Iceland Day 4 - Midnight Sun and The Golden Circle
First let’s start the day (because it was actually today) when I took a picture of the midnight sun. It was beautifully set in the distance with bright pink and yellow skies at 12:06am. Exhausted from a very long day, I finally fell asleep around 1am. I’m curious as to how dark it actually gets, but I’m hoping I can’t really ever tell you. Because I would rather be asleep! The 6:00am alarm was really early and I was grumpy for a bit (Guy thinks til at least noon).
Room service was disappointing. ** Note: I think I’m going to be very critical of the ship due to Viking’s lofty price tag, so I’m not being picky and certainly not ungrateful...just honest compared to Celebrity, our favorite ship thus far, that costs much less**. Back to the room service. They were on the dot at 6:15 with our food and it was exactly what we ordered. I ordered yogurt, granola, toast and coffee. Guy ordered scrambled eggs, toast and bacon. Not that we are gluttons...but his portions were fairly small but sufficient. My yogurt was a little small tub of Yoplait, a box of Kellogg’s granola and two small toasts. AND the coffee didn’t come with cream. Now in all fairness there was a box to check if you wanted your drinks to be served with milk, but normally it just comes with it. (And we didn’t see the box to check until just now). I think I was just expecting more of a housemade granola and maybe a bit more yogurt than one of the tiny tubs...maybe served nicely in a bowl. It’s VIKING! Ok...so there... review of Viking #1. Our meals last night and tonight were very good and they’ll give you anything you want, and however many you want...but so do all cruise lines. Tonight’s meal for me was an A.
Viking ship review: First thoughts. The room was very clean (of course I cleaned it again from top to bottom before we settled in). The bathroom is good size with a lovely shower and the dressing table in the room is nice with a bright pop up mirror where I can store all my makeup, combs, hair ties, etc. hidden away underneath it. So that’s cool. However, we don’t have enough room to unpack our clothes and not enough hangers to hang it all up. And the room is very small (smaller than some we’ve been in) Yes, all rooms on Viking are balconies, but we do balconies anyway. And they could have utilized the rooms better with more storage. Excursions are *included. That is the 2 hour tour of the town excursion, not the ones where you are gone 7 hours on a bus. Those range in the $150-$250 per person per day. So that’s a bit misleading. Also, free alcohol. We don’t drink. Guy was just telling me that Viking is privately owned and the goal of the owner was to target 55 and older (no one under 18 is allowed) with no fancy nights requiring ties, casinos, etc. That there would be no more than one sea day per 7 day cruise and would be in each port for at least 12 hours. So the guy is a great marketer and had a good vision...and the river cruises are fabulous. But so far we have not been wowed by anything. Of course less passengers is nice. There are only 900 to1000 instead of 4000.
Ok...that’s it for now...more Viking reviews to come.
After breakfast we made it to the check in point and loaded onto our bus right away. We left at 8:30am and we had a bus full doing the “Golden Circle” tour. Our first stop was a national park with a lovely lake and streams that our driver, Gustav, says has very happy salmon jumping in and out of. (heavy on the “L” in saLmon”). It’s a year-round spot for snorkeling believe it or not, because it is so clear. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where Iceland’s first National Assembly was founded in 930AD. GO VIKINGS! After a lovely walk through the park we drove 45 minutes to see the Strokkur geyser...named Geyser. Ha ha. That I can remember. We walked just a few steps to it and it blew just as we were walking up. HOW FUN! So I stood there with my camera ready for the next one. Tic Tock Tic Toc...we got a mini one...then about 5 minutes later it was a beauty! Pictures posted, so check it out. And check out the beautiful blue sky. 58 glorious degrees! So far so good! Also at the geyser I finally got a photo of the purple Alaskan lupine plant I was talking about yesterday. Gustav felt like it was taking over and was more of a nuisance, I think it gives this mostly dull lava field moon surface looking landscape some beauty!
