We left Rotterdam aboard the Celebrity Silhouette, bound for Iceland and Ireland. Our first stop, following two very restful sea days, was Akureyri in northern Iceland, the country's second largest urban area with a population of just under 20,000.
It was very overcast, and only 7 degrees C, as we left the ship and spent the next few hours walking in and around, and up and down, the town. We first climbed a considerable hill to visit the interesting architecture of the Lutheran Church, then wandered through the Botanical Gardens before heading back down to town for wonderful coffee and carrot cake at the local backpackers' cafe. The harbour was very impressive, as were the hills, still covered in snow, even though Summer had arrived. And as soon as we headed back to the ship the sun came out - of course!
Walking up to the Lutheran Church
Typically charming house
Akureyri School
Botanical Gardens
Art Museum
Inside the Backpackers' cafe
Also inside the cafe, four live TV screens showing the current volcanic eruptions in Iceland
In keeping with the 'love' theme, the red glass traffic lights are also in the shape of a heart!
Our next stop was Isafjordur, a small town in the north-west of Iceland with a population of around 2,000. After boarding the bus for our shore excursion, our British-speaking guide informed us he was visiting from London and studying at the university in Isafjordur - one of only 26 students! He had come to Iceland specifically to study coastal and marine management and being a tour guide was one of his part-time jobs. He said that the tallest building in the town was our ship, the Silhouette, and that there were more people on her than in the entire district!
We headed to the village of Sudavik and the Arctic Fox Centre, where we saw two rescue foxes and toured the small interpretative centre which was packed full of taxidermy Arctic Foxes. We were also provided with coffee and a piece of Icelandic Happy Marriage Cake, which apparently contains all the secret ingredients to a happy marriage - those ingredients that are always in supply in Icelandic pantries.
Arctic Fox Centre
One of two rescued Arctic Foxes that lose their coat at the beginning of Summer - this one is turning from white to brown. It is the only mammal native to Iceland and is considered vulnerable.
Inside the Interpretive Centre
From there we drove to a tiny timber Lutheran Church which had been built in the 1800s and moved in 1960 from one side of the fjord to the other (for logistical reasons), timber beam by timber beam, and was now known by some of the inhabitants as the Stolen Church. We sat in the pews and listened to a young local man, with a fantastic voice, as he played the guitar and sang three typical Icelandic songs. Our guide informed us that this was a part-time job for the young man who was also studying.
Then it was on to a riverside location for a walk in the crisp cool air before we visited an interesting outdoor art installation. At the end of our tour, we walked into town and wandered through a supermarket before enjoying coffee and a local pastry at the Kaffihus Bakarinn (cafe/bakery). Penny was also excited to see an op shop! For a small town, Isafjordur has something for everyone.
Outdoor art installations
Trust Penny to find an op shop...
Supermarket
Car belonging to the local Thai Restaurant
The next day we arrived in Iceland's capital, Reykjavik. The population of greater Reykjavik is around 250,000 and it comprises mostly modern high-rise office and apartment buildings, other architecturally designed buildings and an old town area. Our local guide was very knowledgeable about her hometown, and we spent a couple of hours driving all around the city and suburbs and learning about the history and geography of the area.
We stopped briefly at the Perlan Museum just to walk to the top floor for a 360-degree view, but unfortunately the gases and smoke that had blown in from the volcano 40kms away made it difficult to see anything much at all. Pity we couldn't have spent time at the museum as it is Iceland's biggest exhibition demonstrating natural wonders like volcanoes, northern lights, ice caves, glaciers, and marine and bird life.
One of the exhibits inside the Perlan - this one is a life-sized model
Back at the dock, we caught a shuttle back into the city and wandered through the old town, stopping in at tourist shops and dining on delicious BLTs at a popular cafe. On the way back to the shuttle we peeked inside the impressive modern Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre.
Solidified lava appears in mounds all over the city
Lunch was delicious!
And another op shop...
Walking through the old town
The old...
and the new - Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre
Inside the foyer
Iceland has about three hours of daylight in winter and up to three hours of dusk-like 'darkness' in summer - during our time here sunset was around 12.30am with sunrise around 2.00am, approximately 1.5 to 2 hours of dusk-like darkness! It must make it very difficult for the locals to sleep. The temperature reached 9 degrees C that day and we had booked the Lawn Club Grill restaurant on the top deck of the ship for dinner at 8pm.
By then it was considerably cooler, and the restaurant was not fully enclosed, so there were heaters hanging from the ceiling and each guest was provided with a blanket - Penny had two, one around her legs and feet and one around her shoulders. Jim went back to the room to collect his jacket and then placed a blanket around his legs as well. As we ate our delicious steaks, we could see the snow on the mountains, and it really brought home to us the fact that we were eating dinner in Iceland!
