TRAVEL DIARYI: 31.07.04 II: 01.08.04 III: 02.08.04 IV: 03.08.04 V: 04.08.04 VI: 05.08.04 VII: 06.08.04
09:10 The folks have a terrible fetish for early mornings, so despite having no booked trip today, we get up very ‘early’ by my current standards when mom irresistibly knocks on the door. It’s to do with the idea of “not wasting time”, which I do understand very well, but... Although I feel rather good taking last night into account, it’s hard to get up. Downstairs, all the buns have been devoured already by the other lodgers, so there’s not really that much to eat. After a few toasts, mom and dad gather in our room and kindly ask what we should do and where to go next. I suggest paying a visit to Perlan, the museum/exhibition center seated on a hill atop the city’s water reserves. I also mention going to see Kringlan, the 150-store, four-floor shopping mall. Dad wants to see how good the best used book shop in the city is, and since it’s in the old harbour, it’s the nearest and thus the first place we go to today. The weather really shows its true face here today. Two minutes of rain, two minutes of sunshine and two minutes of something bizarrely in between these two, all in a beautiful ongoing cycle. As Reykjavíkians say, there’s really no possibility of defining "weather" here at all. 10:50 The bookshop has moved, you guessed it, next to our hotel. Not that it was a big walk, though, and this is actually rather hilarious. 11:00 Mother wants to see the churches of the town, and since nobody disagrees, off we go. We stop at a smaller one in the city centre, which is perfect for rain shelter for a while. It’s raining rather much now. After it cools down, we continue up Eiriksgata to go check the main church in the city, the Àskirkja. In one corner, there’s interesting graffiti, and finally makes me see Icelandic angst for what it is as well. It is a huge, perverse combination of baroque forms and new Icelandic design. The church, that is. Perhaps the most impressive church I’ve seen this far in my life, specially the organ structure is. My god, the size of the pipe structure! That’s one body organ I tell you. And I have no idea how it is constructed, since it can be played from the bottom floor as well. It’s funny to see how the Icelanders have always, throughout their history, held religion as a bit of a business. In the year 1000, they conformed to Christianity because they saw it as the easiest path to tread on, not because they especially wanted to. And surprise surprise, they cleverly sell tickets for the elevator that’s used to access the top floor of the church tower today. Gets me closer to god. Haha.
As we were already heading towards the right direction, we take Eiriksgata and march Perlan-wards. Dad looks absolutely miserable halfway the walk, just dragging along and complaining about the chilly weather. It’s a shame he’s not having much fun, but I can’t help smirking a little – he’s really looking that silly. Surprisingly, once we actually reach the gigantic bubble, he cheers up considerably. We attend the Saga Museum with Risto: A very informative, exciting collection of information of the birth of the country, all built in one of the water tank reserves of the building. The girl at the desk was very friendly, cute and dressed in a silly Viking outfit. She gladly showed us around and there was even an accompanying audio CD for the museum to listen to while walking through it. Shame the names of the Viking characters (and place names) are both superbly hard to sþéll and memorize.
Surprisingly, mom and dad don't look all that bored even though we spent some hefty time inside the water tank. We leave for Kringlan shortly after, and it’s not really a long walk at all. The gargantuan building is slightly hidden from our eyes from the direction we're coming, and we actually enter it through a shady parking garage kind of entrance. Nevertheless, once you get inside you are instantly enlightened: the mall is so Americanized it’s almost like a second military base, just inside the city this time. The real one actually resides near Keflavik. Iceland was manned by the Brits in World War II and later on Americans took over. The government made a deal of 99 years. Means there will be American warfare in the country for the next thirty-five years... talk about independence. Nevertheless, there’s a rather cheap restaurant next to the municipal movie theatre, called Kringlukráin, and I get some fine cod served in there. Fine cod, you didn’t expect that, did you? Shortly after walking back hom… hotelwards, we drink another cup of coffee and then march upstairs, like we always do. In the evening, I circle through the local book- and record shops with Risto and dad, but the hefty prices stop me from actually buying anything. Noteworthy things I spotted: Mew's Frengers 2CD Japanese version (in bad shape), The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love” and “The End of the World” singles and the books “the Sagas of the Vikings”, “101 Reykjavík”, “Fruits”, "the Dark Reign of Gothic Rock" and “Voluptuous Panic – The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin.” I can’t believe how little of book shopping I’ve done lately, as it’s so much fun. 22:00 As I dash to suggest eating something, Risto spots a sleazy pizzeria called Pizza Pronto at the town square and insists eating there. As trashy and slightly expensive as it is, the meal’s really all right and service top-notch like everywhere in the city. Back at the hotel, we fool around, tell jokes and stories and generally just amuse ourselves to the late hours... |
