Sunday, December 4, 2016

Day 18 - Fly to Singapore -> Home Sweet Home

Booked the a 6 seter van transport from hotel to the airport and it costed about 15pounds. And soon, we were on our way back to Singapore.

It had been a long holiday and Thank God for safe journey throughout and we must say we enjoyed ourselves very much!

Day 17 - Flybus to Keflavik International Airport -> Fly to Gatwick, London -> Lunch at Clerk & Well -> Check in Leonardo Heathrow -> Dinner at Hotel

Got up at 4am to catch the flybus to the airport as our flight was at 7am. Hotel was kind to pack some breakfast for us!

Back at Gatwick & London, and it was nice to be back at London. After depositing the luggages at my son's place, we had lunch at Clerk & Well. It was quite a good meal. I had peking duck while the rest had duck fried rice. Also ordered some boiled vegetables. Total bill was S$.
Restaurant Exterior

Restaurant Interior

Peking duck set

Roasted duck fried rice


We booked 2 cabs - total 140 pounds to bring us and the luggages to the airport. We were staying over at Leonardo Heathrow for a night. I preferred this hotel to the one at Geysir. Again, the photos were deleted by mistake so no photos to show the hotel rooms. But it was a nice and modern hotel though we had to drag our luggages along the hallway to our faraway rooms in a different wing.

Rooms were clean an spacious. We booked 1 triple (71.10 GBP) and double room (53.10 GBP). The rate we paid did not include breakfast. We had a early flight so we will not have the luxury and time to take breakfast.

Cozy big triple room. Coffee/tea facilities were available.



Spacious Bathroom wiht bathtub


Toiletries

Double room with queen bed & sofa




Bathroom with bahtub


Toiletries

Corridor

Our room

Hotel Exterior

Entrance

Lobby

Dinner was at the café in the hotel. We were tired and lazy to venture out.
Had soup,fish & chip and burgers. The meal was ok. Total bill was S$105.99.

Mushroom Soup

Fish & chips

Beef Burger Set

Day 16 - Reykjavík-> Dinner at Krua Thai Restaurant

After lunch, walked nearby the hotel. Took pictures of 2 buildings near the hotel
Háteigskirkja Church is located on a hill by the Háteigsvegur Road in the northwest part of Reykjavík City. It is definitely among the most prominent landmarks of Reykjavík City, with its four tall and pointy towers rising high in the sky.

Tækniskólinn - The Technical College Reykjavik is an upper secondary school in Reykjavík, Iceland, providing both vocational and specialized programmes.
Next, we went to Perlan Centre. Had a good 360 degrees view of the city area and it was free!





With the car still available, we drove around the town centre to see the various attractions & landmarks.


Austurvöllur is a public square in Reykjavík, Iceland. The square is a popular gathering place for the citizens of Reykjavík. This small square in downtown Reykjavik has been a public gathering place since 1930. During warm, sunny weather Austurvollur becomes particularly lively as the outdoor cafes lining the square fill up with thirsty Icelanders and visiting travelers.
Many landmarks important to the city's cultural history line the square including the Parliament building, the city's oldest church Domkirkjan, Hotel Borg and concert venue Nasa.
Alþingishúsið is a classical 19th century structure which stands by Austurvöllur in central Reykjavík, Iceland. It houses Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament

Reykjavík Cathedral, Domkirkjan, is a cathedral church in Reykjavík, Iceland, the seat of the Bishop of Iceland and mother church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, as well as the parish church of the old city centre and environs.



Building at Lake Tjörnin

Landakotskirkja (Landakot's Church), formally Basilika Krists konungs (The Basilica of Christ the King), is the cathedral of the Catholic Church in Iceland. Often referred to as Kristskirkja (Christ's Church), Landakotskirkja is in the western part of Reykjavík.

Solfar (Sun Voyager) Sculpture

Hofdi House


Dinner was at Krua Thai. Again, a Thai restaurant. Total spent here was S$90.19.

Pad Thai

Mixed Vegetables

Red curry

Tom Yum Soup

Day 16 - Golfoss again -> Breakfast -> Faxi Waterfall -> volcanic crater Kerið -> -> Þingvellir National Park -> Reykjavík -> Check in 22 Hill Hótel -> Lunch at Noodle Station

The next morning very early before breakfast, hubby and daughter who did not have enough of Gulfoss and its photos, went back to the fall again. Afterall, it was not that far off. No one was at the fall so early in the morning so they had the fall all to themselves.


















Breakfast was slightly better though it was still the normal western fare. For the first time we had poach eggs.

Breafast area



After checkout, the first stop was Faxi waterfall situated a few steps from the road, hidden and not visible from the road.
We were so overwhelmed by the sheer number of waterfalls in Iceland! Even along the roadside, one can spot a waterfall here and there.
The Faxi waterfall is located on the Golden Circle, a popular tourist trail east of Reykjavik. The waterfall is located on the Tungufljót river.






