Reykjavik Old Harbour
6 July 2019
We followed the path along the water down past the beautiful Harpa Concert Hall, home of Reykjavik’s orchestra. The towering glass building panels were crafted with geometric patterns in the glass. One part was reminiscent to me of a dragonfly wing. Just stunning! Apparently, this building lights up at night and puts on a lovely display. Not sure what kind of light show we would see on this trip, as it isn’t exactly going to be “night” at all!
The Old Harbour of Reykjavik sits on the northwestern end of the city. It is a beautiful harbor, filled with seafood shacks, boats of all kinds, whale watch tours, and views of the mountains beyond. The Saga Museum is there, with its recreations and dioramas depicting life during the time of the Sagas of the Icelanders, the old tales where Leif Erikson’s story is told among many others. We found a little bench, looked out over the harbor, and let ourselves get lost for a bit in the moment. We crossed to the other side of the harbor, passing by the Bryggjan Brugghús brewery and a decommissioned coast guard ship you can apparently make an appointment to tour, and started on the path toward our camper!
The neighborhood took a rather industrial turn, filled with the warehouses and industry naturally surrounding the ports. As we passed by the basic structures and relative lack of activity, we turned along a little jetty out to the þúfa. While it appears to be an ancient burial mound, þúfa is actually an art installation by local artist Ólöf Nordal built in 2013 in cooperation with a city fish processing company to celebrate their fishing past. You walk up the mound via a spiral pathway that encircles it, and at the top you are greeted by an old hanging box for drying fish, as well as an impressive view of the city. The artist stated this was a place remembering the simple ways of life, a place of meditation and relaxation in the city. We sat up on the hill and looked out over the harbor, a very different view than we had just a little bit ago. It was a relaxing spot to rest. If the intent of the artist was to create a peaceful place reminiscent of the simpler ways of life, I’d say he succeeded.
We descended the hill, and as we got to the bottom, I checked my messages to get the details for the camper. I had an email saying that there was a bit of a delay in getting things ready, and they would need two more hours. No worries, these things happen... and with taking out a camper that is to be our transportation and shelter in the unpredictability of Iceland, I’d rather wait to make sure things are right with it! So, with a couple hours to spare, we figured we’d head back to that great looking brewery on the waterfront for a quick lunch and local brew sample.
Most people were sitting out on the patio, but we went inside for a bit of a break from the wind. We were planning on a tasting flight, but the bartender advised us that it was happy hour, and so full pints would be cheaper. It’s difficult to express how expensive this country can be, but beer prices can be a good guide. A pint of regular domestic beer goes for about $10-$11, while a nice craft is around $13. Happy hour knocked a few krónur off this price, but it is still expensive. We ordered our happy hour pints of Black IPA and Summer Wheat, and shared an order of wings and seafood soup. Not exactly an Icelandic sounding meal save for the soup, but we are going to have to tread carefully to not completely blow out our budget. The beers were good, the food tasty, and I honestly believe the higher prices actually make you slow down and savor your meals. I don’t think that’s really a bad thing.