After the Geyser we went to the Golden Falls. This is what it is known as, and how it is described in the Viking brochure, but Gustav says it’s actually just Gold Falls. Gullfoss. Gull means Gold and foss means falls. Legend has it that a rich man was dying and didn’t want anyone to have his money after he died, so he cashed it all in for gold and threw it into the falls. ;) Anyway...let me just say WOW! It’s nothing like I thought it would be. I mean the falls yesterday were Rock Stars. But today...I’m talking THOR. Like stunning. As the huge river cascaded over many layers of rock, it then plunged into this amazing gorge. There were 4 different viewing areas. We went to all of them. Just to see it at every angle. Did I say WOW yet? I’m going to stop trying to describe it, because words don’t to it justice...just have a look at today’s pictures so you can see what I mean. Interestingly, in 1907 an Englishman wanted to harness the power of Gullfoss for electricity generation. A farmer at the time declined the offer saying “I will not sell my friend”. Later on, the waterfall was leased to foreign investors. The farmer’s daughter sought to have the rental contract voided but her attempt failed in court. The construction of the proposed power plant never happened and in 1929 the rental contract was cancelled due to non-receipt of payments. The farmer’s daughter worked tirelessly, often around the clock, made long journeys along the mountain road, waded across great rivers throughout the year and had many meetings with government officials in Reykjavik. In view of this struggle, she has often been called Iceland’s first environmentalist. Gustav added, the waterfall was very inaccessible at that time and the government didn’t realize what they were doing. They hadn’t seen it! If so, they would have never allowed it to be leased.
At the Gullfoss (water bottles and chocolates donned the name) we ate lunch at the restaurant which was mushroom soup, then salmon, veggies and rice. It was pretty good for banquet food and serving it to such a huge group. There were 2 full motor coaches from the ship there.
After the falls we drove back by the geyser, but even tho our driver went slowly, it didn’t erupt for us. But I have some great pictures, so I’m good to go! Gustav said there are only 4 such geysers in the world.
Back at the ship we did our dreaded, yet mandatory muster station drill. Probably a good idea since back in March this is the same exact ship that even tho being advised against it, went out into terrible weather and the engines shut down. I saw pictures of the grand piano sliding from side to side of the room. The coast guard had to helicopter 500 people off one person at a time. However (mom...I know you are reading this and already praying harder that normal) the ship’s captain at the time is now on “vacation” wink wink, and we have a new guy. Let me just say, I’m sure Viking will have him taking no risks. After the drill I showered and got ready for dinner. It was lovely. Except for the pate. I didn’t realize what I was ordering. I had Brie cheese on the brain and it was on Brioche bread. Duh. Anyway...I took a bite. It was gross, but I’m not a pate fan. I then had a butter lettuce salad with Gorgonzola and candied walnuts followed by grilled veggie lasagna and a chocolate soufflé that was amazing. Guy had a crab cake and beef Wellington followed up by some kind of peach tart. I give my meal an A. Guy says a B. Crab cake was phenomenal but the Wellington was...well...a B.
The ship is now scooting on the outer side of Iceland and tomorrow we’ll wake up in the north at Isafjordur. We are taking just a short 3 hour excursion called Arctic Foxes and Avalanches. (Oh mercy...mom...don’t worry. The avalanche was years ago). We are looking forward to visiting the little fishing village, but also looking forward to the afternoon off just to relax a bit.
Hey! Almost forgot to mention we toured the giant Geothermal plant today as well. It’s one of the largest in the world. Got a lesson on how they grab the boiling water over the active volcanic lava and use the steam to move the giant turbines producing much of Iceland’s power. Then that yucky excess water (like that that feeds the Blue Lagoon *eyeroll) is pushed back into the ground and the good hot water is piped all around Iceland. Amazingly it can travel through the pipes, super hot, and looses only a few degrees of heat after traveling for long distances...
