Reykjavik

Hello from Reykjavik! Well, we are currently in Vík, along the southern coast of Iceland, but we have internet again and Jake and I finished going through a lot of photos from our three days in Iceland's capital, Reykjavik! Let's get started!

These first photos are when Jake and I were walking around the city and the harbor.

This particular image is of a statue that honors the seamen who lost their lives along the coast of Iceland, and it accompanies many maps (some of which you can see in the background) that illustrate the shipwrecks that happened around Iceland throughout their history.

Here's a train for you, Uncle Bill!

One of the first and most beautiful sights we saw in Reykjavik was the Harpa, which is the performing arts center and concert hall in Reykjavik. It is definitely an architectural wonder, and the unique pattern on the outside of the building is supposed to symbolize fish scales and have a glacier/ice effect.

The next attraction we visited was the Solfar Sculpture, which means the "Sun Voyager".

This is a long post with many more photos! If you would like to read the rest, click "Read more" below!

We found some humorous things on Laugavegur, which is a rather touristy street in Reykjavik with a lot of restaurants and shops. This is probably a good time to say that we have been very surprised how common English is here. There have not been any moments so far where we didn't know or understand something because it was only in the Icelandic language.

Another famous architectural wonder is the Hallgrimskirkja, which is a Lutheran Church. It is the tallest point in Reykjavik and absolutely stunning both inside and out. There is also a tower inside that you can go up to the top in and get great views of Reykjavik, but we have not yet done that since the weather was a little foggy when we were there.

 In front of the church, there is a statue of Leif Eriksson, who is attributed with the actual discovery of North America, contrary to the myth of Christopher Columbus. Interestingly enough, this statue was given as a gift to Iceland from the United States.

On our final day in Reykjavik (for now), we decided to go whale watching. It was awesome and we saw quite a few minke whales. I was very much focused in the moment of looking for whales and not really trying to get any pictures of whale sightings, but I did take some pictures of some of the scenery and views. But first, here is a picture from online that shows the types of whales we saw.

 We would often follow large groups of birds because that meant there would be large groups of fish nearby!

 For lunch that day we stopped at my favorite place we ate at while in Reykjavik! The restaurant, Glo, features a variety of vegan, vegetarian, and chicken dishes and gives you several side salads with each meal. The food was sooooo delicious! I had the vegan enchiladas with some quinoa, butternut squash, and carrot/zucchini noodles on the side, and Jake had the vegan burger. So yummy!

More pictures and statues from around Reykjavik

The Harpa looked even more magnificent with the sunny weather!

In the afternoon, we took a ferry to Videy Island, which is the largest island off of the coast of Iceland. On the ferry, it was humorous to see a seagull following the boat for almost the entire journey across the harbor!

Some views of Videy from the ferry...

I have been loving taking photos of all of the different species of birds in Iceland.

 We did a lot of hiking on Videy Island, and during the photos below, we hiked up to the highest point on the mountain. It might not be easy to tell, but it was so crazy windy up there we felt like we were going to blow over, so we took quick photos and headed back down to less windy areas!

 What Videy Island might be most known for is the Imagine Peace Tower. While it does not look as impressive when it is not lit, this monument was created by Yoko Ono to honor her late husband, John Lennon and it was completed in 2007. It is lit between October 9th (John Lennon's birthday) to December 8th (the anniversary of his death), as well as a few other times of year.

 This is for you, David!

Here is a picture of it when lit.

 Jake and I liked how this photo looked like a motivational poster, so we added an inspirational quote. :)

Carpe diem! Seize the day!

Whew…that was a lot of photos! You made it! More posts are on the way, have a great day!