Skip to main content

Rambling around Reyjkavk again

I am enjoying my time here in Reykjavik even with the short days.  It is interesting to learn the Christmas traditions and see the lights. 

Breakfast here at Snorri's guest house is a choice of cereals then bread, cheese meat, jam, peanut butter, fruit - no chance of going hungry! 

Yesterday I wandered over to Hallgrimskirkja and was able to listen to a renowned organist rehearse for a concert last night,  The organ pipes are magnificent. The concert was free so I could have walked over there last night but decided to stay in after a day of wandering around. 



From there I wandered up the shopping street that leads from the church - popping into book stores.  Icelanders LOVE their books and this time of year many new books are released which has everyone in a frenzy and there are talk shows, radio shows about these new books.  My kind of place!  Iceland has a huge amount of published authors - more per capita than any other part of the world I believe.  And yes I had to buy a book by Iceland's most popular mystery writer.  I look forward to reading it on cold January nights in London with a warm doggie snuggled up beside me. 

Popping into shops I picked up a few gifts but resisted buying much as I know I will be back here in June.   I finally found the Christmas market which wasn't up to much really.  I visited Volcano House and saw two films on... guess what... volcanoes.  Very interesting,  And later I got to explore an exhibit of volcanic ash and rocks.  I will spare you the photos of that.

I then popped by Tjornin which is the "City Pond".  All frozen over except for an area left open for the waterfowl.



d
Okay..... don't we all feel like this sometime.

My travel companion Monty the greyhound freezing his ads off,


Next up was late lunch/early supper so I started with a hot dog from the most popular place in Iceland..Icelanders love their hot dogs as much as they love their books.... these are made mostly from lamb with a bit of pork and beef.  The sauce was made from ketchup, mustard and mayo.  It may look disgusting but was rather good....



From there I walked past Michael's place where I stayed last year - just for old times sake and to see if I could see a "doggie in the window" but sadly Rosa wasn't there.  I would have stayed there but it was not available for this time period.  Hopefully in June as I certainly prefer the location.

The area around the harbor was particularly icy.  I walked slowly around taking photos - the whale watching ships were out in full force.  Brrrr.....I have seen enough whales that I really have no desire to take any whale watching trips for a while and especially not in the winter. 



In the background former whaling ships

In the background is the concert hall Harp where I will see a Xmas concsrt
I needed a warm up so popped into the Sea Baron for their delicious lobster soup.

You could have whale steak cooked to your liking and no I didn't  - I'd never do that


I then headed back via the shops and picked up some Skyr to have as an evening snack. Skyr is like yogurt but it isn't. It is thicker and so much better.  It's been around for hundreds of years but has been "fancied up" in different flavors now.  Blueberry is a favorite.  Num, num
 
And then to bed for a really lousy sleep.... ah jet lag....

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Peeing on fish or a fish out of water

Well this morning we headed off by boat to Siem Reap.  Due to the low water on the Tonie Sap Lake (more like a river until near the end of the trip when it widened considerably) the trip would be an 8 hour one... It was supposed to be boring but ended up as anything but...in no certain order...let's see.... We had a rest stop (turned out to be the only one) along the way and the loo was just a hole over the lake and there were fish circling around underneath.  Yes it was just a hole in the floor...you definitely had someone watch your stuff while you went in or one false move and your camera/purse or whatever would be in the lake.  The fish either like the warm pee coming in or they are pervs and like to see ladies parts.  We were just a few minutes out when all of a sudden there was something flying over me and jumping all over the floor - a little fish!  Guess he wanted to join the tour.  Roger reached down and scooped him up while I hooted and hollered.  Okay it wasn&#
Post a Comment
Read more

A walk along the coffin trail (and a couple of lakes) in the Lake District

While in the Lake District I wanted to do some light walking but not heavy duty hiking where I could easily get lost and my body not found for days partially eaten by hungry...sheep?  Anyway, you get the drift...not too grueling and safe for a solo walker.  I get a bit nervous when I am too far from civilization. There are lots of books about walking in the Lake District but they seem to be all about walking the fells in remote places...neither Thelma nor I fancied that.  While browsing in the post office/shop in Ambleside one day (if you are ever in Ambleside you must go there - a treasure!) I found a stand of walk descriptions on post cards.  And there I found my walk.  After all who could resist a stroll on the "coffin trail" in William Wordsworth country... I took a look and thought hmm...cafe along the route...that works for me. (with at least the security of knowing there was an available "loo" along the way.)  Okay, I may not have totally followed the
Post a Comment
Read more

The highlights of my Fall 2023 trip

I'm back home after a great six weeks away. This was a "short" trip for me.  So here we go with an overview of my trip.   London London for me is always a good idea.  I fell in love with it back in the mid 70's and it's been calling me back ever since. Some of the best things in my life have happened in London.  When I learned my two Oz friends Loraine and Linda were going to be in London in the fall I knew I had to be there.  And what fun we had!!  Of course, I did loads of other things as well.  I spent two weeks there from mid September until very early October and then back again for four nights at the end of October before flying home.   After over five years (delayed for two and a half years thanks to Covid) of walking, I finally finished the 126 km Capital Ring.  The picture above is taken at the end of my walk and where I started in May of 2018 at the main door of Streatham Common station just steps from my B and B.  What a walk!  I got to see so much more
Post a Comment
Read more