Homeward bound.

The weather in Reykjavik was cloudy in the evenings, and also on our last day, so our Aurora viewing trip was off the agenda........but we still had our visit to the Blue Lagoon to look forward to.

The Blue Lagoon is a famous thermal spa area not far out of Reykjavik where it can be snowing outside (in our case sleeting) and you are warm as toast in the blue, silica laden waters of the lagoon.
It is located in an old lava field and the rocks piled up like chocolate crackles to form the structure of the lagoon.

It's quite eerie with thick steam and haze constantly rising up off the blue water.

All around, outside the lagoon, the lava fields are covered in this very delicate moss that, given the climate, takes many years to grow. The Icelanders are very careful of their environment and have built walking paths through the lava fields to protect what is a delicate ecosystem.... and quite a strange sight.

I'm glad Wendy Allan took this wth her phone out of the car window as we arrived at the centre. Clearly I was daydreaming or something.

And the "swim up" bar is fairly popular!

It was a relaxing couple of hours and an experience we would otherwise not have had but it was also the end of our time in Iceland and we were all a bit morose as we headed back to our hotel in Reykjavik to pack for our flight out the following day.

To Oslo.

As per usual, a travelling day is just that.....travelling.
Packing, checking the room, checking out, getting to the airport, checking in, security check (and pat down!) board plane, de-ice plane, fly in cramped conditions, arrive, de-plane, collect luggage from the carousel (relief when you see it coming up the chute) taxi to hotel, check-in, dinner, bed.....a travel day.

But we were in Oslo, Norway..... somewhere we had never been and it was covered in a blanket of snow! We arrived late and couldn't see much, especially through the panoramic windows in the revolving restaurant on top of the hotel.....which just allowed us to see high fog on the 34th floor! Luckily the food was fantastic....something about Michelin?

Our "lay" day in Oslo consisted of a spin around the old part of the city, the shopping strip, the Royal Palace, the National Library, markets and the harbour front. Even in the fog, snow and cold it is clear that it is  quite a beautiful, vibrant and a "well to do" city with many up-market shops and outlets.....and we did find a significant Christmas market with stalls and an ice skating rink.  There seemed to  hundreds of preschool age children in small groups on an excursions learning  to skate. It was also busy with many  locals drinking Gluhwein and eating all sorts Northern Hemisphere delicacies. The markets and the city were quite busy as there were only a few days until Christmas and the weather didn't seem to bother them at all. Although one local did apologise for what it had "turned on" for us....... but that is travel in winter.

Tiny Tots running around the rink getting the feel for the ice.

The palace gardens were very wintry and even in the old parts of the city near the National Library and the National Theatre there were parks and paths and little corners of the streetscape that made it look very European Christmassy......and attractive..... in a wintry sort of way.

On the way to the Palace

It seemed to be trying to snow...... but mostly it was fog and drizzle. It wasn't very cold exactly   about zero - two degrees but we did need to rug up when outside walking around. This creates its own issues when stopping for coffee and cake ......as dressing and undressing and then dressing again a number of times during the day is quite a chore!

We just happened upon this small park near the National Theatre .....and a local apologised for the weather as he walked through my first shot!

 The Palace was grand...as palaces generally are but would have looked much grander I'm sure if we could have seen its scale and the beautiful gardens.

Statue of King Karl Johan in the grand driveway to the palace. Wendy Allan  tried to get us in but the guard on duty, in full military regalia, would have none of it.

The harbour was eerie with the thick blanket of fog and ice and snow all over the docks ......which added to the "ambience" of our Oslo experience.

It was slippery and slushy, but we made our way around a good part of Oslo before we were pooped and had to stop.........just as we found  another Christmas market....which sold ale....which we drank....while the girls inspected the merchandise. Sounds fair!

A quirky Christmas market housed in a traditional Norwegian type tent with a local theme, and a fire pit...and lots of reindeer products.

Well the Winter Wonderland Tour has been marvellous, adventurous (well for us) and a whole lot of fun, but eventually all good things come to an end .....and so has this trip.

We enjoyed ourselves immensely, learned much, experienced more and wore ourselves out.....which is the way it should be when you travel to foreign places and take yourself out of your comfort zone.
We crammed a whole lot of experiences (mostly new ones and some very fancy ones for Wendy and me) into the 32 days we were away .....and this last picture says it all.

Goodbye Winter Wonderland Tour......it's been a blast!