Iceland Part IV: A Day In Reykjavik
My Journey: A Day in Reykjavik
4/27/2024 Saturday
The Cabins
I woke up and enjoyed the continental breakfast and played with the Insta360 video camera taking pics and video.
There is stuff all over the hotel property. I think my explorations found most everything to look at.
With my morning explorations done, it was time to head back to the room and wake Dez up to start our adventure.
Their Restaurant Building
Our room had lots of sleeping space.Three spaces downstairs and two more upstairs in the loft. The room was well equipped with a private bathroom and shower, coffee maker, refrigerator and I think there was a microwave. Time had come to clear out the room and hit the road. The goal is to get the morning sightseeing done and be at the first museum when they open usually at 10:00.
Our first sightseeing was a geothermal feature, Kvika Footbath. it was out on one of the fingers of land that stretch out from the main peninsula in a place called Seltjarnarnes. There was also a bonus lighthouse to be seen out there.
Grótta Island Lighthouse
The location of Kvika Footbath offers a good view of the water and the lighthouse. There was parking right at the bath. It was barely big enough to soak your feet in.
in the area around the parking lot is one of the Geothermal Stations.There is a window so you can see the inner workings. There were many of these around but I only thought to take a picture of this one.
Part of the Geothermal Water System
By the time we were done in the area, it was opening time for the first museum so our next two stops would be the remaining Norse/Viking museums in the Reykjavik area.
Panoramic from Footbath
Our next stop was the Saga Museum which has a convenient parking lot that also features a few Viking themed statues in the parking lot area. They have MP3 players to play as you walk the exhibit. The best part of the visit is the narration so don’t neglect it.
I, of course, got some beads for my personal collection.
Beads From Saga Museum
The museum tells the story of Iceland’s Norse, Medieval, and Reformation history through mannequins dressed in reproduction clothing and accessories staged in ways that are meant to compliment the narration. It is well done, and if you are unfamiliar with the sagas and early Icelandic history, it is worth the visit. If you are familiar with the reproduction and reenactment community, you likely will not see anything you have not seen before. This was one of my favorite museums for telling the history of Iceland and it has the best museum shop we saw.
Part of the Exhibit
Our next stop was the National Museum of Iceland. This would be our last museum in Reykjavik. Unlike many of the other museums we visited, this one had many objects on display that were artifacts of history and not reproductions. Additionally, unlike some of the other museums, there were clear labels. The museum spans all of Iceland’s history and we spent quite awhile taking it all in. Among the things on display were some Norse bead strands that I had attempted to reproduce. Seeing the objects in person gave me a better understanding of size. It turns out my reproductions could stand to be bigger in the case of these pieces.
Around the collection of beads, silver, and iron, there were also many ornate carved horns. While not period to the Vikings, these pieces are a joy to look at.
Drinking Horn, 1598, South Iceland
The collection also has displayed many examples of textiles. In some cases, the pieces are displayed in rooms with controlled lighting or in pull-out drawers. This protects the pieces from light exposure.
The museum may be small compared to other national museums, but it is full of treasures including the architectural works of stained glass.
Stained Glass Windows
And no museum dedicated to Iceland’s history would be complete without a collection of nautical items. I love me some boats.
The museum finishes with a flurry of modern Icelandic history. Some of the highlights were the beautiful glass pieces and the nods to gay liberation. We left the museum for the downtown area and once again parked across from the Dutch Embassy.
Ingólfur Arnarson Statue and Park
Our first destination was a local market called Kolaportið. Our mission here was the acquisition of souvenirs. While I did not get a knitted sweater called a Lopapeysa, this place had the best prices. We did get some lava rock jewelry and some coins for making rings. By this point, we were past lunch time so we headed to our next destination…
…the world famous Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur known for Icelandic hot dogs. If you want your hot dog with just mustard, then order a “Bill Clinton.” Of course, these are not just your average hot dog. They are made with lamb. The mustard is a special sweet mustard that is unique to Iceland. The locals order the "eina með öllu" (English: "one with everything"),
Hot Dog Stand
We enjoyed our hot dogs and coke before heading off to do some sightseeing and window shopping.
I had a couple of stores on my list to visit: The Handknitting Association of Iceland, The Viking, Rainbow Street Souvenirs, Saga Store, and of course, there were many more. I had thought about getting a wool sweeter but in the end, it just was not a price I wanted to pay. One of the things that we had to pick up was a coffee cup so that I would be able to have my daily coffee.
There was a lot left here to see but our Viking missions were mostly done. We headed up to the church.
Hallgrimskirkja
The architecture of this iconic church is grounded in the geology of Iceland. It definitely is an impressive building.
Once we were done at the church, we headed back to the van, then drove to the parking lot to view the Sun Voyager sculpture. This concluded our day in Reykjavik and it was time to head out of town.
As we headed out of town, we stopped by the Árbær Open Air Museum to take some pictures. This museum is focused on more recent Icelandic history than where my interests lie so we just took pictures over the fence and moved on.
Árbær Open Air Museum
Before leaving for Iceland, I had made some reproduction strands inspired by beads held by the National Museum. At the time, I did not know they where going to be on display. At the museum, now that I have seen them in person, I will likely take another stab at making these.
We got a lot of lava rock jewelry in Reykjavik. We purchased from GullBúðin, a jewelry store somewhere in the area around Rainbow Street and from the Etsy Store “LavaRockReykjavik” who has a booth in the market and on the street .
Lessons Learned and Tips:
Check the wares at the National Museum of Iceland.
No one takes Discover Card or American Express.