Reykjavik and Environs

People keep asking me, “What are you doing in Iceland?”  (Though sometimes the italic is on Iceland in that sentence).  The answer: so much!  Iceland is fascinating.  I’m staying in a bare and basic guesthouse so I walk a block to the Sundholl Reykjavikus, the oldest public thermal bath, and catch a soak in the evenings.  It’s a very social bunch in there and seems to be the after work spot.  I now know this, because I participated in a very mild way in the Friday night pub crawl and ran into twenty of my new friends in the first bar.  No one can stay a stranger in Iceland.  Very Alaskan that way.  UnAlaskan - $10 beer.  I had one.  Also tried the local liquor Brennivin.  Caraway seed flavored.  Not a huge fan.

I visited Hellisheidarvikjun Geothermal Power Plant and learned about Iceland’s green energy.  The geothermal energy translates to lots of hot water and plenty of electricity.  They make so much electricity that they import bauxite, smelt aluminum, and export the product.  The only needed for fossil fuels in the country are airplanes, cars, and the fishing fleet.  Since fishing is the main industry, that isn’t a small ticket item.  But by bringing in the aluminum, they can have their fish and eat it too. 

Unfortunately, Icelanders have taken to cars in a very big way in the last 20 years.  Seriously, I’ve seen people drive two blocks to shop.  It’s perfectly warm out, and Reykjavik has no ice on the roads because they run hot water under them.  Just bad habits.  The geothermal plant people would like to see a switch to electric cars, but with no local automotive industry they are just waiting for someone to make it happen in another country so they can import it.

I visited three waterfalls including the awesome Gullfoss.  I went to the Thingvillir National Park, notable for being the locale of the first Icelandic Parliament in 930 CE, and where the North American and European tectonic plates are pulling away from one another at a rate of 2cm per year.  Geologically, this is a wonderful place to visit.  Oh, and geysers too!

Little waterfall

Huge waterfall.  Those are people on the left side.

I’ve been to the Baejarins Beztu Pylsur – voted the best hot dog stand in Europe.  Very tasty!  http://bbp.is/en/

I’ve been to the National Museum, which has a great archaeology section.  I’ve been to the National Art Museum (two locations) with loads of modern art.  Some good…some great…some really not.  I went to the Culture House, which displays a collection of books from the earliest days of Iceland, including Eddas on vellum.  The written word started very early here, and printing presses were brought to the island in 1530.  Writing and publishing are very robust in this culture.

 

National Art Museum (location 1 of 3) 

I went to the Photography Museum, which is a bit of a misnomer since photography in Iceland is ubiquitous.  Probably 60% of the tourists I’ve met are here to photograph.  All the museums, galleries, restaurants, and shops I’ve been to have photographic displays.  I suppose it is the obvious medium when living in a place with so much natural beauty.  But the geyser paparazzi were pretty funny.  

I'm flying out tomorrow, but since my plane departs at 5pm, I'll do as the guidebooks suggest and take the bus to Blue Lagoon for one last soak.  And maybe a last bowl of langoustine soup.  That stuff is addictive!