2nd March

Weather is light snow and a sort of snow hail.

Woke up at 5am this morning but didn't get up until 6.30. We are heading to Akureyri on the 1pm flight this afternoon but before we fly out we have a few things to do. First we packed out bags then after breakfast we headed out to find the post office 'cause l needed to send a few things back home. The post office was an easy find and once we got that sorted we headed down to the port area where we took some photos of a sculpture of a viking ship . We then made our way to the Hallgrimskirkja church which is the largest in Iceland. Designed in 1945 it stands 73 metres high and took 40 years to build and resembles a volcanic rock formation, covered in hexagonal pillars. The interior is unadorned but there is a stunning organ with 5000 pipes. We took the lift to the 8th floor (so glad we didn't have to climb the stairs) at a cost of 500 kroner each, where we were able to view Reykjavik's colourful rooftops and wonderful views. We then headed back to the apartment in time to catch a taxi to the airport. Oh, we saw a bit of sun for a few minutes today....hurt my eyes!

The flight to Akureyri was pretty scary as the plane was small and it was bumpy and a couple of times it dipped quite dramatically. Boy l was glad to get off that flight!!

It doesn't seem as cold here even though it's further north. They had a good fall of snow yesterday but none today. The hotel we booked into has off site rooms and ours was about 5 mins walk away from the main building. I was waiting for the guy at reception to offer to help us with our luggage but when he didn't we left our main luggage at reception and dragged the carry on through the snow to the apartment. When we got there we discovered we had to go up four flights of stairs as there was no lift and l'm like no way!! We did have a look at the room which was quite nice but no wifi, no tv, no phone...you know, all the essentials. So we called them on a phone on the outside wall in the street and asked if there was anything available in the main hotel. Luckily there was so we trudged all the way back again. We only had to climb 2 flights of stairs in this building but at least the guy carried the bags up for us. When we opened the door to our room we just stood there with our mouths wide open. The room is so small you can't even swing a cat in it! And we paid extra for this! Anyway it's got wifi, a tv, a phone and breaky's included so l guess we can put up with it. We just moved the furniture around and pushed the beds together to make a bit more space. Once we got that sorted we went to the travel agent Mum had been conversing with to book our Northern lights tour and a day tour of the area, both of which we're doing tomorrow. Took a photo of Akureyrakirkja (Akureyri Cathederal) which is a huge church with excellent stained glass windows. We had tea at Strikid bar and restaurant which is on the 4th floor of a building and overlooks the harbour. Beautiful views and it would be a great place to meet with friends in the summer time as they have outdoor dining as well. Neither of us was very hungry so we just shared a few entree dishes.

Akureyri is Icelands largest settlement after Reykjavik with a population of over 17,000. Two of Icelands largest fisheries operate here. Akureyri is one of the best places in Iceland for cross country and downhill skiing and it's ski slopes are in many ways unique as their elevation ranges from 500 m to 1000 m above sea level and there is therfore plenty of snow during winter. Akureyri has the northernmost, 18 hole golf course in the world. An annual golf tournament is held (the Arctic Open) that is unique. The tournament is played in the midnight sun of the summer solstice!

Early to bed tonight as we have to be up at 6am for our first tour.