Reykjavik

 

I'm sure by now you are all about sick to death of my Iceland posts. I know, I know, but there is just so much I want to have documented here to remember this trip by before it all escapes me forever. So thanks for hanging in there through all of these with me. I only have one more Iceland post after today's, and I promise you it will be the grand finale. There will be pictures of Puffin, you have my word. As for today, I wanted to touch on the little bit of time we spent in the Icelandic capitol of Reykjavik. Certainly, no one really goes to Iceland to spend all their days in the city, but it really is a place worth seeing. And the architecture! You know I have to talk about the architecture at least a little. Reykjavik is set right on the coast, and two thirds of Iceland's entire population lives right here, bundled up together in this compact little city on the edge of the Atlantic. Our first day there we arrived just in time to catch the town celebrating national gay pride day. Music, people and color flooded the streets and I  must say it was a most welcome sight to our tired, crabby and jetlagged selves. Our fantastically accomodating friends Hildur and Bjorn took us on a walking/driving tour of the city. In addition to having lived there his entire life, Bjorn is also a city landscape engineer and knows just about all there is to know about Reykjavik. He told us about the height limitations on buildings which is the reason you don't see any sky scrapers interrupting that prisitine skyline.

 

Bjorn and Hildur took us through the Harpa, Iceland's brilliant, award winning opera house.

We also rode the elevator to the top of Hallgrimskirkja to see the views and marvel at the church. It took 38 years to build this beauty and it remains the highest man made structure in all of Iceland.

Afterwards we drove to the President's house (because you can just drive right up his driveway), checked out some of Iceland's quirky stores and neighborhoods and some more of Iceland's landmarks. It was pretty much just like this.

 see?