Reykjavik - Day 4

On our final day in Reykjavik, we took the fifty-minute bus to the Blue Lagoons, about five kilometres from Grindavik. Earlier in the year and late in 2023, there were several eruptions from the nearby volcano with lava flowing around the surrounding area, blocking the roads to the Blue Lagoon Fortunately, the path had been cleared by the time that we arrived, but the new lava was clearly visible. Grindavik had been evacuated and it is unlikely that people will return to live in the area.

The Blue Lagoon, a man-made pool created from the geothermal power plant nearby, is one of the most popular tourist destinations. On the day that we visited, it seemed that half of the US has decided to bathe in the 38° highly concentrated silica water. We overheard a group of American guys (although we suspect there may have been a Canadian that had infiltrated the group) say “Copenhagen is just like an American city”. My first thoughts were “what American city has Eighteenth and Nineteenth century Danish architecture?” It's amusing how the point of reference for Americans is America. Although Jason’s point of reference seems to be Dalby and the Darling Downs 😂.

After a relaxing day in the geothermal pools, it was time to return home, but not before taking a tour of the Icelandic Punk Museum. The museum is housed in a converted 1920s public toilet, with urinals and toilet bowls still in tact. In the early 2000s, the toilet was closed because it didn't meet modern building standards, such as being wheelchair accessible – it’s located underground with a staircase leading to the entrance. The collection featured plenty of international punk and new wave bands that had played in Iceland in the early eighties and the influence this had on Icelandic punk. It also featured plenty of memorabilia from the Sugarcubes and Björk.

Afterwards we moseyed our way home to prepare to move onto our last destination in Keflavik, about 40kms from Reykjavik. Our flight from Iceland was at the crack of dawn so we decided that it would be easier to stay near the airport, otherwise we would have had to leave Reykjavik at three in the morning.

But before we headed to the Reykjanes Peninsular, we had time to fit in one more museum: the phallogical museum. The museum displays artwork and over 100 species of phalli. Dicks, pricks and cocks from wall to wall. They even have a specimen of a human, a 95 year old man from Iceland who donated his wang for all to witness. Not sure if it was shrivelled from age or just the cold 😂.

With the last cultural study concluded, we had to make our way back to collect our luggage and wait for our transfer to the airport. But not before trying a caramel scroll from Brauð & Co, a famous bakery in Reykjavik. The tasty treat went down well.Baca lagi