there really is nowhere on earth quite like iceland.
i arrived in from paris around 8 p.m. and caught the bus into reykjavik. the night was rainy, and windy, and very dark. the only thing visible through the bus window was a spattering of lights through the storm, giving only the faintest suggestion of the landscape. wind rocked the bus softly back and forth, and 80’s pop played softly through the night. i could not discern the language.
—
i woke early the next morning and began exploring immediately. i left the hostel and walked toward the bay on an almost unreasonably beautiful morning, the sun just peeking out of the clouds.
i went for breakfast at a place called ‘the grey cat.’ i liked their logo, and they have a breakfast called ‘the truck.’ it was a nice breakfast. it made me very happy.
then i walked about, stumbling upon the icelandic punk museum (located in an old public toilet which covered wall to wall with information, art, and memorabilia. in the main room, headphones hang from the ceiling for easy listening),
the famous modernist chapel hallgrimskirkja,
the icelandic phallological museum (conveniently situated directly across the street from my hostel, both informatively strange and strangely informative),
as well as a very nice art museum and plenty of shops and beautiful homes.
reykjavik is really a large village dressed in a city’s clothing: modern, convenient, and walkable, but very residential and spacious. people have yards here, and don’t share walls with their neighbors. there are a couple of downtowny streets, and a few charming little parks. the local high school is sat at the top of a hill in the centre of town. the permanent population is about 120,000.
oh, also i met another very nice cat.
it’s small and chilly and nearly arctic (the northernmost capital in the world), and icelandic is odd and bouncy and much easier to understand by text than by ear, but i felt almost immediately that it would be easy to call reykjavik home. maybe it’s just the scandanavian blood finding its resonance.
i had considered going out that first evening to see the infamous reykjavik nightlife, but by the time 9:00 p.m. rolled around i frankly could not be bothered to step back out into the cold.
the next day was going to be a long one. by 8:30 a.m. i was stood on the sidewalk waiting for the bus that would take me on a tour of the south coast.
i frankly couldn’t describe its beauty if i tried, so i will let these photos speak for themselves.
exactly. wow.
the tour returned about 7:15 p.m., and from there i had a very nice ‘viking’ steak dinner and packed up my things in preparation to leave at 6 the next morning.
this whole trip has been a whirlwind. i’m not ready to leave.
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