Our second day in Reykjavik we remained anchored in the harbor and so again had to take tenders to go ashore. The weather was cloudy with occasional showers. Unfortunately one of the occasional showers happened while we were ashore trying to find our tour bus, along with I don't know how many people from the other three cruise ships. It was quite confusing trying to figure out where the buses would pick us up and which bus to look for. So many people and buses and to add to the consfusion, some heavy rain which finally started to let up.
It was quite a mess trying to find the bus for our tour. We had booked an excursion outside of the cruise line, which meant we were a bit more "on our own." We ended up calling the tour company, getting on a bus to a central bus station and getting on a slightly different tour than what we had booked. It actually seemed to work out quite well in the end, once we were on the tour.
Our first stop on the tour was at Friðheimar, a family run restaurant that grows its own tomatoes in a hot house, one of which is attached to the restaurant. They offer almost everything you could imagine based on tomatoes, including a pale ale which was quite good.
This stop actually wasn't on our original tour, but we were glad it was included on the tour we eventually ended up with. I guess it made up for the confusion we experienced in finding the tour bus.
After Friðheimar we went to Gullfoss Waterfalls. Although not as spectacular as our earlier views at Goðafoss Falls, Gullfoss was still quite picturesque.
Our final stop on this excursion was at the Thingvellir National Park Visitor Center. This area is famous for lying at the edge of two tectonic plates. It is the only place in the world where you can stand between two continental plates. Although the picture below doesn't do that aspect justice, it does give you a glimpse of the nearby scenic lake.
After our excursion was over we headed out on our own for a self guided walking tour. The first stop was at the Harpa Concert Hall and Convention Center. This is a "modern glass honeycomb concert hall & conference center, home to the national opera & symphony." [*]
Next we walked to Rainbow street, a colorful street decorated with a rainbow to celebrate their annual Pride Festival.
Rainbow street led us to Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Cathedral, the tallest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in the country.
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