Reykjavik - Day 1 in Iceland

By Brian

And the journey begins. We departed LAX at 8:25 AM on Saturday, June 13th. Five or so hours later we landed in Boston's Logan Airport for a 4 hour layover before a four and half our flight to Iceland. We decided to stay up the entire time, which we would later regret.

Upon arrival in Keflavik International Airport we met someone from the tour company, Icelandic Farm Holidays, which we will be using after our time in Reykjavik. She took us to our rented apartment in Reykjavik, which is about 45 minutes from the airport. The weather was typical Iceland, permanent intermittent rain. After a few panicked moments trying to reach the apartment owners we discovered that our unit was occupied until 11:00 AM and we would not be able to check in until 12:00 PM, some four hours later. This is when the regret kicked in for not sleeping on the plane.

We set off on foot to explore downtown Reykjavik at 8:00 AM on Sunday morning tired from flying with no sleep and way before anyone was awake. Luckily Reykjavik is a beautiful city. We walked along the streets in the main shopping district looking for a cafe to get some coffee and food. Broken glass on many sidewalks was evidence of much partying the night before. We managed to find a little bakery opening up were we had cups of coffee and some small Euro breakfast nibbles (i.e. small roll with cheese, butter, and ham).

Having only killed an hour or so we kept exploring the city. We quickly found ourselves at the Hallgrímskirkja Church. The church is the most prominent building on the Reykjavik skyline and one of the best places to take photographs of Reykjavik. Unfortunately the building is covered in scaffolding all the way from base to top. One can still take the elevator to the top and see out small pot holes with scaffolding obstructing some of the view and limiting photography options.

IMG_6352 (Small)

IMG_6356 (Small)

Views from the Hallgrímskirkja Church. The highest building on the Reykjavik skyline.

IMG_6366 (Small)

Statue of Leif Ericsson in front of Hallgrímskirkja Church

Hallgrímskirkja is famous for its pipe organ. It is one massive structure. We were lucky to be there when the organ conductor was warming up for the 11:00 AM service. You could feel the bass notes in your gut it was so powerful. Quite a treat.

IMG_6362 (Small)

IMG_6359 (Small)

Around 12:00 PM we headed back to the apartment to get a much needed four hour nap. Feeling fresh after some sleep, a shower, and a change of clothes we headed out for some more exploring and dinner. This being Iceland and the 65th latitude we had hours of day light left at 4:00 PM (almost eight hours of daylight left to be exact).

The Reykjavik City Hall is an interesting modern structure on the banks of the Tjörnin.

IMG_6386 (Small)

The Tjörnin is a pond in central Reykjavik and was quite beautiful with plenty of wildlife and nice homes flanking the shores.

IMG_6371 (Small)

IMG_6384 (Small)

The Icelandic Parliament (AlÞing, pronounced Althing) buildings are an interesting mix of historic and modern. The historic building was built in the 1880's and the modern or is well...modern. I personally like the building quite a lot. It is primarily glass with beautiful wooden shades running from top to bottom.

IMG_6388 (Small)

IMG_6389 (Small)

As we mentioned earlier, Reykjavik really is a beautiful city. There are many colorful buildings and rooftops in red, blue, yellow, etc. Most of the windows are covered with lace curtains. They are almost doll house like in design. Most houses in the photos below are clad in corrugated metal. The bright colors and decorative window and edge treatments provide some needed style to an otherwise drab utilitarian building material.

IMG_6336 (Small)

IMG_6392 (Small)

IMG_6391 (Small)

Iceland has a strong maritime history so we ventured down to the docks.

IMG_6398 (Small)

IMG_6395 (Small)

So far Iceland has been wonderful. Great people, striking scenery, and excellent food. We ate dinner at the Fish Market. We both started out with the Lobster Soup featuring Langoustine, I had the Atlantic Salted Cod and Noosha had the Grilled Char from Klaustri (see menu here). The restaurant specializes in fresh seafood prepared with a fusion of traditional Icelandic and Asian-influenced cuisine. Think high end West LA with ridiculously fresh sea food.

Comments

[Zarani Barrow]

Damn! I love the pix.  I need that camera.  I'll have to start working my way around accounting now.