Our Last day in Reykjavik

Last Day in Reykjavik 

The wind was blowing just like in Wyoming and nothing opens till 1000 so we had a leisurely morning in our room before striking out. 

A short walk from our hotel is the Domskirkja, The Catholic Church, which was also designed by Guðjón Samuelsson who also designed the Hallgrímskirkja. In many ways he is the Christopher Wren of Reykjavik. 

We stopped inside the chapel and said a prayer for safe travel and  to light a candle. It is a rather simple chapel and has a reverence all it’s own simplicity. Outside of the chapel we found another geocache.  

A general theme of the architecture of many buildings in Reykjavik is the basaltic columns.  As Iceland is known for it’s volcanic activity one can find many basaltic rock formations. Basalt is formed from cooling magma and forms in a hexagonal shape. Thus many of the buildings from the Harpa to the Churches, to the museums has a basaltic column somewhere in their design. 

From the church we walked through the old town area of Reykjavik admiring the old houses. The residential structure started as stone and beam, earth covered house, which were next replaced with timber and wood siding. The wood sided houses only had a lifespan of about 30-40 years, they were soon sided with irrigated steel. Many of these residences still exist and some display a plaque stating their construction date. 

We made our way to the city lake where the heated water keeps a small area open where the waterfowl gather. Here there are Whooper Geese, (they look like swans to me), Greylag Geese, ducks and a few Black Headed Gulls, all begging for scraps of bread. 

Lynn was on a quest for  a different small carry one for the flight home, so a bit of shopping was in order as we headed to the Photography Museum at the Reykjavik Library. Here one finds modern photography exhibits. The real treasure to me is the black and white photos from the 1900s into the 1970’s. 

These black and white photos depict the daily life in Reykjavik from commercial fishing to school life, to hunting and swimming and so on. These had been placed for viewing at various computer stations and it is well worth the time to sit and view these images. I found some very stunning in the use of light. 

We made our way to a bus stop and hopped on board heading to our local swimming pool. We were hungry so a hot dog was in order before our swim, again yes they are that good. We are getting known at this stand and the pool. 

This pool has the very nice feature of a salt water pool. The water is drawn from the ocean, heated and placed in this pool. It is super relaxing to say the least. The only down side on a windy -1C day, it is the furthest pool away from the locker rooms. Thus one must stop at a few of the other pools to warm up before getting to the Salt Water Pool. 

The girls at the hotel reception desk said on this weather kind of day it was very Icelandic to have a hot dog and a swim. 

After our swim we bussed back to town and Lynn purchased her carryon totes. As we had a no room cleaning credit we went to happy hour here at the hotel. As a table snack they offered a licorice flavored pop corn, yes it was very very good. 

Tonight we splurge and will have fish as Iceland is known for it’s cod. 

Museumes, Hit Dog, Flea Mkt , Swim and the a Pub.

Sunday in Reykjavik :

We started our day after some oatmeal and coffee in the room. The weather forecast is for warmer weather but a bit blustery.

We gather ourselves together and made our way to the Culture House. 

The Culture House was built in 1906 – 1908 to house the National Library and National Archives of Iceland and was opened to the public in 1909. Initially the National Museum and the Icelandic Museum of Natural History were located in the building and the house was soon dubbed the Culture House although that was not the formal name. Since the turn of the century, institutions such as the Árni Magnússon Institution for Icelandic Studies, the National Gallery and the Icelandic Museum of Natural History have used the building for exhibitions. The building, which has now been protected as a historical building, merged with the National Museum of Iceland in 2013.

An Auk skeleton ( they are extinct) 

Carved Drinking Horn 

Carved Head Boards 

The Culture House has always been considered one of Iceland's most beautiful buildings and a lot of care was taken in creating the interior as well as the exterior. The building was designed by Danish architect Johannes Magdahl Nielsen and built by Icelandic craftsmen and is certainly a testament to their fine work. Within its walls you'll find the unique reading hall, preserved in its original form. The building's caretaker, Frederick Kiörboe, designed the oak furniture that can still be found there. The building's cornerstone, laid on September 23rd 1906, can be seen under the front steps.

From there we made our way to the National Gallery of Iceland. The main emphasis of the collection is on 19th and 20th century Icelandic art, but International art is also featured. The museum owns the most valuable collection of works by Icelandic artists in the country, including some works by internationally renowned artists. No photography is allowed. 

As we walked back to get a hotdog we passed the shores of Lake Tjörnin. There is on area of open water where the natural hot water flows into the lake. Here one finds water fowl awaiting to be fed bit of bread by locals and tourists alike.  

As it was about lunch time who am I to say no to an Icelandic Hotdog. 