DON’T FORGET photos are posted and can be accessed in the upper left dropdown menu. To get out of the blog click on the upper left arrow by the day’s title, then you’ll see three tiny bars stacked on top of each other. Click on that to open the left hand sidebar where the daily photos can be seen. Because THAT’S THE BEST PART!
Room service was disappointing. ** Note: I think I’m going to be very critical of the ship due to Viking’s lofty price tag, so I’m not being picky and certainly not ungrateful...just honest compared to Celebrity, our favorite ship thus far, that costs much less**. Back to the room service. They were on the dot at 6:15 with our food and it was exactly what we ordered. I ordered yogurt, granola, toast and coffee. Guy ordered scrambled eggs, toast and bacon. Not that we are gluttons...but his portions were fairly small but sufficient. My yogurt was a little small tub of Yoplait, a box of Kellogg’s granola and two small toasts. AND the coffee didn’t come with cream. Now in all fairness there was a box to check if you wanted your drinks to be served with milk, but normally it just comes with it. (And we didn’t see the box to check until just now). I think I was just expecting more of a housemade granola and maybe a bit more yogurt than one of the tiny tubs...maybe served nicely in a bowl. It’s VIKING! Ok...so there... review of Viking #1. Our meals last night and tonight were very good and they’ll give you anything you want, and however many you want...but so do all cruise lines. Tonight’s meal for me was an A.
Viking ship review: First thoughts. The room was very clean (of course I cleaned it again from top to bottom before we settled in). The bathroom is good size with a lovely shower and the dressing table in the room is nice with a bright pop up mirror where I can store all my makeup, combs, hair ties, etc. hidden away underneath it. So that’s cool. However, we don’t have enough room to unpack our clothes and not enough hangers to hang it all up. And the room is very small (smaller than some we’ve been in) Yes, all rooms on Viking are balconies, but we do balconies anyway. And they could have utilized the rooms better with more storage. Excursions are *included. That is the 2 hour tour of the town excursion, not the ones where you are gone 7 hours on a bus. Those range in the $150-$250 per person per day. So that’s a bit misleading. Also, free alcohol. We don’t drink. Guy was just telling me that Viking is privately owned and the goal of the owner was to target 55 and older (no one under 18 is allowed) with no fancy nights requiring ties, casinos, etc. That there would be no more than one sea day per 7 day cruise and would be in each port for at least 12 hours. So the guy is a great marketer and had a good vision...and the river cruises are fabulous. But so far we have not been wowed by anything. Of course less passengers is nice. There are only 900 to1000 instead of 4000.
Ok...that’s it for now...more Viking reviews to come.
After breakfast we made it to the check in point and loaded onto our bus right away. We left at 8:30am and we had a bus full doing the “Golden Circle” tour. Our first stop was a national park with a lovely lake and streams that our driver, Gustav, says has very happy salmon jumping in and out of. (heavy on the “L” in saLmon”). It’s a year-round spot for snorkeling believe it or not, because it is so clear. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where Iceland’s first National Assembly was founded in 930AD. GO VIKINGS! After a lovely walk through the park we drove 45 minutes to see the Strokkur geyser...named Geyser. Ha ha. That I can remember. We walked just a few steps to it and it blew just as we were walking up. HOW FUN! So I stood there with my camera ready for the next one. Tic Tock Tic Toc...we got a mini one...then about 5 minutes later it was a beauty! Pictures posted, so check it out. And check out the beautiful blue sky. 58 glorious degrees! So far so good! Also at the geyser I finally got a photo of the purple Alaskan lupine plant I was talking about yesterday. Gustav felt like it was taking over and was more of a nuisance, I think it gives this mostly dull lava field moon surface looking landscape some beauty!
