Bankastræti

Leading out of the square was Bankastræti, the busiest shopping street in Reykjavík. Ron ducked into a shop and bought some hand-made woollen goods, a Scandinavian specialty. A common custom of women in Rekavík was to leave their carriage, with the baby inside, on the street while going in to a cafe. Ron saw many women doing it and it seemed to be a common practice. Apparently they do it to toughen up their little ones in the harsh Icelandic climate. It’s against the law in North America due to the much higher crime rates. This practice will no longer be practical if non-white immigrants come here and crime rates go through the roof.
On the right of the street was the old Bernhöftstorfa district, which was virtually unchanged since its last building was built in 1849.
Something Ron noticed is that most of the houses in Reykjavík were not made out of wood. Most were made of basalt, corrugated metal (bárujárnshús) or cement/plaster due to the lack of wood around the country. Iceland has historically used driftwood as its major source of wood. This driftwood floated to Iceland from Norway and Greenland. The older buildings (mid-18th century) are made of driftwood and covered in sheets of corrugated tin to protect them from the elements. By happy chance, this light construction method also makes the buildings pretty earthquake-proof. Unfortunately, it's not enough wood to build enough houses for all the people of Iceland. Most of the forests today are highly protected in Iceland because they make up such a small part of Iceland's fragile landscape.Read more