Iceland: Reykjavik

Before I begin the onslaught of stunning panoramics from my and Don's hiking trip, I will present you with the more typical and oft-seen side of Iceland: the capital city, Reykjavik. These photos were taken before and after the hike, in no particular order.

Hallgrimskirkja 

Fulfilling my dream of riding an Icelandic pony 

Knitted tree sweaters were not uncommon 

One of Reykjavik's many, many kitties... we saw 14 in total and they were all extremely nice 

Reykjavik harbor 

A blurry but rare picture of us together, taken on our first night in Iceland 

View of Reykjavik from the top of Hallgrimskirkja 

The Sun Voyager 

We went to the zoo! Along with the seals there were arctic foxes, reindeer, and fancy pigeons...

As you've probably guessed, Don and I spent most of our time in Reykjavik outside and exploring. Our late morning starts account for about half of this, as the city's museums all closed by 5pm and aside from shopping or checking out the Perlan's water tanks, there wasn't much else to do indoors. It's a bit of a college town, I hate to say -- as much as I fell in love with Icelandic nature and culture, I found the city itself a bit... boring. Perhaps if I'd had lots of kroner to spend at the innumerable boutiques, or had a keen interest in marzipan cakes, or enjoyed wearing heels, I might have felt more strongly about it. I just couldn't relate, is all. (There is, however, a quite healthy art and music subculture which, due to time constraints, I did not get to explore. Apparently the Iceland Airwaves music festival is supposed to be pretty good -- Beach House and Sinead O'Connor are playing this year!)

So in our spare, post-5pm time, we walked -- to the zoo, to the botanical gardens, to the harbor, to the flea market. I took Saturday morning to go horseback riding and swimming in the city pool (naturally heated by geothermal springs!) while Don saw a few more city sights and played with the lively neighborhood cats. I'll admit, it's a pretty good city got relaxation.