Driving further on 35, we arrived at the volcanic crater Kerið. Admission fees of 400 ISK apply.
Kerið is a volcanic crater lake located in the Grímsnes area in the Golden Circle. It is one of several crater lakes in the area, known as Iceland's Western Volcanic Zone, which includes the Reykjanes peninsula and the Langjökull Glacier, created as the land moved over a localized hotspot, but it is the one that has the most visually recognizable caldera still intact. The caldera, like the other volcanic rock in the area, is composed of a red (rather than black) volcanic rock. The caldera itself is ~55m deep, 170 m wide, and 270 m across. Kerið’s caldera is one of the three most recognizable volcanic craters because at approximately 3,000 years old, it is only half the age of most of the surrounding volcanic features. The other two are Seyðishólar and Kerhóll.
While most of the crater is steep-walled with little vegetation, one wall is sloped more gently and blanketed with a deep moss, and can be descended fairly easily. The lake itself is fairly shallow (7–14 metres, depending on rainfall and other factors), but due to minerals from the soil, is an opaque and strikingly vivid aquamarine.





Then we continued on 47 along the shores of Hvalfjörður Fjord towards Reykjavik. At Mosfellsbær town, we took 36 to Þingvellir National Park, a unique place from a geological point of view. Research has shown that Þingvellir is a natural wonder on an international scale. The faults and fissures of the area are evidence of the rifting of the earth's crust. There are few places on the planet,- if any, where evidence of continental drift is as clearly visible as it is at Þingvellir.
Car Park

Þingvellir is one of the most historical sites in the country and a place of exceptional beauty.
Þingvellir National Park (pronounced Thingvellir) is a national park in South Iceland and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park was home to the world's longest running Parliament, Althing, an open-air assembly representing the whole of Iceland, first established in 930 AD.

It also has a rift valley formed from the mountains in the northeast and down towards lake Þingvallavatn as a result of sitting along the border between the North American and European tectonic plates. ver the past 10,000 years the valley’s appearance has been shaped by the spreading and sinking of the Earth’s crust. The tectonic plates west of Almannagjá and east of Heiðargjá are gradually moving apart by an average of 3 mm per year. Measurements suggest that the graben (the floor of the valley) has widened 70 meters in the space of 10,000 years, and sunk by 40 meters at the same time – the difference between the top of Almannagjá and the plains below.

Rift of the North American and Eursian Plate








Upon arrival in Reykjavik, checked in to Hill Hotel again for the last night in Iceland. We had 2 twin rooms and 1 single room. Layout of these rooms were slightly different from the first stay. They are actually bigger. Single Room


Bathroom

Room number

Bathroom


Double Room

Walked to the town area to have Thai soup noodles at Noodle Station. This was the 3rd Thai eatery we had meals.
Tasted good as it warmed the tummies.


Enroute back to hotel. The streets were more crowded this day.



22 Hill Hotel

Day 15 - Check in Hótel Litli Geysir -> Gullfoss -> Great Geysir and Strokkur ->Dinner at cafe at Geysir Centre

Soon we were on our way to Hotel Litli Geysir. We checked in first before venturing out again.
This is one of the nicer hotel for the entire Iceland trip in terms of room and facilities and even breakfast.
Hotel exterior & its the surrounding area.



Corridor

Room number

Area outside check in counter

Area where there is coffee & tea facilities

Triple Room


Bathroom & quality toiletries


Double Room


Bathroom

After settling down, we visited Gullfoss which was a short drive away.
Gullfoss ("Golden Falls"; is a waterfall located in the canyon of the Hvítá river in southwest Iceland and is fed by Iceland´s second biggest glacier,
the Langjökull. The water plummets down 32 meters in two stages into a rugged canyon which walls reach up to 70 meters in height.

Together with Þingvellir and the geysers of Haukadalur, Gullfoss forms part of the Golden Circle, a popular day excursion for tourists in Iceland.



Then it was back to our hotel to see the the Geysir hot spring area - the famous Great Geysir and Strokkur, a hot spring that spouts every few minutes.

Strokkur is a fountain geyser located in a geothermal area beside the Hvítá River in Iceland in the southwest part of the country, east of Reykjavík.
It is one of Iceland's most famous geysers, erupting once every 6–10 minutes. Its usual height is 15–20 m, although it can sometimes erupt up to 40 m high.




Eruptions at Great Geysir can hurl boiling water up to 70m in the air. However, eruptions may be infrequent, and when we were there, it did not erupt at all!

After enjoying the spectacular display by Strokkur, it was time for dinner and we settled for some "fast food" at Geysir Centre.
The meal was very ordinary, Fish & chips & chicken drumsticks. Total bill: S$88.07

Mutton & Mushroom Soup