Elf you believe in it

Starting off vacation in true Jess fashion, Josh and I went for a long morning run out to the west-most tip of the Reykjavik peninsula, to the Grotta Lighthouse.  The lighthouse isn't particularly wonderful, but the views across the open water (you can even see the other peninsulas to the north in the distance) were beautiful.

Feeling much better after a good night's sleep and a great run, we downed our skyr (Iceland's answer to Greek yogurt, but it's sweeter and actually a cheese) and set out to see more of huge city.  First, we took a brief pilgrimage to the giant Icelandic church, Hallgrímskirkja.  

The unique design of the church was the result of a 1929 design competition to build a church in honor of Iceland's famous devotional poet, Hallgrímur Pétursson.  The church was finally opened to the public in 1986, and has been an iconic building ever since.  The inside of the church is characterized by simplicity and light, and features works from famous Icelandic artists.  In addition to services, the church is also used for artistic and cultural events.

Interestingly, Iceland is one of the few countries that has always been inhabited by Christians.  This community of faith has been persecuted in the past, originally by the Norse Vikings, but has always remained a presence on the island.  The island did convert to Lutheranism in 1540 due to Danish influence, and now describes itself as an evangelical Lutheran community.  Currently, about 90% of the population is part of the Icelandic church.

For tourists, the best part of the church is the 73.5 meter tower, which offers views in every direction.  It gave us a real appreciation for the relatively small size of the city, the cheeky colored rooftops, and the rugged beauty where nature had refused to be domesticated.

After Hallgrímskirkja, we headed to another interesting structure, Perlan (or "Pearl") - a glass dome mounted on five large concrete water tanks. It's a surprising contrast in delicate elegant and stark industrial aesthetics.  A luxury restaurant, rated one of the "best rotating restaurant dining experiences in the world", adorns the top floor, while the true prize, a 360 degree viewing deck, is one floor down.  Here, too, we admired the views, which never disappoint.

Next, we ducked back to near the church for the tourist experience at Loki Cafe, where we tried a few bites of the Icelandic national dish: fermented shark.  

One order "to taste" came with four bites, and we fearlessly popped a bite each into our mouths.  Let's just say that it was a one-time experience.  We graciously forfeited the other two bites to an American tourist couple at the next table, who were about to order their own.  They agreed with us - no more fermented shark.  On the other hand, the rye bread ice cream, a Loki Cafe special, was INCREDIBLE.  Very yummy.

Since we had seen most of the major sites at this point, we decided to get a different perspective and listened to an audio tour of the literary sites around Reykjavik.  This app is free and you can download various audio tours.  It was a fun way to explore new neighborhoods and learn a little bit about Reykjavik's past through poems, short stories, and sagas.  The takeaway: the sagas involve a lot of behavior now seen at college parties, feminist poetry (at least the modern stuff) is largely about drinking and partying and having sex to protest The Man, and Jules Verne used a Swedish dictionary to insert "Icelandic" words into his classic Journey to the Center of the Earth.

A couple of other gems from that walk - feeding the ducks at Tjörnin is a must.  Look for the swan with the odd, twisted neck (swan scoliosis?) - he's our favorite.   There's also a large elf stone hidden in one of the neighborhoods.  We are now on the lookout for more.

For dinner, we went to Icelandic fish and chips, because we figured that on an Iceland with a booming fishing industry it is appropriate to try the fruits of their labor.  I got oven-baked cod in a sundried tomato and lemon pesto - delicious.  Josh got the lobster soup, but it could not live up to the quality of The Sea Baron's specialty.

Afterward, we stopped by The Volcano House to see the documentaries about the two major eruptions that have shaped Icelandic history recently - one in 1973 and the other in 2010 (yes, the one that probably ruined your vacation plans or stranded your friends - poor creatures - in Europe).  The documentary was $20 per person, so we skipped that and played with all the volcanic rocks.  It's incredible how light pumice is, with all of the air pockets running through it.  We played in the mini sandboxes of volcanic rubble, ran our fingers over basketball-sized chunks of obsidian, and nerded out over the physics behind the formation of spherical bulbs in the rock - trapped bits of gas expanding to minimize entropy.  Two sulky teens stood waiting for the bathroom, complaining about their boring six hours wandering the city this afternoon, including four hours "just sitting on a hill".  It was a reminder that adventure does not just fall into your lap; vacation is what you make it.

To finish the evening, we walked out to the water's edge and watched the sun go down.  What an incredible place.

Spotted: University students are the same everywhere!  We stopped by the University of Iceland to buy a t-shirt for one of Josh's coworkers and found a surprisingly familiar scene: hipsters, messenger bags, ready sources of caffeine, and overpriced textbooks.