Iceland. Reykjavik

 Reykjavik is the northernmost capital city in the world. We arrived there on the third day of our stay in Iceland, right after visiting the Fagradalsfjall volcano. The small colorful buildings, the impressive and "austere" Hallgrímskirkja church, the ocean shore, and the changeable weather created such an unusual mix that claims like "there's nothing to do in Reykjavik" seemed quite exaggerated to us. In a town where the sun is rarely seen, many buildings are painted in various colors....  

 

  You quickly get used to the light rain and stop paying attention to it, especially if you're holding a type of Icelandic yogurt - Skyr. We bought it almost every time we were at the supermarket. It's so thick that it can be considered a soft cheese, with three to four times more protein than classic yogurts. Talking to Icelanders during our trip, we found out that they are very proud of this product. And rightly so, it’s really cool...    

 The cathedral in the capital... Without pomp, everything is neat and modest. This is what religion should look like in its purest form... 

 It was interesting to see that many buildings are clad in corrugated iron to protect homes from the wind. Even a four-star hotel in the capital is faced with iron sheets (the price for a double room starts at 250 euros)...     

  

  Public toilet... You enter as if into a flight capsule. Although such toilets have long been around, in Reykjavik it opens for free, probably because few people use cash, especially coins, in everyday life. We never even held Icelandic kroner in our hands during the whole trip, all payments, even in remote mountain corners, were made by card...

 Walking through the central streets of the city...

  Hallgrímskirkja is probably the most impressive church I have ever seen. The scale, uniqueness, and total austerity of the building designed to serve as a spiritual refuge gave me goosebumps. It seemed to be urging attention to the essence rather than the form. No usual church decorations, sculptures, frescoes, stained glass. It looked like a rock carved in the middle of the city... 

  Inside, everything is mega modest but very comfortable - soft benches and lots of natural light. It felt like the architect traveled around all the churches and decided to do everything the opposite way. And most importantly, he was allowed to do so, which shows the advancement of Icelanders as a community. I immediately remembered the very cool book "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand, where the story was about the architect Howard Roark, who didn't go with the flow but was the flow - the source. By the way, it was after this book that I began to view many buildings differently, and I started to notice things that I hadn't seen before...

   The organ...

  The church from behind...

  The coastal part of the city... The port...

  The promenade...

 We spent one day in Reykjavik at the beginning of our journey, not returning to the capital after that. Since most international flights operate from the airport in the nearby town of Keflavik (50 km from Reykjavik), we spent the last day in Keflavik. Five kilometers from the center of Keflavik is the town of Njardvik, where we visited a small open-air museum that features preserved and restored buildings of a classic Icelandic farm from the past, with roofs covered in grass...   

  Inside, everything is functional and austere, just like in the current life of Icelanders...

   

  

 Keflavik is most memorable for its cool gazebos, where you could hide from the light rain and wind while enjoying Skyr with a view of the ocean...

    

 City graffiti...

   Even the trash cans in Keflavik were somehow noteworthy...

 The distance from the central street to the airport is only 4 kilometers... 

 On the way to the airport, we walked through the town’s streets. Seeing how the buildings are designed is also quite interesting. A street with a small church at the end, most houses clad in corrugated iron for protection against the piercing wind...

  Moreover, considering that all electricity in these houses comes from plants that convert superheated underground water into electricity, and the water, cooled to acceptable temperatures, is used for heating, you get a mix of simplicity, functionality, practicality, and cool technology using the island's natural features...  

 After passing some suburban houses, you can continue your way on a bike path right to the departure point... 

  Statues at the airport... Such installations, located in an entirely ordinary place like an airport, do not fit into the format of the surrounding environment. And if you focus on them, it allows you to go beyond where you are. Of course, if your mind is not overwhelmed with haste and other clutter...