Iceland, land of fire and ice with beautiful landscapes covered by snow and vulcanoes is an extremely peaceful place where you can find both contact with nature and the movement of the cities. Iceland is an island located north of United Kingdom, and although bigger than for example Portugal or Ireland, it only has around 300 thousand inhabitants of which 200 thousand live in the capital Reykjavik. The interior of the island has very harsh conditions to live, specially during the winter time, so people tend to stay along the coast.
If you are planning to travel to Iceland, the first advice i can give you is to be aware that most of the flights go to the country's main airport which is located in Keflavik and not in the capital. Take this in consideration as you would still have a 45 min trip from Keflavik to Reykjavik. As for me i used the company "Flybus" which dropped me directly at my hotel and during the trip it gives some explanations about the country to the tourists.
Iceland is an expensive country, don't let yourself be fooled by the looks of the conversion rates as 1 euro is approximately 140 Icelandic Krowns, but in the end everything costs not hundreds of krowns but thousands. Nonetheless it is a beautiful place to visit and definitely worth to spend some money to go there.
Reykjavik city center is relatively small and we saw it in one day, so my advice is, if you do not have the time or opportunity to rent a car (as i didn't), check some of the excursions that are available in the tourism posts or some private companies, that take you a little bit into the interior of the island and let you see the wonders of the Icelandic landscapes, the touristic sites such as the Geyser or the Gulfoss cataracts or even try to look for the northern lights. The best one is the Golden Circle as it takes you to three of the most important sites of the Island.
Gulfoss Cataracts is one of the most beautiful and amazing places i've ever been. With a height of 32 meters and a strength equal to the Niagara Falls, this place shows you both the peaceful way of Iceland together with the strength of mother nature.
If you go to Iceland don't miss the opportunity to check as well the Pingvellir National Park as it has a big historical meaning to the country and is also the place were you can observe the tectonic plates of North America and Euro-Asia moving away from each other. There is already a distance of 8km between them in some point of the park and there are places as well were you can touch both of them simultaneously.
I didn't got the chance, as i was there for only 3 days, but if you go to Iceland, don't miss the opportunity to take a bath on the Blue Lagoon, it is a natural pool with hot water in the open with the marvelous mountains and Icelandic landscape surrounding you.
Although Reykjavik's city center is quite small, it has plenty of stuff to see. There is the main church of Iceland, the Halgrimskirkja, which is the largest church of the country and it's tower goes as far as 73 meters high. There you can observe an amazing pipe organ and a panoramic view of the city. Thought the inside of the church is, in my opinion, very poor as there are almost no statues or paintings, it's dimension will amaze you anyway, definitely worth a visit, specially as it is free.
Another of the Reykjavik's main attractions is the Icelandic Phallological Museum. It is an odd museum due to it's thematic but it is something new and different. It has the worlds largest display of penises and penile arts. The collection of 280 specimens from 93 species of animals includes penises taken from whales, seals and other mammals.
If you go to Iceland, don't miss the chance to visit, and if possible to see a show, on the Harp, a n amazing concert hall located in the middle of the city with a view to the ocean and the mountains.
Other things as the Gate of the lonely gloves or the Perlan are very interesting places to visit.
The main street of Reykjavik, where you can find more movement and shops is the Laugavegur street. There should be the starting point of your trip as it is very central and of easy access. Look for hotels close to that area as it it the one with the best location. In the city you can find a very peaceful environment and a mix of colors and designs that will fascinate you.
As i said before, i found Iceland a very expensive country, so what i did and my advice to you, is to buy some things at the local supermarket and make some sandwiches or snacks for the day to avoid spending a lot of money in food. Though let yourself a day to experiment the local food such as the salmon or the shark meat.
One of the things i disliked, but after informed myself and got to know it is a normal thing, is the smell. As we know, Iceland is a volcanic country, with some volcanoes recently active, and so the water is naturally filtrated between these rocks, providing quality water but smelly one as well due to the sulfur present in these rocks. So be aware that when you visit Iceland, you will have to get used to take a shower or wash your teeth with water smelling like rotten eggs. I was there for 3 days only and didn't got used to it, but the Icelandic people say that once you spend some time there you don't even notice it anymore.
Iceland is a wonderful country, one of the most beautiful places i've ever had the pleasure to visit and i definitely recommend people to go there and taste the magic of the mother nature.
I'll leave you with some more photos of my trip.
See you soon
Bless Pakka Pér
~
Muito bem, sempre a melhorar
ResponderEliminar