May 19 – Fly to Iceland, Tour Reykjavik

We were picked up a bit early and made it to and through the airport with no delays.  The flight to Iceland was uneventful and not very long.  When we got out of customs and baggage claim we headed out to check in for our shuttle to our hotel.  We saw Jessica in the lobby.  Her arrival had been delayed because the plane had to detour to Edmonton Canada to have the toilet tanks drained.  Seems someone forgot to do that in Portland. So we were able to take the shuttle to the hotel together.

We were settled into the hotel by mid-afternoon and met up with Tara.  It was time for a bit of sightseeing.  Our hotel is very close to the waterfront so we walked down there and along the waterfront.  

There was an interesting stainless steel “boat”, the “Sun Voyager”.

Then it was on to the concert hall that is right on the water.  It was an amazing visual feast.  The windows were irregular in shape and orientation and some of them reflected various colors depending on the angle of the sun. 

We went inside and the visual feast and photographers dream continued with an amazing ceiling

and various wall textures.

And the walls were made up totally, floor to soaring ceiling of the interesting windows. 

We then wandered through some of the town.  The dandelions are particularly prolific and were huge.

We found the amazing Hallgrímskirkja Church, the modern church that dominates the skyline.  Unfortunately it was closed so we weren’t able to see the inside.  

The statue in front is of Lief Erickson, the Nordic explorer who made it to North America long before Columbus

We found a noodle shop for a relatively cheap dinner. 

Right across the street was Phallological Museum and, yes, it was dedicated to exactly what it sounds like.

There seemed to be a fair amount of street art all around the city.  

And many of the buildings were colorfully painted.

They may have long, cold, dark winters but they certainly make an effort to keep things colorful and cheery.  It was enjoyable walking the town.

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More photos of Reykjavik
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After dinner we spent the evening repacking everything to allow Jessica to take one large suitcase home with her and to let us leave one large suitcase at the hotel while we are on the cruise.  We just have too much luggage.