A VERY SNOWY DAY IN REYKJAVIK -Day 3

On Day 3 we awake to nasty weather, roads are closed and there is a yellow weather alert for South and Western Iceland.

We decide to take advantage of our city card and use the city busses to visit the Natural History Museum and Gerdarsafn - Kopavogur Art Museum. 

The Natural History Museum is divided into two categories; geological and zoological.The geological part focuses on the formation of Iceland, the major rock types and minerals. The zoological part focuses (with few exceptions) on Icelandic mammals, birds, fish and invertebrates.

Next to the museum one finds the Gerdarsafn Museum.  The  Gerðarsafn is a progressive museum with an emphasis on modern and contemporary art.
Gerðarsafn offers temporary exhibitions with works by Icelandic and international contemporary artists as well as displaying the museum collection. The exhibition program echoes the museum‘s status as the only Icelandic museum built in honor of a female artist.

The museum was built in memory of artist Gerður Helgadóttir (1928-1975) and opened in 1994. Gerður Helgadóttir was a pioneer of three-dimensional abstract art and glass art in Iceland.

My initial impression was that her works on display were very contemporary, I was very surprised to learn she died in 1975. 

One can not help but notice the church on the hill so we make our way through the snow to make a visit.

The Church of Kópavogar stands on Borgarholt Hill, offering great views over the city and surrounding area. According to folklore, the hill is one of Iceland's most populated elf colonies. Since it has much fewer visits a year than its sister, Hallgrímskirkja Church, this spot presents some great photo opportunities, on a clear day.
Built in 1963, the church was very modern for its time and is still an interesting structure today. The church's windows are designed by Gerður Helgadóttir. The main attraction for visitors is probably its location on the hill. Nearby you'll also find other points of interest, for example, Gerðarsafn art museum which is dedicated to Gerður, mentioned earlier.

From the church on the hill we see the steam rising from the nearby city pool and were also informed by the local folks the bakery nearby is a good stop for lunch. We did enjoy a burger  at  Brauðkaup, as well as a doughnut. 

 

OKOKOK I was hungry before I got the camera out 

The snow continued to fall and we went for a swim at Pool Sundlaugin í Kópavogi. Nice pool and friendly locals. 

We called it a day and took the bus back to our apartment.