Midsummer in Iceland via Finland

[tdimdad]

WELCOME TO ICELAND!

Too long has passed since the previous entry but I want to continue to the end. Jet lag over, bugs cleared off the system, and a new job started, I should have more time & energy for this again. When starting, I thought I'd post as we go but travel took over. That was a good discovery about how I operate while on the road. Next TR will test a different approach.

These will be theme based posts instead of strictly chronological.

Get me connected
AY offers in-flight internet. It's free to their Platinum FF's but, alas, not extended to OWE's. Others can buy it for an hour or full duration for about 10€. Didn't buy but this connectivity map is great in setting the expectations. A good addition to the soft product / service.


We have arrived!
This kind of slightly playful style humours me. It's like being welcomed to a mysterious realm from what's familiar and known. Down the escalator you go now...


The most common rental car?
Especially at the key sights, these cars swarm everywhere. It must be the most common rental car model at the moment. Dacia Duster, from the Romanian arm of the iconic French car maker Renault. It was a solid mid-range car, behaved well and carried us two comfortably. My son is 190 cm tall and had adequate space at the front. Hertz lists this as a compact SUV, the smallest 4x4 in their collection which is allows you to traverse also the small backroads ("F-roads"). Ours was diesel, drank about 5L/100 km. The fuel costs around 320 ISK/L (AUD $3.50).


Money, money, money...
Everywhere you go, you can pay by card (Visa/MC). It's ubiquitous even in smaller places on the countryside.
But ATM's do charge fees. I wanted some cash as a souvenir for my barber who collects foreign banknotes and displays them on his mirror. Landsbankinn - Hradbanki ATM charged 300 ISK for the pleasure when using the Wise card.

For us the currency conversion is really easy at the moment: divide ISK by 10 and add 10% (or round up a little). E.g. your 550 ISK coffee would be a bit over AUD $6 (=550/10 + 10%).

Everything is expensive! Well, that's of course relative. But you should expect to pay at least 1.5x compared to Australian prices. After Finland, the grocery stores were similar for packaged goods, fish & meat and dairy but more expensive for fresh produce. For comparison, for many products, Finnish supermarket has the same figures in the price tag than Australia - but the $/€ FX rate means they are 1.5x above Australian price levels.

Lunches go for 2,500 ISK per person and up, typically 5,000 or a bit more. So, that's $30+ for simple meals and $50+ for more substantial meals.

Alcohol
When you exit the KEF terminal, you'll be faced by a tax-free shop. Unlike many others, this is spacious, calm and easy to walk through. But if you want stronger drops while in Iceland, it'll be cheaper to grab it while you pass through. Mild drinks are similar prices in the city or the local state-run bottle shop.

We tested out this rhubarb liquor. Very agreeable, and a nice way to celebrate the start of that part of the trip.


Shoes off!
At the first two stops we stayed in hostels. Both of them had a strict rule about taking shoes off. So, bring your slippers or thick woolen socks if you want something over your socks. Notice also the shoedryer at the lower right corner of the area: hot air to dry two pairs of boots. Very useful!

I presume you'd keep your shoes on in hotels until your room. But expect to keep the AirBnB, hostel, etc floors cleaner by leaving shoes off.

 

[RooFlyer]

Everything is expensive! Well, that's of course relative. But you should expect to pay at least 1.5x compared to Australian prices.

That doesn't sound too bad! When I visited a couple of times in 2007-2009, I knew it might be a bit pricey when the English couple sitting next to me on the inbound flight said they found Iceland soooo expensive. We learned simply not to think of the A$ equivalent for anything we bought, else we'd just stay in our hotel room.

 

[tdimdad]

That doesn't sound too bad! When I visited a couple of times in 2007-2009, I knew it might be a bit pricey when the English couple sitting next to me on the inbound flight said they found Iceland soooo expensive. We learned simply not to think of the A$ equivalent for anything we bought, else we'd just stay in our hotel room.

