Bits and the Poet Go Travelling: Reykjavik from Ventura

We are finally sailing in a southerly direction towards Scotland after two amazing days in Reykjavik. This is the most northern capital city in the world. It is clean and friendly with many interesting places to visit.

There were also lots of great tours on offer from Reykjavik to the surrounding geothermal landscape. However on this occasion we chose to explore the city itself. The cost of living in Iceland is far higher than in the UK, but with a bit of planning there are still plenty of affordable ways to enjoy the area.

The free shuttle bus provided from the ship took us on a ten minute journey from the port to the Harpa Concert Hall which was very close to the city centre. The Harpa itself, a beautiful example of modern architecture, was well worth a visit.

It had interesting souvenir shops (not cheap to buy, but free to browse), modern well appointed toilets ( about £1-60 per visit) and a FREE view of the harbour through the carefully sculpted windows at the back of the building.

From the Harpa we took the 5 minute walk into the city centre, past one of the many free wifi spots and the Hard Rock Cafe to the traditional buildings of the main shopping area.

We found some Christmas tree decorations to buy, and took the necessary statue photograph, before heading back to the ship for lunch (the cheapest food option!)

We bought our 24 hour hop on bus ticket (just over £20) in the early afternoon which meant we could use it the following morning as well.

So here (in no particular order) are a few of our 'hop on, hop off' discoveries starting with the Lutheran Church with its finely crafted steeple.

We were fascinated by the design of the sloping roofs intended to fend off the the snow from the newly built flats.

We were tempted to take the inexpensive ferry which carried passengers over to a nearby island.

For anyone curious about the life of whales, a visit to the Whale Exhibition is a must.

We spent our second morning on the viewing platform of the Perla Dome. This was definitely the highlight of our visit.

For about £7 each we took the lift to the fourth floor and walked all around the outside of the dome. The clear skies and sunshine offered us breathtaking views of the whole of Reykjavik and the surrounding mountains.