given the choice between going straight to scotland or spending a day in reykjavik, the adventurous side of me will always choose the layover.
i began my day with a walking tour of the city, led by a recent history graduate and reykjavik local. i didn’t know what to expect, but i was not disappointed (although, now that i say that, i do think i was looking for more viking history… but it was a very all-encompassing tour.)
as we stood in the courtyard, looking up at the stone parliament building to the left and the statue of john somebody to the right, it began to rain. and not just a light spring sprinkle… no, a fierce, pelting rain that hit sideways. two minutes later, the sun was shining on us as we walked toward the oldest graveyard in the city, now a paved courtyard with several commemorative statues and a rowan tree.
the sun remained out as we continued. walking up the hill past some corrugated metal houses, brightly colorful and with elaborate carved window frames, our guide played some icelandic music. at the top of the hill, we got a crash course in the banking failure of 2008 and some of the local opinions. down we went again, toward a small square at the end of the shopping streets. there, next to a hot dog cart, is an artistic representation of the two towers of reykjavik, the city’s symbol, complete with steam coming out of them. when ingolfur arnarson sailed to the iceland, he threw two pillars overboard and declared that he would settle where they landed. his slaves found them on the southwest coast, and from that, reykjavik was born. (the steam, not surprisingly stands for the volcanic steam that they must have seen rising from the conical volcanoes all around them.)
toward the harbour now, the opera house sparkling iridescently blue and green and purple in the sun. past the hot dog cart that bill clinton made famous, up toward the statue of ingolfur arnarson (Who has lipstick on him, thanks to the gay pride parade). a view of the city and the harbour from here, but not the best (for that, the lift to the top of the cathedral is your best bet, though it costs money and there’s usually a long line.)
a little bit more of a walk, some discussion about the education system in iceland, and soon we were passing the lake that used to stream into the sea. as ominous clouds neared, blotting out the sun, we walked into the city council building, a drab concrete building that straddles the edge of the lake. our guide finished his talk while snow flurries whirled around outside and sleet tore down the street. i was grateful to be inside at that moment!
chatting with our guide and some others, i made lunch plans: fish and chips at a local chippie. taking my leave of the two girls, i wandered into the volcano house for a short glimpse into the volcanic history of iceland. after that, i walked back through the small old harbour area to the reykjavik 871 +- 2 exhibition.
here, i thought, is where i will find my viking history. and yes. i found my prehistoric history here: while doing construction, a viking age longhouse was discovered, and it’s in situ beneath the street in the interactive museum. i walked slowly around the museum, learning about not just the vikings and the settlement of iceland, but also about the similarities between the faroe islands, orkney, hebrides, shetlands, and mainland scotland. i knew there was something i subconsciously liked about this place…
{interestingly, many modern icelanders have viking/norwegian male ancestors and celtic/hebridean female ancestors.}
i spent the rest of my day walking around the main city centre: the cathedral, the park around the lake, the shopping streets. while i know i couldn’t have done much else while i was here, due to time constraints, i know i will come back for longer. for now, it’s on to the hebrides and – fingers crossed – faroe islands or norway.
*land of the midnight sun refers to.. anything above the artic circle/norway/finland/alaska/iceland…
**for more iceland history… i know it’s wiki, but it’s comprehensive