Iceland, Ho!

This summer, Daniel and I went on an adventure, and that adventure took place in Iceland.  On Canada Day, we left the heat and humidity of Southern Ontario for Iceland, a much cooler, and much windier part of the world.

We arrived early in the morning after not sleeping much on the plane.  As soon as we stepped outside the airport, we were greeted with a bracing cool breeze, which woke us up pretty quickly.  A bus took us from the airport to Reykjavík, and I was instantly blown away by the views.  Brown earth piles in weird formations, green mossy hills, rocky oceanside, fissures in the earth erupting steam - that was all in the first few minutes before I finally conked out asleep for the majority of the ride.

A quick 30 minute walk from the bus station to our hotel woke me up again, and after we checked in, we found out we were just in time for breakfast!   Cleaned up and fed, we ventured into the city for exploring. 

We walked the streets for hours, enjoying the sights and sounds that are so similar, yet so different, from what we're used to.  The sun was bright, the wind strong and cold, the views just wonderful. 

A striking mural.  They were everywhere.

Sólfarið, or Sun Voyager, by Jón Gunnar Árnason.

View through the peculiar windows at the Harpa Concert Hall

Statue of Odin, situated on a hill overlooking much of the city.

We found dinner at a fish and chip restaurant, aptly named Icelandic Fish and Chips, that was on a pretty side road by the harbour, and packed full of hungry tourists and locals alike.  It was delicious, with several choices of unique yogurt sauces for the spelt crusted fish and side potatoes and mango salad  We tucked in, and neither of us left a crumb behind.

We stopped at lots of little shops, including the Handknitting Association of Iceland.  There you can find a selection of lopapeysa (Lopi is the type of thick, warm woolen yarn used, and apparently "peyesa" means sweater.  That would mean saying Lopaeyesa sweater  is like saying "wool sweater sweater"). The authentic Lopaeyesa design dates way back to the 1950s (not that long at all) and there is a great article on the Huffington Post about the sweaters.   I didn't pick up a sweater, or even yarn for one... yet.  I had heard rumours of Lopi being sold in grocery stores, and wanted to check it out for myself. 

Our walk back to the hotel on the edge of the city that night was bright and sunny. We walked through a park full of sculptures, and Hólavallagarður, a cemetary that was as full of trees as it was graves.  It was a peaceful, sprawling place.  A nice way to end our first evening in Reykjavík.  

Sleep came easy that night, with the curtains blacking out the midnight sun. We needed to be fresh, as the next day we were hitting the road, and starting our circumnavigation of the island.