Reykjavik, Aurora, and Blue Lagoon, WTRD 8 Aug 16, 2016

Iceland Day 7 - Last day and night in our 1 week layover

We stayed in Reykholt Foss hotel last night on the backside of a property inhabited by and the political seat of the famous saga writer, Snorri Sturlluson.in the 13th century. He was murdered by a rival politician.


 His sagas are kept in a museum in the nearby church.

















This morning we walked around the property, taking a few photos , one of a warm pool used by Snorri - the Snorralaug, before heading toward Reykjavik. It was overcast and, you guessed it, raining again.

We arrived in the city, and found a place to park near the old city center by 12:30. Donning our rain gear we set out to do a bit of sightseeing by foot, walking down the shopping avenue,

visiting the iconic church (Hallgrimskirkja),

and then lunching at a bistro for a French casserole sampler and "Black Death" beer.

Following our downtown excursion, we went to the Northern lights center where we learned about the northern lights. Summer is not usually the time one sees the northern lights, and obviously cloud cover makes it next to impossible. Tourists who come here in the summer to see the auroras are setting themselves up for disappointment. Here are some tips about planning your trip to see the auroras.

I had heard that there were some sun disturbances recently, and that there was an increased likelihood we could see the lights under the right conditions, a window of darkness and a clear night. It doesn't get dark here until almost 11:00 pm, that's doable, but the cloud cover...doesn't look good.

Consequently, this Aurora center provides educational information as well as a wide screen experience for rain or shine, night or day, summer or winter.

Our last stop of the day at 5:30 in the afternoon was the Blue Lagoon on the the way to the airport hotel.

 We had made a choice earlier in the week to do our soak in a lagoon with a more natural setting, was less expensive, and would free up our last day to see sights in Reykjavik without time constraint. One needs to book an appointment time for a 1 hour soak online and in advance. Even if we had wanted to, the bookings for today were full. Never the less, we wanted to see the number one tourist attraction in Iceland, THE Blue Lagoon.

The Blue Lagoon is the runoff water from a large geothermal plant on the hill above the lagoon, not quite as magical as a soak from water venting directly from the ground, but in reality probably exactly the same.

The only thing that looked better here than where we soaked was a swim up bar. We walked around a bit, purchased a few items in the gift shop, and drove 15 minutes down the road to get gas and check into our hotel. Our flight to Munich and Bucharest begin early tomorrow morning.

We have had a great time here.

All is well with the Worrall Travel Rs, our last night in Iceland.