That is very much right. Let's frame this the other way around: doing Iceland as a low cost / budget trip will require plenty of creativity. Besides, the hit to your wallet is temporary only because you'll be there for a short time only, anyway (1-3 weeks might be quite typical). Back at home you can start saving it all back...

 

[tdimdad]

WATERFALLS? WHERE???

The land of ice and fire has an abundance of water sources to feed waterfalls. Australia may have a countless number of beaches. Similarly, Iceland must have a countless number of waterfalls. We stopped by three big ones but saw numerous other ones, in the same go.

At every waterfall (and other sight) it was obvious that you will do well by going in the morning or late afternoon. In other words, before the hoards arrive on their daytrips or after they head back for dinner. Summertime gives you plenty of flexibility because it's bright from the early morning hours to late evening. Midsummer means 3 am sunrises and sunsets at midnight - and twilight for the night.

Skogafoss
It's hard to decipher which one might be the most popular or "touristy" waterfall but Skogafoss is a great candidate. It is magnificent and certainly worth a stop to admire it. The sheer volume and power of water falling is captivating! You can also climb 527 stairs up to admire the top of the waterfall. The views are great, worth going if your time and knees allow.



There was also a couple for their wedding photos. They spent a long time there and we saw them also the following day at a different location for moooooooore photos. The waterfall and steep cliffs here would have made for majestic backdrops for their photos.


The force of the water also means a massive spray. You'll get wet there! Any lenses you have, camera included, will be covered. Bring a towel...


Seljalandsfoss

Just down the road is another famous waterfall, Seljalandsfoss. This is prettier. You can do a loop behind the waterfall. To me, that was the best part of it.


A few hundreds of metres away is a "hidden" waterfall, Gljufrabui. That was a nice and calming little side step. And an entry to another world after the more exposed and busy "main fall".



You can also enjoy beautiful glimpses of mountain creeks and smaller waterfalls while walking to and from Gljufrabui.


Gullfoss

A part of the Golden Circle route is Gullfoss. This was our last major waterfall and by far the best! It's in two parts, a more shallow upper fall and then a bigger fall downstream into a canyon. A popular spot so either take your time to wait for opportune photo moments or go early/late.
When you go to the viewing platform above the falls, you actually get an even better view if you continue a few steps further from the platform. The lower viewpoint areas offer different angles so you just need to spend a bit of time to take it all in.

With my son we concluded that if Gullfoss was the last waterfall we see in Iceland, this was a great place to finish.

 

[tdimdad]

Glacier walk and kayaking

The "must do" activity for me was a visit to a glacier. You could do that independently with the right gear (and preferably in a good group) but there are dozens of commercial visits available. I found and booked mine through an aggregator Guide to Iceland which resells tours organised by small local tour companies. You will find several other aggregators and distributors, as well, with a quick search.

Jökulsárlón is an idyllic glacier lagoon in the middle of the south-eastern coast, between Vik and Höfn. Both our tours commenced from the lagoon's main car park. We stayed in Vik, about 2h 20 min from Jokursarlon, and had a 6 am departure for 8:30 am meeting with the tour guide. That's where our body clocks were to our advantage: having just arrived from a time zone +3 h ahead made it feel like a 9 am departure (and that's why I scheduled such an early start).

Glacier walk
A 4.5 hour walk sounds awesome! The photos are inviting. We are keen and ready to go!
In practice, we got about 2 hours of time on ice. First 1.5 hours went with preps, equipment (harness, crampons, helmet), transport near the glacier and getting onto the ice. The final hour was for removing the gear and a transit back.

The two hours went fast! Our guide took us through a little loop via some crevices, ash mounds, up a little to admire the views, and finally to an ice cave underneath where we had just walked.

Two aspects surprised me: the blackness and how fast the ice recedes.
The black comes from the volcanic ash. Natural and very visible. Higher up the ice is cleaner but the ash and other impurities concentrate "downstream", making the edge of the glacier look dark. At the same time, ash also acts as an insulator, keeping the ice underneath protected from the sun in the warmer months.

