From Reykjadalur to Reykjavik
We rose a little sad, as expected, realizing that it was our last full day in Iceland. Luckily, to cheer us up, the sun was blazing that morning and it wouldn't leave us all day.
Our hotel (Edda) was about 20 meters from the Skogar Museum, and we decided to pay it a visit. We had never really had the opportunity until now during our various trips. It was a collection of artefacts depicting life in Iceland from the settlement period to the modern era. No less than 12,000 historic objects were stored there.
Several buildings actually made up the museum: the ecomuseum, the Museum of Transport and Communications, and finally the open-air museum with its small houses with the typical Icelandic peat roof. We really had a great time visiting this museum; we stayed there for just over an hour, and the different buildings were all very interesting for a very fair price (4000 ISK for 4, 2 adults, and 2 children).
After a final stop 2 steps from the museum to admire Skogafoss with this big blue sky, we decided to take the road in the direction of Hveragerði. We were planning to do the famous Reykadalur hike, which was one of the most beautiful hikes in the country. When we arrived in Hveragerði, we had to go to the very end of the city and even leave the city by going past the soccer field (big white ball on the left) and then park a few hundred meters away.
So it was pretty well-marked, and given the number of vehicles parked, we said to ourselves that we were not too wrong about the location. From there, a path started in the steaming valley of Reykadalur for 3 km (one way), and it took 2.5 hours to hike. The path climbed quite a bit at the beginning but was quite easy even with children, and the circuit was very well signposted.
Going back down after 45 minutes, we arrived near the Reykjadals, which we could cross on foot (it was hot, so it was pretty nice!), and we had to go up a while longer before finding ourselves near the most suitable place for swimming (neither too hot nor too cold). The landscape was really magnificent throughout the walk, and the smoking river in the middle of this green valley really gave an unreal side to the place. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful hikes in Iceland outside the Landmannalaugar and Kerlingarfjoll regions.
We stayed in the water for nearly an hour before heading back home. Arriving in the center of Hveragerði, we decided to eat at Kjöt og kúnst, which heated food outside on geothermally heated plates, quite original and very good!
At 2:30 PM, we left the city in the direction of the capital, and after the traditional car wash at OB, we arrived in the middle of the afternoon at the Sunna guesthouse near the Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral in the center of Reykjavik. The sky was as blue as ever, and we spent the rest of the afternoon strolling the busy streets of Reykjavík, from Tjornin to the port to Laugavegur and Harpa.
At the beginning of the evening, as we passed by the port and its colorful houses, we wanted to dine at the Seabaron, which had a rather excellent reputation. Unfortunately, they were absolutely full up... Too bad, leave it for the next time. We then headed back to Hallgrimskirkja and had a Scandinavian plate at Café Loki, sitting on the terrace with the typical Arctic light illuminating the cathedral.
It would be hard to wake up tomorrow morning; our flight from Keflavik to Geneva left at 7:30AM, and we had to be at Blue Car Rental at 5AM to return the car and do the usual checks. So the alarm would ring at 3:15AM... None of us were looking forward to that.
