Our tour with Nordic Visitor finished yesterday and we had a full day to ourselves today in Reykjavik before we fly out of Iceland tomorrow morning to Scotland.
Snorri suggested yesterday that we go to the Perlan Museum today in Reykjavik. So we booked to go there at 11am.
It seemed as though the severe weather had arrived because it was very windy this morning. It was only 2C and the forecast maximum temperature today was 5C. It had been raining overnight and more rain was forecast. In fact they were forecasting snow.
We went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast at about 8:15am. Perhaps we should have come earlier (or later) because it was very busy. It was hard to find a table.
Just after 10:30am, we caught a taxi to the Perlan Museum. It was surprising how strong the wind was. It took all my strength to keep the taxi's door open while I tried to climb in. The strong wind also made it feel very cold. At least it wasn't raining.
The museum is only ten minutes away on a hill overlooking the city. We reached the museum just in time for the 11am show about the northern lights. The show started with a five minute video on a large screen just outside the main auditorium. It showed spectacular scenery from all over Iceland. We recognised some places we'd visited on our tour.
The inside of the auditorium was amazing. The screen consisted of a huge dome above the seats in the auditorium.
Most of the action in the film was in front of us but the seats had headrests so you could sit back and see the rest of the video above you.
The film explained the northern lights - not just for Iceland - but also for other countries. It even put it into perspective for other planets that receive light radiated from the sun. The presentation lasted about 30 minutes.
At 12 noon, we watched a short film about volcanoes in the Volcanic Theatre on the basement level. From there, we worked our way up from one floor to the next.
The Wonders of Iceland exhibit had a short video that you watched while sitting on a replica of a block of ice which vibrated at particular times during the film.
Many of the exhibits had display boards with photos and explanations of geology, history, animals, bird life, etc.
One of the exhibits was an ice cave. You needed to rug up before entering because the temperature inside was -15C. It took you through tunnels of ice. In one tunnel, there was a chair (perhaps a throne) made of ice.
The glacier exhibit concentrated on showing the way glaciers are receding because of global warming and are likely recede even further over the decades.
For lunch we went up to the restaurant on the top level where we shared a pizza. This floor has a huge glass dome and gives fabulous views of the city, snow-capped mountains and lakes.
It was an excellent museum. Well worth visiting. I could see why some people spend three or four hours there.
Our taxi got us back to the hotel at about 2:30pm.
There were tour groups who'd booked the hotel restaurant from 7pm and so we booked dinner for 6pm.
This turned out to be good timing because happy hour finished at 6pm and so we were able to get drinks at a lower price before dinner.
Nothing here is cheap. At least the happy hour drinks are less expensive.
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