Jewel of the Seas (foreground) and Norwegian Star in Akureyri, Iceland
On Monday I showed you Akureyri, Iceland as seen from the deck of our cruise ship, Jewel of the Seas. Now it’s time to head out on foot, beginning with our departure from the Akureyri Harbor Cruise Terminal:
Leaving Jewel on foot for Akureyri
As you head into downtown Akureyri you’ll pass an outdoor sculpture garden on Hafnarstræti:
These sculptures are in a small, park-like area that includes a playground:
And, still here from our last visit, you’ll find a vendor selling Iceland’s famed but overrated reindeer hotdogs. Honestly, Ursula and I cannot really detect much of a difference in flavor or texture from the traditional hotdog. But Icelanders and most visitors rave about them so you should probably give one a try.
Reindeer Hotdog Vendor
Continuing south on Hafnarstræti you’ll pass Akureyri’s main shopping district, which sports some fun architecture and bright colors:
Hafnarstræti at Kaupvangsstræti
Hafnarstræti at Kaupvangsstræti
From here we started climbing some stairs to get to a church, which I’ll show you next Monday. But, from these stairs, which are called the Kirkjutröppurnar (Church Steps) turn back for this view of the Hafnarstræti shopping district and beyond:
You’ll recall that this series began with a transatlantic crossing aboard Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas, followed by a back-to-back aboard the same ship to some uncommon destinations in Spain and France. After that it was a trip to Germany, followed by a brief stay in Utrecht, Netherlands. Now we continue on with the ship we boarded after our stay in Utrecht. Today begins with the first of three back-to-back voyages aboard Royal Caribbean‘s Radiance Class ship Jewel of the Seas, a positively lovely ship that is much nicer than Vision. I’m going to keep secret for now the itinerary of the next two Jewel cruises we took in June 2022, but today I’ll reveal that this cruise included two stops in Iceland, one in Northern Ireland, and two more in Ireland before returning to Amsterdam. As you may have guessed from today’s lead photo, that first stop in Iceland was in Akureyri:
Akureyri and surrounding areas
Now, I’ve shown you Akureyri before from a previous trip (see: Transatlantic — Iceland; Walking Akureyri). So, if you want to see how much it’s changed over the past few years, now is your chance. Spoiler alert: Not much.
Akureyri, Iceland as seen from the Jewel of the Seas
Ursula and I generally like to head to one of the upper decks for a quick look whenever the ship hits a new destination. So, today I’m going to just post a photo gallery/slide show of Akureyri and surrounding countryside as seen from the Jewel. Starting Wednesday I’ll take you on a foot tour of the town.
We had one full day left on our visit aboard Vision of the Seas, and we were once again in Valencia, Spain. We’d stopped off here nine days earlier, during our transatlantic voyage. This stop was in conjunction with our follow-on Mediterranean cruise. And as we’d been here before (follow this link for the beginning of that series: Transatlantic 2022 — Valencia; Our Next Port of Call), Ursula and I opted this time to just set out on foot, look briefly around, and enjoy the dish for which Valencia is famous, Valencia paella. But, first, let’s look around:
Now it’s time for some Valencian paella. As we wandered the streets near the port, we bypassed the obvious tourist choices along Calle del Dr. Josep Juan Dómine. Instead, we turned north onto a smallish street. Here we discovered a charming little establishment with two outdoor tables. After searching Google Maps, I’m about 95% sure that the place where we lunched was Ca Rakel on Calle del Dr. Llurch. As neither Ursula nor I were particularly hungry (we were, after all, on a cruise ship), we decided to split an order.
As we sat outside awaiting our paella, a lovely couple from I believe Slovenia took the next table. I was a bit concerned when I saw the wife had placed her purse in such a manner that it could be easily snatched (Europe, especially southern Europe stretching from Greece through Spain, is notorious for pick pockets and purse snatchers. I advised her that perhaps she might want to better secure her purse, which she did. This led us all to striking up a conversation that lasted through our meals and a little beyond even though my Slovene leaves a lot to be desired. I hadn’t spoken Slovene since George Santos and I were sent to Station L (Ljubljana) for some late Cold Warwetwork back in the early ’90s.
Just kidding, of course. I’ve never been to Slovenia, and I’ve never done wet work for The Company. Thus, poor George went to Slovenia by himself. That was back when he was a contractor for the 00 Section of MI6 using as cover his Goldman Sachs credentials as an international financial expert. Don’t believe me? I’m quite sure that’s on his résumé. Here’s George on his return from his much-decorated mission to Ljubljana:
George Santos with a few of his post-mission awards
Anyway, I don’t speak Slovene. Not even a little. Rather, it was our charming neighbors who expertly switched over to English. We discussed post-Cold War conditions in the Slavic nations, international affairs, children, careers, places we’ve traveled, and a whole lot more. The time just flew by. But I’m sure your more interested in lunch, so here it is:
Valencia Paella with crusty bread Valencia Paella with crusty bread
Decisions — Murder in Paradise
The Globe — Murder in Luxury
R. Doug Wicker — Author 