Touring Reykjavik – Day 3
Note: This post (Touring Reykjavik – Day 3) is from my daily journal on our DIY European vacation. You can find an overview of the trip here with links to all the published days. I am publishing each day consecutively so follow along and enjoy!
TOURING REYKJAVIK
The weather today showed the highest chance of rain so we decided to tour museums in Reykjavik. The day started out with a shower and waking everyone up, after which we ate the rest of the Dominos pizza and “Frosties” cereal. Then we headed to downtown Reykjavik!
WHALES OF ICELAND
When touring Reykjavik, the first place we went to was the Whales of Iceland exhibit. It was very cool! Inside you get up close and personal with life-sized whales that you can see around Iceland. There must have been around about 30 of them, including dolphins, etc. All hung from the ceiling, and the lighting was blue making you feel like you were underwater. Finally, the audio tours were also high quality, complete with sounds and exciting facts of each whale. I have written a more detailed article here.
SAGA MUSEUM
Since the Saga Museum was nearby we decided to go there next.
It was filled with dioramas of scenes from Iceland history complete with a pretty good audio tour. The museum exhibit is outdated though.
At the end of the exhibit, there was a place to try on old Icelandic helmets and clothes and pose for pictures. That was the most fun part of the exhibit. Go visit the Saga Museum to learn about the history if Iceland, but don’t expect an A-list exhibit.
REYKJAVIK MARITIME MUSEUM
The Reykjavik Maritime Museum was dedicated to historical Icelandic trade and the fishing industry and it was well done!
Very good displays representing the equipment, types of fish, statistics associated with the industry.
SETTLEMENT EXHIBITION
The Settlement Exhibition came about from a construction project in Reykjavik where historical remnants of a house were found dating back to around 870AD. The Exhibition is inside the basement of the building where the construction work was performed when it was found.
It is a quality exhibit featuring a well-preserved foundation and dig-site. It took about an hour to go through. The museum provides a great glimpse into the way early people lived in Iceland in terms of their housing, tools, and lifestyle.
HALLGRIMSKIRKJA CHURCH
We went to the Hallgrimskirkja church again today to see the inside. The church is the largest cathedral in Iceland. Basalt rock formations along the coast were the inspiration for the outside of the church.
Being a Lutheran church, it is very plain inside.
We went inside and sat for a bit on the pews. Then, we took the elevator to the bell tower.
From here we could view the city from the highest point in Reykjavik.
COSTCO IN ICELAND
When touring Reykjavik, what do you do when the weather gets bad and you have seen all the key points of interest you care to see? Go to Costco!!!
That is what we did! We went to eat lunch and just see what is different from the US stores. We walked around a while and for the most part, the items seemed the same except for the wording on some products, some local products and the pricing which was higher than the US. I have a more detailed writeup of our visit to Costco here.
DINNER IN THE ROOM
After Costco, we came back to the apartment and everyone crashed for a few hours. Then we got up and ate salad, shrimp wonton soup, and chicken wings. The wings sucked cause they had no spice to them. Afterward, we all journaled for a while and updated Facebook then went to bed.
Day 2 – Driving in Iceland
Day 4 – Iceland’s Golden Circle
LESSONS FROM THE DAY
- Visit Reykjavik card may not be worth it – For a family of five, a 24-hour pass is about $117. If you plan to do lots of things that are offered on the pass, then it might be worth it, but we had our transportation and were only doing a few museums that they provided. Do the math first to see if it makes sense.
- Buy gas at Costo – This is the cheapest gas in Iceland. Also, a great place to stock up on cereal and other things to help keep your costs down.
