A small city not far from the Arctic Circle, on an island of volcanoes and glaciers and black sand beaches..with a population that lives at the highest standards of living. A city known for both weekend partying and the wilderness just a few minutes away. Reykjavik is a small city encased in nature. The city of Rekjavik is the entry to Iceland for most travelers. After landing at Keflavik at the Leifur Eriksson Airport and driving or busing through some of the most desolate landscape on earth for about 20 minutes you find yourself travelling through some outlying towns and after a total of 40 minutes you're in Rekjavik. Six or 8 stories is about as high as buildings go and with a population of about 100,000 the city and its suburbs sprawl a bit. The heart of downtown is pleasantly compact and in the newer areas there are wide expanses of grass along the bigger avenues, though you'll see few pedestrians on them. The walk along the bayside has a large piece of sculpture every few minutes, and in fact, there is a nice representation of sculpture throught the city, surprisingly few are of politicians which gives a little idea of the Icelanders' beliefs of just what is imporrtant. The harbor near the town center is pretty, often quite busy with fishing and pleasure boats, very much a working harbor. We've seen Northern Lights from the dock in August. There isn't much of a grid to the streets, they're more likely to follow the lay of the land, and when a street more or less abruptly changes direction it probably will also change its name. Icelanders, at least our friends, often don't know the names of streets that they frequent and give directions by landmarks. Pronunciation is so difficult that for foreigners pointing on a map or spelling the first three or four syllables is often the best way to communicate. Bus service in town is very reliable, (we send clients who are staying in town a bus map), and taxi service is available at typical big city rates - but there's no tipping in Iceland! Icelanders, particularly Young Icelanders, like to look good and so there are a good number of stores on and around the two or three main shopping streets (Sunday shopping doesn't happen, by the way). The restaurants have a relatively short tourist season - they survive on their regular customers' frequent visits and their quality is consistently very good. We'll send you a folder with some more pertinent information that we've written up for travelers with your tickets, if you decide to take the trip, along with some printed stuff from the Icelandic hosts. (Reykjavik translates into Smokey Harbor) Our coach tours include some time exploring Reykjavik and then go out into the unique Icelandic landscapes. A Reykjavik Ba
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