This morning we met Kathy and Charley for breakfast at the tiny Grái Kötturinn (Gray Cat) for breakfast. We had the day to kill before boarding our Greenland expedition ship around dinner time, so walked to the TI to look into tour options for the day. K & C decided to take the hop-on, hop-off bus loop and visited the Perlan, a natural history museum with an ice cave, 360-degree theater, observatory, northern lights display, etc. Greg and I went back to our hotel to pack up, and then walk around outside. I don’t think we’ll have much opportunity for long walks for the next couple of weeks, and it was another beautiful day.
Tjörnin, or “The Pond”, is a small lake in the City Center. It’s adjacent to the City Hall, with a walking path, gardens and sculptures. Several museums and the University of Iceland are nearby. Forty to fifty species of water birds visit the lake. We saw swans and several species of gulls, geese and ducks. So many people feed the birds that The Pond has been called “the biggest bread soup in the world.” (Wikipedia)
This octagonal building was built to host a bandstand on its roof. It’s now part of the Reykjavik College of Music.
Gardens and statues along The Pond, with Reykjavik City Hall in the distance.
Geocaching led us to a street a couple of blocks up from The Pond, where we entered Hólavallagarõur, an old cemetery filled with history and atmosphere. This site was selected as the small church cemetery in town approached capacity, but there was a delay in the dedication and first internment. Tradition held that the first soul buried would remain undecayed in its grave, destined to watch over the cemetery and welcome those brought for future burials. No one wanted to hand such a fate to their loved one.
On November 23, 1838, the cemetery was finally consecrated and the first (unfortunate) person was buried here. She was the wife of the President of the High Court. It eludes the record as to whether the widower didn’t buy into the haunting tale, or was totally fine with her taking on unending responsibilities.
The original burial ground was about 80 meters square. It was expanded several times over the next hundred years, and now encompasses 3.5 hectares (over 8 acres). Over 30,000 people are buried here. The cemetery is well-tended and still used today.
The original burial ground was about 80 meters square. It was expanded several times over the next hundred years, and now encompasses 3.5 hectares (over 8 acres). Over 30,000 people are buried here. The cemetery is well-tended and still used today.
We split a sandwich in The Laundromat Cafe, which may or may not have other locations in Scandinavia. We like the custom of just grabbing a bottle of water and glasses from the bar to self-serve tap water (saw this in other little restaurants here, as well). In the basement near the restrooms was a laundromat - or maybe it was just staged as one. Nothing was very clear. But the food was good.
Hurtigruten’s MS Fram will be our home for the next two weeks. Easiest cruise boarding ever. The “cruiseport” is the little wooden building in front. They waved us through, escorted us to the ship through the big gateway open on the side of the boat, and checked our passport onboard. After a buffet dinner, everyone attended the mandatory safety and lifeboat briefing. The safety drill included instructions for donning frigid water survivor suits under life vests, and clipping a bag of survival gear (including wool clothing) to our suits. Here’s hoping this is the only time we see these lovely orange outfits!
Another view of Harpa, the lovely performing arts center, from our ship.as we prepare to start our Greenland adventure.
Love the cruise terminal!
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