Reykjavik:
We woke up to snow! Melissa might not have been that excited since she just made it through another Chicago winter, but I was as happy as a little kid on a snow day. And it actually worked out quite well that this was the snowy day during our trip because we were staying in Reykjavik. The previous days had been filled to the brim with sightseeing and long bus rides (check out the Blue Lagoon, Golden Circle, and Reykjanes Peninsula posts), so we decided to change things up a bit and spend the day exploring the city of Reykjavik.
And what better way to start exploring than to take a free walking tour of Reykjavik. As you have probably realized by now, I try to take a free walking tour in almost every city I visit. It is a great way to learn about the history, culture, stories, and I find they are generally better than paid tours because the guides work very hard for good tips. The tour met only a couple of blocks from the hostel at the Austurvöllur square in front of the Parliament House. It was a fitting place to start the Reykjavik tour as this square is a central gathering place for the people. On sunny summer days, people come here for picnics and to sunbath, and this is also the location to gather at for protests.
The majority of Icelanders believe in elves, or at least do not deny their existence. Elves walk around and look just like you and me, so you can’t tell who is an elf and who is a human. They only show their true selves to true believers, and one such believer is our tour guide Erik’s grandmother. Erik has never had an elf reveal himself because Erik isn’t a true believer but his grandmother even has proof that elves exist. Every week she makes a batch of cookies and places them around the elf houses in her pasture and the next morning the cookies are always gone! She also keeps horses in the pasture but obviously it is the elves that eat the cookies 🙂
So what does an elf house look like? It looks like an oddly placed rock or boulder (see picture below). Sometimes people want to build a house or a road in the location of the rock, but no matter how big and strong of a construction equipment is used, the rocks won’t budge. That’s when you know for sure it is an elf house. And then you need an elf negotiator. Sometimes the elves will agree to let you move their house, but most of the time they won’t. That is why you will see so many random rocks in parks or right next to a house. Sometimes you will even see a road curved around the supposed elf house.
Icelanders also have a lot of stories involving other magical creatures such as trolls, but as Erik said, “everyone knows that trolls are more mythical than elves.”
As we continued our tour, we began to see cats on the prowl. There seemed to be an unusually high number of cats in a downtown area. Perhaps it is because at one point dogs were illegal in Reykjavik and now they are only allowed if you pay a hefty price for a permit. At any rate, I adore cats, and Icelandic cats are especially cute with their extra chubbiness and puffy fur to keep them warm.
The tour passed through a historic area of Reykjavik where the houses still have the distinctive corrugated iron siding. It is gorgeous seeing all the brightly colored houses with red roofs. Unfortunately, these houses don’t have the best insulation in this always chilly country, so most buildings are made from concrete now (which is also sturdier during earthquakes). And this leads to the interesting topic of energy use in Iceland. As you probably know, Iceland has a lot of geothermal energy, especially in the Reykjavik area. But because they have so much energy and it is so cheap, Icelanders often waste a lot of energy. Erik mentioned that Icelanders tend to crank their heat on high, and when it gets too hot inside, they just open up the windows. Is the ocean too cold to swim in during the summer? No problem. They just pump hot water straight into the ocean. Who likes shoveling sidewalks or plowing streets? Not me! They heat the major roads and sidewalks with warm water running thru underground pipes. Pretty cool stuff, but as Erik pointed out it can also be rather wasteful.
A bit further on during the tour, we came to Arnarhóll hill with the statue of Iceland’s first settler. As we stood on top of the hill watching the snow come down over the city, Erik pointed out the Prime Minister’s Office (the white building on the left in the picture below) and asked a seemingly easy question. “What one building in Reykjavik has armed guards?” The Prime Minister’s Office? No. The prison? No. The City Hall? No. The only building with armed guards in Reykjavik is the American Embassy!! God bless America!
Just beyond Arnarhóll, we came to an intersection that supposedly has a great view of Hallgrímskirkja (the famous church) and a perfect photo-op. Except it was still snowy, so you could only see a shadow of the church in the background.
