Touring Iceland during a layover

In article
engr.vans.vg,
Giovanni Drogo wrote:

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009, Lee Choquette wrote:

I'm planning a trip for my daughter and mother from Seattle to
Helsinki in the fall, with one stop in Iceland.

Does anyone have any suggestions for what a 12-year-old and a senior
citizen might do in Iceland on a short visit?

The interesting part of Iceland is the scenery, there aren't really any
monuments.
There speaks one who is not interested in history. If you've ever
had any interest in Iceland's Viking past, there are "monuments".

Keflavik international airport is not that close but also not
far from Rejkyavik, which is a modern town where most of the inhabitants
live. Actually when we did an organized tour around Iceland, for the
first and last night we stayed at the Icelandair airport which is near
the Rejkyavik domestic airport (i.e. not Keflavik). We were on a tour,
so were not interested in travelling with public transport, but I
believe the main bus station is near the domestic airport.
Check with the tourist office---I'm sure there's one on line--and ask
about bus tours. That might be a good place to find out about places to
stay, too. A bed and breakfast when you're not doing the driving could
be a problem.

I have no idea of current costs after the currency crisis. Iceland used
to be an extremely expensive place. I also have no idea of accomodation
opportunities in Rejkyavik. Elsewhere in the countryside there are bed
and breakfast accomodations, and during summer most schools work as
hotels (Edda hotels). Sometimes also offer sleeping bag accomodation.

The following sights are around Rejkyavik, any other interesting places
will be definitely too far for a short visit (at least one week to do
the island circuit on national road 1) :

- the Blue Lagoon is located midway between Keflavik and Rejkyavik.
It is a sort of thermal water resort which uses, I believe, the waste
water used by their power plants (by "waste" I simply mean that water
of geotermic origin is first used to produce electricity, and then
for people to bath in). I would consider it the less interesting and
more touristy of the list, but the surrounding scenery is ... ehm ..
interesting/
It is claimed to have therapeutic qualities. Think spa.

- The geysers (including the one Geysir which gave name to the whole
category) and the Gullfoss ("golden fall") are somewhere SE of
Rejkyavik, and suitable for a day trip. It is likely there will be
lot of tourists in the geyser area. The fall is instead less crowded.
A day trip that includes the geysirs will probably include other
points of interest.

- the Thingvellir is somewhere NE of Rejkyavik, and is definitely
worth seeing, specially if you've read something about the Viking
colonization of Iceland. Its name means more or less "Parliament
Plain". It's a large area where the family heads of the island
met once a year in the middle ages, that's considered the first
Parliament in the world. The area is characterized by some large
fissures ("gya"), which are actually parts of the mid-Atlantic
ridge, where the american and european crustal plates separate
itself. In fact the ridge crosses Iceland, and the two most
accessible plates are Thingvellir and the lake Myvatn area, but
that's too far for you
Thingvellir was the high point of the trip for me, but I've studied
Old Norse 8-)

Depending on the season, bring mosquito protection (repellant and nets).
In late May the only buggy place was around Lake Myvatn, which is too
far for a day trip anyway. I don't know about fall.

--
Mary Loomer Oliver (aka Erilar)

You can't reason with someone whose first line of argument is
that reason doesn't count. --Isaac Asimov

Erilar's Cave Annex: http://www.chibardun.net/~erilarlo

erilar wrote:
In article
engr.vans.vg,
Giovanni Drogo wrote:

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009, Lee Choquette wrote:

I'm planning a trip for my daughter and mother from Seattle to
Helsinki in the fall, with one stop in Iceland.
Does anyone have any suggestions for what a 12-year-old and a senior
citizen might do in Iceland on a short visit?
The interesting part of Iceland is the scenery, there aren't really any
monuments.
There speaks one who is not interested in history. If you've ever
had any interest in Iceland's Viking past, there are "monuments".

Keflavik international airport is not that close but also not
far from Rejkyavik, which is a modern town where most of the inhabitants
live. Actually when we did an organized tour around Iceland, for the
first and last night we stayed at the Icelandair airport which is near
the Rejkyavik domestic airport (i.e. not Keflavik). We were on a tour,
so were not interested in travelling with public transport, but I
believe the main bus station is near the domestic airport.
Check with the tourist office---I'm sure there's one on line--and ask
about bus tours. That might be a good place to find out about places to
stay, too. A bed and breakfast when you're not doing the driving could
be a problem.
I have no idea of current costs after the currency crisis. Iceland used
to be an extremely expensive place. I also have no idea of accomodation
opportunities in Rejkyavik. Elsewhere in the countryside there are bed
and breakfast accomodations, and during summer most schools work as
hotels (Edda hotels). Sometimes also offer sleeping bag accomodation.

The following sights are around Rejkyavik, any other interesting places
will be definitely too far for a short visit (at least one week to do
the island circuit on national road 1) :

- the Blue Lagoon is located midway between Keflavik and Rejkyavik.
It is a sort of thermal water resort which uses, I believe, the waste
water used by their power plants (by "waste" I simply mean that water
of geotermic origin is first used to produce electricity, and then
for people to bath in). I would consider it the less interesting and
more touristy of the list, but the surrounding scenery is ... ehm ..
interesting/
It is claimed to have therapeutic qualities. Think spa.
- The geysers (including the one Geysir which gave name to the whole
category) and the Gullfoss ("golden fall") are somewhere SE of
Rejkyavik, and suitable for a day trip. It is likely there will be
lot of tourists in the geyser area. The fall is instead less crowded.
A day trip that includes the geysirs will probably include other
points of interest.
- the Thingvellir is somewhere NE of Rejkyavik, and is definitely
worth seeing, specially if you've read something about the Viking
colonization of Iceland. Its name means more or less "Parliament
Plain". It's a large area where the family heads of the island
met once a year in the middle ages, that's considered the first
Parliament in the world. The area is characterized by some large
fissures ("gya"), which are actually parts of the mid-Atlantic
ridge, where the american and european crustal plates separate
itself. In fact the ridge crosses Iceland, and the two most
accessible plates are Thingvellir and the lake Myvatn area, but
that's too far for you
Thingvellir was the high point of the trip for me, but I've studied
Old Norse 8-)
Depending on the season, bring mosquito protection (repellant and nets).
In late May the only buggy place was around Lake Myvatn, which is too
far for a day trip anyway. I don't know about fall.

