Reykjavik

I am travelling again, this time starting in Iceland.  It is my second visit to this beautiful country and I will be taking a similar journey around the island. However, when I was here last it was early Autumn and the countryside was lush and green. It is now late Spring and the trees are only just beginning to bud so I’m expecting quite a different experience. 

My journey begins with a two day stay in Reykjavik.  The friend I am travelling with will arrive almost 40 hours later than she had planned, because of airline issues. My flights, on the other hand, ran to schedule and despite a very tight one-hour transfer in Copenhagen, my luggage also arrived. I took the Flybus to the city and was dropped a short walk away from my accommodation.  It has been a long but trouble-free trip.

While I wait for my friend to arrive I recover from jet lag and explore this beautiful city.  Our apartment is in a busy part of town, and there are many tourists.  The streets are full of restaurants, cafes, galleries, design stores and shops selling cold-weather gear and souvenirs.  There is so much to take in. 

Many of the buildings in this area are made of corrugated iron and brightly painted.  So, although the sky is grey and the weather damp, the city centre looks quite colourful. Many of the shops have added a touch of Spring with tubs of daffodils, hydrangeas and hyacinths at their door.

An enormous Lutheran church stands at the end of nearby ‘rainbow’ street and is the subject of many photos. The tower is 74 metres high making it one of the tallest buildings in Iceland. Up close it is an impressive structure with an imposing statue of Leifur Eiríksson at the front. Leifur is a hero of Viking age Iceland and is said to be the first European to arrive in America, preceding the Christopher Columbus’ voyage by roughly 500 years.

After a good sleep and some breakfast at a nearby café, this morning I went in search of a supermarket to buy food for our trip. I later found a food hall in an old bus station and enjoyed a very delicious lamb steak sandwich for lunch. The food here is good but expensive, compared with what we pay at home.  A flat white coffee is between $8 and $9. Many of the restaurants have their menus on display in the window and I enjoy looking at what is on offer. As expected, there are many fish dishes, especially with salmon, cod and langoustine, which is a small lobster.  Langoustine soup is very popular.  Lamb is on most menus and lamb soup appears to be a local favourite.  Reindeer is also on many menus. There are many fish and chip shops, mostly serving cod, and a surprising number of ice cream shops.

This evening I walked to the port area and the sun appeared for the first time since I arrived.  There were many large fishing boats, a few yachts and a number of fish restaurants on the waterfront.

I followed the water back around to the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre. Built in 2011, it is a stunning building, especially with the evening sun shining on its windows. I took the lift to the top floor to get a better view of them.

As I walked back to my apartment, I took a detour through some residential streets towards the nearby lake.  The houses in this area are large, colourful and mostly built with corrugated iron and wood. Based on their size and promixity to the lake, it appears to be a very affluent neighbourhood.

Early tomorrow we pick up our rental car and drive to Flokalundur, located on the large peninsula at the north-west corner of Iceland. There is still some snow in that area so we’re unsure how far onto the peninsula we will be able to drive. All will be revealed in my next post.