Wednesday
was the only day it rained while I was there, so the bay looked a bit
grim:
Even
though the weather wasn't great, I decided to go on a "whale safari":
The
ticket also included admission to the Whale Watching Centre, which had
displays about all the different types of whales, dolphins and
porpoises which can be found in Icelandic waters.
The trip lasted about 3 hours, and we did see a few minke whales. We also saw a lot of sea birds, especially fulmars and gannets. They didn't seem too bothered by the wind and the rain:
The trip lasted about 3 hours, and we did see a few minke whales. We also saw a lot of sea birds, especially fulmars and gannets. They didn't seem too bothered by the wind and the rain:
Near
the Whale Watching Centre, there are several whalers moored in the
harbour. They have been there since 1989, when whaling was banned by
Iceland:
One
of
the main sights in Reykjavík is the
Hallgrímskirkja ,
which
towers over
the rest of the city. I walked up the hill, to get a better look, as
I'd only seen it from various places around the city. The Lutheran
church looks like a rocket ready to take off:
While
I
was walking around the outside, I found a cat rummaging in the foliage
at the side of the church:
In
front of the church, there is a statue of Leifur Eirikson:
The
statue was a gift from America in 1930, to celebrate 1000 years of the
Icelandic parliament.
For dinner, I decided to splash out a bit (after all, it was my last night there!) so I found a nice restaurant called Hornið. I had pan-fried salmon with garlic fried vegetables, which was served with a risotto. I had Icelandic beer with my meal, which was quite nice. Alcohol in Iceland is expensive - much of it has to be imported, and there are high taxes to discourage drinking. For dessert, I had a delicious apple and cinnamon cake, and finished off with a cappuccino.
For dinner, I decided to splash out a bit (after all, it was my last night there!) so I found a nice restaurant called Hornið. I had pan-fried salmon with garlic fried vegetables, which was served with a risotto. I had Icelandic beer with my meal, which was quite nice. Alcohol in Iceland is expensive - much of it has to be imported, and there are high taxes to discourage drinking. For dessert, I had a delicious apple and cinnamon cake, and finished off with a cappuccino.
