Cowbright: Akureyri, Iceland - 31 minutes of night

I mentioned in my last post that the sun stayed up almost the entire night. Tonight the sun will set at 12:58 a.m. (tomorrow morning, actually) and will rise again shortly after at 1:29 a.m. Because the sun dips only slightly below the horizon during this time of year, it never gets truly dark. So that means we will experience just 31 minutes of twilight before the sun is back up. It feels really weird going to bed at 11 p.m. with the sun still shining brightly!

Here was the view from our ship when we woke this morning.

We're in the Land of the Midnight Sun during what is called the summer solstice. The phenomenon occurs due to Iceland's location, just below the Arctic Circle. In contrast, the winter months are just the opposite, with December and January only experiencing 4-5 hours of daylight each day. Given that I have a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder, I would have to move away during the winter months!

Here’s more info on the Midnight Sun. https://guidetoiceland.is/nature-info/midnight-sun-in-iceland

Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland in one of the longest fjords in the country. Surrounded by mountains, it is only 37 miles south of the Arctic Circle. However, it has mild summer temperatures up to 77 degrees F and winter temperatures averaging around 32 F. It is surprisingly green with lush vegetation. It was settled in the 9th century but did not receive a municipal charter until 1786. It was the site of Allied units during WWII.

We’re in port all day so there was no big rush to get off the ship this morning. We decided to do a self-guided (with a map, of course) walking tour after breakfast. The town is very hilly and the walk was actually quite a climb. Of course I took lots of photos both ways.

The church, Akureyrarkirkja (a mouthful!) is a regional symbol. Nicknamed the "ice cathedral" it dominates the cityscape from its hilltop.

Hof Cultural and Conference Center

We climbed the hill to the botanical garden and meandered around the gardens. After an hour or so, we walked back down to the town center and had lunch before heading back to the ship. Ronnie took a short nap and then went to run while I went to the Bistro and enjoyed an iced mocha latte while playing with my photos. As usual, I took way too many!