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Iceland

June 19, 2014 Flying from San Diego, California via New York to Reykjavik, Iceland. This overnight flight leads to a magical Island of pure and unspoiled natural beauty.

The first sights of Iceland.. but wait it is Green and not Ice.. yes it is close to the longest day of the year and the beginning of a great adventure.

Iceland is one of the least populated nations on earth.

Iceland is a verdant paradise of electric green valleys with mountains, steaming hot springs, boiling mud pools and lava fields.

Hard working locals make a living from both the sea and the land.

Locals who work hard in farming communities and in fishing villages

We will discover the history of this isolated nation preserved in a series of enchanting medieval tales know as Sagas.

We are on our final approach to Keflavik International Airport in the early morning hours about an hours drive to Reykjavik, Iceland the principal city and Capital of this beautiful nation.

Reykjavík is the capital and largest city of Iceland making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state

Reykjavik is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay with a population of around 131,136

It is the center of Iceland's cultural, economic, and governmental activity, and is a popular tourist destination. The building you see is Harpa, Reykjavik’s concert and conference hall.

The city was founded in 1785 as an official trading town and grew steadily over the following decades, as it transformed into a regional and later national center of commerce, population, and governmental activities.

At 64° north, Reykjavik is characterized by extremes of day and night length over the course of the year

From 20 May to 24 July, daylight is essentially permanent as the sun never gets more than 5° below the horizon. Day length drops to less than five hours between 2 December and 10 January. The sun climbs just 3° above the horizon during this time. However, day length begins increasing rapidly during January and by month's end there are seven hours of daylight.

Iceland has a sculpture honoring — and lightly satirizing — the thankless, anonymous job of the bureaucrat. The 1994 sculpture by Magnús Tómasson depicts a man in a suit holding a briefcase, with his head and shoulders buried in a slab of unsculpted stone.

Back of the Parliament building with a small park

Ironically the clock has advertising below for a Penis Museum. Yes you read that right. The building behind Heraosdomur is the District Courthouse. Interesting advertising in front of it.

Street view with the District Courthouse to the right in the photo.

Street view going up the hill away from the Courthouse toward the Iconic Church Hallgrímskirkja Church .

Interesting local restaurants to enjoy with great fresh seafood

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