Go shopping. The present exchange rate is fantastic: 1 dollar or euro
equals a shopping cart full of banknotes

On Fri, 10 Apr 2009, erilar wrote:
Giovanni Drogo wrote:

The interesting part of Iceland is the scenery, there aren't really any
monuments.
There speaks one who is not interested in history. If you've ever
had any interest in Iceland's Viking past, there are "monuments".

By "monument" I intend historical buildings (or ruins thereof). In this
respect I qualify e.g. Thingvellir as a natural site, despite its
extremely high historical importance. And in particular historical
buildings in cities (not isolated) e.g. churches, palaces.

I believe the oldest building in the Rejkyavik area is less than 200
year old (or at least we weren't shown anything considered interesting
by the local guide, who, as any Icelander, had a deep knowledge of their
history ... but apparently they can quote sagas which are something more
than 1000 year old and refer to places one can pass through, but where
nothing remains ... we passed through, or near, Skalholt and were told
of its historical importance, but did not stop to see anything).
Something which is 200 year old may qualify as a monument for a Texan,
but hardly for an Italian :-)

We were shown the cathedral in Rejkyavik, but one accustomed to S.Vitale
or Notre Dame will hardly consider that worth the stopover in Rejkyavik.

We visited the museum at Glaumbaer, an old farming settlement where
people lived in extreme conditions. But that too far north to be
considered by the OP. We were shown two minuscule country churches, one
in Varmahlid and another one somewhere on the southern coast. These
things are "monuments" (poor but extremely interesting considering
the living conditions of Icelanders in the past centuries) but are all
too far for a day trip from Rejkyavik.

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In message , Valtsu
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erilar wrote:
In article
zoengr.vans.vg,
Giovanni Drogo wrote:

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009, Lee Choquette wrote:

I'm planning a trip for my daughter and mother from Seattle to
Helsinki in the fall, with one stop in Iceland.
Does anyone have any suggestions for what a 12-year-old and a
senior citizen might do in Iceland on a short visit?
The interesting part of Iceland is the scenery, there aren't really
any monuments.
There speaks one who is not interested in history. If you've ever
had any interest in Iceland's Viking past, there are "monuments".

Keflavik international airport is not that close but also not far
from Rejkyavik, which is a modern town where most of the inhabitants
live. Actually when we did an organized tour around Iceland, for the
and last night we stayed at the Icelandair airport which is near the
Rejkyavik domestic airport (i.e. not Keflavik). We were on a tour,
so were not interested in travelling with public transport, but I
believe the main bus station is near the domestic airport.
Check with the tourist office---I'm sure there's one on line--and
ask about bus tours. That might be a good place to find out about
places to stay, too. A bed and breakfast when you're not doing the
driving could be a problem.
I have no idea of current costs after the currency crisis. Iceland
used to be an extremely expensive place. I also have no idea of
accomodation opportunities in Rejkyavik. Elsewhere in the
countryside there are bed and breakfast accomodations, and during
summer most schools work as hotels (Edda hotels). Sometimes also
offer sleeping bag accomodation.

The following sights are around Rejkyavik, any other interesting
places will be definitely too far for a short visit (at least one
week to do the island circuit on national road 1) :

- the Blue Lagoon is located midway between Keflavik and Rejkyavik.
It is a sort of thermal water resort which uses, I believe, the waste
water used by their power plants (by "waste" I simply mean that water
of geotermic origin is first used to produce electricity, and then
for people to bath in). I would consider it the less interesting and
more touristy of the list, but the surrounding scenery is ... ehm ..
interesting/
It is claimed to have therapeutic qualities. Think spa.
- The geysers (including the one Geysir which gave name to the whole
category) and the Gullfoss ("golden fall") are somewhere SE of
Rejkyavik, and suitable for a day trip. It is likely there will be
lot of tourists in the geyser area. The fall is instead less crowded.
A day trip that includes the geysirs will probably include other
points of interest.
- the Thingvellir is somewhere NE of Rejkyavik, and is definitely
worth seeing, specially if you've read something about the Viking
colonization of Iceland. Its name means more or less "Parliament
Plain". It's a large area where the family heads of the island
met once a year in the middle ages, that's considered the first
Parliament in the world. The area is characterized by some large
fissures ("gya"), which are actually parts of the mid-Atlantic
ridge, where the american and european crustal plates separate
itself. In fact the ridge crosses Iceland, and the two most
accessible plates are Thingvellir and the lake Myvatn area, but
that's too far for you
Thingvellir was the high point of the trip for me, but I've
studied Old Norse 8-)
Depending on the season, bring mosquito protection (repellant and nets).
In late May the only buggy place was around Lake Myvatn, which is
too far for a day trip anyway. I don't know about fall.

Go shopping. The present exchange rate is fantastic: 1 dollar or euro
equals a shopping cart full of banknotes

If you are interested in history (and/or geology) the National Museum,
in the centre of the capital, on the lake, is definitely worthwhile.


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Sheila Page