Reykjavik, 9 Aug 2026
Our last full day in Reykjavik, we took it easy and only did a few things during the day, meeting up with the rest of the hiking group in the late afternoon. It was our first day with clear weather, a nice change from the clouds and drizzle we’ve had the other days.
After breakfast, we packed up our things and walked a couple of blocks to the hotel we would be staying with the group. After dropping off our bags, we headed back towards Tjörnin (the pond in the middle of the city) and walked around it a bit while we were waiting for the National Gallery of Iceland to open.
Once open, we went into the gallery, which had two exhibits. The first was a set of screens showing pieces done by Björk. One was a modern video, one showed some performances done in front of an audience, one where you sat in the center of dozens of speakers, and some screens with animations. The other exhibit was a set of pieces (mostly masks) by James Merry, who had a close working relationship with Björk and had supplied many of her masks.
In addition to the exhibits, the building itself was very interesting, with lots of light streaming in.
Once we were done at the gallery, we went back to the food hall we went to on the first day and got some lunch. After that, we went to a bookstore with a pretty large café attached to it, so we grabbed drinks and a table. One thing I noticed was right below where you pick up drinks was a shelf which had a Lonely Planet pocket guide to Seattle.
After a quick grocery run and another gelato stop, we checked into the new hotel, this time with a view of Hallgrímskirkja church. The rest of the group had gathered at the airport and went to the Blue Lagoon on the way into Reykjavik.
Once everyone arrived at the hotel, we went out in a couple of groups to get some dinner. After eating, the rest of a group wanted a walking tour, so we improvised going around the town, starting at Tjörnin (the pond), walking partway around the pond, then back. We continued up that street to Harpa (the concert hall), and went where we were able to walk into one section which was closed off the other day. Next was the Sun Voyager sculpture, then a stop for gelato (we just waited since we had already had some earlier), a look at Skólavörðustígur Street (the Rainbow Street), then back. Everyone was trying to stay awake since they had just landed that morning from red-eye flights, and were ready to head back, too. We saw the group leader in the hotel lobby, so chatted a bit, then we all retired for the night.
