Exploring Reykjavick!
The Harpa Center, a modernistic-looking city opera building on the waterfront.
September 9, 2018
After yet another fine buffet breakfast in the hotel, we donned our backpacks for a day of self-guided adventure in Reykjavik. The day was cool, pleasant, and partly cloudy – probably about as good as it gets for sightseeing at this time of year. We walked toward the waterfront and discovered a modernistic-looking city opera building, Harpa, located on the water.
The 8-10 story building had an outer wall made almost entirely of colored glass – mostly a blue hue but some of the panes appeared almost clear and others a pale purple. The multiple reflections of city, sea, and sky combined with the intrinsic color of the glass to yield an interesting view. Unlike many modern office buildings, you could see the interior structure of the building. The inner core was the actual opera house. The lower levels contained various shops and tourist information areas, where we purchased tickets for the city’s hop-on/hop-off sightseeing bus.
At 10:15 a.m. we boarded a red double-decker tour bus. We grabbed a guide map and earphones and climbed the interior spiral staircase to the upper level. Earphone plugs were conveniently located next to the seats, along with volume and language selection dials. The slow pace of the bus allowed us plenty of time to view the city. The traffic was dense and the roads narrow and twisty. It would not be fun to commute by car into the center of Reykjavik, but certainly better than Atlanta or L.A.
After staying on board through an entire circuit, we debarked at the largest cathedral in the country. Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Church was located at a high point in the center of the city. The modern stone structure was very dramatic, looking like a spaceship about to take off for the sky. Morning services had just ended and the building was engulfed by tourists. We elected to forego the cost of the elevator ride to the viewing area at the top of the cathedral’s spire. Instead, we enjoyed the marvelous vaulted interior and incredible pipe organ (there’s definitely a trend here with Icelandic churches and pipe organs).
In the area outside the cathedral’s entrance, we spent time watching a photo shoot. It was clearly meant to be a bride and groom doing some kind of fashion spread for a magazine (possibly a Japanese publication since everyone involved in the photo shoot was Japanese). In the same area we saw a statue of Leif Erikson, a Norse voyager and the first European to discover North America in 1000 A.D. The statue was a gift from the United States in 1930 to honor the 1,000th anniversary of the Icelandic Parliament at Pingvellir in 930 AD.
After exploring the waterfront, it was time for lunch. We opted for the Reykjavik Hard Rock Café. It wasn’t traditional Icelandic cuisine, but it served the purpose. The restaurant was across the street from the Prime Minister’s office, a modest two-story building which up until 1816 served as a prison. Iceland clearly didn’t believe in expending piles of money on imposing government structures. Their modesty was refreshing.
We continued our tour through beautiful flower gardens and around a small pond containing many ducks and swans. We explored City Hall where the ground floor was open to the public. Several maps of Reykjavik and Iceland were on display along with information kiosks. We had a great time looking at a huge wooden relief map of Iceland where we retraced our van trip around the island.
Outside City Hall we walked by a statue of a man wielding a briefcase. It was a depiction of the everyday “faceless” city officials on their way to work. However, the statue of the official is literally faceless. A large slab of Icelandic volcanic basalt sits where you would expect to see a torso and head. The unique statue was sculpted by Magnús Tómasson in 1994 and called “The Unknown Bureaucrat.”
We finished up the day at the Old Harbor where we walked around the pier and viewed three Icelandic naval vessels. It had been a great day and a wonderful way to end our Icelandic vacation. Our trip around the perimeter of Iceland on the 800-mile long Ring Road would be something we would treasure for a long time.
Bless,
Kathy
Harpa
The 8-10 story building had an outer wall made almost entirely of colored glass.
The glass was mostly a blue hue but some panes were clear and a pale purple.
The inner core of the Harpa Center was the actual opera house.
Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Church was the largest cathedral in the country.
The modern stone structure was very dramatic looking.
Leif Erickson and a wedding photo shoot outside the church’s front entrance.
The pews were reversible-seat backs could be flipped over to face the organ.
The massive pipe organ filled the church with beautiful music.
The vaulted interior of the church with its Gothic pointed arches.
A statue of Leif Erikson, the first European to discover N. America in 1000 A.D.
The gift from the U. S. in 1930 honored the 1,000th anniversary of Parliament.
A street scene in downtown Reykjavik.
A tree in downtown Reykjavik turning beautiful fall colors.
Beautiful tulip sculptures lined the city street.
A great way to block off the street.
The office of the Prime Minister of Iceland.
A street scene in Reykjavik where Coca-cola is advertised.
Another city scene with Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Church in the background.
A great way to advertise.
A sculpture in front of Reykjavik Junior College.
A statue of the faceless “Unknown Bureaucrat”.
Another city view of Reykjavik.
A colorful artscape in Parliament Square.
Wow bikes could be used to ride around the city.
A “water closet” or public bathroom in a nearby park.
An Icelandic Navy vessel docked in Old Harbor.
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