26 May 2017 - Iceland Day 1: Exploring Reykjavik (Tjörnin, Hallgrímskirkja, Sólfar)

After taking a short rest in our room, we drove to a nearby mall, Kringlan, for dinner as well as stock up some food for the coming road trip.  Kringlan is the biggest shopping center in Reykjavik, second largest in Iceland.

After dinner, we decided to drive around the city center of Reykjavik.  First we visited Tjörnin, a prominent small lake situated next to the Reykjavik City Hall.

Next, we visited Hallgrímskirkja Church, Reykjavík's main landmark and its tower can be seen from almost everywhere in the city.

Standing directly in front of the church, and predating it by 15 years, is a fine statue of Leifur Eiriksson (c. 970 – c. 1020) – the first European to discover America. Records suggest that Leifur landed on the shores of the new world 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

The interior of Hallgrímskirkja is very grand.

There is a gargantuan pipe organ designed and constructed by the German organ builder Johannes Klais of Bonn. Standing tall at an impressive 15m and weighing a remarkable 25 tons, this mechanical action organ is driven by four manuals and a pedal, 102 ranks, 72 stops and 5275 pipes, all designed to reproduce powerful notes capable of filling the huge and holy space with a range of tones.

We walked around the church, both interior and exterior, before heading to the next landmark of Reykjavik.

Sólfar or Sun Voyager, is a gleaming steel sculpture on Reykjavik’s splendid waterfront that resembles a Viking long-ship. It is actually a dream boat and an ode to the sun. Intrinsically, it contains within itself the promise of undiscovered territory, a dream of hope, progress and freedom.

Facing the majestic Mt. Esja, Sun Voyager is in a wonderful spot for photo opportunities.  :-)

We returned to our room after that as it started to rain.

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