Island Tag 8: Reykjavik

We are in the capital city, about 200,000 inhabitants, more than half of all Icelanders live here in the greater area. However, Reykjavik is not really what one understands in Central Europe as a metropolis with all its advantages and disadvantages, rather a sympathetic, clean small town with a few high-rise and typical Scandinavian wooden houses, the famous Hallgrimskirkja church and the modern Harpa concert hall, which opened in 2011.

After breakfast at the Storm Hotel, we set off along the shore between the highway and the sea, on the jogging route. We quickly reach the famous artwork Sun Voyager, the snow-covered mountains on the horizon are equally beautiful. At the harbor, there are a few display boards with historical information, the British occupied Reykjavik on May 10, 1940, as a precaution so that the Germans would not do it...

The city center is a funny mix of English-style pubs, gift shops, and normal residential buildings, interspersed with modern museum buildings and architecture from the early 20th century.

We visit Fly over Iceland, a modern 3D show with spray mist and swiveling seats that gives the impression of flying in a small plane through the interior of the country, impressive drone shots. Unfortunately, the sound is very loud and the video sequences are hectic and short, probably because we are 30 years older than the actual target audience...

We have a cappuccino at the harbor, the sun comes out and it is so warm that you can sit outside in a T-shirt. Since I have walked almost enough asphalt for today, we have different programs in the afternoon: Susanne continues her tour of the city, I take the city bus back to the hotel, grab my swimwear, and go to Sundhöll, the oldest swimming and steam bath in Reykjavik, which was completed in 1937, so it is almost 100 years old. Although it is younger than the Müllersche Volksbad in Munich, it still exudes the charm of the pre-war 20th century. There is an outdoor and an indoor swimming pool, various hot pots up to 42 degrees with and without whirlpool function, and a diving pool, all outdoors, a steam bath, and a tiny but very hot sauna. There are no sun loungers or a relaxation room as usual with us, instead, you have the hot pots, you wear swim trunks/swimsuits even in the sauna, towels remain in the locker. The bath is open all year round, in winter at temperatures in the double digits below zero, the hot pots are certainly even more pleasant.

On the way home from this Vietnamese restaurant where we already were yesterday, we come across a brass band marching through the high-rise buildings.