months at a time in their own homes due to the harsh winters and distances between dwellings. So, these legislative sessions were also a place to make friends, find a spouse, and settle quarrels, that i imaging there were many. After all, these were Vikings, and as you know, they loved to fight. 

In 1262 Iceland submitted to the Norwegian king, and the parliament was dismantled.

The drowning pool.

The bridge is over the spot where the drowning occurred

The drowning pool is a beautiful, peaceful lake, however, in 1850, the Danish king took possession of the country and beheaded the Catholic priest and his two sons. The country became Lutheran, and the king became the head of the church. He wanted a country void of sin, and the way to achieve it was by killing all the sinners. 

Thingvellir´s primary role became the passing of judgment and harsh punishment. And the sentence had to be enforced by those who filed the grievance.

There were four types of punishments. 

Death by drowning, which was usually reserved for women found guilty of “loose morals.” They used to put the women inside a bag full of stones, and they were thrown into the lake to drown. 

Hanging for thieves. 

Beheading for murderers and male adulterers, which usually was done by a blunt ax.

Death by burning at the stakes, for convicted alleged practitioner of witchcraft. Once again, only women were sentenced and burn.

These punishments were practiced until the 1800’s.

On the other hand, Thingvellir is the largest natural lake in all of Iceland, and it is form by the melting crystal clear waters of a glacier. There are many brown trout and arctic char, making it a great fishing place. Its waters have an average temperature of -4° C = 24.8° F. it has a visibility of 12 meters = 39.37 ft, and a depth of 114 m = 374 ft.

It is also great for divers because the waters are so clear that you can see the continental plates.

The tectonic plates.

There are many tectonic plates in the world, however, this is the ones we know the most because they are the ones that separate the North American and Eurasia continents.

Iceland is sitting on top of hot rocks on the earth mantle. This is one of the reasons for the many volcanic eruptions on the island.

The rift

Here you can see the rip between the continents as well as the natural wall separating the continents. 

This rift is caused because Iceland is growing about 2 centimeters = 0.78 inches per year, forcing the plates to separate. You are actually, standing on the American side of the plates, looking at the Eurasian side on the other side of the rift. Wonderful experience.

As I mentioned on the prior blog, I won’t joke about the wall, (even that I want to).

Tundra

Tundra

As you can see the landscape is all rocks cover in moss. These rocks are lava, basalt, and pumice rocks, and because they are all cover with moss,you are not allowed to walk on them, as you would leave your imprint for ever on them. And these rocks are the reason that there are no trees in Iceland. 

There were some forests in Iceland, however, when the settlers came, they used the wood to build houses, and for heating and they depleted the small forests around the country. Now a day, the government established a forestry service and a soil conservation agency, and they are planting birch trees.