Postcards from Iceland – 2 (Reykjavík)

Day two. Woke up to a white sky and fine rain. Ahead of us a day of exploring the city.

First stop the stunning Hallgrimskirkja, named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson, and the largest church in Iceland.

The inside is very calm and serene. There’s a magnificent organ too, sadly nobody was playing it when we were there. We did climb up to the top of the tower… but the weather wasn’t very helpful and so the view… wasn’t much of a view. I’m sure other times it can be spectacular…

We then got ourselves to the harbour via the old town riding electric scooters. I highly recommend it. Super easy (download the app and sign up and off you go!) and great fun!

We headed to Fly Over Iceland, a new ride that proved a lot of fun and gives you a bird’s-eye view (literally) of the country. Totally incredible. It’s not scary, you’re in strapped in a seat in front of a 180 degree screen. A little like an IMax cinema.

After that we headed back into the town centre – on our trusted scooters and visited The Settlement Exhibition, which shows this amazing Viking home (seriously) found under the town during some building work. Bonkers. I was mildly obsessed with the Vikings when I was little, so I founded very fascinating. It’s a small but perfectly formed museum. Highly recommend it for a spot of Icelandic history. No photos, sorry, but do check it out.

And then we got back on the scooters – different ones.. you literally pick up whatever is available where you are, scan the QR code and ride away… and headed off exploring…

This is the new concert hall and conference centre called Harpa, part of the new waterfront development.

And this is the Sun Voyager, a sculpture by Jón Gunnar Árnason

It’s hard to take photos when speeding (not really) about… but it’s always worth stopping for pretty window boxes I think:

And yes, of course I bought a super warm hand knitted Icelandic sweater. (From The Handknitting Association of Iceland, because there are a lot of … ‘not really handknitted’ ones out there, so be careful)