[See] Iceland- Having a stroll in downtown, Reykjavik

After all the exciting activities,  it’s time to introduce more relaxing and slow activities that we have done in Reykjavik. We covered 3 places, which caught our attention and were interested in visiting. Their location? They are all downtown and could be covered in one day as they were near to each other.

Hallgrimskirkja

Don’t know why everyone said that is a must to go if you are in Reykjavik?  After I’ve been there I think I know the reason why is the most visited place in Iceland, Reykjavik. Hallgrímskirkja is Reykjavik’s main landmark and the only tallest tower that allows you to see almost everywhere in the city from it.

Where?

Operating hour:

Winter (October – May)

09:00 – 17.00

Summer(June – September)

09:00 – 21:00

Services:

Sundays at 11:00

Cost?

Entry to the tower

Adults

900ISK

Children ( 7-14 years old)

100ISK

To purchase the ticket from the church shop inside.

Observation Tower:

Taking the elevator up

Reached the top floor but you got to climb a short flight of stairs to get to the viewing deck, at the viewing deck, here are the views we saw out from the windows:

Little to know:

-The State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson said that it was designed to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland’s landscape.

-This church took 41 years to complete.

-It is a Lutheran Perish church.

Church Hall:

After 20 minutes spent up there, we went down to the ground floor to the prayer hall.

This large pipe organ is built by Johannes Klais of Bonn a German organ builder.

Suggestion and little thoughts:

It’s totally worth the visit if you would like to have a view of the Reykjavik. You do not need to spend much time here, approximately 30mins to an hour. After visiting the church do have a walk around the area there are lots of nice restaurants and souvenir shops along the way. Look out for interesting graffiti along the way too~!

---

Harpa Concert and Conference Center

The award-winning architecture, Harpa, that has attracted more than 4 million guests since its opening in 2011. It is one of the greatest and distinguished landmarks in Reykjavik. This social and cultural center in the heart of the city is featured with the stunning view of the surrounding mountains and North Atlantic Ocean.

On our first night, we decide to walk over to the Harpa to have a look at it:

Where?

Operating Hours:

Every day 08:00 – 24:00

Cost?

Free

Performance:

As stated on their website. To watch a concert or a performance, there is a ticket counter at the first floor.

What to do?

Have a seat here along the stairs get a coffee, read a book enjoy the interior architect.

We found this viewing floor at the back and wow~!~! this is the view you would see.

We could hear the wind howling when we were inside the building. However, we were tempted to head out to have a better view of the scenery and we did:

It was worth it, even though we couldn’t get a good shot because we can’t even stand straight because of the strong and cold wind.

Suggestion and little thoughts:

Spend your afternoon here with a cup of coffee, read a book when is too cold outside. If you would like to see the northern light, behind Harpa the Bay area is famous for Northern light spotting. Try your luck there~!  If you would like to touch and go a short 30 mins here will do and walk over to the nearby Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur to grab a hotdog along your way.

---

Tjörnin pond

Tjornin Pond, where there is no other place better to have a pleasant stroll in Reykjavik.

Where?

Is between Fríkirkjvegur and Tjarnagata

You can take a bus to Fríkirkjuvegur, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland or just have a stroll down here.

 Operating Hours:

24 hours

Cost?

Free

Bring some bread or prawn crackers at your own cost, to feed the ducks, geese, swans, Arctic terns and other birds if you want to.

What to do?

Sit down and daydream….

Sunset at 15:00

Suggestion and little thoughts:

We spent quite some time here, doing my favorite past time people watch. It got quite scary when the duck and swans swim up because they wanted more food.

An hour or so would be enough here, maybe get some bread crumbs or crackers with you to feed them, just be careful don’t hurt your fingers~!