Iceland Vacation, Day 2

Today was a full day to spend in Reykjavík. After some much-needed sleep, we made breakfast in our Airbnb and then went back to Hallgrímskirkja to participate in their mid-morning worship service.

(Click on any photo to enlarge it.)

Although the nave of the church can seat 1,200, the midweek services draw a much smaller crowd and are held in the chancel. About 30 of us were seated in three rows of chairs right behind the altar. The service was conducted in Icelandic, but we had a bulletin written in English--and we recognized most elements of the Lutheran service even without it. The Icelanders spoke English to us for the sharing of the peace, showed us where to go for communion (everyone stood in a circle in front of the altar), and invited us to join them for fellowship after the service. Along with the strong Nordic coffee, they laid out baked goods, crisp breads, cheeses, jams, and pickled and smoked fish.

After church, we walked around Reykjavík to explore. This stainless steel sculpture is called The Sun Voyager. That body of water is the Atlantic Ocean.

Nearby is Harpa, a concert hall and conference center. Here are a few more interesting buildings from our walk:

After a delicious dinner at the 1892 Brasserie (tomato soup in a bread bowl and a seafood salad), we continued our walk around the city. This is one of many statues in the sculpture garden of the Einar Jónsson Museum.

We sampled some local beers and ciders in the Reykjavík Bruggfélag, a craft brewery.

We stopped in Kaffi Loki for some fermented shark. Icelandic Vikings needing to eat discovered that Greenlandic shark, poisonous when fresh, became edible after being buried underground to rot for two months. Nowadays eating it is a mark of strength (being able to tolerate the taste!) and respect for tradition. For tourists, it's something to check off the list of "Icelandic things to do." Put a small cube of hákarl (the shark) in your mouth and start chewing. After several seconds, the taste of ammonia will wash over your tongue. That's when it's time to swallow the shark and then take a shot of brennivín, Iceland's signature spirit (a type of akevitt, which is aomething our family drinks regularly with our Norwegian meals). Brennivín, which means burnt wine, is 80 proof and definitely burns away the taste of the shark!

Then we went for much more pleasurable food: supper at the Reykjavík Fish Restaurant (fresh cod and Arctic char) and ice cream for dessert from Valdís (with interesting ice cream flavors like rye bread, salted licorice, and rose).