Reykjavík has long been on my list of places to visit – I think I’ve planned no fewer than 4 separate trips to Iceland, going back legitimately about 10 years. Unfortunately, it’s a bit of an “opportunistic” trip, in my opinion. When we lived on the East Coast, it always felt close enough we could do a long weekend (it’s roughly ~3.5 hours from NYC) and when I’ve been traveling in Europe, I always figured, “I’ll get there later!” Well, the time finally came. I’ll be honest, it’s still a bit opportunistic. Because my company paid for my round trip from London, my criteria for this week was two-fold: 1) an easy flight from London and 2) if possible, somewhere I otherwise might not get to visit. My “actual” destination is the Faroe Islands, which are perhaps the most remote travel bucket list item I’ve (almost) achieved (for the uninitiated, they are a speck of beautiful rocks in the North Atlantic between Iceland and the Shetland Islands to the north of Scotland). Thankfully, Iceland has not only direct flights from London, but direct flights to the Faroes! Reykjavík it was.

Of course, there’s always a catch when you’re going someplace as remote at the Faroes. In this case, it’s that everything (and I mean, everything) closes on Tuesdays. So, to avoid a ~36 hour trip (including a layover in Dubai, of all places), I opted to fly onward on a Monday. That left me with almost exactly 50 hours in Reykjavík and I aimed to make the most of it. That meant today I did a speed run of the entire downtown area, all the major museums, and even some of the tourist sites. Buckle in – this will be a long read.

I arrived last night and, after settling into my Airbnb, opted to walk to the nearby Edition hotel (I believe it’s currently Reykjavík’s only 5 star property) for a much needed celebratory beverage and snack. On the way, I discovered that the famed Reykjavík hot dog stand, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, is located right across the street from my Airbnb. Their specialty is a lamb dog, served with fried onions, fresh onions, and multiple sauces. I have to say, it was a great bite!

The Edition, unsurprisingly, offers a gorgeous rooftop deck with creative cocktails and elevated food. I ordered the “cloud” cocktail, which came with a playful cotton candy topper, and the smoked arctic char sushi (char is native to the North Atlantic waters around Iceland).

The views are also spectacular – you can see the gorgeous, glass-paneled Harpa center (a concert hall / art exhibition) as well as much of the dock space.

This morning, I woke up early and, ironically since everything is (so fortunately!) working now, continued a ~5.5 hour troubleshooting session I began with the WordPress support team late last night, as my photos weren’t uploading correctly to the London blog. Knock on wood (and bless their support staff!), it seems to be ok now. Fortunately, museums open at 10am, so I had plenty of time for coffee and then to begin my walk through the cloudy streets of Reykjavík. I opted to do a large loop around Reykjavík, beginning with the National Museum. It’s roughly a ~25 minute walk (also side note: every single American I spoke with suggested Reykjavík wasn’t walkable outside of the center and I have to say… this was a ~25 minute walk and also the bus is phenomenal…) and, despite arriving at ~10:05am, it was already bustling.

The museum begins in the Viking age and provided a fascinating primer in Viking and early Icelandic history. Over the course of the ~5 museums I visited today, it appears that the Vikings were settlers of Iceland, but not necessarily the people that Icelanders perceive as their historical ancestors. Each museum offered a compelling but different perspective; the common themes included: Norwegian “Vikings” likely were among the first to visit Iceland, likely by veering off course on their way home from the Faroe Islands or Greenland; Celtic (Irish) women, brought as slaves [sic; the connotation was clearly that they forcibly came as involuntary sexual partners], were the vast majority of early settlers; Denmark basically took over, enforced a monopoly at one point which crippled Icelandic trade, and then later Norway redeemed itself by improving trade prospects. Obviously this is a vast reduction of the content, but I’ll get into specifics throughout the blog where possible.

A couple items stood out to me from the Viking era exhibits:

• A silver hoard from the 10th century; apparently compensation for a man killed was worth 3.2kg of silver, which was also equivalent to the value of 20 cows. According to math (transitive property?), that means a cow was worth ~160g of silver
• A mitten made with an early needle coiling technique, which apparently is still so well preserved since medieval times
• A set of four copper pots, which were found in a lava fissure – as with modern pots, they “stack” so archeologists assume there must have been a fifth pot (I love the idea of lava being so commonplace that items just get ‘lost’ in it, only to be discovered later!)