Our warming climate causes the ice to recede at an increasing pace. If I recall correctly, where we entered the glacier, it has shrank by 300 m in about nine years! The ice cover is also gradually thinning. Both together reduce the volume of ice stored.

From my younger years, I remember noticing a clear shift in the winter season: later, shorter, warmer, more variable temperatures and snow fall. I used to love cross-country skiing as a kid. I owned my last pair of skiis in teenage - after that there was no point at the south coast of Finland (in the past 30 years there have been 4-5 winters good enough for skiing, too). The shifts in climate are much more dramatic at the far north and south of the globe than e.g. in Australia.

Last instructions before we are ready for the ice.


Here we go! Let the adventure begin!


The views from higher up were magnificent! The open vastness of the glacier is a sight in itself. In the distance, Jökulsárlón lagoon with the blocks of ice that break off from the glacier edge when it meets the lagoon. You also notice the brighter shade of the ice.


The grand final of the walk: ice cave. We pushed in through the narrow crevice at the front in the photo. This cave was about 2.5 - 3 m high and the ten of us inside was a bit of a squeeze.
None of my photos do any justice to the cave. It is mesmerising and I could have spent there for long. It was also otherworldly to hear the slow crackling of ice around us, including from above.


My watch clocked total of 4.8 km of walking in 2h 40 mins, including the open terrain from the van to the edge of ice and back.


Kayaking
The most common way to get on the water and sail among the icebergs is by a motorised boat. But we chose a calmer and more natural way: kayaking. One of the best sides of this was the quiet and closeness to the water, being (nearly) in the actual element we were taking in.


We also got to approach a seal who was working on their sun tan. A couple of more surfaced from the water near us for our joy.


Being a bit of a nature lover, the natural peace and quiet is my element (says someone who lives in one of the denser suburbs of Sydney ). This meant that the few times a motorised boat came nearby on their way past, it felt totally unnatural and really noisy. I wished everyone had been paddling...
In reality, those boats make the lagoon and its marvels accessible also to those who may not be able to paddle their way around. This is 100% worth supporting! Now we just hope they'll get much quieter engines to their boats...

My watch recorded 3.3 km on water in 1h 10 mins.


A pro tip: Our kayaking guide told that they organise tours also in Heinabergslón lagoon (about 50 mins drive away, near Höfn). It's a smaller lagoon with more stable icebergs which allow the tours to get up and close, sometimes even walk on them. Next time I'll head out there to experience that.

Diamond Beach
Across the coastal highway is the local beach, Diamond Beach. It's an apt name if you look closer: pieces of ice wash on the beach and glimmer in the light.

The icebergs stream from the lagoon to the sea.


And then smaller chips wash up onto the beach. It makes for a pretty view against the black sand.


But how about the lunch?
We had about 2 hours between the activities. At midday, there were three food trucks at the main car park. However, we opted testing out a restaurant nearby and went to Fjallsárlón Frost (about 10 min drive away). It reminded me of school lunches back in time. But being a buffet, you can fill yourself with a big serving. Flavours mild, forgettable, but it works in carrying you to the dinner and the price is very reasonable.
After this test, I'd suggest you go in the opposite direction and see what Guesthouse Gerði offers (the other alternative nearby).

In total, this made for a fulfilling day! I'd highly recommend you include activities like these in your trip. Just being in elements contrary to our usual surroundings takes you away and brings great contrast to life. And this was a fantastic place for it.

 

[tdimdad]

Vik and being far south

Vik is a small town, only 750 inhabitants, but an important one. It makes for a great stop along the ring road and has all the services travellers would usually need: several accommodation options, restaurants, supermarket and shops aimed at tourists (of course!). We stayed there for two nights at the local hostel. It also is the southernmost town in Iceland. Right next to it, is Dyrhólaey which is marked as the southernmost point in Iceland. Well, perhaps the main island because there are tiny little islands out in the sea which belong to the country.

Church as the refuge
Right above Vik is Katla, an active volcano, only 25 km away. It erupted last time in 1918 and is due another round 'any year now'. A large eruption is expected to melt enough glacier to cause a massive flash flood all around and potentially wipe Vik away. Their church is up on the hill and seen as the only building that's likely to survive the flood. The residents have 15 minutes to get to the church from the start of an eruption. Talk about living on an edge...

