Reykjavik Walkabout

On our first foray into Iceland we made no plans ahead of time. Instead we just hopped into a taxi and headed into the heart of Reykjavik. The weather was quite cool with a constant light misty rain. We were bundled up with winter gear and although we toyed with the idea of engaging the taxi for a tour, we opted for a self-guided walkabout instead. We stopped into a most unique museum but opted not to stay since our mental calculation from Icelandic Krona to US dollars made us think it didn’t quite fit our budget. We did stop into Prikið Kaffihús where we receved a warm Icelandic welcome and learned that decaf coffee is exceedingly rare locally, Icelanders like their liquor strong and their coffee highly caffeinated. Our server did offer to make us a “mean hot chocolate” and suggested their bruschetta for a light snack. That sounded like a wonderful treat. and it was. We loved hanging out for a while at our window side table watching the primarily local trade inside and the parade of tourists outside. While there we took advantage of local cell service and one of our Verizon Travel Pass days and got an update on the rail strike in Britain. No train trip for us from Southampton to London next week but we were able to reserve seats on the bus – a little bit longer ride but more scenic! From there we wandered on up the street to see what we could see and roughly in the direction of a yarn shop. We found lots of opportunities for window shopping, an art exhibit in the windows of the old prison, Rainbow Street, and the Handknitting Association of Iceland shop,a nd the opportunity to purchase wool for spinning. At the end of the   Skólavörðustígur Street we visited Reykjavik’s iconic Hallgrimskirja Church, admired the imposing statue of Lief Ericsson, and noticed some road work that we learned was renewing the pipes that carry geothermal water for heating streets. From there we retraced our steps stopping in some of the shops for some little treasures to remind us of this day. That was yesterday. This is an overnight stop so this morning we’re still in port and the weather is still gray, chilly, and rainy and one of us is a little “under the weather” so we’re opting to stay aboard and take advantage of our access to cell data and views of the local landscape through the windows on the ship since we will have more opportunities this trip to enjoy Iceland. It’s a wonderful adventure.