The last stop on our Reykjavik walking tour was the city hall. Behind the building is a really pretty lake with a ducks and geese that kids (and adults) like to feed. But since we were thoroughly chilled to the bone from walking in the snow for 2 hours, we headed inside for one last Icelandic topic. Names. Instead of reflecting the family lineage as most Western surnames do, in Iceland, you are your father’s child, and that is your last name. For example, if you father’s name was Thor and you were his son, your last name would be Thorsson (son of Thor). If you were his daughter, your last name would be Thorsdottir (daughter of Thor). And, the eldest son’s first name traditionally comes from his grandfather. So if the great-grandfather was Thor Jonsson, the grandfather would be Jon Thorsson, the father would be Thor Jonsson, the son would be Jon Thorsson, and so on. Pretty confusing if you ask me!
Since the tour ended close to Hallgrímskirkja, and that is one of THE places to see in Reykjavik, we headed that way. Some might say it is a cathedral, but it isn’t. It is Lutheran. So, it is actually a church. The outside is very unique with sort of a stair step up on each side leading to the tall tower that overlooks the city. You can pay around $7 to go to the top of the tower for fantastic views of the city, but since it was a cloudy day and our guide said our views would be less than stellar, we skipped the line to the tower. We did go inside the church (free) though, and I have to say, it isn’t that impressive. It is very Scandinavian with its plain clean lines (think IKEA furniture) which was interesting, but it didn’t keep me awe-inspired like a typical European cathedral.
For lunch we headed to the highly recommend Noodle Station only a few blocks away from Hallgrímskirkja. It is a no frills type of place with the menu painted on the wall, a small counter to order at, and a handful of tables. The menu is limited but exactly what we expected. We had the choice between chicken ($12), beef ($12), or veggie ($7) noodle bowls. I ordered the veggie bowl and it was hot, cheap, and filled my belly. Be sure to order it spicy or it might be a bit bland. It is a true bargain in Reykjavik.
The noodle bowls filled us with some much needed warmth and energy to continue our Reykjavik exploration. We headed down to the water and found a nice paved walking path that hugged the shore. It passed a couple of interesting monuments and statues such as the one below. Does anyone have any idea what this one is? It is pretty cool looking at the snowy mountains and blue bay water through the ring, but it would be nice to know what it is! Please leave a comment below if you know!
Another monument that we passed, and the one I wanted to see, was The Sun Voyager. Although it looks like it could be the structure to a viking boat, it is actually supposed to represent an ode to the sun and symbolize hope and freedom. A dreamboat. Whatever you interpret the meaning to be, I think we can all agree that it is a beautiful work of art sitting on the shore with the mountains in the background. And, the snow just makes it even more peaceful and serene.
The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent shopping and admiring the street art. Every block or so has at least one building with an amazing mural. Some of the artwork portrayed the traditional fishing lifestyle with boats and fishermen, but a lot of the murals were very modern. Awesome yet difficult for me to understand.
Shopping in Reykjavik is expensive just like everything else in this city, but there are some really neat souvenirs. A few items to keep an eye out for are licorice, Lopapeysa (wool sweater with traditional patterns around the neck), books filled with Icelandic sagas, lava rock jewelry, and Icelandic music. Of course, even the tacky tourist souvenirs can be fun and unique such as stuffed puffin toys, troll figurines, and cans filled with pure Icelandic air.
For dinner, we stuck close to the hostel like usual, and this time we picked out UNO. It serves Icelandic food with a modern Italian twist, and it has a warm cozy interior with lots of wood architecture and tall purple candles on every table. Melissa ordered a goat cheese risotto which was excellent, and I ordered the Icelandic cod (how could I not when they fought in the Cod Wars?). The cod was $30 and worth every single penny. It was absolutely scrumptious and came plated on a bed of mashed potatoes, surrounded by caramelized carrots and pearl onions, and smothered in a light hollandaise sauce. My mouth is watering just thinking of how delicious this meal was.
After our delicious dinner, we were craving something sweet. There are a lot of ice cream shops in Reykjavik, but since I’m not a viking, I prefer eating my ice cream in hot weather. And not wanting to go to another restaurant for dessert left us with only one option. The grocery store. We found a delicious looking cake for around $10, so we got it and took it back to the hostel. It was yummy! Skuffkaka m/lakkris og karamellu evidently means chocolate brownie cake with caramel topping and licorice bits. Definitely a combo not commonly seen in the USA, and definetely a combo I need to have again. Yum!