The next exhibit that caught my attention was the collection of early Christianity artifacts. For the Vikings then in Iceland (and those that by then perceived themselves as “Icelanders”), Christianity arrived around ~1100 CE. At the time, it was largely a chieftain society, which appears to have been relatively egalitarian. Apparently, given Iceland was not “ruled” as much as governed by committee, the leader responsible for deciding on Christianity opted for the, “Let’s say we do officially, but you all can keep your own beliefs privately” move (more on this later). As a result, Iceland adopted Christianity, which at that point was Catholicism.

The artifacts collected were beautiful, including 16th century altar cloths, wood carvings (including a Nordic-looking representation of Jesus), and whalebone “paxes” (in early Catholicism, the “peace” was given not by embracing your fellow parishioners, but by literally kissing the “pax” object). I also found the Byzantine-style wood carving scene (from the late 1000s) fascinating. Lastly, the only remaining “refill” i.e., wall hanging, from 1450 was incredible to see.

Among other items, the drinking horns and vessels were incredible to see. The level of detail in the carving was spectacular. I also found the chalice extremely interesting – apparently, it’s made from polished coconut, which would have journeyed a long way to become a status item in the Icelandic church.

After the Vikings, the exhibit moves to the Reformation and post-Reformation era, which was especially interesting to me, as Iceland almost immediately began to accept the Lutheran teachings. As far as I know, this is the earliest set of Lutheran artifacts I’ve personally seen.

In keeping with the asceticism required by protestant Christianity, the Lutheran artifacts are much more reserved than those from the Catholic period. Amazingly, the baptismal font to the right hand side is from 1594!

On the LHS below is a “communion dial” which were used by clergy to determine how many parishioners had attended confession or taken Holy Communion – I’ve never seen this tool before!

I also found it quite interesting that the curation notes stated that during the Middle Ages, pews were placed along the walls, but that the congregation would typically stand and wander during service. After the Reformation, this changed. For higher social classes, women were seated to the north and men to the south, with poorer parishioners sitting at the back of the church.

Interestingly, local materials were also used to craft objects. Specifically, whalebone was used to make Bible scenes in roughly ~1600.

Of course, just because the Church became more austere didn’t mean all individuals did. The collection also included lots of beautiful items, including belts, crowns, dresses, and tapestries, among other home goods held by wealthy early Icelanders.

Two amusing items I noted were: a memorial tablet created in the Renaissance style for a District Commissioner and his wife and children. Apparently, it’s a true portrait of the Commissioner, but his wife and kids are suspected to be “stand ins” (if you look closely, you can see why!). Either way, it’s interesting his is one of the first Icelandic faces memorialized in paint. Then, I also found it interesting that the museum has a collection of “magical” goods – apparently, Iceland had a cerebral relationship with magic; the curation notes suggest that people were interested in it for purely scientific reasons… which is, of course, why this Danish family kept their “warlock” chest for hundreds of years. Similarly, Icelanders were clearly fully Christian by the time of the Black Death during the ~1300-1600s… yet, these interesting magical inscriptions still exist.

Lastly, the museum veers into more modern history. Of interest were examples of the standard boats and Baðstofa, or traditional Icelandic homes. Apparently, this Baðstofa was in use until the 1950s!

I also loved the collections of “lived objects” at the museum – everything from photobooth pictures from the 1930s-1960s (people ‘back in the day’ were just like us!) to collected items related to various themes. I found the “Asian” theme quite interesting (peep the Indonesian puppet, even if the curation notes suggest these were items from a Vietnamese family!).

From the National Museum, I made my way over to the Hallgrimskirkja church via the Tjörnin lake. It’s accompanied by lovely statutes and presented a pretty picture perfect view of the Reykjavík skyline.

On the walk to the Hallgrimskirkja, I noticed some lovely street art.

The church itself is imposing – it was closed for a concert, but I did find it interesting that the statue is of Leif Ericson, supposedly to commemorate the thousand year anniversary of his arrival in North America (presented in partnership with the United States).

From there, I continued to wander the (touristy) Miðborg neighborhood. There is the requisite rainbow street, some lovely colorful buildings, and of course, every tourist shop known to man.

