Thursday, July 18, 2019

Day 1: Reykjavík

We have arrived in Iceland.  The journey was tolerable and all the plans for getting to the Air BnB went smoothly.  We flew in over black basalt beaches and the landscape from the bus window looked like the Moon landing at times.  
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1srM5_C0rexjECI0pQBI5av8Qcy9DG9Nk
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1FPf2hbr9wPbhOPltRvgkeeCexPHKOo_K
Once we had confirmed that I had organised a kick ass Air BnB we quickly headed out for a much needed coffee.  The obvious location was on the opposite side of our street (Hverfisgata) - called “Cookies for Cool Kids”.  Excellent coffee from a bearded dude and raspberry pastry swirls.  
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Ep3IxeZGLCQnh_7mQ-Jh7a29JP-mQzf2
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1ipEHsOdALXFR_FHUZhsGx1eKzek-7DwM
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1qYg5jvWC7FukZYBfiTKPg3FbpACNVEOR
We walked down to the shoreline and walked round the bay to the Harpa concert hall.  Great sculptures along the way and stone stacks.
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1oQjvh6NSK-R9NdLR5DSFn0zlYtH0-0wO
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=16vH8t_yit_zdGxumjwusqmpXXCjwW9Kd
Eve and Leo have said they will only tolerate one selfie per day.
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1nMXY8ZJR9NvqZKRNNlp8y72M_Cedwn9p
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=16Ft7KZgunR1_PtmMUiXwQQ5Y8AFYygnO

The Harpa centre is amazing.  We had a 30 minute guided tour, it was planned for years as the Reykjavik Symphony Orchestra did not have a proper location.  Finally building started in 2004 but when the financial crisis hit all the investors pulled out and the city had to decide whether to savethe half built project.  Fortunately they did and it is astonishing.  The glass exterior has LEDs inside each unit so they can light up, and the design is inspired by hexagonal basalt columns. We went into three different concert halls each with amazingbut different acoustics.
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=197O665UZr0-9gk0VopnmxEHauGoPNcw0
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1oCl0HpIiGp5CHuj1sTcxOBxYrshwTuau
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=18qCqVRupnQEry_hXf_YxoHcQg0nHSYJV
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1nfN8HWJXn5eAlg5vKIvEDas2a7VRMKfd
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https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1xgxDPVeoHjl4ycf9g-zQNt5an5S1AUjw
Mirrored roof and glass walls
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1ZYYiQ4ztsrtz6kFMJGOKzC6DiLcsGn7X

The area overlooking the harbour was originally intended for the investors offices but is now a glorious empty open space with astonishing views
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1dXk2GIIZceQ2KqDqnwjCzT9g2X2Fshy3
After the tour we ambled back home - all completely exhausted after the 2am start.  Hopefully we will rally and explore later on for dinner. 
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1sVOHr2ZO2qSENKKLLm04IgxeNfXkE_za

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Day 14: Reykjavik

For our final full day in Reykjavik we went to Perlan.  It is a museum high on the Oskjuhlio hills to the south east of Reykjavik.  The cent...