Day 13, Sep 6; Reykjavik 1

Up early for a good breakfast at the hotel (great, wide-ranging spread). Out to catch the Hop-on/Hop-off city tour bus to get an overview of the city. The tour took us past the shopping district, past museums and the hospital, by the central church, Hallgrimskirkja, to the Perlan science museum, past the harbor and port, past the house in which Reagan met Gorbachev to talk detente, by the Harpa concert venue, through downtown, and back to our starting point. The bus provides earbuds and you can listen to a description (in multiple languages) of what we're seeing as we roll along.

We stayed on for a second round and hopped off at the church. In front of the church is a stature of Lieferiksson (Lief the lucky, Erik the Red's son), who discovered North America. The statue was a gift from the US to celebrate 1000 years of parliamentary rule (Remember the Althingi in 930?). The Hallgrimskirkja is named for a 19th century hymn writer who, among other things, wrote a Passion cycle of 52 hymns still used today. The church sits on the highest hill in the city with stunning views. The exterior and interior suggest the hexagonal basalt columns seen around the country in the lava formations. I rode up the bell tower to get the view over the city. Across the street is the former studio and home of a 20th century sculptor and a sculpture garden of some of his works, which we toured.

Jumped back on the bus and up to the Perlan (translated "Pearl"). This jewel of a museum sits on a wooded hill and uses six old hot water storage tanks crowned with a glass dome to exhibit the geology, flora and fauna, and natural history of the country. We started off with a great planetarium show on the Northern Lights. The museum has extensive displays and explanations of types of volcanos and their formation and evolution. We caught a snack and drink up in the rotating restaurant under the dome while admiring the ever-changing view. The place has some of the most innovative interactive displays I've seen - a display table where you move a 5-inch ring over spots on it to reveal descriptions and additional information and a wall where, when you stand on a certain spot, you can point your arm to move a cursor on the wall to reveal more information. There are displays on glaciers and their formation. There are five floors of exhibits and an indoor fountain that shoots up to the fifth floor. Finally, a real Ice Cave. The cave is a frozen maze of passageways through ice, chilled to about 14 degrees Fahrenheit that you walk through to experience what it's like to be inside a glacier, including the sounds. This is one of the best museums I've ever been in and the highlight of the day.

Outside we caught the bus back to our starting point as the day finished up. It was chilly and damp in Reykjavik, compared to the north. All day the skies were overcast with a good breeze. We refreshed at the hotel then went down the street for good pizza and salad at 101 Bistro. Gail relaxed at the hotel while I went searching for live music. I walked up the main shopping street, Laugavegur, checking out pubs and the stores. One street had rainbow stripes painted on it leading up to the Hallgrimsa church. Found the place I'd been told about and found it does have a and but won't start until 21:30. Back at the hotel I caught up on this blog as the rain started.

The architecture in the country is minimalist and unimaginative. The houses and buildings are blocky and plain.  The people counter this by painting things in bright and varied colors. Construction is mainly in concrete with stucco-like or corrugated tin exteriors. Reykjavik is also noted for the wall murals all over town.Read more