Our Icelandic holiday started and ended in the region around Reykjavík, the northernmost capital city in the world at 64 degrees 8 minutes above the equator.
While there is an airport in the city, most travelers from abroad arrive at Keflavík International Airport, about 50 kilometers southwest on the Reykjanes Peninsula. After a 7-hour 15-minute flight, we landed at 6:45 a.m. on a gray, rainy Monday. After picking up our rental SUV a short distance away from the airport, we drove the highway across the basalt-crusted peninsula into the city.
Our accommodations in Reykjavík were at a modern guesthouse just off the square containing Hallgrímskirkja, the tall white church that can be seen from miles away, a statue of the Viking Leifur Eiríksson and the Einar Jónsson Museum, with a sculpture garden behind it.
From the guesthouse, the city center was very walkable. The main street lies a short distance downhill from the church, past rows of colorful residences and businesses. In the area, we found cafes, restaurants, a bar serving only Icelandic beers, a supermarket, bookstores, several outdoor clothing retailers, squares and ponds - and few traffic signals. Despite the rain, it was packed with people wearing hoods and using umbrellas. Twenty-four hours later, after stocking up on supplies, we set out on the Ring Road to the southeast.
When we returned a week and a half later, the weather was better and the harbor could be seen from uphill near the church. We spent our last evening in Reykjavík using our remaining kronas and looking through the Jónsson sculpture garden.
The next day, before dropping off our rental vehicle and checking in at the airport, we stopped for a soak at the famed Blue Lagoon, 10 kilometers off the highway near Keflavík. It was an ideal way to get in one last bit of relaxation before the flights home!
Here are more photos of Reykjavík.
