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.

I don’t think I’ve ever met someone from Iceland. We’ve changed planes at Keflavik Airport a couple of times but those brief encounters with customs officials and coffee shop cashiers don’t count. I’ve never had someone say, “Iceland? I’m from Iceland, you know.”

But then again, there are only about 376,000 residents in Iceland, and of those only 324,000 are true Icelanders, the remainder being from away. Almost 50,000 Iceland citizens live outside of Iceland, mostly in Scandinavian countries. There are about 40,000 people of Icelandic descent in the United States, mostly in the Upper Midwest. They came in the late 19th century and after World War II. Canada has a bunch, too. So no wonder I’ve never met an Icelander. It’s a small country with a small population.

But here we are, about to spend two weeks and more finding out what’s up with Iceland. Someone back home asked us, “What in the world are you going to do in Iceland for two weeks. I spent four days in Reykjavik and that was plenty.”

I’m not worried though. I think Iceland has an outsized importance in the world, more of just about everything – culture, scenery, wildlife and history – per capita than just about any place I can think of. OK, maybe Antarctica is right up there, per capita wise, but hey, it’s not a country.

Our flight over took five hours and was uneventful. We had dinner at Legal Seafood at the Boston airport, planning on saying “No, thanks” to Icelandair’s offer of dinner, opting for sleep instead. That proved to be a good choice. Judy claims they offered dinner but I was fast asleep. No breakfast. I slept for four hours, Judy maybe two.

Our taxi driver (“from away” like most taxi drivers in the world) dropped us 100 meters from our hotel’s front door since it’s located on a pedestrian thoroughfare. We had to dodge a painter’s lift truck to get to reception. Most everything in downtown Reykjavik is under construction, it seems.

Our room was ready, even at the early hour of 10 AM. We got settled and started out exploring on foot.

Actually, “on foot” is an apt description of our outing. We’re about as experienced a pair of travelers you could ask for, but even old pros – emphasis on “old” – can mess up once in a while. I took a shower just before leaving home and in dressing for the trip managed to put on on new shoe and one old shoe.

Now fortunately, I always buy black shoes, ones that I can wear hiking during the day and can wear to fancy restaurants that night. Solid black every time, which explains why I ended up the way I did. And my mistake gave us a reason for our outing. We stopped in a half dozen shops before finding one that sold shoes. If you want a genuine Icelandic wool sweater, they’ve got you covered. But shoes? Not so much. I guess most tourists make it to Reykjavik with matching shoes.

Lunch was at a genuine Icelandic crepe shop, just like the one we fell in love with in Amsterdam many years ago.

So far, our contact with Icelanders has been more than positive. Friendly and helpful, every one of them.

We covered a fair amount of ground on our walk. Judy retired early and I continued on to the Hallgrimskirkja Church, which we’ll be visiting for an organ recital.

The pictures will hopefully give a feel for what the town is like. It’s hard to call Reykjavik picturesque or quaint like many Old Town sections of major cities. It feels, to me, like a working town, one that’s dynamic and one that doesn’t let the tourist trade get in the way of people living their lives. Reykjavik sports a lot of wall art on its buildings, both commissioned and graffiti-based, which is quite attractive. It has its own charm, it’s colorful, attractive, clean and neat and I’m looking forward to learning about it from our guide in the coming days.

Nap time is over, the sun is breaking through the cloud deck and I’ve found a fish joint around the corner for dinner. It must be good, judging by the cats waiting impatiently at the back door.

But wait: there’s more. Sage told us about a nearby geothermal-heated swimming pool called Sundholl. Off we went, for a pre-dinner dip. It’s a community thing – free for seniors. You shower and can enter lap pools, hot tubs and kiddie pools. It’s a big facility and seems quite popular with locals and tourists alike.

And the cats were right. The unassuming Reykjavik Fish Restaurant served up Arctic Char (a salmon relative) and a thick, spicy Icelandic fish stew called Plokkari. Really good. A geothermal soak, fish dinner and a beer and we’re about as relaxed as you can get.

We’re on our own until 11:30 AM tomorrow when the formal program begins with a walking tour of downtown.

We can’t seem to stay away from the cold. First Antarctica and now Iceland.  But when you’re working against a bucket list when an opportunity to check off a “must” destination presents itself, you have to jump. That’s what happened when Sage Lewis announced a June trip to Iceland. We’ve been holding out on doing Iceland until we could do it with Sage. Now’s the time.

Sage, founder of Project Por Amor https://projectporamor.com  is first and foremost a talented musician. Check out https://sagelewismusic.com. He also runs a unique travel service specializing in both Iceland and Cuba.  He has extensive knowledge of the music and culture of both countries. The grub on his trips is said to be pretty good too.

There’s an added benny in traveling with Sage. He’s the son of Barrs and Holly Lewis. Barrs and I were business partners for 10 years, first consulting as PNC Associates and then forming Harmonic Systems, a company we built and ran for five years before cashing out. They’re going on this trip too and we’ve wanted to travel with them for years.  

The travel stars are aligned so off we go.

This is a two-part affair. The first nine days (June 13 – 22) will be with Sage, exploring Reykjavik and southern Iceland for the most part. Here’s a link to Sage’s trip: https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/v5nDUjICTgOci?

Judy and I will then take off in a rental car to explore the north on our own (June 22 – 30). There will be more culture on the first part and more nature and scenery on the second. But our plans for the north are pretty loose so no telling what we’ll run into as we go. Here’s a map of the entire trip:

Sage is taking us to the blue spots. We’re on our own for the red.

As usual, I’ll be (trying to) post every day. If you’ve signed up before, you’ll get a daily email when I do post. If you don’t get daily emails from us on our trips, shoot me a message and I’ll add you to the list. You can access the blog at jonandjudy.com at any time, email or not. Use the Menu to jump to a particular day of this trip or one of our previous trips.

See you in Iceland!