Good Morning, Reykjavik

Arrived in Reykjavik in the dark on Saturday morning on very, very little sleep.

• Good: Icelandair is cheap.
• Bad: Icelandair economy class was not designed for a restful night’s sleep.

Down the street from my hotel I found a wonderful waffle breakfast with possibly the strongest coffee I’ve ever had. Both much needed. Knowing that the November sun doesn’t rise in Reykjavik until 10 am, I expected to see a normal, bustling Saturday morning, but just dark. No. Not at all. At 9 am, the streets were deserted. Creep-y. Oh, and did I say cold?

Nothing comes to life until the sun rises.

Full of waffles and coffee and bundled up with every winter accessory I packed, I climbed to the highest point in the city to see the Hallgrimskirkja church — an art deco concrete structure finished in 1945, as a tribute to the country’s recently gained independence (from Denmark). Enough with the climbing, I took the elevator up to the eighth floor to get a birds’ eye picture of the city.

And then things become very pretty. They don’t get any warmer, mind, but they are definitely pretty. And I have lucked out with a blue sky! That’s Leifur Eiriksson down there in green in front of the church.

 

Still hazy from my night chez Icelandair, I took a walking tour that I mostly remember; I scavenged for some bread and cheese; was able to check in to my room by 2 pm; and was fast asleep by 6 (and as it turned out, slept for 15 hours).

More in the next post on Sunday’s 12-hour bus tour.