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| The
tall Hallgrímskirkja church dominates the city skyline. In
front of it stands a statue depicting Leif Eiríksson, discoverer
of "Vinland" (America) in 1000. |
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| A
stall selling traditional Icelandic woollen goods. |
Despite all
the difficulties of living in the northern latitudes, the citizens of
Reykjavík have built themselves a major city of 100,000
or so people in just over one hundred years (its population was only seven
hundred in 1860). The country`s first settler, Ingólfur Árnarson,
called Reykjavík "smokey bay" after the tall white plumes
of vapour that rose from the warm ground. Today it is a bustling metropolis
but its atmosphere is devoid of the fumes and smoke so common in other
cities thanks to the use of geothermally-heated water to heat the buildings.
The city`s centre is the square of Austurvöllur, once Ingólfur`s
homefield, and the parliament house stands just opposite it. The city
is small enough to explore on foot and the fishing harbour, the little
lake of Tjörnin, the national museum and many other places
of interest are within easy walking distance of Austurvöllur. Two
particular places to visit are Hallgrímskirkja and Laugardalur.
Hallgrímskirkja is a tall modern church set on a hill in
the middle of Reykjavík; it can be seen from well over forty kilometres
away and the view from its observation platform is quite superb. From
there, one of the landmarks to the north-west is the ice-capped volcano
of Snæfellsjökull, the starting point for Jules Verne`s explorers
in Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Laugardalur is the site
of Reykjavík`s main swimming pool, where natural warm water at
37°C soothes the aches of the traveller`s body; but if that temperature
is too tame then try one of the "hot-pots" — small pools
where the temperature can be as high as 45°C!
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