After a nice long sleep I woke up and headed up the hill to get my cinnamon roll from Brauð & Co for my brunch. My plan for the day involved more wandering, visiting a couple of museums and churches, popping in to say hello to the British Ambassador (as you do!), the obligatory trip to Orr, and then having a few beers and dinner in a restaurant, for the first time in 4 months!
First stop was the Ásmundur Sveinsson sculpture museum, a bit of a walk west of the centre. It was another glorious day - quite unlike the conditions I usually have on both my September and winter trips, when it's inevitably raining. It wasn't the most interesting of walks, but as usual there was a nice mural and a couple of buildings I liked.
Once at the museum I sat in the garden and ate my roll (as yummy as always!), surrounded by massive, impressive sculptures. I then headed inside to explore, with the place to myself but for one other couple. The museum is one of the three branches of the Reykjavík Art Museum, so I bought the combined ticket, planning to visit at least one of the other two later on. This one was the old house and studio of the sculptor, which had then been extended to house and display his works of art. It was a beautiful structure, and the light pouring in highlighted the smaller works inside, and gave a stunning backdrop for the larger ones outside. A lot of the smaller sculptures were models for larger-scale works, some in the garden, others at various industrial sites around the country.
Because I'd got up quite late I'd slightly messed up my timing for the day. The museums (and Orr!) closed at 5pm, and by the time I left the museum it was already 1.30pm, so I was a little rushed. I headed back into town, via the striking Háteigskirkja - a church I'd first admired back in 2009 on my previous summer trip with the hubby. Across the road from it is another, very different, church - Kirkja Óháða Safnaðarins. From a certain vantage point it was possible to see that church, Háteigskirkja and Hallgrímskirkja all at once.
I continued my wandering, passing a few very different architectural styles, eventually getting to Hallgrímskirkja, which unfortunately was closed, so no chance to go up the tower for some lovely views below.
Next stop was the British Embassy, as I'd become friends with the ambassador on Twitter and he said I should pop in next time I was around, so I did! I messaged to ask if he was there and he was, so I went inside and we had a nice chat about all-things-Iceland, Covid-19 and a few other topics, before I realised that I needed to head on if I was to make the other museum building on time. I passed more pretty churches, murals and sculptures along the way.
I arrived at the Tryggvagata location of the Art Museum at around 4pm, and was a little disappointed to discover that there was actually only one exhibition open, as the majority of the space was being prepared for a Gilbert & George exhibition opening in a couple of weeks. The museum is housed in an old prison, so the building was certainly interesting.
The artwork that I did see was limited to two large rooms, by the Icelandic artist Erró. I stopped in the gift shop on the way out and saw some of his work that I hadn't seen upstairs, so got the feeling that I might have missed a couple of rooms...
I did get a glimpse of the rather-obscene Gilbert & George work...
I left the museum and did something I haven't had the opportunity to do before in Reykjavík - I sat outside a bar and had a beer in the sunshine! I went to the Skúli bar, which I've been to on a few previous occasions with friends at nighttime, and ordered a local sour beer and some lamb jerky. I sat outside for a while but it was a bit chilly so went inside. Soon the guy sitting in the one sunny spot left outside, so I grabbed my opportunity and took his spot. It was blissful. One beer turned into two. I watched a tour party show up and stand around in anoraks with hoods up, which was a bit odd given how warm it was. They might have been from a cruise ship that had arrived overnight.
Feeling nicely buzzed I headed back towards my apartment, passing through a park with people lying on the grass and past restaurants and cafés with people soaking in the afternoon sun.
Back at home I did a little search of decent food options. Given that I was alone I didn't fancy going to an expensive restaurant, but instead settled on a noodle bar just up the road - Hi Noodle. Not very Icelandic, I know, but it had good reviews and ramen noodles seemed quite appealing. This was the first restaurant I'd been in since early March, so it felt a little strange. It was a tiny place, with a few stools along a bar, and I quickly wolfed down the delicious tonkotsu - the reviews were right, it was yummy.
Next stop was another bar, also just up from my apartment - the Brewdog bar. I had an expensive and slightly disappointing IPA before heading back home to pick up my camera gear and walk down to Sólfar for sunset again. There were slightly fewer people than the previous night, but still many fishermen down on the rocks. The arctic terns must have been feeding elsewhere tonight. There weren't any clouds in the sky, so it wasn't as picturesque as the previous night. I decided to head up the hill to the church, as I could just see the top glowing in the last light. Had I arrived about ten minutes earlier I would've got the whole tower in the sun, but I was a little late and the shadow was increasing quickly. It was still pretty special.
I headed back to the Sólfar sculpture, where only a handful of people remained. The light was intense, but without the clouds of the previous night it wasn't quite as special. It got cold pretty quickly, so once the sun disappeared I didn't bother waiting around for any dusk light.
My adventure in Reykjavík was over, but it had been wonderful to spend a day and a half there, without having to worry about a car on a metre, and just wander. My next adventure would begin in the morning, picking up my Dacia Duster and heading off east and across to Vestmannaeyjar.
Click here for my blog from Day 1 - Travelling in Times of Covid-19
Click here for my blog from Day 3 - A Long-overdue Return to Vestmannaeyjar
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