For those interested in drama, there is a Netflix series Katla (8 episodes * 45 mins) about life in Vik after the last eruption.



When looking from the beach, it becomes even more evident how the church stands above all else.


The feeling I got from Vik is that it'd be a nice and peaceful place to live in off-season. Though, you are far away from everything else but that's the same as in any small country town in Australia. The drive to next town, Selfoss, takes 1.5 - 2 hours. But in high season, it probably gets overrun by tourists, many of them probably just passing by.

A small little extra: Prjónastofa Katla (Katla Wool Studio). If you are in Vik and want a genuine Icelandic wool sweater (or a smaller woolen piece of clothing), go here! For 21,500 ISK / $230 AUD you get a machine-wowen, hand finished sweater made on the premises. At the back of their little store room, you'll find hand-knitted sweaters made by local people for 41,500 ISK / $450. You can't get any more authentic that this!
The tourist traps (like Icewear which has large stores everywhere) have nearly similar prices for the machine-wowen sweaters but they are only "Designed in Iceland" and made overseas (usually in Baltic countries and Eastern Europe, some even in China).

Dyrhólaey
Welcome to a nature reserve which blows you over and hosts puffins and other birdlife. When we visited there, the easterly wind was so strong that you could easily lean to it on a pretty steep angle. Walking upwind was slow work. But the views are worth it.



A 1.5 walk takes you to the lighthouse. You walk past a puffin colony and end up admiring the southernmost point in Iceland. Behind the lighthouse, you'll get magnificent views to the "Endless black beach" and inland. The double-peak hill in the distance is Búrfell.




Next, it's time for Golden Circle, the most popular tourist route.

 

[RooFlyer]

What a terrific TR! Enjoying it very much.

You wouldn't have another pic of this area, would you?

Here we go! Let the adventure begin!

 

[kpc]

We drove around Iceland for 2 weeks in Sept 2022 and went to just about every place you went. It was a great trip and Iceland is spectacular...I was too lazy to do a TR so do appreciate your efforts!

 

[tdimdad]

What a terrific TR! Enjoying it very much.

You wouldn't have another pic of this area, would you?

A few extra photos, yes. The edge of the glacier you see in the earlier post where the guide was giving his last instructions before we headed out.

He took us to a couple of ponds which form at summer time when the ice melts. Many of them are underground and there are plenty of underground streams carving their way through the ice.


Introducing one of the ash mounds and their formation.


Views from a little further up, looking both up and down.




A couple of more photos from the ice cave. It was difficult to get a good, illustrative photo of that especially with people in (and I usually try to avoid capturing people to keep them private). The one visible is a random fellow traveller.

 

[tdimdad]

We drove around Iceland for 2 weeks in Sept 2022 and went to just about every place you went. It was a great trip and Iceland is spectacular...I was too lazy to do a TR so do appreciate your efforts!

Two weeks is probably a good time. It allows enough to stop to see places and wander around. I know I want to go back and head up north for northern lights and whale watching. Perhaps it's worth going the long way and do the full loop.

 

[ellen10]

Great photos and excellent trip report. Thank you

 

[tdimdad]

Ladies, gentlemen, everyone, welcome to Golden Circle, the most famous and popular tourist drive in Iceland!

We stayed overnight in Selfoss for an easy access to Golden Circle. It was a good decision because in the late afternoon we were run down and wanted to get to our next accommodation in Reykjavik. This led us to skipping over one key sight and return back to it the next morning. The moral of the story: if you want to do the route in a single day, stay as close to it as you can.

Kerid Crater
First destination was an unplanned stop. We were happily driving past and realised there's a popular sight. Ten seconds later we agreed we'll check it out. Lucky, we have a simple rule in the family: when you are a tourist, U-turns are always allowed (don't ask how many dozens I've done in France). So, next side road, please, around and back.

