Iceland - 1 - Reykjavik

We recently took an extended trip to Iceland and Greenland. We spent August 10-15 in Iceland and August 15-22 in Greenland with Natural Habitat Adventures. We followed that with an August 23 through September 5 self-drive tour of the Ring Road and West Fjords. Nordic Visitor booked our accommodations and advised on places to visit. Both tour groups are highly recommended.

15 August, 25 August, and 5 September 2025

As with all things Iceland, we started and ended in Reykjavik. (Strictly speaking, we started at the airport in Keflavik, 45 minutes distant from Reykjavik.) We had a total of three days to walk around central Reykjavik. Here are some highlights.

The exterior of Harpa, a theater/concert complex is composed of hexagonal windows meant to imitate basalt columns.

Next door is a bank headquarters that makes use of real basalt for exterior cladding.

We went to a "Midday Music" concert at Harpa. It's a small performance with both audience and performers on the stage. The full concert hall is meant to invoke the idea of incandescent lava.

Inside the main atrium of Harpa.

Hallsgrimkirkja is the cathedral in Reykjavik. The concrete structure again embraces the basalt theme. A statue to Leif Erickson is in front of the cathedral - gift from America to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Iceland's Althing (parliament). 

We were in Reykjavik for "Culture Day" with cultural performances throughout the capital - and the annual Reykjavik marathon. This had the downtown area completely shut down, so we had to carry our luggage about 4 blocks to get to our hotel. We attended choral and organ concerts at the cathedral.

Iceland loves to knit! Icelandic wool is renown for its warmth and durability. "Lopapeysa" (literally, "yarn sweater") is a hand-knit sweater with a traditional Icelandic yoke design. If it's a real lopapeysa, it usually has information about the knitter on the tag. There's even an official "Handknitting Association of Iceland" with stores in Reykjavik.

The stores sell Icelandic wool yarn as well as finished goods.

Finland: Huskies & Reindeer

Among the activities offered at the resort are Husky Safaris (dog sleds) and Reindeer Safaris (reindeer sleighs). We enjoyed both, but the dog sleds were by far the most fun.

Huskies

Friday, 21 February 2025

The huskies live to run. If they're not running, they're usually barking. As soon as you begin to let up on the brake, the dogs take off.

We each had a turn to ride and drive.

After the ride is over, there's "meet and greet" time with the dogs.

Reindeer

Saturday, 22 February 2025

The reindeer are semi-domesticated. In the spring they are released to roam wild through the woods. In the fall they are rounded-up and returned to their owners for the winter.

The reindeer sleighs were set up in a line - two people per sleigh. We were surprised to see how small the reindeer are.

The tour guide, in traditional Sami dress, prepares a sleigh.

The guide leads the whole procession of sleighs.

The reindeer have peculiar hooves. At first we thought they had some sort of special horseshoe, but their split hooves are adapted to grip ice and snow, and the two halves click against each other as they walk.

A closer look at their feet.

All bundled up for a sleigh ride.

An impressive rack. Both male and female reindeer have antlers. They have the largest antlers in the early years, dwindling to a spike in very old reindeer. That's the opposite of the white-tailed deer we're familiar with.

Finland: Northern Lights

 Friday, 21 February 2025

The Northern Lights alarm woke us up at 1 AM for a nice display of the aurora borealis. The light show continued for about 1 1/2 hours.

The view was better outside, but you definitely can see the northern lights without leaving the warmth of the igloo.

All these photos were taken with an iPhone 16 Pro. They were mostly 2-second exposures using a tripod. I bought the camera specifically for this trip - it just happened to come with a phone.

A Winter Break in Finnish Lapland

We traveled to the far north of Finland in February, hoping to see the Northern Lights (Aurora borealis) from our glass igloo, as well as to enjoy winter activities. Ironically, we left just as the eastern U.S. was experiencing an Arctic cold event that saw below-freezing temperatures as far south as Houston, while Finland was having temperatures at the other extreme - getting above freezing for some of our time there.

Our journey started with an overnight flight from Washington-Dulles to London-Heathrow. From Heathrow we flew to Helsinki, and our final flight took us to Ivalo, arriving about 6:15 PM. The photo shows the Finnish landscape north of Helsinki shortly before sunset.

The Ivalo airport is small, but had great amenities.

We stayed in a glass igloo at the Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, a half-hour drive south of the Ivalo airport. Each igloo has a sauna and shower at the entrance and a bathroom in the igloo.

Igloos at night.

You use a sled to carry luggage between reception and the igloos - it's about a 1/4 mile (400 meter) walk.

A huge reindeer sculpture is lit up at night.

Some of the large wood pillars in Reception and Restaurant have fanciful carvings.

Nürnberg

Friday, 13 December 2024

Our tour ended in Nürnberg (Nuremberg in English), which isn't on the Danube, but rather on the Donau-Main Kanal that connects the Danube and Rhine Rivers, ultimately making a navigable waterway from Amsterdam to the Black Sea. The Pegnitz River flows through Nürnberg, but it is a small river, and barges and riverboats musts use the canal, which has a lot of heavy industry along it.

Our tour of the old city started at the Kaiserburg (Emperor's Fortress, aka Castle). Atop a hill in the northwest section of the old city wall, it has a commanding view over Nürnberg.

Looking south, we can see the industrial sector in the the distance, where our ship is docked.

The door to the inner castle.

The castle courtyard.

Once the castle granary, this building is now a youth hostel.

The castle sits on a sandstone foundation.

Looking down Burgstrasse towards the city center.

Two decorative carvings on a building along Burgstrasse.

Sibalduskirche (St. Sibald's Church).

The vicar's house next to St. Sebald.

St. Sibald's Church.

St. Sibald's Church

St. Sibald's Church

The market square is directly in front of this church, the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady).

An interesting place to put votive candles in the Frauenkirche.

One of several entrances to the Christkindlesmarkt.

Entering the Christkindlsmarkt.

The Schöner Brunnen (beautiful fountain) in the market square.

The Frauenkirche's mechanical clock performs everyday at noon.

A closer view of the mechanical clock.

From a first-floor (U.S. second-floor) balcony, all you can see of the market is the red-and-white striped roofs.

Back home. Our collection of Christkindlmarkt mugs:
Vienna, Schönbrunn Schloss, Salzburg, Passau, Regensburg, Nürnberg (2).