Exploring Reykjavik

     After a very nice, calm and slow-moving moring, where I sat with coffee near a black sand beach and enjoyed every minute, we finally left camp late in the morning and headed to the big city.

     
     Reykjavik is a very neat city, but the power struggle between old and new is very evident right as you arrive.  Huge cranes and construction crews are working on new structures down by the Old Harbor.  Colorful, tiny old houses sit next to stark, very modern high-rise apartment buildings.  Driving the not-so-big, but much-bigger-than-most-cars Sharky around and trying to find a parking spot was it's own little adventure.  
     We ate a quick little lunch in the RV before taking off around noon to explore.  First, we checked out the harbor area, complete with a couple of cool art installations like the Lava Cone and Sun Voyager.  

      After the Sun Voyager stop, we walked over to the Harpa Opera House.   The Q-bert like structure of the building is amazing, complete with colored panes of glass that throw neat rainbow reflections in front of the building.  When we walked past later in the evening, the windows were filled with ever-changing lights that we stood and watched for a bit too.
  

Nick and Livy singing opera outside Harpa Opera House.

     Next, we headed into the Old Harbor area to look at all the massive ships and find the start of the old residential area.  Mike and Nick recreated a statue of two men at sea, and we read some neat informational boards about Iceland's relationship with several other European countries.  Mike has a thing for ships, so he loved checking out the Old Harbor. 

Drew thought the name of this street was pretty funny!

     After leaving the harbor, we stumbled upon Laugavegur, a really neat street filled with shops, bars, and restaurants.  Motor traffic is not allowed in this part of the city, so we were easily able to wander and find neat sights like the rainbow road.  We did some shopping for souvenirs, and headed up town to find the Hallgrimskirja Church, a very iconic landmark in the heart of the city.  The church is amazing on its own, but most days you can climb the bell tower for a 360 view of the city.  However, there was a funeral at Hallgrimskirja today, so we just enjoyed the Leif Erikson statue and outside of the cathedral instead. 

Livy tried out the public "water closet"

Outdoor seating at a local restaurant,
which comes with blankets to keep you warm.

Leif Erikson, a famous Icelandic viking

     Just outside the church grounds, an amazing smell pulled us to find a cute little Belgium waffle truck.  I told the kids all about my travels there over 20 years ago when I back-packed across Europe and insisted we try some to see if they were as good as I remembered.  The waffles tasted just the same, and I almost went back for ten more to go!  They are sweet without any syrup or extra stuff (although you can order them with a variety of toppings).  What a yummy little find!

    











     We headed back down Laugavegur to pick up our remaining Iceland souvenirs, and found a pizza place for dinner.  Apparently, Icelanders also love their pizza...it's easy to find on just about every street corner in Reykjavik and in most small towns.  We also took some silly pictures along the way of trolls, sprites, and other fun stuff we saw downtown.

          Turns out that we walked over 5 miles today in the capital city, just trying to take it all in and absorb the Reykjavik vibe.  We then drove about half an hour to our camping spot for the night.  We are only about 20 minutes from the airport, so we're planning to turn in early tonight, pack like crazy tomorrow, and head to the rental place with just enough time to grab one last Icelandic hot dog and catch our flight.  I'm too sad to even think about leaving, so I'll ignore the end of this amazing trip for now and just focus on this lovely view of Reykjavik over the water.