The crater is a dormant volcano. Nowadays it hosts a little, picturesque lake. There are two paths around it, one on top of the rim and one down in the crater. This was an enjoyable little stop. It took us 30 mins and about 1.2 km walking altogether. There's a 600 ISK /person entry fee.


Centre of Christianity - Skalholt
Iceland has peculiar history (as it's told to us). This includes religion. When Iceland was settled, the government of the time debated the matter in the 1000's and decided the land will follow the Roman Catholic faith (the only widely known form of Christianity in the Western Europe at the time). Folk religions (e.g. old Norse beliefs) were allowed but to be practiced privately only.

Skalholt became the seat of the bishop and centre of the Christianity in the country. A few decades later, another bishop was installed to serve the northern side of the island. This structure remained through centuries. The Reformation reached Iceland and in mid-1500's the government decided that the country will convert to Lutheran faith. This happened rapidly - within a couple of decades - but involved also blood let.

The Cathedral today is in the very same location than the first church nearly 1000 years ago. The earlier churches have been destroyed by fires, etc, and the current one is from the 1960's. It's a restive place inside, great for slowing down and being still.



I'd recommend you start from the archaeological excavations next to the church. There you also find a mysterious tunnel to under the church. This leads you to the basement museum. It's small but worth visiting for artifacts and history from 1200's onward. Then stairs up (or tunnel back and through the front door) to the church. The museum fee 500 ISK /person you pay upstairs in the church.


Most of the interior is modern but there are a couple of old touches, like the pulpit from the 1600's. These bring contrast and reminders of continuity to the space. The altarpiece is intriguing, made of tiny mosaic, and needs to be taken in both close and afar. When turning around, at the back of the church you can marvel a splendid stained glass window. The side windows have them, as well, but the view to the back needs a moment to appreciate.


Lunch in a geothermal greenhouse? Who could resist...
A short drive away is a massive greenhouse complex, Friðheima. The owners here have taken a step further and run a restaurant on site, using their own produce. It's a fantastic surrounding for a meal but also popular and very busy, filled by busloads of tourists. In fact, when we visited, the main restaurant was full but we found room in their winebar a few buildings away.

The whole complex is heated using geothermal hot water. This is fantastic use of an abundant natural resource they have, especially given how energy-intensive greenhouses can be in those climates.

They produce 40% of Iceland's fresh tomatoes (and a few other types of vegetables, as well). It's only natural then that their signature dish is tomato soup. The soup was really tasty and I could happily have had more. It comes with fresh bread (gluten-free available, as well, though it was like I would had baked it ).

Peeking through the glass. Rows and endless of rows of tomatoes.


The lunch was enjoyed underneath vines.


Geysirs
Perhaps the most famous single phenomena in Iceland are the geysirs, hot water wells which may also erupt into massive columns of hot water. This was another key sight I definitely wanted to see. And Icelandish people being clever, they have cordoned off an area for tourists.

Us being a little more adventurous, we actually drove to the end of a side road and took the long way in from there. Parked the car by a little church and cemetery, and headed out to a little nature area. There we found a creek flowing through - and stumble upon on someone's homemade heating system: a construct surrounding a hot well and a battery of coils (water pipes) under water. The heated water in the coils then evidently would be pumped to a nearby house. Neat, your own little thermal energy station. The nerd in me loves this!


Then the long way around the geysir area and we finally arrive at the official (and only) entry to where you get to admire the geysirs. There are several small ones and a few larger ones. Currently only one is continuously active, Strokkur. It erupted every 6-9 minutes, sometimes with a little "puff" first but usually straight into full power. It's a sight to behold and worthy of the fame.


I managed to capture a video on my phone and the photo below is a still extracted from it. Apologies for the fuzziness but hopefully it gives an impression of what an eruption can look like. It's a pity we can't upload videos here, though.


Thingvellir, Alþing and Almannagjá
Thingvellir National Park gives us two reasons to visit: history and geology.

