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| Iceland is pretty small when compared to the U.S. Of its approximately
300,000 citizens, something like 70% live in the city of Reykjavík.
One of the coolest facts I learned during my research was this: Of
all the magma that has surfaced on the planet in the last 500 years,
ONE THIRD of it has emerged in Iceland. Awesome. But this page is
about Reykjavík, not liquid hot magma. |
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Downtown Reykjavík, as seen from a big domed restaurant that slowly
rotates. I read in the airline magazine that Reykjavík is on par with
any modern European city, but since it's the only European city I've
visited, I can't really offer an opinion on that. I did think it was
quite nice. |
| Pretty flowers, and corrugated metal siding, which is quite common. |
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This statue of Leif Eriksson looks out over Reykjavík. The text
on the monument reads:
Leifr Eiricsson Son of
Iceland Discoverer of Vinland The United States of America to the
People of Iceland on the one thousandth anniversary of the Althing
AD 1930
I guess whoever carved it wasn't really into the whole "punctuation"
fad yet. The Althing was the first parliamentary organization in
the modern world.
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| We went out to this lighthouse late in the evening on our first
night in Iceland. I was jet-lagged and disoriented, but this was still
a pretty stunning scene. |
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| The edge of the ocean, tidal smell and all. Reminded me of Portland,
Maine. |
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A sculpture on the coast of Reykjavík at night |
| I don't really know the story here, which is kind of why it fascinated
me. In the middle of this pile of rubble (apparently where a house
used to be) was this basically unscathed frame of lumber with "Bless
Bless" written on it in marker. "Bye Bye". |
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Pretty flowers and corrugated metal siding |
| Again, kind of reminds me of Portland. |
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I wasn't able to make much sense of this graffitti, but it seemed
to be your basic combination of political overstatement and disaffected
youth. Some things are universal. |
| Just one section of the downtown area |
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I took this photo of the Reyjkavík shorline on my last day in Iceland.
I had stopped at a bakery and gotten a little loaf of warm bread (yum)
and sat on a bench enjoying the city's commotion and calm. What you
can't tell from this photo, though, is that it's rather cold and very
windy, so after sitting on the bench and following the adventures
of Ari and Ása for about 40 minutes, I had to go back to my tent at
the youth hostel to thaw out. |
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