Day 6 - On Our Own - sightsee Reyklavik, snorkel Silfra Riff, Dinner and Pack

It was pleasant not to have to get up at an early hour, rush through breakfast and jump in a van to drive to a specific place. All three of us slept until after 8 AM, had a leisurely breakfast and began a leisurely walk towards old town Reykjavik which is located near the water front where we had dinner last night.

Our first objective was Iceland's iconic church, Hallgrimskirkja, one of the tallest buildings in the country. This unusually shaped building is the Lutheran parish church of Reykjavik and its structure dominates the entire area. One can about $10 to take an elevator to the bell tower for a panoramic view of the city; the wait queue was too long for us. The inside of the Church is very plain except for the beautiful organ which occupies one entire wall located above the entrance. It was difficult to get a close-up picture due toe building's height and the position of the sun.

The following two pictures have the Church in the background...the statue if of Leif Ericson, the Viking explorer and a lovely picture of the Church.

Our next destination was to have lunch at Iceland's famous hotdog stand so we moseyed along taking in the sites ........stopping by the main visitor center and the Lutheran Cathedral.

Our next stop was Iceland's much acclaimed by all travel guides, Baejarins beztu pylsur (English: The best hot dog in town). " A hot dog costs ~300 ISK (equivalent to US $2.50) Your choice of condiments include ketchup, mustard, fried onion, raw onion, and remolaði, a mayonnaise-based sauce with sweet relish. Hot dogs are usually ordered with "the works," i.e., all condiments, or "eina með öllu" - courtesy of a Trip Advisor Reviewer. The hotdog is made of Icelandic (organic) lamb, pork and beef....delicious!!!

We need to head back to the hotel and change....our next adventure is snorkeling in the freezing waters of the Silfra Riff. As we head back, a number of my children asked me to stop by the Phallus Museum which is, I'm told, the only such emporium in the world.

Silfra Rift

The Silfra Riff is a fissure between two tectonic plates, North American and Eurasian, and the site of Iceland's most visited snorkel/scuba diving site. All of us were excited...the boys because it was their first snorkel experience outside of a swimming pool and me, because it would be a unique experience…..snorkeling in near freezing water whose clarity would be exquisite.  This was an opportunity that should be taken, in order to say that "been there, done that". I have done extensive snorkeling and some scuba so "snorkeling in Iceland" was a must. Little did I know that this experience would be an adventure---turned 80 in early July. 

The drive out to Silfra was quite easy and done in a comfortable van. To "snorkel in Iceland" requires donning a "dry suit" which goes as follows - strip down to your undergarments which ideally are synthetic (no cotton) long underwear and similar long sleeve shirt + heavy wool socks. Now you slip into what I would describe as a snowsuit--not as thick but covers your entire body except no shoe attachment. Next you proceed to worm and I mean, worm, yourself into a dry suit...one solid piece of apparel...you first pull yourself into the boots. squirm your way into the body suit where your appendages must fit through tight fitting openings designed to restrict water entry...then you pull, with the assistance of others, the head/shoulder piece over your head and have someone zip you in....next don the tight fitting head piece and rubber gloves...the only thing showing is your smiling face which will soon be adorned by a face mask with attached snorkel. 

  

You walk about 100 yards, wait in a queue for about 1/2 hour and finally slip into the freezing, clear, water to see rock formations in spectacularly clear conditions and fluorescent string "coral"....you forget that your lips are now painless due to the cold until you inadvertently inhale a bit of the cold drinkable water...

Now the long walk back....300 yards to a cup of hot chocolate and cookies.

  

Did we have an enjoyable time...YES....would we do it again...NO.....JUST DO IT!!!!

Back to the hotel and dinner at a "soup" restaurant where bread was the bowl....the boys enjoyed it!

The final packing for our trip back....since we were stopping at the "Blue Lagoon" before arriving at the airport, we had to make sure that we had storage for wet bathing suits and clothes to wear on the plane. No problem for experienced travelers like US!!!