Iceland Day 1

After all that sitting yesterday in cars, airports and planes, I sure did the opposite today! My plane landed in Keflavik, Iceland at 6:30 AM local time. This was 12:30 AM back home - bedtime! By the time I caught the shuttle bus into Reykjavik to my hotel, it was about 9 AM. Since my room wasn't ready I decided to do a luggage drop and go exploring.

I headed down towards the harbor but the beautiful Hallgrimskirkja Church caught my eye. At 75 meters tall it would standout on it's own, but it is situated on the top of a hill which makes it even more prominent. As the sun was starting to come out I decided to take advantage of the pleasant change in the weather forecast and I walked over to photograph and investigate this eye-catching building. The pipe organ inside the church is quite spectacular as well. When the sun disappeared behind some clouds I decided to postpone the elevator ride up to the top.

I felt a bit weary and decided that a hot cup of tea would pick me up. There were many interesting little places nearby so I stopped at one for a refreshing cup of jasmine tea. It was just what I needed!

I continued on towards the harbor and stopped at the Sun Voyager Sculpture.  Then the Harpa Conference and Concert Center Center caught my eye. As I walked along the shoreline towards it, I was struck by the water's magnificent color - so clean, clear and blue!

I headed back to my hotel room where I was able to check in, then met up with another member of the tour group who also came a day early. We revisited the sites I had seen earlier, but this time went up the tower of the  Hallgrimskirkja Church. The sun was strong, the sky was blue and the views were wonderful!

We also went to the Harpa Conference Center again but went inside this time. The architecture is truly amazing and unique!

Other stops this afternoon included a lunch break, a walk around the harbor area, a pleasant meander through an amazing old cemetery, and a quick stop at the National Museum of Iceland. They were closing soon, so we decided to return tomorrow.  

My feet had had it and so had I...after roughly 30 hours without much sleep. As we headed back to the hotel we stopped at the church on the hill one more time. The sun was hitting the face of the church along with the imposing statue of Lief Erikson.

It's not 'bedtime' Reykkavik time but I am beat. It's been a great first day in Iceland!