[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 26 August 2014]

 

26 January 2014, Sunday

We woke up this morning, grateful that it’s a brand new day and we’re still here. The shock of yesterday’s incident had worn off, though we were still feeling a little down, as photo-taking opportunities were limited now that we no longer had our mobile phones and DSLR camera. I was lucky to have my iPhone still functioning quite well, though it hanged a couple of times.

After breakfast, we took a pleasant stroll to Hallgrímskirkja church, Reykjavík’s most famous landmark. As it was Sunday, there was mast going on, and we heard the church bells ringing even before we arrived. At 73m tall, Hallgrímskirkja is the sixth tallest architectural structure in Iceland, and the largest church in Iceland. Its design is inspired by the basalt columns that we had seen so much of over the past few days. The unconventional design would have looked odd for a church, but here in Iceland, it felt right at home, a perfect union of form and function.

From Hallgrímskirkja, we walked down Skólavöroustígur street towards the direction of the sea. It was a lovely street with some nice shops flanking both sides. The street then joins Laugavegur, the main shopping belt in Reykjavík. We didn’t have much of an agenda so we just walked freely, popping into shops that interested us.

In the late morning, YS then left us to go to the famous Blue Lagoon for a soak. He had pre-arranged a tour bus to pick him up. I was considering going with him but the Blue Lagoon was 50-min ride away, and the entrance fee was an exorbitant 35 Euros. Including the 2-way bus ride, it would have amounted to more. They say you haven’t been to Iceland if haven’t visited the Blue Lagoon. Well, I shall save it for my next visit.

IJ, SY and I then visited the Kolaportid flea market located in the old harbour area, touted as Iceland’s #1 flea market. It wasn’t very big, but it was indoors, and that was all that mattered in the cold weather. Here, you can find vintage clothing, old books, used CDs and DVDs and Icelandic delicacies. I managed to find some CDs to add to my collection.

Be sure to have cash on you – this is about the only place in Iceland that deals with cash instead of plastic. There is an ATM machine in the building if you need to withdraw some money. I didn’t manage to draw cash from the ATM and I didn’t have any Icelandic Kronas, but I had some Euro bills on me, and the CD stall owner was quite happy to accept them.

After that, we popped into a kebab restaurant for lunch, and had rice for the first time in almost a week. After lunch, we adjourned and split up for some free & easy time. I decided to go back to the old harbour to check out the Harpa concert hall.

If Hallgrímskirkja represents the landmark of old Iceland, then surely Harpa is the landmark of Iceland for the new millennium. It had its grand opening on 4 May 2011 and has seen international artists like Kraftwerk, Dionne Warwick and Tony Bennett perform there. It houses a concert hall as well as a conference centre.

Harpa is like our Esplanade, but dare I say…Harpa is even more stunning than Esplanade! Harpa’s façade might not be as striking as Esplanade’s durian roof, but its ‘fish scale’ exterior is very pretty in itself. However, the interior is where Harpa really beats Esplanade hands down. The shapes formed by the fish scale window panes, together with the clever use of hexagonal mirrors on the ceiling, create a brilliant effect, like an explosion of geometry. The spacious interior means that there is plenty of space to breathe without being overwhelmed by all the shapes. There are also plenty of comfy seating areas where you can rest and have a chat with your friends, or simply just enjoy a book. I love it.

After chilling at Harpa for a while, I headed to a public swimming pool, Sundhöll Reykjavíkur, for a dip. The entrance fee is 600 Kronas (S$6.50) for adults, much cheaper than the Blue Lagoon. Sundhöll has an indoor pool and two hot tubs. I did a couple of laps in the indoor pool but I spent most of the time soaking in the hot tubs. They were situated outdoors, so it was nice to relax in the hot water and have the cool air around you as you look up at the sky above. It was very crowded with many locals and some tourists. Probably because it was a Sunday.

Feeling sufficiently relaxed, I went back to Laugavegur for some window-shopping before meeting up with the rest of the guys back at the hostel. As it was our last night in Iceland, we wanted to have a good meal. SY had toyed around the idea of trying something exotic for dinner, and he came across a restaurant that served whale meat and puffin meat. I was reluctant at first, because I am against whaling, but I figured this would be the only time to try it, so I agreed.

The restaurant was named Hereford Steikhús, located at Laugavegur 53b. There was a Whale Menu and a Puffin Menu, both priced at 5,900 Kronas (S$64). The Whale menu comprised of a lobster soup with Cognac for starters, whale peppersteak served with fried vegetables, potato and pepper sauce for the mains, and Icelandic Skyr Herefordstyle for dessert.

The Puffin menu comprised of smoked puffin with fresh salad and raspberry vinegar for starters, grilled breast of puffin served with fried vegetables, potato and malt sauce for the mains, and the same Icelandic Skyr Herefordstyle for dessert. We wanted to try both the whale and the puffin, but none of us were too keen on the puffin, so YS sacrificed and ordered the puffin in the end. IJ ordered a salmon steak.

The lobster soup with Cognac was very good. The Cognac wasn’t too strong, just nicely balanced with the lobster taste. When my whale peppersteak arrived, I was surprised to see that it looked exactly like a beef steak. I cut a slice and tasted it – the texture is exactly like beef but it tastes like liver. I was expecting it to be more…blubbery. When we asked the waiter about it, he said that whales are warm blooded animals, just like cows, so the texture of whale meat is also like cow meat. Interesting.

I then tried a bit of YS’ puffin meat. It was tougher and not as appetising as whale meat. Strangely, puffin meat also tasted like liver. Having tried both whale and puffin, I am glad to say that I am not a fan of either, so that will be the last time I am having it. No more whale or puffin meat for me!

After having our fill, we headed back to Hlemmur Square to pack our luggage. One last sleep in Iceland, before the next leg of the trip…Manchester!