Akureyri, Iceland

I was up around 1:30 am last night and took this picture out our balcony door.  As I mentioned, it never got dark.

We didn't get docked here in Akureyri (Aak-you-rare-ee) today until 10:00 am.  Today's tour was a typical bus tour with several stops.  First was at a little shop area with a Christmas store.  They had some particularly unusual tree ornaments, including one that I believe was supposed to be Joe Biden, but I didn't take a picture.  One cute thing the guide said was that while there are a lot of trees in Iceland, for the most part they aren't very big. "If you get lost in a forest in Iceland, just stand up and look around and you'll find your way."  

A tug helping us dock which is rare.

"Santa's House" - a Christmas store

Both of these signs for sale seemed odd to find in Iceland.

A "sculpture" outside a museum.

We also stopped at a botanical garden and the largest church (Lutheran).  The day was cold and overcast, but I imagine the scenery would be stunning if the sun were out.  Along the main road was a long pipe a few feet off the ground.  The guide explained that it was carrying geothermal water into town where it is distributed to all the homes and businesses for heating and house hot water.  There are also swimming pools that use it.  I believe she said it was about 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) when it got to the end.  The population of Akureyri is about 20,000.  Our guide said that they normally get between 100-200 cruise ships per year here (in non-Covid times of course).  That surprises me since there really isn't that much to see, at least locally.  Perhaps the tours that went further afield were better.  There was another cruise ship in town with us: the 2,500-passenger Mein Shiff 4 of TUI Cruises, a German cruise line.

View from the Akureyri Church, with the Navigator dwarfed by the German ship in front.

After the tour, we came back to the ship for a bit of late lunch and an easy afternoon.  Michael did the fitness center and I went to Trivia but the rest of my team was on an all day tour and weren't back yet so I just listened.  I only knew for sure 2 of the 16 answers, so it's a good thing I didn't play.

Had dinner at Sette Mari again.  I think it is my least favorite venue.  A few things are very good, but for the most part it is sort of "meh".  If/when we go back, I'll just try their pasta for a main course and see if that's better.

We called it an early night as we've not been sleeping that well.  Tonight as we departed at 8:00 pm, the Captain said that there would be no sunset or sunrise tonight as the sun would not be dipping below the horizon.  Makes sense since tomorrow is the summer solstice.  I will certainly be wearing my sleep mask tonight.

On our way from Akureyri (8:30 pm)