City walking

Uh oh! I had a sort of a restful day in my mind for today, but somehow that didn't happen. I walked, and walked, and walked some more. But first...

The day started with good conversations and breakfast. There were several types of bread, sliced tomatoes, cucumber, hard-boiled eggs, cheese, and meat for make-your-own breakfast sandwiches. There were also tubs of yogurt and a selection of cereal, a bit closer to my normal breakfast food. I had a sampling of both for a good energy start.

After food, I chatted with Arna (the B&B owner) and one of my fellow guests about where to wander. When I originally planned to come here I was thinking about heading both to the norhwest and to the southeast without circling the island. Later I thought I'd stick to the northwest, but stories of waterfalls in the south changed my mind. Tomorrow I think I'll head north and west. I'm going to skip the West Fjords area in exchange for heading further to the east on the north side of the island. Then I'll switch directions, heading back the way I came, then traveling to the south and east. It will be two out-and-back wanders. I have my fingers crossed for some dry and brighter days.

Back to today... I spent the entire day walking through Reykjavik. I walked by the university, through a park, and on to the Hallgrímskirkja Church. I know, I know, churches aren't normal visiting spots for me. This one allows visitors to go to the top of the tower for a view of the city. The viewing area is within the building, but exposed to the howling wind. Even with today's cloud-filled sky, it was a beautiful view. I'd love to see it on a clear day.

I headed next to the sculpture garden behind the Einar Jonsson Museum. Beautiful.

The next chunk of my day was wandering without a destination. City streets, people watching, parks, street art, wandering.

Finished with city wanders, I headed to the northeast along the water in light rain, stopping to enjoy the Viking ship sculpture. I walked a bit further before turning back towards my B&B. A quick stop at a supermarket for a stash of fruit, and then I took a break for the better part of an hour. It probably would have been smart to sit still for longer than that, but (no surprise) I headed out again to walk further to the west along the water. Although it wasn't raining, there was water in the air. I could almost see land across the water through a few breaks in the clouds.

I took another short break before heading out for dinner at Icelandic Fish & Chips. That's not my normal choice of food, but the description outside the restaurant intrigued me. The fish is prepared in a in batter made from spelt and barley. I had redfish and roasted potatoes, very nice. And then, yes, I walked again.

It was not a rest day, but it was a good day.