Skarfaklettur

Our cruise, and all the decadence, luxury and excessive consumption that it entails, was coming to an end, sadly, but before our last night on board we got out to explore Reykjavik.

The impression it gives is of a modern city - although small at a population of 240,000 - that is a happy blend of historic and new and where everything fits in.

We started with Harpa, a modernistic performance space and conference centre, all angles and coloured glass and perched right on the water’s edge.

Then we looked in at the historic port area, with lots of informative signage and a view of “Pufa”, an interesting installation consisting of a mound with a spiral path leading to its top. Must mean something.

We set off to walk to Pufa, but took a wrong turn and ended up with about forty metres of water between us and it, so gave up on the idea.

We had a look at the lake that occupies a few blocks in the centre of town, with the maligned but somehow appropriate City Hall building nestled alongside it.

The Roman Catholic cathedral is nice in an Icelandic-austere sort of way, but pales into insignificance once you see its Lutheran counterpart standing on top of an even bigger hill and towering over the whole city.

In Reykjavik it somehow seems appropriate that Rainbow Street, the city’s symbol of support for the Pride Movement, leads straight on and upward to Hallgrimskirkja, the aforementioned Lutheran Cathedral.

It took forty years to build the church, completed in 1986, and if you like magnificent towering buildings with curves that are just right (think Eiffel Tower) it was time and money well spent.

A quick look at “Sun Voyager”, a stainless steel boat statue on the waterfront, and were back on our own boat for our last night, one spent packing and having a last pleasant meal and too much to drink with our wonderful group of friends.Read more