"Finding Nirvana is like Locating Silence" Jack Kerouac- Dharma Bums
"Finding Nirvana is like Locating Silence" Jack Kerouac- Dharma Bums
The morning of the trip I checked to make sure our 5:15 pm flight was on time when I saw that the new departure time was marked as 2:55 am. The reason was simply marked weather. Turns out they were experiencing 98mph winds around Keflavik International. A good enough reason to push a flight I suppose.
Solfar
After 9 1/2 hours of flight delays we found ourselves in Reykjavik. A quick stop at the hotel and we scrambled on foot into town hoping to utilize the last hours of daylight to orientate ourselves. What we found was an orientation on Icelandic weather where we encountered rain, hail, sleet, snow, and ice pellets (a new one for us) in the span of a few blocks.
This country is big on hot dogs, and we had heard that there was one small chain that was better than the rest. So we fought the elements to track down Baejarins Beztu Pyslur which we would learn means "The Best Hot Dogs in Town". Most people get them with everything which means Ketchup, Sweet Mustard, Raw Onions, Fried Onions, and Remoulade. The Sweet Mustard is one of the best condiments we've ever had. We're not the only ones who think that either. If you order "The Clinton" you get a dog with only sweet mustard just the way Bill ate them on his trip here.
We also noticed a weird affair with American culture popping up around town.... themed bars based on the movie Big Lebowski and American hero Chuck Norris.
Hillgrímskirkja is a Luthern Church designed to look like the lava basalt columns found around the island. They started building it in 1945 and finished in 1986. What's worth the trip is that you can buy a ticket (~$6) to take an elevator up to the Clock tower. This gives you an awesome panoramic view Reykjavik.
Harpa is Reyjkavik's concert and conference hall that was built in 2011. It's a beautiful all glass building with different colored panels that put on a light show at night. Unfortunately we weren't able to catch a show, but definitely worth a stop.