Sun, Apr 28
I had a leisurely start this morning, seeing as it was Sunday and more than the half the town wouldn’t open til 10 or 11am, and the other half wouldn’t open at all til Mon. Seeing as this was my first real day in Reykjavik, I stopped at the information office down the street. The girl that helped me was not as good as the other one there (I overheard her talking to other people) but I thought it’d be rude to switch, so I just struck out on my own.
Not much was open, save the coffee shops and souvenir places. The weather was cloudy, very windy and cold, and I was not loving Reykjavik very much at all. Because I’ve been backpacking, I had decided that I could just layer when I got to Iceland, instead of bringing heavy clothes just for this stop. I was beginning to regret thus decision, and debated buying warmer clothing.
I walked up to Hallgrimskirkja, the iconic church on the hill in Reykjavik, and paid to go to the top of the tower. It had great views of the city and I cheered up for the moment (plus it was warmer inside).
Next up was Kaffi Loki, a cafe across from the church that had been recommended to me by several people. I had planned on getting the Traditional Plate, but it was a cold plate, and I needed something to warm me up so I went for the meat soup lunch. Delicious! I really love the rue bread here, especially when topped with sliced smoked lamb – YUM! I followed it up with coffee (they really know how to do coffee here!) and some rye bread ice cream with rhubarb sauce – DOUBLE YUM!
With a full tummy, I walked back over to the church to catch their afternoon English service. The church is more liturgical than mine (meaning more set structure) but it’s nice to see different cultures, both countries or churches.
After the service, I went to the museum across the street, on the recommendation of a fellow hosteler. It was small but very interesting. The medium was mostly plaster, and I was amazed at what the artist was able to accomplish with it. There was also a garden gallery with bronze statues which were equally as impressive. But cold, because it was outside.
Following the museum, I just roamed the streets of Reykjavik, to see what there was to see. I picked up a few groceries / snacks, then stopped to try Reykjavik’s famous hotdogs. I’m not usually a fan of hotdogs, but Baejarins Beztu Pylsur has got it down! For only 380 krona, you can be just as famous as Bill Clinton (pic to prove it on their cart) and enjoy a delicious dog with raw onions, crunchy onions, Dijon mustard and some type of gourmet ketchup (I didn’t know such a thing was even available!). AND everywhere in Iceland, they take visa! Even for a 380 krona ($3.25) hotdog!

I headed back to the hostel, and had a long hot shower because I was SO COLD! In my defense, I didn´t really pack well for this leg of the trip, hoping that creative layering would do the trick. Apparently, it doesn´t.  I did my obligatory blogging, then went to bed, the sole sleeper in a dorm for 10. Hoping that tomorrow I would actually like Reykjavik.