HELLO REYKJAVIK!

 From our apartment, we can see the tip of this impressive Church and we can hear the bells chime every 15 minutes, so naturally, the first thing we had to investigate was Hallgrimskirka.

Two architects built this church over a period of 40 years.  It is the tallest church in Iceland & we could immediately recognise the way that nature had inspired this design.  Here was a reference to the incredible hexagonal basalt columns we'd seen on our journey.  In front of the church is a sculpture of Leif the lucky, whose home we had visited in Eiriksstadir .

It didn't take much meandering in the streets to realise that the Rekjavikians like colour... especially on their houses!

 They also like street art! Some of it incredibly detailed.

 They are also a very cultured civilisation & it was therefore natural that the next place we should visit was The Culture House.
This is my sort of Museum! It is a museum/art gallery hybrid & instead of displaying exhibits in chronological categories, they displayed them in themes.  Thus, the heart of Icelandic people were expressed through art & craft & literary skills. Some of the themes were; religion, power, magic, inside the home, landscape, love, and nostalgia.
Some of these themes included ancient manuscripts. We were very careful not to drool on the glass! Exquisite penmanship & illustrations leapt from the page.  There was even a particularly old manuscript of an incantation to exorcise ill health.

 I, of course went gaga over the textiles, of which there was a very healthy representation.  The Icelandic people respect the craft arts & skills required to produce such beautiful pieces as this altar cloth.

There was also a lot of  modern art.  In the gallery devoted to the landscape, this piece resonated with us, because it meant something.... we'd experienced it.  The artist glued small pieces of lava to the Gallery wall! This is 'Lava landscape' by Ragna Robertsdottir.

 Once we had seen everything we possibly could in the museum, it was time to head to the Harpa Concert hall.
We were booked for a special tour, & this was the meeting point, but getting there a little bit earlier meant that we could explore this truly extraordinary building.... well.... as much as we were allowed to!!

 Again the basalt columns came to mind, but also the incredible icebergs we'd seen.  The building glowed & even though it was a grey day & the glass reflected that, there were still panels of blue glass that were totally mesmerizing.  I have seen photos of this building when the sky is blue, & that is when it looks EXTRA spectacular... fingers crossed the sun comes out SOMETIME this week!

 It was time for our food tour.
We really enjoy eating (most of the time) & almost every new country we visit, we try & do a food tour.  Although the Wake Up Reykjavik food tour had really good reviews, we were concerned that we'd be at a disadvantage because we'd already been in Iceland 2 weeks & had consequently tried a few of her specialties.
Our guide was Ben & Ben is a descendant, through 33 generations, to the man of whom there is a statue behind him; Ingolfur Aronson. This is the Viking who in 870AD left Norway & as he approached these shores, threw his Chieftain staffs overboard & declared that wherever they landed, that's where they would build a settlement.  That is how he founded Reykjavik!
What Ben also shared was how he knows that he is a descendant of Ingolfur.  Here in Iceland they have a digitalised book of Icelanders. This has a record of when everyone was born, to whom, & etc etc since 870AD. Genealogy is of big importance here, because of the small population.  There is even a phone app, so that when one is out having fun & finds themselves drawn to a specific person, they can stop, & check HOW related they are via the app.  If there are lots of generations between them then they let nature take it's course, if there are only a couple of generations.... they back off very quickly! 

 We were on this tour to taste food, but because the weather was so wet, Ben treated us to a White Ale in our first venue.  I am not a beer drinker, but I was willing to try it.
I am still, most definitely....NOT a beer drinker!!!!

 We had 6 stops in our 3 hour tour & I'll share our favourite ones with you.

The first taster was the traditional lamb soup. Jeff & I had had this dish twice already, once from a gas station café & once from a restaurant café.  Both had been delicious. This was superior to both.
OMG! Ultimate comfort food that reminded me of my Grandma!  This was sooooooo good! Perhaps it is because in this restaurant, the Chef had travelled around Iceland sourcing recipes from GRANDMOTHERS.  Each day he uses a different Grandmothers recipe for Lamb soup.  Our guide Ben said that he particularly likes bringing tours to this restaurant because he never quite knows what Lamb soup he is going to get!

 Another favourite was the delicatessen .  Here we got to taste Icelandic gouda, brie & blue cheese. Each were different from their Dutch & French variations & each was flavoursome & delicious. I particularly liked the blue, which was surprising for me.  It was creamy & salty & oh so very very scrumptious!  The meat samples included cured lamb, cured horse & smoked goose served with a raspberry vinaigrette with champagne vinegar. Yum, yum, super yum.  Every mouthful was pure bliss!  The 2 cured meats had a coating of herbs & the flavours were fantastic.
Jeff & I had only tasted one of these 6 mouthfuls, so we were very excited to try the others.



Both of us had a favourite course & that was the fish course.  Here we sat in a cosy restaurant, each vintage dinner plate a different pattern & we were served up 2 fish dishes.  The first was a cod & potatoe mix called Pokka Fishka (I think)_.  This was, another, definitive comfort food.  A few of us sat there analysing the dish trying to work out what the ingredients were. Let's just say...I want that recipe!  The other dish was completely different but equally devourable.  It was arctic Char, which Jeff & I have become very fond of.  It's flavour is slightly milder than salmon.  In this dish it was cooked with almonds & honey & something else I couldn't quite pick.  I want this recipe too.
We left the tour absolutely rolling from over indulgence.  We certainly would not need dinner tonight!! It had been a fabulous food experience & we were very glad we had booked for it.
Needless to say, we both felt so very grateful to be able to have these wonderful experiences.
I think we are going to like Reykjavik!!