We next went to the local Flea Market held only on weekend. Here we met a really nice lady named Soffie selling various items she had knit. We enjoyed chatting with her and learned her passion is knitting and has plans to locate to an area and teach knitting to local children. It was so refreshing to think these skills will be passed to a younger generation. We did find nice hand made wool hats to bring back home and wear during our cold winters as a reminder of Iceland. 

Next was the bus to our favorite pool for a nice warm soak. The City pools give in a local flavor and we find them rather enjoyable. We have finally been recognized by several of the staff and are not now asked if we know the rules. The main rule is a totally nude shower, scrubbing specified areas of ones body. Yes there is usually a monitor to enforce the nude bathing.  

Back to the Old City and a stop at the Irish Pub. We did run into a couple from FL who we had been Aurora watching with, and chatted for a bit. 

Back to the hotel to prepare for another day. 

Hot Water Heated Sidewalks to  remove the snow

IMAGINE PEACE ON VIDEY ISLAND

VIDEY ISLAND: 

We got up and together giving ourselves a good bit of time to get to Videy Island. We knew it would take us two busses and a ferry to get there. We started with our local 14 Bus to a central bus station where we would connect with the #16 bus. We had asked about this route at the local information center and nothing was said about Bus Route #16 not running on Saturday and Sunday. A bit of on the fly map reading etc etc, we boarded the #12 Bus and got as close as we could get to the Ferry Terminal. We had about a 1 Mile walk to the Ferry. Phew we made it in time. 

The Ferry was a nice 5 minute ride over to Videy Island as the skies were clear and the sea was calm. 

The island covers 0.7 square miles; its highest point is 105 feet above Sea Level. The island is divided by a narrow piece of land creating the West Island, East Island and the largest Home Island. The island has a rich bird life with about 30 species breeding here. The well-vegetated island has areas of bog, grey basalt on the West Island and eastern shore and at least 156 species of plants.

During the Winter the ferry only operates on Saturday and Sunday. 

The island has archaeological remains dating back to the early 10th century and was the site where the "father of Reykjavík" Skuli Magnusson constructed his home and a church in the 12th century.  Now there is a coffee shop inside the house. From 1225 to 1539 an Augustine Monastery was established on the island. There is a deserted village on the island, as the island's last inhabitants left in 1943.

The Imagine Peace Tower is located on the island. It is a "Tower of Light" envisioned and built by Yoko Ono. "The tower is a beam of light, radiating from a wishing well bearing the words "imagine peace" in 24 languages. The plan is for it to be lit each year between John Lennon’s birthday, October 9, and the anniversary of his death December 8.”

Charles Lindbergh visited the island when he was planning his flight across the Atlantic.

We did locate two geocaches on the Island but could not sign the logs as they were frozen in the ground. 

Videy would be a great place for a summer picnic, and some excellent birding.   

We took the ferry back to the terminal and decided we would just walk to the pool, 1.2 miles away. Seemed closer than walking back to the bus and doing a transfer. 

From all our hiking this morn we were ready for our daily hot dog before a swim. 

After a nice warm soaking swim we took the bus back to the Bonus Grocery store for items to take back home. 

Will see if we get Aurora tonight,

The Ferry is the little boat to the big grey one. 

Peace Tower

Graylag Geese

We Found The Northern Lights

Northern Lights: 

We found a mini bus that would take us out beyond the city for darkness. Here are a few shots. 

Seemed like every time we started to leave the lights would start up. 

They were even dancing at one point, pretty kewl. 

Will have many more photos at https://soggymoosephoto.smugmug.com after we get home. 

Reykjavik Zoo, Botanical Gardens, Geocache, Swim and Hot dog!!!

Zoo, Swim, and a Hot Dog Day

Last night we did see the Aurora for a brief bit, I only  managed a test photo through the glass, they did not stay around for me to set up tripod etc. I am viewing it as a good omen for this evening. 

We took our time getting out this morn. Out the door and to a bus stop for a bus to the pool stop near the Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Our first quest was for a Geocache in the Botanical Gardens. We got to the area to discover about 6” of snow covering everything. Not wanting to disturb the snow and draw attention to the cache we called it a near find. 

FYI, nothing was blooming or green outside in the botanical gardens. :)

We the made our way to the Reykjavik Zoo. This is a small zoo and as we have said before would make a nice summer picnic day. There are Icelandic Ponies, Seals, an Arctic Fox, Reindeer and various forms of livestock. We did find the Iguanas. 

Time for a swim in the warmth of the waters at Laugardalslaug Pool. This complex has a sea water pool where the seawater is drawn in and heated to 38C. This made for a great soak. 

Yes we had a hot dog after our swim. 

We then took the bus back to the Old City and picked up some twisted doughnuts for dessert and also purchased another City card to carry us through our stay. 

