The Land of Ice

Reykjavik is an absolute gem, and I was sad to leave. (I spent a two-day layover there on my way over to Stockholm from Minneapolis.) I found the city proper immensely colorful, easily walkable and compact, trendy, friendly, clean, safe, and lively with bikers and public art at every turn. Hard to believe the island nation houses only three hundred or so thousand people but boasts so much culture and forward "thinkingness"! The weather was windy, chilly, and rather drizzly, but I suppose this was to be expected when touring at 66 degrees in the middle of the north Atlantic!

I packed in as much as I could in two days ... city views from atop Hallgrimskirkja (the city's famous church), a sculpture garden, national history and Iceland settlement exhibitions at the National Museum and Settlement Exhibition, respectively, walks along the waterfront, eateries and shops in the City Centre, Lake Tjornin and the City Hall, a trip to a geothermal swimming pool with four Danish women (Who knew I would be sitting in a pool in broad daylight at 9:30 p.m.!), a jazz festival, and a trip around the Golden Circle --- Gullfoss waterfalls, Geysir, and historic Pingvellir, home to the world's first democratic parliament, the Icelandic conversion to Christianity, and the country's declaration of freedom from Danish rule in 1944. So, here's to the country that supplies 86% of its heating needs thanks to geothermal power, owns a gorgeous landscape of mountains, moss-covered fields, lakes, and grazing cattle and horses, and where I ate the best crepe I have ever had ... filled with rice, shrimp, mushrooms, peanuts, brie cheese, and tomatoes!