Day 3, Videy Island
On our last full day in Iceland, we went to Videy Island, the island so highly recommended by locals for tourists to visit. For days, we couldn't locate the dock from where to take the ferry to get there. We even asked locals but no one could really tell. My partner eventually got the info from Google. We initially thought we could take the ferry right by the Harpa Theater downtown. But it wasn't the case. We did have to go to the bus stop right across the Sun Voyager monument and from there take the bus headed to where the cruise ships all docked. From there we took the small boat to Videy. The bus we boarded was nearly empty. There were only two other locals with us on the bus that morning and they were going to work.
Our 2 Day museum pass paid for the trip. We no longer had to pay for the boat ride which cost 2,400 ISK (USD $20) per person. The total time it took for the tiny boat to cross the waters and get us to the lovely island: 5 minutes. Yup, it was that short!
Since it was nearly 11 am when we got to Videy Island, we decided to eat the lunch we packed and took with us for the trip. We ate at the small hotel and inn in the island close to the ferry dock. We figured it was best to not be hungry while we hiked and explored the island.
At Videy Island!
The building to the left is the Videyjarkirkja Church while the building to the right is the Videy House, now a residence and with a small restaurant inside. It is the island's oldest stone building and former home of Skul Magnusson, considered the father of Reykjavik.
Inside the lone church on the island a few steps away from the ferry dock. It was built between 1767 and 1774 and designed by Danish architect Georg David Anthon.
A view of the church pulpit where the priest or the pastor preached. The pulpit is located right above the altar which made it the highest point of the church.
A fuller view of the pews inside the church
A quiet corner inside the church
A view of the former home of Skul Magnusson
Info about the historic residence
This residence's fireplace
This was the eating area inside the residence
Another view of the restaurant inside the residence
A quaint detail inside the residence which reeked of history
We enjoyed hiking in this island a lot. The views of the mountains in the neighboring islands were amazing!
There were hundreds of these birds in the island. In fact, many made the loudest noises as we walked along the designated path for visitors. We figured many got scared as we must have walked very close to their nests full of eggs and chicks.
I did some research prior to visiting here and it was these rock formations I really wanted to see in the island. There were not really big nor extensive but they were quite beautiful to look at. It was right by one quiet beach in the island.
This was the Peace Monument in the island built by Yoko Ono for her late husband, John Lennon. I understand it is lit at night.
The endless green of the island was fascinating!
The flora on the island
Beautiful flowers everywhere!
We had the entire island to ourselves when we arrived and visited. We walked around here a lot watching the birds fly over us and admiring the local plants and flowers.
Here's a view of Videy Island as we headed back to the city of Reykjavik.
This was the small boat we traveled on to get to the island and back.