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Published: March 30th 2015
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My first day in Iceland and the sun is shining. I treat myself to an incredibly over priced breakfast at the hostel and check out the weather forecast for the next day, more sunshine, so I get myself booked on the famous Golden Circle Tour before heading off to explore some of Reykjavik. Julia pronounced Yooleea points me in the the direction of the nearest cash point machine and budget supermarket and off I go.
I head towards the harbour area first as it's so very close to where I'm staying. The snowy mountains across the bay are beautiful. It's really, really cold and I'm glad of my double layering coat system. The air is so crisp and fresh, it's wonderful. There are some huge boats in the harbour. I'm always amazed these hulking tonnes of metal manage to stay afloat! Physics or magic - take your pick! There's also an old wooden boat out of the water and next to it a set of rather Heath Robinsonesque pieces of play equipment. I very much doubt they would pass health and safety risk assessment scrutiny....
Hazard: Countless rusty nails sticking out of vaguely nailed together bits of wood covered
in some kind of tarry substance. Risk: Septicemia, splinters, falling and breaking limbs, poisoning. Likelihood: HIGH. Mitigating measure to lessen risk: Ah feck, who gives a damn. Let 'em have some fun!
I don't find the promised supermarket so head back towards the stunning Harpa Concert Hall at the other end of the harbour. What an amazing piece of architecture. This monument to grandiose endeavour was pretty controversial at the time of building and was only half finished when the economy went tits up. Its main backer at the time was the then bankrupted owner of Landsbanki bank. With Icelanders suffering from the after effects of the greed and mismanagement of the banks, this half finished shell of opulence was not exactly top priority for the majority. But with a new backer it was eventually finished and what a stunner it is. As I look up at the glass front the sun is bouncing off the angular honeycomb-like polygons, sometimes blinding in its intensity. I can see reflections of vehicles driving by and even spot myself in one. It's like looking into a kaleidoscope. The Harpa design is supposed to represent basalt columns that can be found all over
Iceland but to me it looks more like an enormous iceberg made of huge glass crystals. Either way it's really quite beautiful.
I head back in the direction of my hostel and spot a supermarket on the way, but it isn't the cheap one that Julia was describing - £4 for a pepper - I think not! I decide to skip the supermarket search and instead get in a spot of urban bird watching, all encouraged by some locals feeding them bread. First up are a few redwings. Such pretty birds, basically thrushes with burnished red strips on their sides. Then to Tjornin Lake where there are large numbers of greylag geese and whooper swans noisily vying for the crusts of bread. Then in amongst these large, domineering birds are some agile little tufted ducks diving to get the bits of bread that are sinking to the bottom of the lake. There are also a few common eider and wigeon.
I pop back to my hostel briefly and after a bit of redirection eventually find the promised cheap supermarket - 'Bonus'. This is more like it. I get together enough stuff to feed me for days for the
same price as one meal if eating out. There's just enough time to drop my food shopping at the hostel before heading off for the Free Reykjavik Walking tour. As I'm putting away my stuff I notice they have a 'free food' system whereby previous visitors leave behind their spare food. I could have spent even less! I nab a can of beer from the free shelve in the fridge and say thank you to my mystery benefactor.
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