Akureyri, Iceland

Early this morning on the way to Akureyri, we sailed above the Arctic Circle.  We even have a certificate to prove it.

Akureyri is a very cloudy town, averaging only 1,029 sunshine hours annually, with barely any sunshine between November and February (which is also due to the town's location less than 100  km from the Arctic Circle.  [wikipedia]   During our stay the sun set around midnight and rose again about 3 am (thank goodness for blackout curtains!).

Akureyri has been heated geothermally since the late 1970s.  The water temperature is generally 65 to 75 °C (149 to 167 °F).  There is a large outdoor swimming complex in town and rather than heat the water in the winter, it has to be cooled all year round to be usable. 

Today's excursion was to Godafoss Falls, aka, "Waterfall of the Gods".  Very impressive!  The water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls from a height of 40 feet/12 metres over a width of 98 feet/30 metres.

Despite the hardships of winter and the economic uncertainty after the financial meltdown of 2008, the city of Akureyri was determined not to lose spirit, and adopted a unique strategy for beautifying the city and boosting citizens’ morale: installing tiny, glowing hearts inside of all the traffic lights.  [Atlas Obscura]

And I leave you with just a glimpse of some more of the stunning scenery in this area.