History has been made here! In a good way. The oldest still running parliament, Alþing (Althing), first convened here in 930 and continued for long. It has since then moved to Reykjavik but is still essentially the same legislative body after 1100 years. One interesting aspect is how clear and progressive some of their laws were back in those early years. A feature that jumped out to me was sentencing certain criminals to outlaws, temporarily (e.g. three years) or permanently. In conditions like Iceland, that must have been a harsh penalty.


Where you see the flag is the site where Alþing convened to govern the country. Just like the old parliament, the current one is equally progressive. Iceland was one of the first countries to grant women the right to vote and they have strong civic and LGBTI+ rights. Though, the paradise on earth is still in the making: they keep having significant societal problems to work through.


The other feature here is the geological significance: you are standing on a rift between two tectonic plates, the North American and Eurasian plates. In California, a little north of San Fransisco, you can criss-cross between the Pacific and North American plates (and yes, I enjoy going there for this reason). Well, here you can imagine doing the same. The rift is actually quite wide but let the thought count and have fun!


There's also the Prime Minister's summer residence, Þingvallabær, in the area. Next to it is another little cute church. Behind the church, you will also find the graves of two people who were significant in Iceland's national romantic and independence movements.

I'm currently reading Under the Glacier by Halldór Laxness. The story centres around a church and it's pastor and based on any cues about locations it seems the author might possibly have used this very area as the backdrop for the story.


Time to drive to Reykjavik and start exploring the city.

 

[JohnM]

It's a pity we can't upload videos here, though.

But you can.

If you don't already have a YouTube account, simply create one. Then upload your video and post the link to that on AFF.

Simples.

 

[tdimdad]

Reykjavik - World's most northerly capital

This city is easy to visit. It's mostly low-rise, straightforward layout and the centre is mostly flat and very much walkable. On my second day roaming around I started to join the dots and was surprised how close some locations were of each other.

How much time should you spend here? The key sights you see in two days, max three. But if you want to enjoy a leisurely pace, give time to each and explore also smaller corners, you can easily pass four or five days here, perhaps more.

In this post, I recap some of the sights we visited. In the next one, I let the mind roam on some other aspects I came across.

Reykjavik city centre from above.


Parliament House and Cathedral
In the Nordic countries, the state and religion have traditionally been closely connected. In Iceland the Parliament has decided on the official state religion. At least in Finland and Sweden, the main church (Lutheran church) have enjoyed funding through the tax system. In Finland, your local congregations impose a 1-2% levy ("church tax") on top of your income tax and it's collected through the tax office and distributed to the church. It made heaps sense when 95% of population belonged to the church (though only a fraction participated actively). But societies becoming multi-cultural and more secularised has led to rapidly shrinking memberships in churches.

This close connection is very obviously on display in Reykjavik where the Dómkirkjan (Cathedral) and Alþingishúsið (Parliament House) are neighbours. Dómkirkjan (Domkyrkan in Swedish, literal translation "Judgement Church") is usually the main church and seat of the local bishop. From this viewpoint, in Reykjavik the church was surprisingly modest and low key. Though, all churches we came across in Iceland had very simple interiors. Seems to be pattern there...


When I visited, the front was closed off and there were preparations for a funeral service.


Civil rights are hugely important in the Nordic countries. I loved how directly across the street from the Parliament House there was a statue highlighting this. Notice the year in the text and the black wedge at the top. What a reminder to the parliamentarians of who do they work for, right in front of them!

THE BLACK CONE - MONUMENT TO CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
"When the government violates the rights of the people, insurrection is for the people and for each portion of the people the most sacred of rights and the most indispensable of duties."
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1793)


Iceland was also one of the early nations to elect a woman into the parliament while still under the Danish rule. She now has a statue, watching the entrance to the Parliament House. Ingibjörk H. Bjarnason, a member in 1922-1930.


The Parliament House is closed for public. With a group, you can request a tour but as a random tourist you are left to admire the building from the outside.

Hallgrimskirkja
Possibly the most famous landmark in Reykjavik. If the size is of any guide, this could go for a Cathedral. Up on a hill it stands with its tall clock tower and spire, visible from afar. Construction started in 1945 and the church was finally consecrated in 1986. Webpage for those interested and a brief one about the architecture.


