Reykjavik

We touched down bright and early in Reykjavik. Well early at least, the sun wouldn’t rise for another 2 hours.

Our first taste of just how famously expensive Iceland is came with the cost of the public transport. Deciding the airport shuttle bus would be the better option over the £120 taxi into Reykjavik we boarded and settled down for our trip into the city.

We were able to drop our bags off at the hotel and go in search of breakfast, the wealth of choice in wonderful food and cool and adorable establishments can be seen immediately. It was more of a task choosing where to go!

The place we eventually chose covered both the cool, and good food categories and we were treated to a gorgeous breakfast and a good cup of caffeine!

Fueled up once more we wanted to make the most of our time here (and fight the jetlag) so we spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon exploring the city.

The sun now risen, it revealed some incredible scenes across the bay and so that was our first checkpoint on the walk.

We walked along the waterfront, avoiding the ice as much as possible, for a while enjoying the new perspective on the city and mountains.

The wind picked up and got rather chilly off the water before too long, and so we turned in land and continued our walk to nowhere in particular. Finding ourselves in what we assume may be the industrial or business district, as the buildings featured more than 3 stories and the signature “business building” aesthetic.

Spying a spire above the rooftops we made our way towards it, keen to see what it was attached to and for the vague sense of direction, this led us through more quaint lanes with colourful houses.

Turns out the spire was attached to the cathedral, a must-see icon in Reykjavik. It’s beautiful and upon exploring inside too, we discovered it was just as beautiful internally too.

The lack of sleep and jetlag were really beginning to take their toll, and so we headed back to the hotel to warm up and nap.

Waking not too long later and better rested, but our stomachs grumbling, we decided to head out once again in search of dinner.

Again the wealth of places to try left us overwhelmed with choice. We decided on Glo; a vegetarian restaurant not far from our hotel.

We took a short walk after the food to walk off dinner and stretch our legs before going back into hibernation for the night.

The next day, we’d managed to catch up with the time difference and so we headed back out to explore after breakfast.

We had noticed a large glass building reminiscent of a honeycomb the day before and upon research had discovered that it was Harpa, the concert hall and conference centre. It is also open for visitors and so we decided to get a closer look.

We went inside and wandered around the shops in the foyer, selling everything from a Christmas Wonderland to local arts and crafts.

We then wandered round the building slightly to take in more views of the mountains when we noticed a small mound which wasn’t all that far away as the crow flies, and was just begging to be climbed!

However a problem quickly arose: we are not crows. What therefore ensued was an hour long walk through the city and harbour to get to the other side of the harbour mouth.

The daylight was beginning to fade as we finally got closer the mound but we were still presented with some excellent views of Reykjavik and the mountains around.

We hadn’t walked all the way out here not to get a good look though and so we traversed the narrow path which spiralled around the Teletubbie-esque mound eager to discover what was at the top…

As we rounded the corner, within steps of our goal, we hurried in anticipation and finally reached the top to see what the small building atop the mound was all about…

Yup. A nod to traditional fishing practices and the industry heavily intertwined in Iceland’s history. We hoped the fish heads were props but alas, reality was this artists game. The views from the area were lovely though and the walk had certainly built up an appetite (but not for fish.)

And so we headed back into town for another lovely meal at Bergsson Mathus which featured more tasty food, cosy settings and beautiful earthenware, before heading back to the hotel to rest up for another not-so-bright and early rise heading back to the UK!

Hatti x