FUN-travel: End of A&K Arctic Cruise – Reykjavik, Iceland – Day 1
November 5, 2014 by Susan Clarke
Day 52 – Thursday, August 21 – Reykjavik, Iceland – End of A&K Cruise – full on sun – balmy summer day – high mid 50’s
What I LIKE
- 6:45 – get up
- Ready for next big adventure!
- 8:00 – packed up
- 8:15 – out of cabin
- 8:20 – breakfast (closes @ 8:30)
- *9:15 – bus to city center
City Center
Cruise Recap – Really smooth well stabilized ship with good sized rooms for the price (and all with balconies). A&K is a 5 star experience and who we have gone with in Antarctica and Egypt. Both have been most favorite trips. The ship is French and the staff was for the most part friendly. The food was a bit disappointing. We had done a river cruise on Uniworld through the Burgundy and Provence region and the food was spectacular. We really expected to see a whole lot more wildlife and icebergs. Heard they were going to do this same trip next year one month earlier which I assume will make a big difference. We wouldn’t recommend this trip unless you’ve been everywhere else and really want to hunt for polar bears in the wild. Antarctica still wins as the “best vacation we ever had!” The abundance of wildlife is phenomenal.
- 10:30 – arrive Reyjkavik4You Apartments
Hallgrimur’s Church
- – get upgrade to 1 bdrm w/full kitchen
- –great to have so much space!
- –free fast Wifi
- 12:00 – plan out next 4 days
- – make dinner reservations
- – make tour reservations
- Front desk fabulous! Handles everything for us
- 2:00 – take off for stroll thru Old Town & city center
- 2:15 – coffee break @ Kigali
- – buy fresh ground espresso for morning coffee
- 2:30 – run into 2 couples from ship – doing same as us
- – self guided tour & lodging
- – while I like meeting new people it’s nice to be on our own
- 3:30 – wine store stop – Vinbudin – only retail place in town for alcohol
- 4:30 – snack break @ Durum Restaurant
- – Cajun chicken quesadilla ala Icelandic style
- – brown thin bread w/yogurt sauce
- 5:15 – check out restaurant on our list
- server recommends Icelandic Bar
- – so we cancel more formal dinner and go there
- 5:30 – grocery store just around corner
- – they have separate really cold room for the meat & dairy
- 6:30 – put name on list – go back to room
- 7:40 – get seated
FUN-food – Icelandic Bar – Loved the coziness! If you’re into beer this is the place to be. I like my wine and they had some of that too. The appetizers come in cute little jars. We had grilled minke whale (tastes like steak) and fried shrimp topped w/blueberry glaze and arugula which was divine! Fish & chips were good. Yalumba 2010 Cab – dinner cost = $80
FUN-surprise – 9 pm on Thursday nights in summer they have a vintage car show in town – 50’s- 60’s – 70’s & 80’s models – saw Mustangs, Cougars, Cadillac’s, Fords, Lincolns, Mercedes, BMW’s, etc – for over an hour they paraded past our window table!
Opera House
What I DON’T LIKE
- *only takes 15 mins to city but w/all drop offs takes 75 mins
- – then driver tries to drop off 2 blks from our hotel
- – cost of post cruise hotel outrageous!
- Trying to find deal on souvenirs impossible
- – too expensive here!
FUN-fact – Iceland was discovered by the Viking Eric the Red in 985.
