LIVE from the ZUIDERDAM - VOYAGE OF THE VIKINGS

[sansterre]

Hoffellsjlkull Glacier - one of 4 in the area.  It is smaller now than in the past, but still very large; it is a surreal sight to behold.  We are standing on the glacial moraine for these photos.  The glacier "moves" at 2 meters per day, producing some ice which is still used by the fishing industry.  As the other ice melts the water stays in the lake which is smaller than in the past.

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by sansterre

[sansterre]

some flowers growing among the lichens and rocks on the glacial moraine.

[sansterre]

We have just arrived in Reykjavik after a pleasant sail in.  Now the photos seem to be uploading well so I will do a few more from yesterday on the SE coast of Iceland. 

First some photos of the Iceland horses.  The first few were driving by;  the last two are of people taking photos the horses!

About 30 years ago we were in Iceland for a few days on our way to Sweden.  Hearing how friendly these horses are, I had signed the family (children 6 and 13) up for horseback riding.  The special trot of these horses was not easy on us - we felt the effects for many days and my knees have never been the same!

[sansterre]

These photos are during the last 30 minutes in the 2 hour drive to Hoffellsjokull Glacier.

The first photo is at a bathroom break.  I don't know what the monument is for but it reminded me of a narwhal.  I took the picture because we could see 4 glaciers coming from an ice cap. The rest of the pictures are out of the bus window.

In most of the photos you will see two or three glaciers.  Hoffellsjokull Glacier, the one we visited, is the one farthest to the right, but it doesn't appear until the last two photos.

 

[sansterre]

and finally back in Djupivogur.

I had heard about the eggs;  it is what the town is known for.  Eggs are out of various stone, shaped in the size of that particular bird's egg.  They are not made to size, but interesting and quite lovely.

The Zuiderdam awaits our return.

Edited August 23, 2019 by sansterre

[mocruzer]

Enjoying your review and beautiful pictures.  

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful reports.

 

Love your pictures.

[dot73]

Wow!  I love the pictures of the horses.  The background scenery is nothing like I have ever seen.  This cruise is definitely on my schedule for 2021 as a retirement present to myself.  I hope someone posts when these itineraries are available for booking for 2021.

[swin26]

If you have time to eat in Reykjavik, I highly recommend Messin.  It is a wonderful seafood restaurant and for Iceland not too expensive.  

[sansterre]

Today we visited the Perlan Museum.   I enjoyed the Ice Cave the most.  The temperature   is somehow maintained at -10 degrees C which I think is 14 degrees F.  The Ice Cave is made from 350 tons of real snow from the Blue Mountains of Iceland. 

Again the uploading is very slow.  I spoke with the IT person today.  He said it wouldn't make my service faster to purchase the deluxe package.  He also said this area of the Atlantic is often slow.  I guess I just need more patience.

More tomorrow,

[scubacruiserx2]

Nice photos ! We had the deluxe package in June but it wasn't much faster . That's why we don't do live travelogues , we wait till we get home .

[Lido deck main]

Enjoying the review and pictures, thanks for sharing.

[sansterre]

The photos are taken by my new iPhone 8.  I give it all the credit.  

I don't do anything to them even though I'd like to crop some things occasionally.

The one time I cropped a photo, it wouldn't upload at all.  So for that reason and because of time, I don't enhance or do anything to them.

Thank you all for the compliments.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The Ice Cave looks wonderful!!

 

Great pictures.

[sansterre]

This is the Perlan Museum.   Note the huge glass dome which sits on six hot water tanks. Perlan was first opened to the public in 1991 and is now home of to the largest nature exhibition in Iceland.  Recently, the museum has added the unique Ice Cave (see my post just above) and Aurora, a presentation in the Planetarium which is an excellent 20 minute show about Northern Lights in 8K (sorry, not sure what that is other than state-of-the-art, according to Perlan's brochure).

Level 4 has a 360 degree observation deck and gift store (photos taken, will post next)

Level 5 has a nice restaurant/coffee shop.

[sansterre]

These photos are from the observation deck on 4th floor at Perlan Museum.

The Zuiderdam is slightly visible on the right side of first photo.

The second photo is of the downtown area.  Standing out is the Lutheran Church of Hallgrimskirkja, the largest church in Iceland.

As I looked at the trees, all about 25 years old, I remembered when we were in Reykjavik in the early nineties, there were very few trees to be seen.  At that time, the guide told us that Iceland had begun a tree planting program throughout the country.  Now we can appreciate the result of that much-needed program.  Well done!

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by sansterre

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have not gotten tired of your wonderful reports and great pictures.

[sansterre]

We will leave Reykjavik at 10:30 tonight.  As we cruise away, there will be fireworks in town which will be visible on the aft Lido deck.  It would be nice to think that the firework show is all for us, but there has been a Marathon Run here today which attracted many Icelanders into the city for the weekend.  

Instead of sailing at a SW direction as planned, we will be going directly West.  This is because of a storm in the area South of Greenland.  Captain Vaartjes said we should have a smooth sail west but that will change tomorrow afternoon when we need to go south into some rougher weather.  But we will avoid the worst part of the storm which is predicted to have waves of 7 meters or 28 feet.  

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by sansterre

[scubacruiserx2]

10 minutes ago, sansterre said:

Now at 9:00 it is still very light out, though cloudy now.  Today's weather was similar to yesterday - a little more cloudy with temperatures in the mid 50's.  But sun was shining a little while ago when I took this photo off our veranda.  It will be familiar to those of you who have been to the port.  No one seems to know what the building is and a red boat seems to ferry people back and forth.  If you know what goes on there, please do tell.

Untitled 15.pagesUnavailable

 

We can't see the photo

[sansterre]

Sorry, about that.

Now at 9:30 it is still very light outside, although very cloudy now.  Today's weather was similar to yesterday - a little more cloudy with temperatures in the mid 50's.  But sun was shining a little while ago when I took this photo off our veranda.  This view will be familiar to those of you who have been to Reykjavik's seaport.  No one seems to know what the building is and a red boat seems to ferry people back and forth.  If you know what goes on there, please do tell!

I want to remind fellow cruisers on the Zuiderdam that your photos and comments are welcome here.  If someone is reading this back at home and you want to give them a shout-out or post a photo, please do.

Edited August 24, 2019 by sansterre

[sansterre]

At the HAL rest stop, I took this photo of the Zuiderdam tied up at Reykjavik's dock because it was so nice to see the fresh flowers on the table.  It was also nice to sip some hot chocolate before walking to what now, after 25 days, feels like "home".  

I just noticed that they are washing veranda windows!

Edited August 24, 2019 by sansterre

[Krazy Kruizers]

Looks like a storm is brewing.

[renee00]

Lovely photos of Reykjavik!

[kftw]

Wonderful pictures & commentary.  Makes one feel they are there with you!

 

Karen

[Wehwalt]

Here are mine from my Golden Circle driving trip: