Our ship was sailing toward Boston where we would be disembarking tomorrow! It was another nice day on board the Viking Mars. We were able to read out on deck because the weather was sunny and warm.
This afternoon the Hotel officers hosted a “Live Margarita Bar”. We participated in enjoying a drink.
Late afternoon we attended Rear Admiral John Lippiett’s lecture, “That ‘Tea Party’ in 1773- A Look into the Tea Trade”. He explained how drinking tea became fashionable and spread to the colonies.
This evening we went to hear one of the Viking vocalists perform a solo show. It was called “An Evening with Adam”. He sang a variety of his favorite songs.
Our last sunset of the cruise was beautiful!
Saturday, August 31st, 2024
This morning we woke up in Boston, Massachusetts.
Pier in Boston
Our flight home wasn’t until late afternoon. We thought we’d be sitting in the airport all day but Viking booked hospitality rooms where we could relax until 2:00 PM when they would then transport us to the Boston Logan International airport. We left the hotel and walked around Boston. The weather was sunny and warm. Viking also arranged for lunch to be served. We were quite impressed with these unexpected provisions.
Beautiful day in BostonChristian Science Plaza near the hotel
It was the Ohio State Buckeyes first game of the season against an in-state team, Akron. The game was in the afternoon and we figured we’d miss the entire game. We were surprised to see it televised an airport restaurant by our gate. So we saw a lot of the first half before we boarded our flight. We looked out over Boston and the surrounding area as our plane lifted off for Columbus!
This adventure had ended but we look forward to the next one!
Today was a “Day at Sea”. We had a chance to read. So it was a quiet day. There were three lectures that we attended in the afternoon and evening.
The first lecture was by Rear Admiral John Lippiett. His presentation was called “Sailors Discover the Unknown World 500 Years Ago”. He explained how early maps revealed information about the European explorers who tried to find “riches in the East”.
Not long after Lippiett’s lecture, we attended Dr. Ronald Orenstein’s presentation called “What to See at Sea- Seabirds and Other Creatures”. He presented on the birds we have seen or might see as we sailed on our cruise.
The last presentation we attended today was Sue Stockdale’s talk on her “Crossing the Greenland Ice Cap- A Lesson in Teamwork”. This was another epic adventure that she did with a team of other adventurers. Her trek was quite fascinating as the team crossed the Greenland Ice Cap.
Saturday, August 24th, 2024
We didn’t arrive in Nanortalik, Greenland until 2:00 PM but this morning from 7:00 AM until 11:00ish we sailed in Greenland’s Prince Christian Sound. Sue Stockdale, a guest lecturer on our ship who skied the Greenland Ice Cap, gave a commentary about what we were seeing as we sailed.
The sun was rising over the fjord of Prince Christian Sound.
The sun was relecting off the mountains and the icebergs. It was stunning!
Prince Christian Sound was approximately 60 miles long and located in Greenland’s southern edge and was a narrow passage. Below was a map that illustrated the sound as we sailed through it.
map of the Prince Christian Sound and it showed where some of our pictures were taken!
Prince Christian Sound was named after the prince, later he became king Christian VII of Denmark.
We watched from our deck for part of the time and then went to the front of the ship so we could see both sides of the Sound.
The view was absolutely breathtaking. We saw many waterfalls, icebergs of all sizes, glaciers, and some glaciers that reached the sea!
We had so many fabulous pictures it was very difficult to choose a few for this post. The icebergs we saw reminded us a little of Antarctica. Of course, Antarctica had more.
We saw glaciers as we sailed. They were magnificent.
The terrain was filled with steep mountains and a rugged terrain.
The snow melted and we saw many waterfalls that flowed all the way down the mountains.
We saw snow-covered mountains.
There was one settlement in Prince Christian Sound called Aappilattoq. The name meant “red” after the red mountain. There were 100 inhabitants living there. Aappilattoq people fish and hunt and were isolated except for when a boat stopped by or a helicopter flew into the settlement.
Approaching Aappilattoq
The settlement had colorful houses. One can see how isolated this town was along the Sound.
Aappilattoq
We still saw icebergs when we left the sound into the North Atlantic ocean.
Sailing up to Nanortalik, Greenland.
When we arrived at the island of Nanortalik we tendered in to the town. The sky was clear but the air was windy and chillly. Nanortalik was Greenland’s southernmost town. Its name meant a “place of polar bears”.
Some of the boats tied up in the Nanortalik harbor.
The town’s main industries were seal hunting, hunting crabs, fishing and service and administration with about 1,000 inhabitants. As we walked around, a celebration was happening.
Locals celebrating and enjoying food and drink.
The homes were painted bright colors. We loved walking among the town’s homes.
We had a self-guided tour of the town and its open air museum. Locals were out selling their handcrafted items. We purchased a Christmas ornament from a woman who had maded it from beads. She told us she had made the ornament along with six more!
A street sign along the gravel road and rocky terrain in town.
The Nanortalik Open Air Museum had buildings that housed different aspects of the history of the area with nine historic buildings. One building showed the Viking way of life.
One building had Inuit fishing and hunting tools, kayaks and more.
The former blubber house had displays.
Another building was the former train oil factory.
Another building was filled with medical equipment.
Dave climbed up the narrow stairway for a panoramic view of the area!
Dave looking out at the town of Nanortalik
There was one lutheran church in town. It was wooden and built in 1916.
The church from a distance.the Lutheran ChurchInside the church
Many of the locals were out enjoying the day.
The tide was out when we tendered back to the ship.
Boats grounded because the tide was out.
When we looked out at the ocean from town, we could see icebergs floating.
Our ship arrived to Seydisfjórdour, Iceland located at the end of a beautiful fjord, early this morning. It was located in East Iceland and surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. The main occupation was fishing and now included tourism! Many cruise ships stopped here.
We were on the first walking tour of the town. The ship was docked so we didn’t need to get on a tender. Seydisfjórdur was a town of about 650 people with one road leading in and out of town. In the winter and early spring the road could be closed due to wintry conditions.
Many early 19th century timber houses with beautiful scenery around the lagoon.
Seydisfjórdur was prone to avalanches due to its steep-sided mountain slopes. In December, 2020 the town had a huge mud slide that demolished more than ten homes and damaged others. The town has added avalanche protection walls all around.
The mountain where the mudslide occurred.
Pictures from the mudslide and clean up.
The District Commissioner’s building had multiple agencies. They included police management, customs management, state tax collector, Social Security agency, licensing, family and child affairs and proxy voting. All of these were handled in this one building!
District Commissioner’s Building
As we walked around the village we saw some beautiful flower gardens.
The Blue Church was a well-known landmark in town. It was known for its blue color and architectural style. It was moved to its present location in 1920.
The Blue ChurchInside the Blue Church
The street that lead from the church was Seydisfjórdur’s Rainbow street. The town was very welcoming to the LGBTQ community and its rainbow path was painted as a symbol to respect and tolerance. We noticed the inclusivity and acceptance of all throughout Iceland.
The Rainbow Path
Along the rainbow path there were shops and galleries with colorful artwork that decorated the buildings.
We visited the only grocery store in Seydisfjórdur. The grocery store also sold socks, underwear, and souvenirs!
Kjörbúðin Supermarket
After the walking tour we enjoyed a “Viking Festival”. It was held in the Herǒubreiǒ Community Center. We enjoyed food and drink that was provided by the Hótel Aldan. Rhubarb proseco was served along with -double smoked lamb on homemade flat bread, -Arctic char mousse, barley cracker from Vallanes, dresh dill, -regional goat cheese, gluten free biscuit, rhubarb jam, -Happy Marriage cake. I was given a plate with all gluten free food. The food and drink was delicious. Music was provided by Bjort Sigfinnsdóttir, singer and Jón Hilmar Kárason, guitarist. They were very entertaining.
Near the Blue church was a monument to honor Ingi T. Lárusson (1892-1946) who was born in Seydisfjórdur and an Icelandic composer.
Monument to Ingi T. Lárusson
The memorial to Otto Andreas Wathne (1843-1898) was on our walk around the town. He was a merchant and shipowner born in Norway. He founded Seydisfjórdur.
Otto Wathne Memorial
We also hiked up to Búðarárfoss waterfall. You could see the town from the falls. It was a little over 196 feet high.
Buðarárfoss Waterfall
View of the town below
Our ship in the harbor.
