Day 9: Reykjavik

Today we only had a half day tour booked so that in the afternoon we could explore Reykjavik. We were picked up from our hotel to be taken to the tour office and just as I was stepping off the bus, the guys in front turned to tell us that it was slippery. Unfortunately by this point my feet had flown from under me and I was flat on the floor. Put a slight dampener on the day but was still able to enjoy it.

We drove past many sights in Reykjavik and stopped at others. We saw Höfði House where a meeting between Ronald Regan and Mikhail Gorbachev was held in 1986. We passed a Viking ship sculpture on the shore. We visited Bessastaðir, the official residence of the Icelandic president. They have no fences or obvious security, they are even listed in the phone book. The only thing marking a boundary was a sign by the church in front of their house asking that you go no further than the path behind the church. We drove back towards Reykjavik via Hafnarfjörður, this harbour town was stunning, the houses have all been built within the rocky lava fields without the removal or destruction of the landscape. Supposedly the Icelandic people believe that the rocks are homes to Elves and when they try to remove them, bad things happen. From here we visited the Pearl, a café and restaurant rest above 4 giant hot water storage tanks and provides a 360° views of the city.

Our final stop was Hallgrímskirkja church. It is visible from many parts of the city and surrounding area and was designed to represent the columnar basalt of the south shore regions. Whilst there, there was a pianist playing which created a lovely atmosphere.

After a lunchtime nap we decided to wander down the main shopping street to find some lunch and see a bit of Reykjavik. I don't think I'd really thought about quite how small reykjavik is. It felt like walking down the high street back home, or at least through our nearby little city. Not what you'd expect from a capital city at all, there again, with only 320,000 people in the whole country I should have been expecting it.

Yet again our evening northern lights tour was cancelled but it allowed us time to pack our bags ready for our departure in the morning.