Day 16. Reykjavik and Vík í Mýrdal

Gradually, time is running out for me. That's why I had already skipped the Westfjords. The area is simply too vast. The peninsulas stretch out into the sea like fingers. There is a road around each of these fingers. But there are not just five. My time wouldn't have been enough for that.

Now I have considered also leaving Reykjavik to the left or rather the right. I wasn't sure if the 120 kilometer detour was worth it. Reykjavik is a big city, I live in one and I know that you need some time to see everything.

So I started driving in that direction anyway.

When I left the town sign behind me, I thought to myself: 'Look, a city, tall buildings, wide streets, a lot of traffic, and traffic lights, I haven't seen those for a while now. Reykjavik is a modern city, there are high-rise buildings whose architecture is quite interesting. However, I also drove through residential areas whose buildings reminded me of prefabricated buildings from former East Germany.

So I drove around the streets for a little while, stopped at the harbor, and looked at the sculpture 'The Sun Voyager', or Sólfar as it is called in Icelandic. I read that it is supposed to be one of the most photographed artworks, depicting a Viking ship. So I took a photo of it.

In the distance, I could see Hallgrímskirkja among the sea of ​​buildings. So Suzi and I sneaked through various small streets to the point where I had last seen the concrete building. I approached the building from behind. Oops, I imagined it to be bigger. But that's probably because of how it is portrayed in official pictures. The church is only 75 meters high.

There weren't as many tourists around as I expected. Many of them crowded in front of the entrance. I didn't really feel like visiting anyway today.

In front of the church stands a statue of Leifur Eiríksson. He is said to have discovered America.

Something I would have liked to see but didn't do because of the traffic and the rain is Perlan. A hot water reservoir with a glass dome that supplies the entire city with hot water. It also heats roads and sidewalks. Geothermal energy makes it possible. Unfortunately, it rained so heavily that I couldn't take a photo.

Somehow I've had enough of the big city for today. I still wanted to go further to Vik.

Here there are the black beaches with their amazing rocks. Vík í Mýrdal is the southernmost place in Iceland. First, I drove to the local campground and set up my tent. Then I drove back about 20 kilometers to Dyrhólaey. From here, you have the best view of the beach and the cliffs. Unfortunately, some sections are closed for safety reasons. Here are a few impressions.