Iceland Day 3 - Reykjavik

On Wednesday, May 30, we awoke to - guess what? - the sound of rain on our window panes! Fortunately, the weather improved quickly. Though it remained cold, the rain didn't last long.

John and Becca were departing on this day; their flight left at 5:00 p.m. and they wanted to be at the airport at 3:00 p.m. They decided that they'd like to spend their last day exploring the city of Reykjavik.

First, Becca wanted photos of Icelandic horses. So we drove to the Laxnes Horse Farm close by. The horses appear to be as stoic as Icelandic people: hardy, tough as nails, slightly depressed, unmoved. I tried very hard to get a horse's attention, to no avail. They were not interested in socializing.

Next, we drove into Reykjavik and parked at the Harpa Performing Arts Center, a very beautiful and modern building.

The way it is built, the glass faces different ways and catches different colors of light.

Just hours before leaving Iceland, John finally purchased a hat to keep his head warm. I think he looks like "The Edge" of the band U2 now.

There was a sailboat marina behind the Harpa, which Brock was very interested in. He has seen very few boats being sailed in Iceland, perhaps because it still feels like winter here, and perhaps because at times there is way too much wind to sail in.

This boat is from France:

This boat was prepared to cross the ocean; it has multiple solar panels and gas cans:

I think this boat goes on whale watching excursions, and may also double as an ice breaker:

Here is a pretty view of the Reykjavik harbor and some man-made cairns:

We found the downtown shopping district, which had some colorful murals in abundance:

We also posed for some Viking photos:

Which do you prefer? 1):

or 2)?:

Here are Brock and Jane as Vikings:

We had a successful shopping outing, with John finding the hat, Becca finding a small book with beautiful Icelandic horse photos in it for her niece, and Jane finding a coffee table book with beautiful Icelandic photos in it. We enjoyed some coffee, and then lunch at "RossoPomodoro", an Italian restaurant. Brock enjoyed his seafood pasta, and I enjoyed a chicken pasta with red sauce.

Finally, it was time to get John and Becca to the airport. This went off without a hitch; we said our good-byes and thanked each other for a memorable two weeks of traveling together in foreign lands! They had a long day of flying ahead of them; we hope they made it home safely.

By this time, the sun actually came out, and Brock was thrilled to go for a run on the bike trails around our hotel. He even found a small waterfall (Alafoss)!

For dinner, Brock and I had Domino's pizza delivered to our hotel room; it came from across the street, so it was piping hot and delicious!