I never said I was going to Iceland for the weather, did I?
When by far the cheapest option for getting from Seattle to Europe is via Reykjavík and Icelandair offers free stopovers, you'd be a fool not to take advantage of the opportunity to check out one of the last remaining countries in Europe you've never been to, right?
Mixed Signals
Media in the Terminal v Media on the Plane
Which will come out victorious? Tune in later for another episode of Curmudgeon Travels....
64° Reykjavík at 30,000 feet
When you hadn't had a drink on a plane in some two years and had no intention of doing so, but Icelandair was having a special on Icelandic gin and the bottles look like this....
Good morning Greenland! 🇬🇱 🇬🇱 🇬🇱
For those curious how it got its name, here's the explanation from Visit Greenland, ie the country's national tourist board:
"So how did it get its name “Greenland” when it’s not really green? It actually got its name from Erik The Red, an Icelandic murderer who was exiled to the island. He called it “Greenland” in hopes that the name would attract settlers."
Good morning Reykjavík!
This photo was taken at about 1pm, but the view and light is almost the exact same at 1am (see comments). It's also been a balmy 13°C (55°F) with drizzling rain and blustering wind for the past two days. Summer in Iceland makes summer in Seattle seem downright desert like....
Grocery Shopping
Spoiler Alert: The upcoming posts from Reykjavík will likely have some common themes running through them, eg prices (eye-watering), weather (freezing) and light (24 hours a day).
This is what 4813 krónur or €34 or $40 of groceries from a budget supermarket looks like....
Höfði Lighthouse
The entire Reykjavík waterfront is lined with well-kept pathways and cycling lanes, where sporty locals dressed in shorts and tank tops can take advantage of the summer weather for a bit of jogging or cycling, while tourists can meander along from site to site with their hands in the their pockets and collars turned up against the biting arctic winds.
A great bit of infrastructure for meeting local needs while also developing tourism in a sustainable way....
Höfði House (or Fuck Ronald Reagan)
Didn't know it when I took this photo, but this humble house - originally built in 1909 as the home of Icelandic poet Einar Benediktsson - played a major role in geopolitical history when it hosted the summit between one of the most evil individuals to ever grace the silver screen* and Mikhail Gorbichev in 1986, which more or less ushered in the end of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union and the rise of several decades and counting of a unipolar world where the US pretends to be the ‘good guy’ while terrorising most of the global south and also irreparably destroying the planet. Good times!
*This was of course Ronald Reagan, the Hollywood actor and name attached to literally every single mind-blowing economic chart showing how the 1% have kept their foot on the neck of the working class since the early 1980s.
The most visited museum in Iceland
No comment necessary….
Sun Voyager
One of the more famous attractions in Reykjavík (after the Phalollogical Museum of course) is this waterfront sculpture called 'Sun Voyager'. Presumably because after visiting Iceland people have a renewed desire to voyage back to where the sun shines down its warmth upon them....
Here's the actual text from the artist though:
“We all have our fantasy boats, vessels that we dream of sailing away in, into the dream. In my ships I unite my own fantasy, precision and the knowledge that boat builders have developed throughout the ages. The sun ship gives us a promise of a primeval land.”
Jón Gunnar Árnason, 1986
Rainbow Street
All right, let's get a bit of colour in here. Luckily the sun made some brief appearances over the past couple of days.
This is Reykjavík's famous Rainbow Street, or Skólavörðustígur - which Google translate tells me actually just means School Guard's Path. Not as catchy as Rainbow Street, but still very photogenic regardless....
Tommi's Burger Joint
Can't vouch for the burgers, but Tommi's taste in '90s American sitcoms is 5-stars....
Where the sidewalk ends
Reykjavík: Where sidewalks along major roads might technically end, but also turn into pathways through the forest....
swimslow's invigorating new Hypothermia collection
Peak Icelandic t-shirt design?
Hallgrímskirkja
Don't be so distracted by this massive church that you miss the real star of the show here - that giant puffin entertaining the crowds outside the entrance....
Rush hour in Reykjavík
Peak Icelandic t-shirt design!
Liquid Gold
Gas prices in Reykjavík: 313.7 krónur per litre, which is $2.58 at current exchange rates, and converts to $9.78 per gallon.
On a potentially related note, electric cars account for more than 50% of new sales and Iceland famously has some of the world's cheapest electricity....
Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat
Magnús Tómasson, 1994
Björk making ends meet
American celebrities are known to do random endorsements in foreign markets (see Lost in Translation), but its also pretty common for international superstars to have side gigs in their home countries that might surprise their American fans.
Who even knew Björk was a smoker?
Stop and smell the roses
Reykjavík is a great city for stopping to smell the roses in, literally. They seem to be all over the place and especially fragrant - at least during these dog days of Icelandic 'summer'....
Tractors Verboten
Sorry Icelandic farmers, no tractors allowed on Reykjavík's major roads during rush hour!
Made from the best stuff on Earth™
Coming across random (American) brands in unexpected places is always a bit of a treat, and all the more so if it's at 3am after a night out in Reykjavík....
NB: This comment is in reference to Snapple, not the globally ubiquitous Coca-Cola.
Icelandic Window Dog
Aside from his perfect positioning in front of that dark area, the tongue is what really put this one over the top for me. Plus he didn't immediately start barking, as these tiny beasts are often wont to do. Thanks, anonymous little Icelandic window dog, your efforts didn't go unnoticed....
Cranes Galore!
Judging by the number of cranes dotted around Reykjavík, the real estate sector really seems to be booming in Iceland these days.
I never said I was going to Iceland for the weather, did I?
If you're going to live in a place with an ungodly climate, the least you can do is have a good sense of humour about it. And if you're going to have a good sense of humour about it, you might as well open up a design shop and monetise it, right?