Most of our group, numbering 21 plus our tour guide Thor Tilinius, arrived today. Today’s agenda is therefore limited to give folks a chance to get acclimated. But it’s been a busy enough day.
We had a continental breakfast at the hotel, after which we met many of our fellow travelers in the lobby. Breakfast for us broke our intermittent fasting program: 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating. We’ll be observing intermittent eating on this trip: 16 hours of eating and 8 hours of fasting.
I took a brief stroll to the south of our hotel, seeing nothing I recognized as an important landmark. Just a bunch of colorful houses on streets that, Thor tells us, are designed with intersections that discourage high-speed through traffic.
Part of Reykjavik’s unique charm is the collection of murals, paintings and just plain graffiti on many buildings, blending nicely with the multi-colored paint schemes of the surrounding houses. Today is a sunny day, unlike yesterday’s cloudy light, and the colors are much more vibrant.
The formal session started with a walk with Thor, our tour guide who is assisting Sage, the tour leader. Thor is an theatrical actor, director and producer and a native of Reykjavik. His parents lived in our hotel’s neighborhood. He knows the turf.
We started with an hour’s walk down our street and back up the “Rainbow Street” to the Hallgrimskirkja Church, much the same territory Judy and I covered on our own yesterday. Except this time we had someone who could tell us what we were seeing.
The Rainbow Street is so painted to show the town and Iceland’s support and acceptance of the LGBTQ community. It also denotes the spot where we had crepes yesterday.
Thor pointed out Smekkleysa’s, an important music producer in ReykjavIk. Its Bad Taste record label released songs by many important Icelandic pop groups, including Sugarcubes. Incidentally, Bad Taste is a name derived from Pablo Picasso’s manifesto: “Good taste and frugality are the enemies of creativity.”
We saw an imposing lava stone structure that, until 2016, was the local jail. It housed the Supreme Court until 1947. Its exterior has been refurbished but its future use is yet to be determined.
12 Tonar is a famous music shop, café performance venue and record label that has given up-coming indie artists their start.
We even passed by the Iceland Hand Knitters Association shop which, miraculously, we escaped without making a purchase.
Our final destination was the Hallgrimskirkja Church, the tall church that for me at least is the landmark that keeps me from getting lost. One sighting and I know how to get home.
“Named after the revered seventeenth-century Icelandic poet and clergyman, Hallgrímur Pétursson, the church stands as a tribute to his profound impact on Icelandic literature and religious life. Pétursson, best known for his passionate and soulful hymns, has left an indelible mark on the country’s cultural heritage, a legacy that Hallgrímskirkja represents with pride and dignity.” https://www.re.is/is/blog/guide-to-hallgrimskirkja-church-reykjavik/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw97SzBhDaARIsAFHXUWBvYpXZezLAcTh2a2sX3aEOGOEXQL7nZ2uDQp2TeCvZe29XX-niVhcaAqsREALw_wcB His famous Passion Hymns are still recited today.
Hallgrimskirkja is a Lutheran church. Thor says that a person born in Iceland is automatically a Lutheran. You have to file a petition to not be a Lutheran.
Steiner Logi Helgason, one of the church’s organist and choirmaster, treated us to an introduction to the church’s main organ, a German instrument installed in the 1990s. He performed several pieces of music by Icelandic composers that demonstrated both the development of Icelandic music and the power of the instrument.
A trip up to the observation deck of the 74 meter high tower gave us great views of Reykjavik on this sunny Saturday morning.
The statue out front is of Leif Ericsson, the son of Eric the Red and the explorer who discovered America in 1000 AD, give or take. It’s a gift given to Iceland to commemorate the 1,000-year anniversary of the first meeting of Iceland’s parliament, the Alþingi (Althing) in 932 AD. A gift, Thor pointed out, from a country that celebrates Columbus as the guy who discovered America.
The Alþingi is the longest serving parliament in the world but the artistic culture of Iceland is quite young. One of the pieces we heard this morning was by Jon Leifs, one of the first Icelandic composers of classical music. Before, it was all folk tunes and Lutheran hymns imported from Europe. Leifs did most of his composing in the 1920s and 1930s, blending his European training with traditional Icelandic folk tunes. So it’s fair to say that Icelandic classical music is less than 150 years old.
Across the street from the church is the museum and sculpture garden dedicated to the works of Einar Jonsson, often called the first Icelandic sculptor. He lived from 1874 to 1954 and is the first Icelandic artist to gain international recognition. I visited the sculpture garden yesterday and included a couple of pictures of his work. So again, the arts in Iceland are quite young.
Around 1:30 we had what Sage terms “brunch,” which is as good a name as any for what was a fantastic experience. We’re told we had tiger shrimp torpedos, chicken and waffles, brown pancakes and eggs Benedict with yuzu and caramel ice cream for desert. Meals that are both tasty and a cultural experience are to be treasured.
By 3:30 everyone was instructed to observe nap time so that we all could recover from jet lag and be prepared for tomorrow’s packed agenda. I, having arrived yesterday, skipped Quiet Time (Judy didn’t) and walked down the hill to the center of town. I saw the town square, the parliament building and the Harpa music hall, Reykjavik’s answer to the Sydney Opera House. Judy and I will be at the Harpa tomorrow evening for a concert performance so we’ll see which hall wins the best-of contest.
Fortunately for you (and me), I don’t know much about what I saw today so I’ll offer up no commentary. I’m sure Thor will take us where I went today so I’ll be able to regale you with more trivia in days to come.
