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Published: November 25th 2009
Great white open
Brennan stares off at the compelling white mountains of Iceland's interiorIceland is like Bizzaro Hawaii: a rocky volcanic island, with settlement all around the shore - but very cold.
As my travel buddy Randell and I wandered into the capitol at about 10a.m., we wondered if the sun would ever rise. It did, by 11, and stayed up until at least 3:30p.m.
The day started with a long, dark bus ride. We watched as Reykjavik’s city lights began to come into focus, and wondered what wonders they would illuminate.
After a short breakfast of bagel with Icelandic cheese and Icelandic butter (was starving because I didn’t eat on the Icelandair flight -- because the only edible thing on the menu, a veggie wrap, was all sold out by the time the burly stewardess got to my seat), we set off toward the old part of town. As we walked along the street, with its sectioned crosswalks, we found that Icelanders like to play games with their darkness.
Icelandic culture is known for its cleverness in design concepts. Realizing how much time the country spends in almost total darkness, they often design creative outdoor lighting schemes to make their buildings more interesting when they aren’t viewed in broad daylight. They use more
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The cathedral glass, unique shapes, and even aim the lights to create impressive shadows when you walk by them. Randell walked ahead of me, and created a huge shadow ala Darkwing Duck on the side of a large hotel.
The city of Reykjavik is located on the brim of a large pond known as Tjornin. Tjornin is home to a large number of ducks, and a small number of large geese. Make the HUGE geese, largest I’ve ever seen, hands down. Even small geese can peck your eyes out - these things would freaking kill you.
It was a perfect time to visit Iceland. Because of their economic collapse, everything is really cheap there. Randell and I ate two lunches at the best restaurant in town for less than $40! I mean, we were TRYING to spend money there and we couldn’t.
Everywhere we turned, we couldn’t escape the breathtaking view of the mountains of the interior, as viewed from across the harbor. They just beckon for you to go exploring there. Unfortunately, we only had a day, and we couldn’t even entertain the thought.
We wandered through the old streets, which were very, very clean until we found the island’s top
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me and my buddy Leif CD shop. I’d called ahead and asked the shopkeeper’s opinion of the best Icelandic Jazz available, and he was ready with some suggestions for me. He took me to a cozy couch, and made me espresso while I was given the opportunity to listen to each of the albums and choose my favorite. It was $20, but worth it - and of course I won’t forget the experience.
I said earlier that the town was clean. Well, it is clean, if you can appreciate the artful graffiti that covers several walls in town including at the Icelandic institute of art. As the ice-capped mountains pulled us in like a Star Trek tractor beam, we suddenly heard the sound of a viola playing very sweet music. We paused outside a door and listened for a while, as you do when you’re trying to discern if you are hearing something live or recorded. After we turned the corner, we noted the graffiti.
It covered several walls in this off-the-beaten-path alley. My personal favorite was the carton of milk depicted on one wall.
Up the path a way was the country’s most noted building, the protestant cathedral. Dominant and located in a prominent
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at Tjornin pond location at the top of the main street, you simply can’t miss it. Inside is a giant organ, which must really be something to hear. In front of the church is a statue of the country’s hero, Leif Eriksson, given to Iceland by the United States in 1930 to celebrate the 1,000 anniversary of it’s settlement.
Here’s an odd note, they have private bathrooms located on the corner of the street in some places. Just push a button, and voila! Clever way to solve the problem for everyone. If the country had any homeless people, you’d wonder if they’d try to hole up there over night. However, I doubt that they do. It’s too well organized.
The people were extremely accommodating. When we ate our lunch, Randell had raw salmon (like sushi), and I had tapia on rye with caviar… mmmm. Perfect. The Icelandic beer that was available had little flavor. Very smooth, but I couldn’t get any of the malty stuff. Next time. Yes, next time I will also visit a geothermal spa. That’s the signature activity in Iceland. It was off season, and just too hard to swing this time.
For anyone going to Europe, check with Icelandair.
Breakfast
Icelandic breakfast Cheapest flights, kills any jetlag trouble --- AND you get to spend a day in ICELAND!
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