Travel/Viking Passage cruise, Part II: Iceland to Boston – Champaign/Urbana News

By DON KOJICH

Last week, I covered the first part of an 18-day Holland America Viking Passage cruise that my wife and I took recently. The trip began in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and made stops in Bergen, Norway, and Lerwick, Shetlands Islands, Scotland. We visited 10 ports and six countries and traveled more than 4,600 nautical miles.

After leaving the Shetland Islands, we headed toward the land of fire and ice: Iceland. Our first port was Akureyri, a city in northern Iceland that is 37 miles south of the Arctic Circle. As a matter of fact, at 12:40 one morning, we crossed the Arctic Circle and received a certificate signed by the captain verifying our travels.

We sailed almost 40 miles up the Eyjafjörur Fjord, the longest fjord in Iceland, to get to Akureyri, a city of 18,000. The fjord is a microclimate that is home to many different types of birds and sea life.

Akureyri is home to one of the northernmost botanical gardens in the world. There are more than 6,600 foreign plants and 400 native plants in the garden cared for by volunteers. The Church of Akureyri is one of the most recognizable landmarks as it sits on a hill towering over the town. You must walk up more than 100 steps to the Lutheran Church that contains a 3,200-pipe organ.

We kept traveling across the northern part of Iceland toward the rugged Westfjord region and the town of Ísafjörur, a town of 2,800. Our guide said the area was musically inclined, with eight choirs and two music schools.

The Westfjord area is breathtaking. I took an excursion to a couple of fjords and small towns. We stopped in Pingeyri to visit the Skrúur Botanical Garden that was founded in 1909. I was amazed at the incredible collection of plants able to thrive in Iceland. There are several quirky museums, including the Nonsense Museum, the International Doll Museum and an exhibition dedicated to dried fish.

Reykjavik, the world’s northernmost capital, was the next stop on our cruise. We had almost 36 hours in Reykjavik, so we could explore the surrounding area and then also the city. Iceland is known as the land of fire and ice because of geothermal hot springs, volcanoes and glaciers.

We saw natural Icelandic wonders on the Golden Circle Tour that covered almost 200 miles from Reykjavik to the southern uplands of Iceland, including the Geysir geothermal area, the Gullfoss Waterfall and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of ingvellir National Park. Our favorite was Gullfoss, which means Golden Waterfall in Icelandic. The spectacular views were exhilarating while we watched the water plummet into a rugged canyon.

Reykjavik is a modern city with a vibrant old town area. Cafes, restaurants and local artisan shops dot the old town. Many of the building facades had fun murals and vibrant color combinations. The crown jewel of the waterfront is a modern-looking music hall, the Harpa. It houses many shows and is becoming an iconic landmark.

Our next stop was Greenland. Two ice pilots joined us in Reykjavik and helped us navigate the ice fields and waters from Iceland to Canada. Fog, wind and ice are the biggest challenges in the North Atlantic Ocean around Greenland. We actually couldn’t cruise the Prince Christian Sound because the ice was 5 meters thick in both entrances.

One day, we cruised Greenland’s Skove Fjord. The fjord, about 50 miles in length, had many ice fields. It was fascinating to watch the majestic icebergs that had broken off the glaciers in the fjords. In 985 A.D., Erik the Red founded the first European settlement on Greenland along the Skove Fjord.

We visited two ports in southern Greenland: Qaqortoq and Narsaq. Both are fishing villages with a feel like “Northern Exposure,” the 1990s TV show about a quirky, remote town in Alaska. Both villages were quaint and welcoming to cruise ship passengers that increase the local population significantly.

After Greenland, we sailed to St. John’s, Newfoundland, the eastern-most city in North America. The Canadian Maritimes are such a joy to visit and should be a priority for travelers — especially Americans. There is a lot of history there, along with some of the friendliest people you will find anywhere. Sailing through “The Narrows” into the harbor is a must-see because the narrowest point is 61 meters wide.

Visiting Cabot Tower on Signal Hill, you can experience a spectacular view of the harbor and the Atlantic. In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi made history at Signal Hill by receiving the first-ever transatlantic wireless signal. It is also a place where you can experience the Signal Hill Tattoo, a re-enactment of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment that was formed in 1795.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, was our final port before disembarking in Boston. It was one of our favorite ports. The vibrant waterfront area was dominated by an abundance of restaurants, cafes and brewpubs.

We were lucky the day we visited Halifax, because it was hosting the Tall Ships Regatta to mark the 150th anniversary celebration for Canada. There were more than 30 ships in the harbor, including the U.S. Coast Guard Eagle. For Titanic history buffs, Halifax is also the final resting place for 150 victims of that sea tragedy. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax is home to a permanent display of the largest collection of wooden Titanic artifacts in the world.

Don Kojich is retired after working for 30 years in higher education communication and marketing, including spending 20 years at the UI and the UI Foundation.