My accommodation in Reykjavik was the Reykjavik campsite, situated a bit outside the city center, for 800isk/night (price of 2006). The campsite was really beautiful! What stroke me during my first “night” in Iceland was the midnight sun, it didn’t really become night at all! Maybe just a bit of a twilight zone but still, not dark. I woke up at 3am with full light because the birds were singing… which made me wonder how do the animals cope with this? When do they actually sleep since its never really night?
I had arranged to meet my Icelandic friend Thorunn later in the evening so I decided to spend my day walking around Reykjavik. The sun was shining and with a cold breeze, the weather was perfect for strolling around. Took the coastal road and soon found myself at the “Sun Voyager”.
An iconic Reykjavik sculpture, “The Sun Voyager”, is a boat of stainless steel that stands on a circle of granite slabs. According to the artist Jón Gunnar, it contains within itself the promise of undiscovered territory, a dream of hope, progress and freedom. In 1986, Jón Gunnar won a competition for a new outdoor sculpture to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the city of Reykjavik, his small model presented to the city for enlargement. Sadly, Jón Gunnar died from leukemia one year before the full-sized Sun Voyager was eventually unveiled on the birthday of the city of Reykjavik, August 18th, 1990.
Felt like Reykjavik must be one of Europe’s most relaxed capital cities. I really enjoyed going around and checking the architecture of the local houses. No matter a modern block of apartments or sweet colourful houses, the buildings in Reykjavik blended beautifully with the landscape but also retaining a kind of alternative feeling as well.
I had to visit one of Reykjavik’s most iconic landmarks, the Hallgrimskirkja church. It is the largest church in the country and the 2nd highest building in Iceland! Please check my HallgrÃmskirkja church post for more photos, info and stories about this beautiful church.
Passed by Austurvollur square with it’s lively outdoor cafes, the Reykjavik cathedral and the Alþingishúsið, a 19th century house which is now Iceland’s parliament house. This square is well known as the square where Icelanders gather to protest, especially in the wake of the Icelandic financial crisis in 2008. From October 2008, protesters were gathering at Austurvollur square every weekend. By the end of January 2009, the protests intensified with thousands of people showing up and demanding the resignation of the government. They achieved their goal as the government did indeed resign. Reykjavik‘s cathedral Dómkirkjan is the oldest church in Iceland and each session of parliament begins with a mass. The Alþingishúsið houses the Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament. The structure dates from 1881.
Walking just a bit further of Austurvollur square I was in Tjörnin lake. Since 1992 the city hall is here and from 2017 the official tourist information can be found here as well, plus a few museums. It seems to be a popular place for locals to come and feed the birds. The lake is frequented by between 40 and 50 species of water birds and because so many people come to feed them, it is sometimes referred as “the biggest bread soup in the world”.
Icelanders are definitely tough when it comes to cold, I was very embarrassed to watch teenagers with t-shirts and shorts while I was going around dressed as if I am going to a polar expedition.
My last stop for that day was Perlan, at the top of Oskjuhlid hill. In 1939, a single hot water tank was constructed on ÖskjuhlÃð hill in Reykjavik, where Perlan stands today. It is 61 meters above sea level, which gives enough pressure to push water up to the 10th floor of a building, 38 meters above sea level. That sufficed to supply water anywhere in Reykjavik. In the next two decades, five more tanks rose beside the first one. They were torn down and rebuilt in the late eighties.
When I visited Perlan in 2006 there was a rotating restaurant on top (which as far as I know moved out to merge with another restaurant in the center of Reykjavik in 2017), a small man-made geyser, a photo exhibition, some shops and a nice viewing deck with lovely panoramic views of the area. Now it has a natural history museum and many more facilities. Perlan, with its glass dome resting on top of six district heating tanks, is one more of the landmark structures of Reykjavik. Four of the heating tanks are still in use with each one keeping up to five million liters of hot water. From the two tanks which are not in use anymore, one hosts an ice cave which is 100 meters and made from over 350 tons of snow from Icelandic mountains. It is probably the first of its kind in the world. The other tank has been turned into a planetarium which hosts shows like the northern lights or volcano eruptions in 8K projection system and surround sound system for an immersive experience. Together with various other exhibitions, a ten meter high replica of one of Europe‘s biggest seabird cliffs and a virtual fish tank, it’s probably one of the places I would re-visit when I go back to Iceland.
It was a lovely day, the blue sky and clouds were reflecting beautifully on the glass dome of Perlan. But by now it was about time I go meet my friend. Eventually I didn’t spend as much time as I wanted in Reykjavik because I was eager to go explore more of the wild nature Iceland is so famous of.
*All photos taken with a Canon Powershot S1 IS, 3.2 megapixels, my 1st digital camera.
Additional information
GPS coordinates for places in this post, click on them to be redirected to the exact point in google maps Click on the names to be redirected to their official websites (if applicable).
Reykjavik Campsite: 64°08’46.2″N 21°52’34.6″W
Sun Voyager sculpture, artist Jon Gunnar: 64°08’51.4″N 21°55’20.2″W
HallgrÃmskirkja church: 64°08’30.2″N 21°55’36.0″W
Reykjavik City Hall: 64°08’46.3″N 21°56’32.8″W
Perlan: 64°07’45.1″N 21°55’08.7″W
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