Walking in, the view both surprises and stops. The high ceiling, long and narrow structure and the bareness of it all is striking. Not even an altarpiece - at all! Just tall narrow windows to let in the south-eastern sunrise during winter (and brightness of the summer). The most colourful and interesting feature were the organs at the back. Yet, there's something deeply fascinating in the atmosphere of this place, something that invites you to sit down and take it in.



You can buy a ticket to the clock tower. I recommend you do for the magnificent views all around the town. The first photo in this post is taken from there. Beware, though: the bells ring every 15 minutes and are very loud. But they also are precisely on time so you can block your ears at the right time.

Rainbow street
A modern wonder, a side street from Laugavegur leading to Hallgrimskirkja has rainbow colours painted on the ground. It makes for a visually engaging sight and brings colour - certainly good when the darkness of autumn comes.


Sun Voyager (Sólfar)
Could this be the second most Instagrammed spot in Reykjavik? At least that's what it looked like when I stopped by. A ten minute walk from Hallgrimskirkja and five minutes from the main shopping & tourist street Laugavegur lies this statue. It is a dream boat, an ode to the Sun, and a promise of undiscovered territories.


As a sculpture, this is funky. I like the style of it and references to Norse and Viking history. However, most time here goes in admiring the backdrop - while you wait for the insta people to move on...

Harpa
Harpa is a concert hall and exhibition centre. This building is an architectural marvel!
As Murphy's Law dictates, there was a conference on and half of the building was blocked for delegates only. Yet, what you can see from the immediate public areas is striking. As a concert venue, it seems to be pulling its weight given that they have Yo-Yo Ma performing there in October. Getting the world's perhaps foremost cellist in such a remote town is no small feat at all. If in town, do check if they have at least midday concerts for you to enjoy.

The building is breathtaking already from the outside.


When inside, you have to hold your breath and stay balanced. The glass walls and mirrors covering the ceiling create an otherworldly feel. Almost overwhelming but at the same time also energising.


Saga Museum
This is a small museum at the edge of the city centre. Despite the size, it's worth visiting. It's a loop around, introducing what life was like in the early days (not always easy and peaceful). The vax models and setups are very nicely done and bring the history to life. You get an audio guide which takes more time that you'd perhaps spend there otherwise but you do hear quite a lot in that 30'ish minutes is lasts.


National Museum of Iceland
If ever you want to get a cross-section of the history of a country, you find their national museum, or similar. The Icelanders have constructed a very logical and easy-to-follow exhibition here. I also like how the signs were made: headline, a brief summary (ingress), and the a fuller explanation. This made it easy to get the outlines without the need to dive deeper into each topic. There's a lot to take in and I need to regulate myself so I can stay with it to the end. I ended up spending 3.5 hours here and had to speed up at the end because of the closing time.

The largest area was dedicated to the early settlement period and medieval age. But they also have good displays of the 1700/1800's and onward.

An interesting fact: the trade was heavily controlled by Norwegians from what now is Bergen, especially during the Hanseatic time in the 1300's.


Settlement Exhibition
This became my favourite museum in Reykjavik. A last day decision because we had spare time before it was time to head to the airport. The museum introduces an archaeological excavation, a traditional Icelandic long house which was the norm in the settlement period 1200 years ago and long after. From there, you are taken through a few different eras all the way to development of the modern city.

One thing I appreciated was a "less is more" approach: bring up less things to learn from but present them with an engaging and relatable narrative. It took us 40 minutes and I wish we would have done this at the start of our time in the city.

The remnants of a long house, with a fireplace in the middle.


A grocery store which was open all the way until 1970's. This triggered memories because my grandma ran a store like this in Helsinki (with meat & fish displays added). Unfortunately she died when I was only five years old so I didn't get to visit the store too many times but it was always something special to be there with her. She even let me "serve the customers" a few times.


Next time, we'll let the mind and feet freely roam around town.