Reykjavik

Leaving London on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year was slightly fraught with anxiety as to what would await us at Heathrow. Would we face airmageddon as the British tabloids sensationally refer to the current travel chaos that’s engulfing UK travellers flights and the successful transfer of luggage.

A 7.20am departure meant that the security queue at T5 wasn’t too onerous but the queues were building. AirTags were packed into our hold luggage just in case we needed to track their journey and BA assured us on check-in that our vital camping gear would arrive safely in Reykjavik. Camping would be an absolute disaster without our tent and sleeping bags.

13 degrees on arrival, cold and grey. We descend through the clouds we’re afforded with our first views of Iceland, a complete contrast to the heat and desert like conditions we’d left behind in London. Luggage successfully located we make our way into town via the efficient airport buses that are 50% cheaper than a taxi

Luggage stored at Icelandair Marina Hotel we set off to explore the city. Bit of a misnomer here, as without being disrespectful to Reykjavik it isn’t huge, in fact it’s an absolutely perfect walking city and in 2.5 days we walk 20 miles.

We walk along the marina and head up the hill to towards the iconic Hallgrimskirkja Church. En-route we stop at Reykjavik Street Food for some delicious lobster soup and fish stew oh and some viking beer. The sky is grey but we wonder at the enormity of the church both inside and out. We head back down towards the shoreline where there’s a distinctive salty tang in the air and walk to our hotel for a quick sleep. We have after all been awake since 3am!!

1st evening we take a wander around the marina and eat at Lamb, whose upmarket kebabs in panini style flat breads accompanied by a 5% mango IPA are delicious. It’s a beautiful evening in Reykjavik.

A great sleep despite the sun setting at 11.24pm and rising at 3.30am!! Thank goodness for eye shades. Day2, weather is sunny and clear with beautiful blue sky. Chilly wind means layers are essential, setting the tone for the trip me thinks. We take the lift 240 feet up the Hallgrimskirkja church tower as it’s the perfect day to get a 360 degree view of the city. Safe to say it doesn’t disappoint.

We visit the Reykjavik Museum of Art and are completely spellbound by the works of the Icelandic artist, Erro, whose prodigious output means that his works are hanging in absolutely every available space in the gallery.

Dinner consists of a delicious steak and red wine for me and artic char (akin to salmon) for Brownie. Food is a culinary delight and plentiful. Tonight’s sunset is golden.

Day 3 finds us moving from our hotel into the top floor apartment of the House of the Snowbird. This was intended to be our first stop in Reykjavik but with BA cancelling our outbound flight 2 months ago and no choice but to arrive 2 days earlier than planned it’s now our 2nd stop in the City. With grey clouds overhead and intermittent rain in the air after our life laundry is completed, we head to the excellent National Museum of Iceland to learn the history of the island.

Last stop on Day 3 is a pop-up gallery and an exhibition entitled “Artic Creatures”. Every year 3 friends venture into the icelandic wilderness and transform whatever the ocean washes ashore into art. Their inspiration comes from the harsh environment, the mystic atmosphere and their mutual history. The images are fun & incredibly creative but also undercut with sadness at just how much detritus is continually dumped thoughtlessly into our oceans. We emerge feeling grateful for their efforts in raising environmental awareness through their thought-provoking creativity and for the sad opportunity to sit on the “trash throne” created using the detritus they’d collected whilst shooting their innovative photos.