iceland, part two: reykjavík, day two.
Day two in Reykjavík was another packed day of sightseeing and hitting up a ton of museums and galleries. Our day started with a short drive to Perlan (The Pearl), the landmark domed building in the city. Of course it was pouring rain during our visit, so our quick jaunt around the observation deck was a tiny bit wet, windy, and cold. The unparallel views of the city and Mt. Esja made up for the rain.
Next, we hit up the Ásmundur Sveinsson Sculpture Museum at my request. My dad wasn’t really keen on going in, so my mum and I went in ourselves after checking out the sculpture garden. The actual space in which the museum is housed used to be Sveinsson’s home, which he actually designed himself. There’s a ton of awesome white space and the dome is so trippy! The acoustics are like nothing else, especially if you stand in the centre.
We stopped at Höfði House for a bit before heading to the Kjarvalsstaðir, another museum under the Reykjavík Art Museum. Because we had already paid for our admission to the Ásmundur Sveinsson Sculpture Museum, we could get into this location for free and y’all know I am always down for surprise discounts or free things. After checking out the works, we had a bit of food from the museum café. I must say that Icelandic people really do love hints of curry in their soups, as the one I had was slightly curried.
The National Museum of Iceland was the next destination to be crossed off on our jam-packed day of museum and gallery hopping. It’s filled with a large number of Icelandic artifacts, large and small, and they’ve got a fun interactive zone in which you can try on some chainmail and period costumes.
The final museum of the day was the Listasafn Reykjavíkur, the third museum under the Reykjavík Art Museum’s name. This museum focused on contemporary works and they had free wi-fi (always a good thing). Afterward, we wandered around the downtown area, stopping for a tea and coffee break at a gorgeously-decored Te og Kaffi. The Tom Dixon light fixtures inside were to die for! There, I sipped on a matcha latté whilst writing postcards for a few friends.
Enough time was killed and we were off to dinner at Fish Company. This was definitely in my top five meals ever and hands down the best meal I had in Iceland. The bread came with salt and two kinds of butter, and we were each given a little sample of fish in a cute jar. We shared a couple of starters: a fish soup with scallops and langoustine, and marinated minke whale with vegetables. I had the arctic char as my entrée and it was unbelievably delicious. The flavours were glorious and the textures were great.
Whilst we ate, the weather changed for the better and as the skies cleared up, we drove back to Perlan and walked around the observation deck one more time.
Next up: Blue Lagoon! x
P.S. Apologies for the delay on these posts! I started an editorial internship right after convocation and have been very busy ever since.