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#11
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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 |
#12
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Touring Iceland during a layover
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 |
#13
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Touring Iceland during a layover
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. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- is a newsreading account used by more persons to avoid unwanted spam. Any mail returning to this address will be rejected. Users can disclose their e-mail address in the article if they wish so. |
#14
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Touring Iceland during a layover
In message , Valtsu
writes 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. -- --- Sheila Page |
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