We awoke to it being pitch black outside. Apparently, the sun doesn’t rise until 11:30 a.m. Although, it’s a cloudy, rainy day, so I’m not sure we’ll see it when it does. My wife’s underwear still weren’t dry yet, so I had to trek down to get breakfast for all of us alone. It wasn’t until I got back that I realized that there’s a towel warmer in the bathroom. So, I put her underwear on that to dry faster.
The breakfast at the hotel was a full buffet in a large dining room. It was stocked with a variety of options for every tastebud. It was also completely empty. So, I had my pick of food, and I loaded up three boxes full to carry back to my room. The two ladies in the dining room were amazing, helping me with supplies, bags to carry the food in, and even a little carrier for the drinks.
After breakfast, I trekked out into the cold to find a store that sold lingerie. While I was able to find some panties, I couldn’t find a bra in the right size. Since I knew there was no rush while we waited for my wife’s underwear to dry, I decided to walk around the city a bit. It’s a quaint city with cute houses and little shops that reminded me a lot of Derry, Northern Ireland. And much like my time in Derry, I spent hours exploring it alone on foot.
I made my way to the half-frozen lake to see the swans, geese, ducks, and seagulls. I’ve never actually seen a swan in person before, so this was a surreal experience. And to commemorate the occasion, they even played me a song of accompanying trumpets and honks. After that, I decided to walk around the lake and look at the random statues and artwork adorning the shoreline.
After it started to drizzle again, I made my way back toward the hotel and stopped to grab a picture with Jólakötturinn, the famed black Yule Cat. It’s said that Jólakötturinn would eat any child that didn’t get new clothes for Christmas. This meant that children needed to be good and do their chores so that their parents were inclined to buy them new clothes and thus keep them from being eaten.
When I finally made it back to the room, Troy was playing on his LeapPad and my wife was sleeping. So, I decided to take a little nap too, since the long night last night and the exercise was making me tired. Troy got tired too and snuggled up next to me. When we awoke, the Christmas Market was going on outside, so we decided to go outside and see it. After all, that’s why we got here early, so we’d be able to enjoy it on the last weekend.
We shopped a few stalls at the Christmas Market, got kissed by a giant troll, got Troy’s picture with Santa Claus and his elf on the sidewalk, snapped another picture with Troy being eaten by Jólakötturinn, visited a head shop which actually ended up being a hat shop instead of selling new heads (both Troy and I were disappointed by this), watched the sunset at 3:30 in the afternoon, saw the famed Rainbow Road, and then roamed the streets to check out the little shops.
We ate dinner at Icelandic Street Food, where they serve soups in a bread bowl. They were a little pricey, but you get as many free refills on soup as you’d like, so there’s that. And they served free waffles for dessert. We had the lamb soup, and Troy and I enjoyed it, but my wife did not. So, she filled up on waffles instead.
After dinner, my wife and son wanted to go back to the hotel and rest again. So, they went back, and I wandered the streets alone. It’s funny how things come alive after dark. It’s like a night life, but it’s still only early evening. The streets were packed with people wandering around like me, eating, shopping, and snapping photos. I made my way back up to the Rainbow Road and then followed it up to Hallgrímskirkja church, which at 74-meters tall (almost 244 feet) is the tallest church in Iceland. Its gothic design gives the church a dark and haunting feel, especially at night. The natural cobalt columns on its sweeping outer walls pay homage to the cobalt cliffs to the northwest. While I didn’t get to go inside, the church also boasts a 5275 pipe organ. There is also a statue of Leif Erikson in the church plaza, a gift from the United States to commemorate Erikson’s believed discovery of America 500 years before Columbus.
From there, I wandered around some more until my feet started to hurt, and then I headed back to the hotel again. It was an enjoyable day.
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