Left the hotel at 4 am….very easy check in and relaxing wait til flight at 7:30…..flew a new 757 on Icelandia….got into Stockholm at 1…great 40 minute bus ride to ship in the harbor which is downtown….unpacked and resting. Dinner at 7… Gorgeous warm weather at about 75…more to
Today started with me going to the airport on the airport bus to try and find the luggage. Bottom line….I got them.
returned to the hotel by noon and we got on the Hop On…and spent the afternoon seeing Reykjavik ……stopped at the Krisling Mall for lunch and Audy got a pair of pants. Some great shops in this mall, which is the largest in Iceland and still very small, but a neat place.
Got into the big Cathedral and heard the organist rehearsing…..not as good as William…..but the church is modern and very impressive. Had some great coffee
at a little shop opposite….got back to the hotel about 5….then walked down the street about 2 blocks to this great restaurant and had a wienerschitsel and it was great. Sat net to these 2 retired doctors…fun time…
Went by 10/11 for some chocolate….back to the rom for the 4 am departure to the airport….Icelandair to Stockholm
Our day started early at 9 am when we left on the Golden Circle Tour. We went to the National Park……then on to the Geyser…..eating lunch at the 5 star restaurant at the Geyser….then on to Gullfoss Falls…..
All 3 events are well worth it…and by the time we got to the Falls the wind had come up and probably gusted at 60 mph. We literally had to hold on to each other as we looked down at the Falls…..scary but so impressive This Golden Circle is a must to fully appreciate Iceland….and at the falls you can see the huge glacier that stretches to the east coast.
As we returned we traveled on their main east west highway out to the park and were in stopped traffic for about 30 minutes….a bad accident…but made it back to the hotel t 5:30 …then got into the whole lost luggage issue. Finally gave up at 7 and decided to go to the nearby mall and get some clothes, which we did along with a meal at Joe’s and Juice in the Mall….went with the couple from Austin…..back to the room at 10. Still no luggage…A good day of seeing Iceland.
This was the recent trip to Northern Europe, via Iceland….and Iceland was very different than any place we had seen. Other than the fiasco with Delta and the luggage…a great brief visit….
Only the points and I will fill in later…
1. Arrived about an hour late….rode bus from aircraft to terminal….nippy…..terminal was busy with a lot of remodeling…all very smooth….got to luggage and waited and no luggage, for us, along with about 50 others. Luggage was taken off the plane in JFK and not put back on. Got to the front of the line to file…still almost an hour
2. The shuttle driver was waiting and took about 45 minutes to get to the hotel…very barren looking and foggy and sub as we came in….virtually no trees with lava ground. Almost desolate at times. ….approaching city with lots of newer looking apartments…but unusual designs….and same with buildings. More on t his today….checked in the Hilton…hassle due to numbers and the hotel not having rooms ready until 2 pm. Completely full every night….lots of tour groups, etc.
3. We found a good bench seat and Audy slept….I walked out in the street to find a restaurant, as we had not eaten since the Atlanta airport….flight from JFK could not serve due to weather. At noon walked a block to a Mexican restaurant…..great food.
4. Came back and got out room….spoke a bit to the manager and they gave us an upgrade…great room views looking at the commercial areas of the city.
5. Both slept for a while then dinner at near little coffee bar around another corner. Great sandwich,,,then walked through the local market….called 10/11 here but like a big 7-11.
6. Back to the room and watched TV on China, France, British, and European sport TV stations…to bed at 9….
End of Day 1.
Monday was our day in Juneau and we arrived about 11:30am…..and disembarked about noon to find our excursion which is to the Tracy Arn Fjord and on to the South Sawyer Glacier and then back to the Sawyer Glacier. These are historic Glaciers that have become popular as they are not so massive that you cannot get up close to them but can actually get up to within a mile as we did. Tracy Arn Fjord runs south from Juneau and is about a 3 hour jet boat trip to the Glacier itself. Enroute we saw a couple of whales but nothing like our return where a couple of them decided to out on a show. At one pint in the return we just stopped, turned off the engines and watched. The boats are about 40 passenger tri hull style that sits about 2 feet in the water so as to go over the small ice patches easily. There is the captain in front in a small cabin then a covered and uncovered upper level and an enclosed seated area with small toilet and crew area for snacks Etc on the main level. These are older boats but quite safe and very functional for this kind of trip, and they have been doing this for years. All 3 crew members talk and explain what we are going through and one of the crew members, Ryan, really put on a show that the end. Very funny…talented guys. Very cute and a story in itself as I woke up laughing about them.
The Glaciers are so hard to describe as they are combinations of ancient ice, sediment, new rain that turns to snow and ice, and the natural elements. The result is the most unusual colors and configuration that one could imagine…see to believe kind of thing. At South Sawyer we got fairly close but the at Sawyer we got up real close and that is where Ryan went out on the side rail and scooped up ice that we then got a photo with. It was here that we went up to the captains area and spent about 30 minutes as he held the boat steady and we watched for the ice to calve, or fall, from the main Glacier. Small pieces kept falling off and all of the photographers were up on the top with their big cameras waiting for that big moment when the big piece would fall off. Well, finally it did…quite an event, as the guide told us that this was a rare occasion….and we were there.
The trip back was interrupted 3 or 4 times by stopping to watch the whales. At one point a whale was swimming with us about 1/4 mile from the boat…..doing his dives, etc and putting on quite a show.
Got back to the dock at 9 and caught the shuttle bus back the short distance to the ship area and back on the ship and to our room….a great day
We had a relaxing morning with the buffet breakfast as we overslept the earlier breakfast….or rather took too long in the room…..and as we ate we started to see the glaciers in Glacier Bay….eventually ending up in the front observation areas, going between the inside comfy seats and outside along the outside viewing area. We spent the next 4 hours looking at either the John Hopkins Glacier or the Margorie Glacier. Both are magnificent to see…and again a very major part of the Cruise…and a must to see if you have never seen them. A great day of Glacier viewing.
At 5 pm we went to see the movie in the Big theater style Vista Lounge “Bears. A Disney production…it is outstanding….photos and scenes are absolutely magnificent…and really told the story of the Alaskan Brown Bear….just great.
We then went to seated dining, which we really preferred versus the Buffet…and sat with 5 couples which turned out to be another story that can be to,d when we are home. Suffice it to say the retired IBM guy, the younger Mormon couple where the woman was a teacher and LDS missionary to Russia…the big talking and funny Alabama coupe, and the software guy and his indescribable wife from Maryland. It was a dinner that was characterized by delicious food, loud talking about football and other talking, and absolute bizarre by the Maryland couple. I asked the question of the Alabama guy who was a USAF vet as well as had been in a mission trip to Georgia in Eastern Europe…and had home schooled their kids ” what was the mood of the folks in Alabama about Trump.”…the rest must be told in person so remind us of the couple from Maryland when we get home.
Well, a very full and fun day….as we left the dining room as the last couples to finish as they cleaned the tables at 9 pm….what else is new?