Trieste to Reykjavik – Well I got tired of the heat and humidity of the southern latitudes and decided to go somewhere to cool off, like Iceland hahaha. Good connecting flights from Trieste to Reykjavik via Frankfurt and September is off-peak made up my mind. There are busses every 30 minutes from Trieste to the airport cost 4.15 euro and the journey takes an hour.

Reykjavik – the capital of Iceland, being an island everything has to be imported and therefore it is a very expensive place to live. Iceland is known for its Hot springs and Geysers, Glaciers and Waterfalls and the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. The whole island is volcanic with some volcanoes under the glaciers and if one of them erupts, its fun and games for air traffic in Europe as happened in the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull.

The best way to get around is by bus, install the Strætó app on your phone, link it to your credit or debit card and you will be free to roam the island. My EE UK sim card continues to work here using my UK Data/SMS/Call allowances at no extra cost. You don’t need cash either as cards are accepted everywhere for even the smallest purchases. This is a useful local map of Iceland, it’s more up to date than Google maps.

There are numerous tours available and they are all well organised. Tourism is the 2nd largest income earner for Iceland after Fishing. Third is the processing of Bauxite into Aluminium which requires prodigious amounts of electricity and Iceland has a surplus of electricity.

My first day in Iceland was the best day, sunshine and blue skies, not bad I thought hahaha. The next 5 days were overcast with the occasional drizzle and the temperature varied between 8 and 10c. Though on the last day it was starting to clear up in the evening.

Another interesting fact is that Iceland is one of few countries that does not have an army, only the Police and a Coast Guard.

Natural History Museum of Kópavogur – This is a tiny museum meant for the local school children I think, there are no English translations and its free.

Golden Circle Tour – This is one of the most popular tours. On the way back into the city we got held up because the Vice-president of the USA was visiting and the roads were closed while he went past. The roads around his hotel were also closed causing busses to be diverted etc, etc.

South Coast Tour, another mandatory tour.

Northern Lights Tour – This is one of those tours used to suck in the tourists because it requires clear skies and darkness which in Iceland is an Oxymoron. Clear skies occur in Summer when it never gets dark and in winter it is dark but overcast. I booked this tour and it was cancelled due the weather. They then booked me on the following day free of charge and so on and so forth finally having to refund my money hahaha.

The National Museum and Craft Beer, you can only buy alcohol from Government owned shops called Vinbudin.

Perlan – Wonders of Iceland, interesting place, they have a Planetarium as well.

Blue Lagoon – I spent a few hours here waiting for my flight. It is close to the airport and you can buy a bus ticket that allows you to stop here and continue on to the airport later.