On our way back to the ship we stopped at the outdoor exhibit of Women who had influenced the town over the years!
The scenery was stunning as our ship left the pier and sailed out of the fjord.
This evening we attended two lectures on the ship. The first one was by Clive Steeper who talked about his story as a race driver. He included videos of racing on the track and those experiences.
The other lecture was by Dr. Ronald Orenstein on “The Natural History of Fjords”. His talk was informative.
This morning was check out from the hotel and wait for the transfer bus that would take us to the Viking Mars, our ship for the next 14 days! Once we checked in and boarded the ship, we ate a quick lunch and then took the free shuttle into the downtown area of Reykjovik.
The stop was right by Harpa which was a concert hall and conference center that opened in 2011. It had won awards for its architecture. It was a must see because of the buildings distinctive colored glass facade and its shape.
HarpaHarpa- Concert Hall and Convention Center
Outside the Harpa was the statue of the Danish cellist Erling Blondal Bengtsson by the sculptor Ólöf Pálsdóttir. It was moved from its former location because of his widow’s request to have it by the concert hall.
Danish cellist Erling Blöndal Bengtsson
Also in the heart of Reykjavik was the statue of the “Water Carrier” or Vatnsberinn by Asmundur Sveinsson. It was cast in bronze in 1967 and wasn’t placed in its current location until 2011. The last well of Reykjavik was at this location.
Water Carrier
A very popular stop in town was the famous Bæjarins Beztu Pyslur Hot Dog Stand. Their Icelandic hot dog was made from lamb meat with pork and beef and then add your toppings (ketchup, sweet mustard, remoulade, crisp fried onion and raw onion)! It was a small stand with a line that wrapped around and down the street. The stand was in business since 1937. We stopped at the original location. The employees are paid by the hot dogs sold so they move quickly! Unfortunately, Dave didn’t get to try one because the line was really long and he didn’t want to waste time waiting. We took pictures instead!
As we walked, we also passed by the Stjórnarráðshúsið. Try to say that name! It was the Cabinet House. It was built in the mid 1700s as a prison but now it was the offices of the prime minister. The two statues in front were by the sculptor Einar Jónsson. One depicts King Christian IX handing over the constitution in 1874, and the other was of Hannes Hafstein, who became the first minister of the country in 1904.
As we walked we went up Arnarholl (a hill) and saw the statue of Ingolfur Arnarson. The monument was erected in 1907. Arnarson was considered the founder of Reykjavik in 874 A.D.
Ingolfur Arnarson
We walked to the Hard Rock Cafe to get a pin and then walked up the main shopping area of Reykjavik. After that we ventured back down to the shuttle stop. Near the stop we caught a taxi that took us to the Perlan Museum. Dave also scheduled with our driver to pick us up at 5:00 PM which would give us three hours to visit the museum.
Perlan MuseumEntrance to the PerlanStatues of musicians outside the museum
Our museum ticket included all areas: the Northern Light Planetarium show, the Ice Cave and Glaciers exhibit, the Volcano show, Látrabjarg Cliff (a realistic model of the largest seabird cliff in Europe), water in Icelandic Nature, the Observation Deck and more.
Our first stop was the Áróra Northern Light Planetarium show which was 20 minutes long and it was educational. It explained the science behind the northern lights. We felt it was well done.
We passed through the Glacier and Ice Cave Exhibit. We walked through the cave made from over 350 tons of snow and ice. The temperature was sub-zero and man made. It was a replica of walking in a glacier. It was definitely freezing in the cave.
Walking inside the Ice CaveInside the Ice Cave
In the area called the Wonders of Iceland had displays that demonstrated how nature shaped Iceland’s landscapes.
The Volcano show focused on the Geldingadlir volcano that began erupting near Reykjavik in 2021. It was the first eruption near this area in 800 years! The show was very well done.
The Observation Deck gave us 360˚ views of Reykjavik and its surrounding areas. It was a cloudy, cold, and windy day but it was still fun to look out at the area.
We were back on our ship by 5:30ish. Our stateroom was ready and we proceeded to unpack and organize our belongings. We needed to organize after living out of our suitcases for three days!
Looking out at our cabin deck.
We sailed before 8:00 PM and were on our way toward Heimaey Island.
This evening we enjoyed listening to the Viking Band and Singers.
