Walking around Reykjavik
Day 11, 12th August 2023
Thankfully the sun had decided to come out today as we wandered around the streets of Reykjavik. Apparently Saturday 12th August was the end of Pride Week here in Reykjavik and the main streets had been cordoned off in preparation for the Pride March. So we just joined the hundreds of spectators and waited for the colourful, and sometimes noisy, procession to pass by. This did mean though that we could not cross the road to get to our intended destination, so we visited the National Gallery of Iceland to see some art.
The National Gallery of Iceland was a lovely space with very few visitors. Lawrence is seen below in an artwork about trepidation and the thought of impending nuclear war (this piece was made during the Cold War). He is walking through shards of glass suspended from the ceiling.
Another exhibition space had work by Sigtryggur Bjarni Baldvinsson which we liked very much.
We also visited the Settlement Exhibition Reykjavik 871 +/- 2, shown below. This is in the heart of Old Reykjavik and houses an archeological excavation of the ruin of one of the first houses in Iceland (871 AD). You can see the large stone walls of a great hall space, and everything can be dated based on the layers of volcanic ash since the dates of major eruptions are well known. It was an extremely well laid out museum telling of the development of the town over the years, and with lots of interactive displays. Definitely worth a visit.
We walked miles today, and finished with an excellent dinner in the Reykjavik Kitchen which had been recommended to us. So here are a pretty random collection of iPhone photos taken today as we explored Reykjavik.
