Iceland- Day 6 - In Which Our Hero Takes a Walk and Has Pizza
I woke up and had time to kill before meeting a dear friend of mine and his family. It's the day between two hikes. So, what did I do? I went for a walk. The walk ended up lasting 5 hours and covered almost everything in Reykjavik that I wanted to see.
I started with walking down Laugavegur, which is a long street that's lined with stores and restaurants. I did some souvenir shopping. I decided that I may as well walk to the Saga Museum, so I did. I went there and did the tour. I listened to an audio guide, as I walked through lifelike/life-sized dioramas about the history of Iceland's first people. It was really interesting and informative.
After that, I decided to walk toward Hallgrimskirkja (the big church in many Reykjavik pictures), since it's a sort of central point in downtown. On my way there, I stopped by the Settlement Exhibit. It's a museum that was built around the excavated remains of an ancient Icelandic Settlement. Definitely something for the history buffs, like myself.
I continued walking, and passed by Alþingi (the Icelandic parliament house.) Behind it, there's a pond. On the pond are many birds. Among these birds are mallards. Mallards are my favorite animal! So, I was thrilled.
I continued walking, and finally made it to Hallgrimskirkja. From there, I knew that if I just started walking west, I'd reach the road that takes me back to my guesthouse. I started heading west, and came upon the rainbow street. It's a portion of street that's decorated like a rainbow, as a symbol for Iceland's LGBTQ+ people and their acceptance here. I didn't know about it, but I'm happy that I chose that road to walk down.
I made my way back to the road that took me back to the guesthouse. About an hour later, I met a friend and his family. I've been friends with my friend Arnar for 9 years. Meeting him for the first time was amazing. I spent the evening with him, his wife Soffía, and their daughters Freya Sif and Brynja. We went to a comic shop and then pizza Hut. Believe me when I say that American Pizza Hut has NOTHING on Icelandic Pizza Hut. The cheese and crust are just vastly superior.
After lots of great conversation and laughs, they dropped me off at my guesthouse. I definitely need rest, since I hike to a volcano tomorrow. It was such a fantastic day. I felt at home. I truly felt at home.
Lance J. M.
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