We left chilly Iceland and cruised south to the UK, calling into our first Irish Port, Belfast. The weather was fairly bleak, and we had heavy rain at times, however we caught the shuttle bus into the city and first toured through the Belfast City Hall which had been turned into an historical interpretive centre - very well done and interesting (and dry and warm). Then we walked to the St George's Market, the only Victorian market still operating in the city,. It sells a huge variety of products including masses of food to buy and to eat, handicrafts, souvenirs and second-hand goods.
The seas were a little choppy as we approached Belfast
Inside Belfast City Hall
Outside St George's Market
We had never seen so many different kinds of mushrooms
Given there are masses of pubs in Belfast, we expected to see one on every corner. But it took us quite a while to find one that actually looked like an Irish Pub and then we discovered that all the good ones are located down narrow alleyways off the main streets. The Morning Star (1810) is known for its dining, and we weren't disappointed - Jim, of course, enjoyed a Guinness with his lunch!
That night the captain made a general announcement: that due to a bad weather front coming up from the south-west, it was necessary to cancel our next port of call, Waterford. Naturally we were very disappointed as Waterford is the oldest city in Ireland and we were looking forward to seeing its medieval old town. Instead, he said, we would be cruising on to Zeebrugge (Bruges), in Belgium.
Bruges turned out to be one of the most charming cities we've visited, and we only wished we had had more time to explore. As it was, we took a five-hour shore excursion by bus and canal boat, and a walking tour, and saw some of this spectacular city. In our free time we found the 18th Century Tea-Room De Proeverie and stopped for delicious Belgian Apple Tart and coffee/tea.
Bruges' original hospital, now a museum
Inside the tearoom - Jim was checking the bill
Bicycles are usually a traffic hazard in The Netherlands, but here in Bruges it was the wonderful horse drawn carriages, of which there were many!
Our cruise finished in Rotterdam and we took a Celebrity bus tour through Rotterdam and on to Amsterdam where we boarded yet another boat for a private cruise of the canals. Then it was on to Schiphol Airport where we stayed for two nights.
Our hotel at Schiphol Airport was a 15-minute shuttle drive from the airport and we were pleasantly surprised at how modern and spacious it was. The next day we took the hotel shuttle to the airport, simply took the escalator down to the station and caught a train to the delightful old town of Delft, famous for its blue Delft pottery.
Inside our hotel
We have talked about the 'old town' part of many European cities, but the whole of Delft is actually an old town, and we spent a lovely day walking along its cobblestone pathways, alongside canals and avoiding cyclists! There are several churches in the town but the Oude Kerk (old church) and the Nieuwe Kerk (new church) are the most popular.
Oude Kerk - a stone church first stood on the site in 1050 measuring just 12 x 30 metres. The first rebuilding occurred in 1240 and on and on the rebuilds went, but the church was not completed as originally planned due to disastrous fires and the Reformation when iconoclasm (destruction of icons, images and monuments) occurred. Beneath the church are hundreds of graves including that of famous painter Johannes Vermeer (Girl with a Pearl Earring).
The most remarkable feature of the church is its 'leaning tower'. Work began on the tower in 1325 when it was constructed over a canal which had been filled. However, the tower began to subside, and construction continued after the fault was fixed. The tower has a kink halfway up from where the bricklayers then worked straight up.
Church in the background with the 'kinked' tower
Nieuwe Kerk - In 1351 Symon, a beggar, had a vision of a golden church at one end of the Markt, and after he died another resident witnessed the same vision. So, in 1381 the council finally agreed to build a church on the site and a temporary timber church was erected, followed by a stone church which was completed in the 16th Century. As with the old church, this building suffered terribly from fire and iconoclasm and much rebuilding has occurred over the centuries.
An elaborate mausoleum built for William of Orange (or William the Silent), the sovereign Prince, in 1621 dominates the church, and there are many other royals and wealthy residents buried there. One such royal, Queen Sophie, passed away in 1877 and was buried dressed in her wedding dress in accordance with her wishes. In her opinion 'her life had ended on her wedding day.'!
The new church at one end of the Markt (town square)
William of Orange's Mausoleum
We stopped for coffee and then for lunch at one of the many outdoor cafes, shopped for Delft pottery (Penny bought a hand painted Delft mouse) and wandered past the Vermeer Centre where she had to have her photo taken as the Girl with a Pearl Earring...
Town Hall at the other end of the Markt
Girl (Penny) with a Pearl Earring
It rained on and off all day, but we didn't mind as the town is charming and we felt like we had really stepped back in time!
Then it was on to Singapore for two nights before heading home. And just to finish off, here are some additional photographs that didn't quite fit anywhere else...
Jim working on his chopstick skills at the sushi restaurant on board
A Beatles tribute band in the theatre
In port, beside a Holland America ship much the same size as the Celebrity Silhouette
Sunset from the ship
And finally, Jim approached an Amsterdam policeman for a candid discussion
on the right-of-way of cyclists at pedestrian crossings. They had a good laugh!
