Reykjavik - the colourful capital of Iceland

This is the start of my blog posts on Iceland, which we visited on a bus tour around the ring road, starting from the Western Fjords to the northern part of the island, then the Eastern Fjords and finishing in the lava fields of South Iceland. Please join me on this journey to some of the most unique landscapes we have visited.

We arrived in Reykjavik a day before the start of our 9 day coach tour of Iceland. It gave us a chance to get a headstart on getting over the jetlag and also to do a walking tour of the city centre. It's not a very big area and we thought we had hit the highlights in an afternoon of walking. We subsequently did a brief city tour as part of the Iceland tour but that was a cursory overview and nothing like walking the city to get a feel for it.

What struck me in Reykjavik was the colourful houses on the streets, probably typical of these northern places with long bleak winters. It reminded me of St. John's, Newfoundland only more sophisticated. The waterfront was also colourful. The Harpa Concert Hall was dazzling in its complexity - I could photograph it for hours and from every angle! The Halgrimskircha was stunning architecturally yet faithful to its purpose as a place of worship - I love the airy spirituality inside. The Perlan too with its striking dome was a people place even though it's hardly accessible except by car. 

Another surprise was the excellent quality of cuisine in Reykjavik and in Iceland in general, as we discovered later. Our lunch at the Icelandic Fish and Chips, a mid-priced cafe specializing in fish, was exceptional in quality and reasonably priced. Dinner at Frir Prakkar (Three brothers), next to our airbnb apartment, was outstanding. It was a great introduction to Iceland.  Please check Food Sparks the foodblog for details.

Harpa Concert Hall, a collaboration between Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and Danish Architects Henning Larsen, has a distinctive hexagonal glass facade inspired by the basalt landscape of Iceland, which we got to see later on in the trip.

What I love about the place is how it was completely open to the public, it was a gathering place. There were no security guards at the door even at night.  You just walk into the place and make yourself at home.

The Sun Voyager sculpture, a must see for every visitor.  Here, it would have been a perfect image with a speedboat in front of it, but I was photobombed...

Colourful ships at anchor and also colourful condos at the waterfront

We walked up to the church from the waterfront, and it was a parade of colour...

This is a bakery with flaky scones...:-)

I couldn't believe I actually got a photo without people in it!  It was mid-afternoon on a Saturday and it was just non-stop traffic across this busy plaza. Ordinarily, I would have said forget it. But when I saw the pattern on the plaza, I knew I had to wait it out.  And it was worth it!

The inside had beautiful clean lines and had an airy spirituality to it.

Our airbnb apartment was just a short walk from the church - the residential area had some colourful, creative decorations

I love this one with real and painted greenery - the painted one would do in the winter!

Take a look at this creation with inlaid wood and stone!

Our apartment is on the first floor of the peach-coloured building, right next to the restaurant Frir Frakkar

City Hall and its large pond was a ten minute walk from our place. I love the sculptures outside and inside City Hall. The birds hanging out on the pond were a source of continuous entertainment, especially the aggressive seagulls.

Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat - brilliant satirical work

This one was inside - Monument to the unknown floor scrubber?

The Parliament Building, still with the Danish crown on top

The square in front of the Parliament building - note the posters on the wall

The Perlan, at the top of the hill, a Museum showcasing the wonders of Iceland. We were there just to have lunch under the beautiful dome and admire the panoramic view of Reykjavik from its observation deck - afterall we've already checked out the wonders of Iceland in person.

The spectacular dome of the Perlan

The atrium inside

the very cool sculptures outside

Finally, a memorable visit to the Blue Lagoon with its hot spa - not necessarily the most spectacular part of the Golden Circle but certainly impressive, if only for its size.