Departure from Akranes, and first Impressions of Reykjavik

On January 2nd, it was our time to leave the town we had called home for the past 6 days. Albeit bittersweet, it was necessary to collect whatever memories we could and move on. We topped off our gas tank and headed south for it Reykjavik, arriving in the middle of the afternoon to our second Airbnb.

Although we were initially lost and unable to find the location, the guest house operator and her mother came out to greet us and celebrate our presents, warming up the house for us quite nicely. At this point, we had met our house guests, a couple which came to experience Reykjavik, flying all the way from Alberta, Canada. We would become very good friends in the next few days to come, including attending a yoga session that I will talk about later.

Some views of town before we left.

Shortly after we unpacked our bags, our dear friend from the New Year's party had come by to pick us up to give us a tour of the city. We drove around, seeing most of the shopping and business districts. Here. We saw the center of business that looks like a middle finger, the strip mall that look like a phallus, and the Commerce Center that looks like a breast. We stumbled upon a museum, walking along the side of the road to capture pictures to avoid paying the $15 entrance fee, and way then descended upon and Icelandic Botanical Garden.

The garden, albeit dark, was beautiful!

After viewing the Botanical Garden, we went to the remains of old Icelandic baths, reading the literature about the few women that boiled in the water and the accidents surrounding the baths. The baths were ultimately shut down in the early 1900s for safety reasons, but half of them remain intact to this day. We pondered the beauty of nature in these Botanical Gardens, took a few pictures, The Departed for the nearest grocery store and then home.

At the grocery store, my Icelandic friend picked up some grocery items that I was to try. Specifically, it was Sviðasulta, which I will cover in a separate post on food and alcohol. After she dropped us back off at our place, we decided to go for a swim in the local pools, which I will also cover in a separate post. After our little tour of Reykjavik, we spent our evening relaxing in the sauna temperature waters of Vesturbæjarlaug. At the end of a long day is exactly what we needed. Next time on our adventures, the Golden Circle!