Will do another entry on the Northern Lights portion of the day.  

A Wonderful Time with City Walk Reykjavik

Day 3 CityWalks Reykjavik 

Today we had scheduled a CityWalk Reykjavik Exclusive VIP Walk. This tour is a small group walking tour and ends with a traditional  lamb soup in a cozy local restaurant.

On our first visit to Iceland we took the CityWalk Reykjavik Free Walking Tour. We were very impressed with the knowledge and demeanor of the guides and their presentation was simply excellent. Thus on this trip we opted for the VIP walk, so as to get the lamb soup. We were not disappointed in any way. All was EXCELLENT!!!!

Martin was our guide then and also our guide today. 

Our meeting place was the church at the highpoint in Reykjavik and it is all down hill as advertised. Our meeting point was Leifur Eiríksson statue in front  the Hallgrímskirkja church, Reykjavík's main landmark and its tower can be seen from almost everywhere in the city.

Hallgrimskirkja was designed by the late Guðjón Samúelsson in 1937, who was often inspired in his endeavours by the fascinating shapes and forms created when lava cools into basalt rock. Construction of the church began in 1945 and ended in 1986, with the tower completed long before the rest of the building.

Our next stop was the Einar Jónsson Sculpture park that is literally next door to the church. It’s the garden of the Einar Jónsson home and his studio as he was Iceland’s first sculptor. Here one finds many of his works and it is fun to walk about and simply enjoy. Not many folks know of this gem. Further, many of his other works can be found all over Reykjavik. 

We next meandered the back streets viewing several murals. The murals one finds painted on many of the houses are commissioned works. For me they are all well done and each is unique in their own respect. 

Stopping by the old prison and Supreme Court, we learned there are only 200 prisoners in the Iceland correctional facility. This is not large enough so many a  convicted persons are out and about with ankle bracelets awaiting an open bed. Most of the violators are White Collar Criminals who have manipulated the markets. Iceland has a rather small unarmed police force, and there is a lazie fair attitude towards violations, yet serious crimes of sexual abuse are taken seriously. 

We made our way to the gate of lost gloves/mittens. Here should one find a lost mitten one can simply place it atop this gate for the owner to retrieve. We were told sometimes people will wait here for their lost mitten to appear and oft times it does appear as they are waiting. Laugavegur is the street where this is located, this street is basically named as the road to the hot springs. Yes these hot springs heat the roads and houses. Heating is inexpensive here in Iceland. 

We made our way to The statue of Viking settler Ingólfur Arnarson  by sculptor Einar Jónsson.  Here we learned of his tossing his pillars into the sea and finding them at the Smokey Bay where now one finds Reykjavik. It should be noted the land along the harbor had been reclaimed and now there is much construction in progress. There is a new hotel going in which will block Ingólfur Arnarson’s view of the harbor. Personally I feel this Marriott should not be built, but that us me. 

From there we went to the Harpa the city opera hall and found our way to the top floor for a view. 

As one views the various building in Iceland one notices a recurring theme of the Basaltic Columns through out many buildings. 

Eventually we made our way to an old section of Reykjavik where many early houses are located. These buildings maintain the corrigated steel exteriors and are most pleasant to walk about. 

Here one finds a Elf Stone, yes there are elf’s in Iceland. This particular stone was found at a construction site, many efforts were made to remove this stone, but the crews continually met with calamity. Finally a shaman came in and negotiated  an agreement with the elves to place this stone at the current location. The elves were promised the stone would be moved to this private happy place and construction work would be put on hold for one week  so they could pay final respects to this elf stone’s previous location. 

Red Wing Thrush

Elf Stone 

baktusthecat on Twitter  yes he has a rather large following 

We made our way to City Hall and talked about the geology of Iceland as we observed a large relief map. 

Next stop was lunch of the bread bowl of Lamp Soup. This was provided by a local shop providing street food. The was excellent and welcome on this cool day. 

We learned they are changing the name of 871 + or Min 2 as new data is showing new information , so the sign is changing 

The Unknown Bureaucrat 

PE Class on The Ice 

They serve a great Lamb Soup in a great bread bowl. 

 I can not speak highly enough of the quality of the CityWalk Reykjavik Walks, warm presentation, a font of knowledge beyond words. Simply put this is the most informative overview one can get of Iceland and Reykjavik, not to be missed.  So if you are planning trip to Iceland check them out at https://citywalk.is/tours/. 

We then jumped on a local bus and headed to the Maritime Museum  and learned it has closed for renovation. We then regrouped and caught a bus to the Laugardalslaug Pool. Here we enjoyed a nice warm soak. 

After our swim, we amazingly found a Hot Dog Stand and shared one before catching the bus back to our hotel. 

Enjoyed happy hour and called it a day.