A Leisurely Day in Reykjavik.

The lovely pipe organ

Model of Iceland on display at City Hall

In Memory of the Unknown Office Worker

Thanks to the internet

It was cold, raining and windy.  It was grey, chilly and wet.  But we still managed a few sites before moving to the comfort of the Crystal Cruise ship. A Lutheran church called Hallgrimskirkja was the city’s most notable stand out.  Looks like a rocket ship, it was built between 1945 and 1986. For some reason we visited the City Hall and took a picture of the model of Iceland just to highlight some of the geography and extent of the glacier caps, or what’s left of them.  A trip to the National Museum was OK, sort of interesting and not to unwieldy. 

Reykjavik is a quaint town, easy to walk, filled with history and colorful storefronts, a horde of restaurants and shops, aloof locals and an unbelievable number of American tourists. Fishing is Iceland’s largest industry followed closely by tourism.  We didn’t taste any fish.  It was cold and we found a soup shop, called the Black Café (translated), which served only one veggie and one meat based soup each day.  The veggie soup was always the tastier.  The other reason for not sampling the many selection of fish was that EVERYTHING in Reykjavik is super expensive. We also reasoned that the gluttony could wait a day or two before being indulged on the Crystal cruise that we were about to be spoiled on.

I think the most remarkable aspect of Iceland is how alive the country is with its volcanoes, retreating glaciers, geysers, the endless selection of beautiful waterfalls, the unpredictable weather and day night yearly cycles….cold to colder  to warm, black clouds, grey skies, and peek-a-boo moments of sunshine.  It isn’t just a refueling stop over from Europe that I remembered when flying Icelandic Airlines in the 60’s.  With only 300,000 plus people, this is a proud country filled with natural beauty, too many restaurants and cultural events for the population to really enjoy, clean and safe but unpredictable.  The E15 volcano that blanketed all of Europe and paralyzed the airspace is a testament to the power of this tiny country in the middle of nowhere.  

Sorry about the video below.  Will try to fix it when I come back from the Hallgrimskirkja.  We are off for a concert at the church which hopefully will include the organ.