Our plane landed around 7:30 in the morning, after picking up our bags and taking the commuter bus to our hotel, we were ready to tackle the capital of Iceland by 9:00. And, coincidentally, that is when it was light enough to see! Reykjavik is closer to the Arctic circle than Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm. Indeed as we walked around the city all day, the sun never ascended further then say 10-15 degrees from the horizon. About 8-9 hours of daylight in February.Temperature in the high 20’s, I could have dressed warmer.
Visually the highlight of Reykjavik is Hallgrímskirkja, a Lutheran Church. It was completed in 1986 after 38 years of construction. The church was designed it to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape. Our first impressions? A Catholic cathedral recently completed. We have seen many of the great European cathedrals built in the Middle Ages. Not an adequate comparison!
Another stop was Bæjarins beztu pylsur, known alternately as “best hot dog in the world”, or “the Icelandic national food”, we discovered that we have shared these hotdogs with Bill Clinton and Metallica, the heavy metal band! Our conclusion? I finished mine, Tom and Gloria tossed their shared dog out. Tough comparison to a good Costco hotdog.
Another impressive structure is the huge Harpa Music Hall, completed in 2011. I really enjoyed walking around on the inside, it was warm!
One of the several lakes in town, all frozen. Great for the ducks and geese in the shallows and for humans to skate and stroll on.
On our way back to our hotel, we took the elevator up the spire of the Lutheran church for a panoramic view of Reykjavik. Beautiful city, and clear sky! We hope that continues tomorrow when we fly north to Akureyri to view the Northern Lights.
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