Ruin

Every city has it's eyesores. Unfortunately, this one is located on our main strip Laugavegur, for everyone to see over and over again. We've watched the puddle in the pit fill, freeze, thaw, snow over, thaw again and refreeze, etc. Aside from that being a comment on the fickle weather over here, that means this lot has lay bare for many months now. Many months. And this is not midtown Reykjavik's only unfinished architectural business...

Commentary aside, I find this scene attractive for its rawness, for exposing the inner workings of a city block like some kind of splayed open biology dissection specimen. I wonder about the soot stain on the white building at the back, and about the block-letter graffiti on the brick garage. I applaude the person who decided to paint the face of the low-lying storage building a deep red with green trim, even though it was almost completely hidden from view before the house that filled this hole was torn down. I love the colors that contrast shockingly with the rubble and I like that we can see down to the bedrock and feel assured that the heart of Reykjavik is built on solid rock. I won't miss this raw scene when it's gone, but while it's here we might as well try to appreciate it.

Lot

Out by the huge oil tanks at the tip of Örfirisey, the plot of land (once an island) that hugs the west side of the Reykajvik harbor, stands this old corrugated iron clad house. It was moved out to this empty lot from a location in downtown Reykjavik, though I don't recall exactly where it once stood. I'm sure it's awaiting relocation to a new site in the city center, as Örfirisey, or "island that it's possible to walk out to", (section 7 on this map) is not the most hospitable spot for a classic bit of Reykajvik's architectural history.

Of note: Trains in Iceland? Read here for a short history of Reykjavik's railways.

Airport

For those of you who've traveled here recently and experienced how grand our international airport is out at Keflavík (no sarcasm intended...it's a very nice building) you might get a kick out of seeing this photo of the departure lounge at the Reykjavik inland Airport. One of Air Iceland's planes is visible on the tarmac outside, a Fokker F50 ready for it's next flight to Akureyri. The lounge is about double the size of what's visible in the photo, and just behind the man with the shoulder bag is the squeaky and rickety old baggage carousel.

At the cafeteria, adjacent to the lounge, works a woman from South America named Valentina who speaks five languages and holds a degree in engineering, or so I was told by the flight attendant who checked in my Valentina during her most recent travels.

This airport is cozy and homey and well-worn. Some people want it gone from the city center, moved out to Keflavik, while others like it just where it is. Still others say one of our closer bay islands would suit it well. If it is moved we'll miss the constant low arrival fly-overs through the heart of the city and the sight of private jets coming and going, and the fun game of guessing who owns which ones. You can read more about the airport here.

And remember, Greenland is a hop and a skip away: you can literally book a day trip to Kulusuk from May to September. More info here. Very cool.
Two links:

1) Little Licker Icelandic Music Issue
2) Icelandic Cooking Recipes Food and Culture blog

Enjoy!

Stroll

Oh, I wish I had something to say, some deep words about extreme weather and Bobby Fischer's passing and about how I think I saw Joan Cusak walking up Bankastræti the other day. A few thoughts on local stock market wobbles would be nice, or on the ever-rising cost of gasoline (we're at $7.50 a gallon!) or even on the real-life Monopoloy game being played by out by Rvk politicos. But the well has frozen up in the recent cold snap and who knows but that I'll have to wait til Spring for a literary thaw...

In the mean time, you can help by sending in a few words of your own to me via email and if I like, I'll post. Subject: Iceland.

And if you happen to be house hunting here in Reykjavik, please let me know. Or if you're in real estate. Explanations later.

And does anyone know of any summer English teaching gigs? There's a couple coming to the island in May who'd love to share their linguistic knowledge while here.

Browser

A favorite weekend pastime here in Reykjavik is cruising through Kolapórtið, our indoor flea market and seafood bazaar. Though I could write a few good words about it myself, I thought I'd let a long-time Iceland Eyes buddy Professor Batty do the honors in this excellent entry from Flippism is the Key. He also wrote a nice swan song to our favorite local Sirkus which, if city planning has it's way, is history.

Decor

A house on Bergstaðastræti. I honestly have no idea what's going on here...

Army

Iceland's only army is of the Salvation kind. Their second-hand clothing store is located on the corner of Garðastræti (which runs just above and to the west of the main downtown plaza) and Ránargata, a street that has developed into a charming kind of B&B Row, with a number of guesthouses including Alfholl, Three Sisters and Vikingur. Without specifically endorsing anything, this is a quieter neighborhood than on the Laugavegur (east) side of the town center, a quality which some visitors find very attractive in regards to their lodgings. And while over there on the West Side you can pop in to the Salvation Army store where you may find a hidden local treasure and support a good cause at the same time.

Oh, and the answers to this post's quiz are:
* The Government House
* Governor Hannes Hafsteinn
* The Danish King Christian IX
(Both statues by Einar Jónsson commemorating the 1918 Act of Union, a first step toward independence. The King is handing over the official documentation of self-govenment)
* Bankastræti
* The new Music and Convention Center (see this video for a full 3D tour of the project)
* And lastly, the Men's public toilets (the Women's is across the street)

Thanks to all who played!