Reykjavik-a-go-go (Day 12)

Today is our day to explore Reykjavik. We were here 15 years ago, time to figure out how this town how changed. Our morning mission is to find a piece of land art that didn't exist last time we were here called the pufa. The hill is super obvious from our hotel, but as we walk towards it, it becomes ever more elusive. 

On the way we stop to take in some mural artwork. As we get closer, the environment becomes more and more industrial. There is not a giant hill, until we turn a corner and there is. We climb it, discover is wind dried fishy treats at the top and check our mental checklist. 

Afterwards we explore this part of Reykjavik that wasn't really a touristy portion of the city last time we were here. I can't say we were impressed. This is my best guess on how this played out. The weather in Iceland can be dicey. During the winter it's down-right punishing. What you need is some in-door tourist attractions that can amuse visiting families. Let's install those in our warehouse district. We can have a lava show, a volcano show, a northern light show, a virtual fly over of the island. These are obviously not attractions aimed at us. I kind of find it borderline offensive to fly all the way to an island and then sit in a theater and what a virtual representation of the island. Like, why did you even come here in the first place!?! But, again I feel these attractions are not aimed at me. 

After our morning stroll, Dawn retires to the hotel to take advantage of the spa facilities while I strike out to take advantage of Reykjavik's coffee shops. A couple of hours later we join up and do a bit of window shopping along Reykjavik's pedestrian shopping corridor. Ah, this is more like the Reykjavik I remember. Sure, there are more souvenir shops than I remember, but there are also some interesting Nordic design shops to visit. 

As the afternoon turns into the late afternoon it's time to turn our attention to cocktails. One of the things that has definately changed about Reykjavik is it's cocktail culture. Before cocktails were rare and now there are many-many options. We stop by a random local bar (Einstok) that is advertising happy hours and order a couple of drinks. The bartender turns out to be pretty cool and we asking him about other cocktail options. He points us to Jungle Bar (which was already on my list) and Vedur. 

After Einstok we hunt down an Icelandic hotdog. Their hotdogs are made with lamb and superior to US hotdogs, we are not disappointed. Then we go to Jungle Bar and have a delightful set of cocktails. 

After that we try out a vegetarian restaurant called Mama Reykjavik that had a promising menu. Man, this place smells amazing. The food is good too. I get a West African peanut curry and am very pleased. 

After dinner, Dawn retires to the hotel to read while I make my way to Vedur, where I have another delightful round of cocktails and chat up the local bartenders about working in the industry. As they start to get busy I bow out and make my way back to the room. We've been lucky to have great weather while we're in Iceland. During our layover to the Faroe Island we stopped here for a few hours and it was downright cold. Today the sun has been out and walking around town has been a joy. 

Reykjavik, you've changed, but you're still alright. Thanks for a delightful day.