Fortunately, I stumbled upon the Punk Museum, which slightly redeemed the otherwise excessively touristy vibes. Located in a former public toilet, the museum decries Hitler, chronicles Iceland’s entrance into punk music, and has an amazing playlist that I subtly shazam-ed the whole time.

Of course, above ground, the architecture is beautiful. I passed many stately buildings and cute little bakeries / coffee shops.

Next up was lunch. Despite the touristy name, I opted for Icelandic Street Food, which offers traditional fare and unlimited soup refills (!). I opted for the shellfish soup in the bread bowl and decided to bravely try the “Black Death” shot. What is a Black Death shot? Apparently, it’s a shot of Brennivín (Icelandic moonshine – basically sweet vodka), with a chaser (or starter?) of Hákarl, which is the famous Icelandic fermented shark (national dish of Iceland!). According to the server, I should “chew the shark for 20-30 seconds, until I want to vomit, and then take the shot” – bold instructions!

Honestly, it wasn’t terrible. I’ve had a lot of fermented food in countries around the globe and low key, while this tasted like drain cleaner, it was still more pleasant than some of the versions that have tasted like legitimate garbage. Would I do it again? No. But I am happy I tried it. The soup was amazing – they offer free refills of the spicy tomato and lamb soups, and the lamb soup was incredibly good.

After lunch, I opted to visit the Settlement Museum, the Reykjavík City Museum (the same place connected via buildings on the same city block, as I’d discover!) and the Saga Museum (among other sites!). On the way, I passed the statue of the Unknown Bureaucrat, near city hall. There’s no clear story on this statue – some feel its a tribute to the thankless work of city officials, while others feel like it’s a fun play on the phrase “faceless bureaucrat” – either way, it’s an amusing sculpture.

The City Hall area itself is beautiful, with swans and lots of ducks. The National Cathedral is also there.

The Settlement Museum paints an interesting picture of early Reykjavík. I didn’t realize until halfway through, but the museum showcases a literal early settlement within Reykjavík. It provides some basic archeological information about early Viking long homes, although all relatively intuitive (i.e., individuals would sleep next to the fire).

I did find it interesting that they offered slightly different perspectives on those shared at the National Museum – specifically:

• The settlement of Reykjavík was 871 +/- 2 years, or so, but this assumes Vikings arrived earlier
• This museum was quite transparent about the enslaved peoples and gender distribution of those brought to settle Iceland; they explicitly state that most males (mostly free) originated in Norway, while more than half of the women came from the British Isles (enslaved); fortunately, former enslaved people seem to have taken over farming in the ~1100s when slavery formally “died out”
• Jails in early Iceland housed both male and female prisoners; for women, having children out of wedlock was a crime punishable by either death or long-term imprisonment. One unfortunate woman spent four years in jail for giving birth to 6 illegitimate children; tragically, two of these children were the result of her time in jail with a male prisoner who not only was responsible for fathering six children total while in jail, but also acted as the doorkeeper and had a track record of letting anyone in / out as they pleased (got to hate centuries-old double standards!). “Thankfully” her story ends well and despite being shipped to Copenhagen, she received a proposal and therefore was saved from a life of hard labor
• Wool cloth and fish-liver oil was an important export, as Iceland had very few trees and needed to trade to access timber
• Apparently the walrus was a predominant animal in Iceland in the years ~350-540 CE; it died out after that, so researchers suspect it was either hunted to extinction or moved habitats

The “City Museum” component didn’t feel like a different museum, so I didn’t take any pictures other than the layout (I didn’t realize until I popped in later and scared the docent that they were truly the same building), but it essentially chronicled the families and businesses that occupied the same building from ~1900 onward. It was a nice exhibit, although slightly creepy hearing disembodied voices / shopping noises, etc. that would have represented the property in the ~1910s.

After that, I decided to continue my exploration and head to the Saga Museum. Ironically, despite seeming like a kids-only museum, it was actually perhaps the most transparent curation and most fascinating of all. I can understand why people expect it to be hokey – it’s an old-school, diorama-style vibe, and if you feel so inclined you can dress in Viking gear. Ironically, there is a Michelin-rated restaurant in the building, so the entrance way looks half like you’re entering a Viking theme park and half like you’ve arrived for a fine dining meal. However, it had fascinating insights and an incredible story-telling perspective that I think worked extremely well for retelling this history.

