Reykjavik, Iceland - HOHO & Seaventure Embarkation

July 29 

We had breakfast at the hotel and left our luggage in storage while we toured. We found where the closest HOHO stop was (in a different place due to road construction) and also found out that it started at 9:00, not 9:30 as the website stated.

Our first stop was at Hallgrímskirkja which is a Lutheran parish church. At 74.5 meters tall, it is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in the country. It is a simple church, but the views from the tower were fabulous. There is a statue of Leif Ericson out in front of the church.

Hallgrímskirkja

Leif Ericson

bell tower

views from the tower

Seaventure in port

We wished we would have had time to visit Perlan which is a one-of-a-kind nature exploratorium. It's a learning laboratory where visitors explore Icelandic nature through science. If it had been bad weather, we would have scrapped the HOHO and spent time there. However, we had wonderful weather, so we preferred to be outside. 

We never did figure out what this stop was for....but we did find some birds.....

We passed Höfði House where in October 1986, the Reykjavík Summit between Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made important progress in building trust between the rival nations. A piece of the Berlin Wall can also be seen here.

Höfði House

The next stop where we got off was at the Harpa near the Old Harbor. Harpa is a concert hall and conference center. East of this is the gleaming steel sculpture on Reykjavik’s splendid waterfront that resembles a Viking long-ship is the ‘Solfar’ or ‘Sun Voyager.’  Another sculpture called Partnership. 

Harpa

We walked along the harbor and found the Seaventure in port. We continued on until we found Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, (literal translation in the town’s best hot dogs) the hot dog stand in the heart of downtown Reykjavik. Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur has been serving sausages since 1937 and the long lines at the stand attest to their popularity. The hot dog condiments include ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion and remoladi, a mayonnaise-based sauce with sweet relish. Hot dogs are often ordered with "the works," I.E., All condiments, or in Icelandic "eina med ollu". They are made mostly from Icelandic lamb, along with pork and beef. We each ordered one each and it was so good we got 2 more.

Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur

gelato stop - Valdis

Back on the HOHO, our next stop was The Tjornin which is known as the city’s front yard. The lake is a beloved feature of the city and locals call it the Reykjavíkurtjörn (Reykjavík’s Pond or the Reykjavik City Pond). Once an ocean lagoon, a barrier was erected closing the pond off from the sea and making it a body of fresh water. town hall sits at the western end of the Tjornin. We had a nice walk around the area and checked out the birds of course.

After we finished touring, we went back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and wait for our transfer to the ship.

Coast Guard ship in front of the Seaventure

We did a quick tour of the ship and went to the Welcome Aboard Buffet. In our cabin were our jackets, 2 water bottes (to refill at the water stations since the bathroom water was fine for brushing teeth, but not for drinking), lanyards, and waterproof pouches.

We met our cabin steward Sukadana from Philippines. He referred to us by our middle names and we didn't correct him, so for the whole cruise we were Roy & Louise to him. 

Welcome Aboard

leftover from Covid times

We also went to the mandatory lifeboat drill. It’s been a long time since we have had to do a hands-on drill complete with going outside on deck to stand by our lifeboat.

The expedition crew was in the Seabreeze Lounge for a jacket exchange if you didn’t guess your size correctly. They ran huge. Greg and I both exchanged ours for the X-Small jackets.

The first night on board the dinner is a buffet between 7:30 and 9:30. Open seating with small tables for 2 and 4 and larger for 8 or so. Service and food were very good.

fresh fish of the day

our first of many towel animals

Passenger base on this cruise was 80% German, 15% a tour group called Road Scholars (used to be Elder Hostile) and the rest of us loose ends. While I’m sure it is not representative of ALL Road Scholars (which I called the Rogue Scholars), but this group was dumber than a bag of hammers. One couple sat with us because we spoke English, they assumed we were part of their group. She asked me “how would you know about this cruise unless you booked through Road Scholars?” Uh, there is this thing called the internet??? Some were very nice, but the group kept to themselves as did most of the Germans.

Didn’t bother us too much, but just be aware this company draws predominantly German (and other Baltic countries) passengers.

After dinner was a Welcome on Board and there was a team presentation of shore excursions and a port talk on Arnarstapi. (done in both English and German) 

The Expedition Leader was Dietmar Schaffer and the cruise leader was Dorothee Hippel. 

Then, it was off to get ready for our day tomorrow and sleep. 

Reykjavik, Iceland HOHO & Seaventure day 1  https://photos.app.goo.gl/81fWj8f3qMFP1yQS6