I had thought that this building had housed the consulate to Malta here in Reykjavík because I was in University with a girl who lived here: her father was some kind of consulate and Malta always stuck in my mind. But it seems its been a guesthouse for a while now. Just goes to show how creative our minds can be with bits of information.
Malta is very interesting, though. It's a country with an only slightly larger population than Iceland, with 400,000 citizens who are jam-packed onto two rocky islands totalling only 115 square miles. Talk about crowded.
Without meaning any disrespect to my own island culture, I have to say Malta's history kicks Iceland's Viking butt any day. Thought to have been settled by an ancient civilization in the very early bronze age, more than 7,000 years ago, Malta has been changing hands ever since: from Vandals to Arabs to Brits, the country has been plucked from the Mediterranean as a prize by countless land-hungry rulers, and pawned for trade a number of times. Icelanders, on the other hand, have written a couple of famous books and have managed to cling to their lava rock for about a thousand years or so. A mean feat in itself, but slightly less fantastic sounding than the saga of the Maltese.
Back to the house: this castle style was very popular here in Reykjavik in the early part of the past century, and particularly at the intersection of Laufásvegur and Bragagata (on the lower left edge of this map). There are three large and impressive structures with castle tops there, including my daughter Valentína's pre-school alma mater, Laufásborg. Though a slightly odd design element, the crenelations definitely add an interesting touch to the mid-town Reykjavík scenery.
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