After the Geyser we went to the Golden Falls. This is what it is known as, and how it is described in the Viking brochure, but Gustav says it’s actually just Gold Falls. Gullfoss. Gull means Gold and foss means falls. Legend has it that a rich man was dying and didn’t want anyone to have his money after he died, so he cashed it all in for gold and threw it into the falls. ;) Anyway...let me just say WOW! It’s nothing like I thought it would be. I mean the falls yesterday were Rock Stars. But today...I’m talking THOR. Like stunning. As the huge river cascaded over many layers of rock, it then plunged into this amazing gorge. There were 4 different viewing areas. We went to all of them. Just to see it at every angle. Did I say WOW yet? I’m going to stop trying to describe it, because words don’t to it justice...just have a look at today’s pictures so you can see what I mean. Interestingly, in 1907 an Englishman wanted to harness the power of Gullfoss for electricity generation. A farmer at the time declined the offer saying “I will not sell my friend”. Later on, the waterfall was leased to foreign investors. The farmer’s daughter sought to have the rental contract voided but her attempt failed in court. The construction of the proposed power plant never happened and in 1929 the rental contract was cancelled due to non-receipt of payments. The farmer’s daughter worked tirelessly, often around the clock, made long journeys along the mountain road, waded across great rivers throughout the year and had many meetings with government officials in Reykjavik. In view of this struggle, she has often been called Iceland’s first environmentalist. Gustav added, the waterfall was very inaccessible at that time and the government didn’t realize what they were doing. They hadn’t seen it! If so, they would have never allowed it to be leased.
At the Gullfoss (water bottles and chocolates donned the name) we ate lunch at the restaurant which was mushroom soup, then salmon, veggies and rice. It was pretty good for banquet food and serving it to such a huge group. There were 2 full motor coaches from the ship there.
After the falls we drove back by the geyser, but even tho our driver went slowly, it didn’t erupt for us. But I have some great pictures, so I’m good to go! Gustav said there are only 4 such geysers in the world.
Back at the ship we did our dreaded, yet mandatory muster station drill. Probably a good idea since back in March this is the same exact ship that even tho being advised against it, went out into terrible weather and the engines shut down. I saw pictures of the grand piano sliding from side to side of the room. The coast guard had to helicopter 500 people off one person at a time. However (mom...I know you are reading this and already praying harder that normal) the ship’s captain at the time is now on “vacation” wink wink, and we have a new guy. Let me just say, I’m sure Viking will have him taking no risks. After the drill I showered and got ready for dinner. It was lovely. Except for the pate. I didn’t realize what I was ordering. I had Brie cheese on the brain and it was on Brioche bread. Duh. Anyway...I took a bite. It was gross, but I’m not a pate fan. I then had a butter lettuce salad with Gorgonzola and candied walnuts followed by grilled veggie lasagna and a chocolate soufflé that was amazing. Guy had a crab cake and beef Wellington followed up by some kind of peach tart. I give my meal an A. Guy says a B. Crab cake was phenomenal but the Wellington was...well...a B.
The ship is now scooting on the outer side of Iceland and tomorrow we’ll wake up in the north at Isafjordur. We are taking just a short 3 hour excursion called Arctic Foxes and Avalanches. (Oh mercy...mom...don’t worry. The avalanche was years ago). We are looking forward to visiting the little fishing village, but also looking forward to the afternoon off just to relax a bit.
Hey! Almost forgot to mention we toured the giant Geothermal plant today as well. It’s one of the largest in the world. Got a lesson on how they grab the boiling water over the active volcanic lava and use the steam to move the giant turbines producing much of Iceland’s power. Then that yucky excess water (like that that feeds the Blue Lagoon *eyeroll) is pushed back into the ground and the good hot water is piped all around Iceland. Amazingly it can travel through the pipes, super hot, and looses only a few degrees of heat after traveling for long distances...
DON’T FORGET photos are posted and can be accessed in the upper left dropdown menu. To get out of the blog click on the upper left arrow by the day’s title, then you’ll see three tiny bars stacked on top of each other. Click on that to open the left hand sidebar where the daily photos can be seen. Because THAT’S THE BEST PART!
Awesome waterfalls!
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