I’ve been in Reykjavik for a few days now, but today was the first official tour of the CITY. It started off as a brisk walk up the hill to see the famous HallgrÃmskirkja Lutheran Church. On a bus, we drove around the city and saw many other sites and listened to our guide, Arnie talking about the history of the city, including his personal experiences since he had grown up in Reykjavik.
The two highlights of the day were the Pearl and the Harpa.
The Pearl is the name given to a beautiful building in Reykjavik which includes 6 very large hot water storage tanks. The hot water comes from various natural sources including the geothermal plant in the previous post and supplies Reykjavik with hot water for heating, washing and other purposes. Built between the tanks is a domed building in which there are plenty of areas for meeting others and a revolving restaurant on top. An outdoor deck that surrounds the structure offers incredible views of Reykjavik and the surrounding area.
The Harpa Concert Hall is a unique structure that is beautiful in the day due to its unique structure and also at night because of the light show produced on its many windows. Unfortunately, we were not able to see/hear a concert in the hall or hear the incredible pipe organ in HallgrÃmskirkja. Perhaps it will be necessary to return one day.
There were certainly many other stops including a pioneer village named Ãrbæjarsafn, the botanical gardens, the Iceland Parliament building, city hall with a giant relief map of Iceland that took four people four years to make.
And a famous Bæjarins Beztu hotdog from downtown Reykjavik with crispy onions, sweet mustard and mayo.
Northern Lights tonight: YES