Insights included:

• Early settlers of Iceland may have been, in fact, Celtic priests seeking solitude; while there aren’t a lot of artifacts left, much of the symbology from the early period reflects Celtic imagery
• Early Vikings, including those which would have settled Iceland, would have necessarily had to veer “off course” – in some retellings, this is due to miscalculations on the way home from the Faroe Islands or Greenland. Either way, Iceland’s existence became known. Fascinatingly, Vikings used not only stars and the moon to navigate, but the migration of birds. One Viking used a raven to find Iceland, following its migration pattern west
• This museum confirmed the story of Celtic women’s presence in early Iceland, stating that in fact a Celtic princess, known by name as Melkorka (purchased as a “prospective mistress” aka slave), is known to have lived here
• On a trip to Vinland, Tyrkir the Southerner found himself separated from the group of Vikings with whom he was traveling; when he rejoined the group, he was inebriated from fermented grapes and, as a result, the whole landmass became known as Vinland (what an OG madlad!)
• A female Viking companion found herself facing a raid by indigenous Americans during her time in Vinland; she chose to cut her dress, exposing her breasts, holding a sword against them, and apparently this caused them to flee – no joke, the recreation of her was the scariest and I would have fled, too!
• When confronted with the question of adopting Christianity, the spokesperson for Iceland decided to lie under animal pelts for a couple days and then reemerge with his choice – relatable!
• Various Vikings killed each other, for various reasons – the soundtrack was screams and general punishment
• The Black Death arrived in Iceland via a ship in the mid-1300s; ironically, the known individual responsible for bringing the ship never contracted the Black Death and survived the pestilence
• Many women were put to death for heresy against the church; of course, many of these instances were uncorroborated and horrifying examples of sexism
• During the period of Danish rule, execution was the preferred method of punishment for pretty much any crime. The Saga Museum didn’t shy away from incredibly uncomfortable representations of death – in fact, the ones I’m showing here are the “easy” ones to look at (and, trigger warning, they’re horrifying)
• In the 1700s, imprisonment became a more “popular” form of punishment, which was problematic as Iceland didn’t yet have prisons. Most Icelandic convicts were sent to Denmark (and ‘convicts’ has a pretty broad definition, including ‘parentless children’) and their jobs were largely to make clothing for the Danish army. Apparently it was as brutal as you’d expect, with torture (including branding and amputation) being commonplace punishments / warnings to other prisoners. Statistics presented that ~165 Icelanders went to Danish prisons between 1730-1836 and of those, 100 died during their sentence

After that… interesting… interlude, I decided I’d play even more of a tourist and do the “Flyover Iceland” experience. If you’ve been to Soarin’ at Disneyland, it’s the same principle. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was actually incredible well done – the technology now includes not only the movement to simulate the “view” but also misting water, smells, etc. to make it much “realer” – so much so that I felt simultaneously exhilarated and dizzy after it ended. The scenery was gorgeous though, so if I ever return to Iceland, I’d love to see more of the gorgeous natural sights!

Finally, I decided to head to one last item before returning to my Airbnb to relax before dinner. I wanted to visit Þúfa, which is an art installation on the far end of the side of Reykjavik. Its intended to be a place of reflection and solitude within the city and definitely lives up to that offer. On the way, you pass the beautiful Bay of Faxaflói, known for its many whales and gorgeous views.

Þúfa itself is lovely – and includes a quaint fisherman’s shack on top as well.

For dinner, I opted to visit the Pósthús Food Hall & Bar, which is a food hall that includes a variety of burger, Asian, and Icelandic restaurants. I opted for Yuzu, where I got the “famous” Yuzu burger, and I have to say, it was among the best burgers I’ve had anywhere in the world in an incredibly long time! It was basically a smash burger with the right ratio of pickles and onions, but honestly, sometimes simple is best. I had a shot of the Icelandic “opal” liquor, which was supposedly like Jager – instead, it basically tasted the way Vaseline feels. That being said, I can’t complain!

Overall, a fantastic and enriching first day in Reykjavík!