On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
twbrandt
In August of 2023 I was with a group of 16 people from my church on a trip to Iceland. The purpose of the trip was to hike the Laugavegur Trail, a 55 km (34 mile) hike through the southern Icelandic highlands. The hike took six days, but we spent a few days in Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital city and home to around 1/3 of Iceland’s population of ~350,000. It is a quirky city, but very walkable and filled with good (albeit expensive) restaurants, bars, museums, hotels, and lovely neighborhoods. I’ve split this OTR into three parts – one showing the quirkier side of Reykjavík, the other two from the trail.
One thing you don’t see in Reykjavík, unlike any American city of any size, are homeless people. Iceland, like the other Scandinavian countries, has a robust social safety net. You also see very few cops. Crime there is very low. Everyone speaks fluent English, which is good since Icelandic is … challenging.
It took me a while to get used to very long daylight – sunset was around 10:30pm, sunrise around 3:30am. The weather was very mild – upper 40s at night, upper 50s during the day. It was very sunny when we were there – we just had one day of rain.
Along parts of Reykjavík harbor, people have constructed sculptures out of the volcanic rock lining the shore. This was taken near the Harpa concert hall.
The Sun Voyager sculpture on the harbor. It was sculpted by Icelandic artist Jón Gunnar Árnason and installed in 1990. The artist intended it to convey the promise of undiscovered territory, a dream of hope, progress and freedom
Reykjavík has some unusual public art.
More unusual public art.
Most Reykjavík buildings tend toward Scandinavian minimalism. Not this one.
Reykjavík is very gay-friendly.
The Hallgrímskirkja, the largest church in Iceland, completed in 1986. It is the tallest structure in Reykjavík. The views from atop the tower are absolutely spectacular, although I have no images from this trip.
The national church of Iceland is the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland. However, Iceland is largely secular, church attendance is very low, and most church goers are fairly elderly. The sculpture in front of the church is of Leif Erikson, donated by the United States of America in 1930 to commemorate the 1,000 anniversary (!) of the convening of the Althing, the parliament of Iceland.
The interior of the Hallgrímskirkja. Very Scandinavian in design. Despite the name, Evangelical Lutheran Church, it’s theology is quite progressive.
eclare
Interesting photos! Looking forward to the photos to come.
JPL
The picture of the people in the square is so bright and cheerful. Thanks for your pictures.
AJ of the Mustard Search and Rescue Team
Beautiful pics. Lovely to see a place that embraces LGBTQI folks so whole-heartedly.
HeartlandLiberal
Great pictures. We once flew Icelandic Airlines to Europe and back, so we can say we touched Icelandic soil. But just in the airport, sadly. We would love to visit and tour Iceland.
OzarkHillbilly
Stone stacking!
Another way to put it would be to say, “Anti GOP.” Thanx for the fun pics twbrandt.
Geo Wilcox
As long as they continue the barbarous killing of whales, Iceland gets zero dollars from us. What they do is EVIL.
J. Arthur Crank (fka Jerzy Russian)
Did you see any of the shop kitties? These as re cats that hang out at various shops downtown but apparently are not owned by anyone (or so you was told).
lee
We were there in 2018. I’ve got some pics from the interior and top of Hallgrímskirkja.
Also included is the cost of a hotdog at a hog dog stand in downtown Reykjavík
Here
twbrandt
@Geo Wilcox: Iceland is getting out of whaling. They have killed just one whale in the past three years, and say they are stopping completely in 2024.
twbrandt
@J. Arthur Crank (fka Jerzy Russian): No, we did not – didn’t know to look for them. If I go again, I definitely will.
Yutsano
Okay but can we haz þ and ð again please and thank you?
Iceland is very much on my visit for a week list. You make Reykjavik look lively and fun. Although I didn’t see much commentary from you about the food.
lee
@Yutsano: The food was varied. Some places it was great. Some just ‘meh’. It was all rather expensive. We went to the grocery store and loaded up so we didn’t have to eat out as much.
The best burger and fries I have ever had was at this place.
MelissaM
I love the colors of the houses and graffiti in Reykjavik! We did a 2-night layover and are determined to get back … someday. Looking forward to more pictures!
BigJimSlade
I love the statues. I’ve seen some of Michelangelo’s unfinished pieces where it looks like the subjects are struggling to get free of the stone – these ones are a different take :-)
twbrandt
@Yutsano: What Lee said. Fish, not surprisingly, is uniformly excellent. Icelandic lamb is also very flavorful. Restaurants and bars are expensive, but there is no tipping.
pieceofpeace
I like the thought-provoking provided by the statues and other artwork!
Hungry Joe
The Phallological museum in Reykjavik is a wonder. Half serious, half goof/fun. Penises … hundreds of them. Bears, mice, hamsters. Whales!
We were there for a wonderful week. Saw a couple of police cars in front of police stations in smaller towns, but never saw a cop. The only Icelandic flags we noticed were on a ferry boat taking us to an island off the south coast (puffins!), at the port of entry, and on mugs and t-shirts in gift shops. Everyone under about 40 spoke perfect, unaccented American English. I asked a store clerk how long he’d been in Iceland because he sounded like he was from Denver or Seattle. Nope. Reykjavikian.
The very worst housing we saw would pass for lower-ish middle class in the U.S.
Most Icelanders look like they’re related to Bjork. (Of course, most of them are.)
Anoniminous
Homeless people living on the streets in Reykjavík in the winter are called “corpses.” Icelanders have a strong sense of ‘Us’ and are willing to sacrifice to protect ‘Us.’ The downside is a heavy dose of bigotry and racism towards ‘Not-Us.’
JDM
We went to Iceland a few years back and drove around the ring road. Very pretty, and a lot of empty landscapes on that road. It is, however, very expensive, both food and hotels, although I think a larger group can do better than a duo some places. And the airport security is known for being really obnoxious toward people falling asleep at the airport when leaving (you’ve got a lot of nerve leaving, apparently; they also had it very cold despite their brag-worthy thermal heating availability). I’ve even read of them kicking sleeping people; basically the exact opposite of the airport in Singapore. Outside of the airport everyone was nice.
But if you can afford it, it is really beautiful. We mostly ate from grocery stores, plus loaded up at the included breakfasts. At the store, we found a few things (very few) that were reasonable. Oh, and we brought a new unopened large jar of peanut butter.
EDIT: some pictures if you’d like: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm5X8q2L
mrmoshpotato
@lee: The bacon dog sounds good.
mrmoshpotato
Great pictures of Reykjavík. That church design is very interesting.
Looking forward to the hiking posts.
SpongeBobtheBuilder
I’m staying over in Rekjavik for 24 hours on my way back from Europe in January. It will be dark! I was last there in June 1986 for 24 hours and have a picture of that church. I had no idea it was new at the time.
FYI: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is also quite progressive: They ordained women pastors two generations ago, ordained gay pastors since 2009 (caused a bunch of conservative churches to leave). I liken them to the Jesuits within the Catholic church. Kinda nerdy and academic, but focused on service and vocation. Of course this means that their members are mostly elderly, as is true of most mainline Protestant US churches.
NetheadJay
@JDM: Whoa, very nice photos.
WaterGirl
@JDM: You could put your photos together for an On the Road post!