Random Obverservations Volume One: Reykjavik

 So we are shoving out of Reykjakvik tomorrow and my battery is dying on the computer, so just a few more thoughts before I leave.

Reyk is famous for these hot dogs.  apparently this stand has been around for over half a century.  Bill Clinton bought one here and said it was the bomb.  Cindy Lauper bought (I kid you not) twenty.  And so forth.  We walked up, asked for two with everything, and bit in.  Stephanie compromised her "pescaterianism."  We both agreed that they were good and definitely very Icelandic.

Also Icelandic: everything in Iceland, like the water, bread, beer, yogurt (more on "skyr" later), toilets, roads, people, sea gulls...everything.

This sign, for instance, could not happen anywhere else.

A baby running with butter. 

There is a surprising amount of graffiti in Reykjavik.  Some of it is beautiful.  Mostly just trashy old graffiti.  This is odd because it is an extraordinarily clean place, generally.  

Also more teenagers shooting skateboarding videos than you might expect.

And I was a bit disappointed to see how many roads explicitly forbade the driving of tractors.

Stephanie enjoying some early birthday cake.

I am ready to get out of the city and see the island.  I still need to tell you about the amazing historical walking tour of the city that we took today.  Our tour guide was a charming history student from the local university.  She decided to offer these free walking tours over the summer.  She is called Andrea Bjork Andresdottir. 

We learned a great deal.  For instance the building to the top is called "1919" for two reasons.  First, because that was the year it was built.  Second, it used to have a giant swastika right where the "1919" is now.  In fact, there still is a swastika underneath there.  Andrea was quick to point out that the swastika had nothing to do with Nazis.  It was the symbol of a fishing company for many decades before there was anything called a Nazi.

We also learned that most of Iceland's famous heroes are either drunks/ruffians/crooks or else they are writers.  They are a very literate country and especially celebrate Haldor Laxness, their only Nobel Laureate.  I am reading one of his books Independent People while we travel.

The beer to the left is called "Egil's Gull."  Egil is the outlaw-hero of one of Iceland's most celebrated sagas.  So the beer is both a literary reference and a celebration of a vagrant.  

The balance of our stay in Reyk was filled with art, museums, ancient manuscripts, coffee, and a lot of walking through a very lovely and charming city.  It is ready to capitalize on the large amount of tourism in the city, but still remains distinct and independent.  There are a lot of Icelanders wandering around the city--especially a lot of children.  It has the right amount of "quaint" without feeling like part of Disneyland.  All in all a wonderful city.

Tomorrow we begin to see the island.