July 13, 2023: Reykjavik, Iceland

July 13, 2023 cjbishop@yahoo.com

We arrived here in the capital(population of 128,793) of Iceland a day early to allow for body adjustment and to prevent any problems that might have been caused by our flight over. Both Steve and I have been to Iceland before. I was here in 2017 with Scott when we spent two weeks driving the ring road the circumnavigates the island. Steve and his family have been here at least once sightseeing. Our Icelandic flight from Seattle was completely full and we left only 5 minutes late, which we easily made up once we were airborn. Since Icelandic Air uses older Boeing 767 planes from Seattle their “business class seats” are really simply like those in first class in most airplanes, i.e. they are not worth the 100 % premium over the cost of an economy ticket, so Steve and I simply sat in the economy section of the plane.

Steve has access to the American Express lounge before our departure for a quick drink and a bit to eat.

I purchased a snack box. No free meal on Icelandic air.

Smoke from the latest volcano eruption near the airport. No one was overly concerned.

Besides the flight was only a bit over 7 hours. We both managed to grab a few hours of sleep during the flight and landed about 9:20AM, Iceland time. By 10:30 we were in a cab headed to downtown Reykjavík where we will spend the night.

The Reykjavík airport-new and modern, but with some confusing directional signs inside.

Someone with a sense of humor built these stone statues along the highway.

A typical home in Iceland. Note absence of trees.

Our charter flight to Greenland is tomorrow. Today we will do a bit of sightseeing in Reykjavik and have a nice dinner at Steve’s favorite seafood restaurant that he discovered on his last trip here. If you go back in time on my blog you can find the details of our 2017 trip. A bit of a refresher in the meantime. Iceland is an independent commonwealth of Norway. It has a lot of volcanoes, somewhere between 150-200, of which about 30 are still considered active. Thirteen have erupted since 874 with the last major eruption in 2021, a lesser one in 2022 and now a new one suddenly appeared only a few days ago in a new location not too far from the airport. We were able to see the smoke from it as we landed. Greenland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe, with only 387,000 people. History showed it was first populated by a Norwegian chieftain in 874 AD. Iceland is the 2nd largest island in Europe (Great Britain is #1).

Steve found a local two hour walking tour of Reykjavík starting at 1 PM which we decided would be good to take as it would help keep us awake during the day. Our room was not ready so we grabbed a quick lunch in a nearby restaurant before joining the walking tour.

Fisherman’s Breakfast- fish, onions and potatoes cooked together.

Of course I tried one. The price was right.

The weather was pleasant but cool (51 degrees) and quite windy so jackets were necessary for our walk around Reykjavík. Once again I would urge people who are visiting a new city to consider taking a guided tour. You learn so much more about the history, the culture and important aspects about what you are seeing than you would by simply walking around on your own. We enjoyed our two plus hour tour with three other Americans who also signed up for the tour.

Our tour leader, Einar, explaining what we were seeing.

The dark building is the oldest in the city and dates back to the 18th century.

One of many well done murals on buildings in the city.

There are several pedestrian only streets here.

Icelanders believe in elves who supposedly live behind rocks like this one.

One of many colorful flower beds in the city.

City pond popular with waterfowl and people.

A topological map of Iceland made with layered paper. It took 4 men 4 years to complete it.

Another funky sculpture making fun of the politicians.

Inside the Lutheran church where parliamentarians attend. The church and state are not separate in Iceland..

A most unusual museum. We did not go in.

The building on the right is their concert hall.

Sculpture honoring women who used to carry water to homes.

Bjork is a famous Icelandic singer who played in a punk band. This is a museum dedicated to the punk genre.

Loved the name of this funky local restaurant, partly owned by an American.

Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran church in Reykjavík.

The church was designed by the famous Iceland architect Guðjón Samúelsson

Hallgrimskirkja Church is 244 ft high, the largest church in Iceland. It was started in 1945 and completed in 1986.

Leif Erikson was not Icelandic but they claim him as one of their own.

The organ is the most visual element in the church.

We returned to our hotel about 3:30, in time to get our room and also allow Steve to make several business calls before we ventured forth to dinner and a good night’s sleep. Dinner was at a local seafood restaurant Steve had found on his last trip here. Another travel tip: I had tried to make reservations on their website before we left Seattle but was told none was available. I decided to reach out to our hotel concierge (long before we arrived ) and asked them if they could get us a reservation- and suddenly we had a reservation on the desired day and time! Something to consider the next time you travel.

World famous hot dog stand – open all night long.

The famous hotdog stand in Reykjavik. People stand in line to buy one!

Lamb & pork dog with fried onions, raw onions, mustard and a sauce made from apples. Delicious! We shared one as a pre-dinner snack.

Dinner at Messinn was magnificent! It is a small place and was packed when we arrived at 7:30 PM, but there was our table waiting for us. The menu features a series of fish dishes served with vegetables and different spices in hot skillets. Both our choices were great. Two hours later we returned to our room and promptly went to bed, after a very satisfying day.