Iceland - Reykjavík

October 16, 2016.  Reykjavík 

We flew into Keflavik International airport, arriving very early in the morning. We decided to take advanage of the lighting and go take some pictures in and around Reykjavik.  

Reykjavík  is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It has a latitude of 64°08' N, making it the world's northern most capital of a sovereign state.

Hallgrímskirkja is a Lutheran (Church of Iceland) Church At 73 meters (244 ft), it is the largest church in Iceland and the sixth tallest architectural structure in Iceland. The church is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 to 1674), author of the Passion Hymns.

State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson's design of the church was commissioned in 1937. He is said to have designed it to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape. It took 41 years to build the church. Construction work began in 1945 and ended in 1986, the landmark tower being completed long before the church's actual completion

The statue of explorer Leif Eriksson (970– 020) by Alexander Stirling Calder

Located infront of the church predates its construction. It was a gift from the United States in honor of the 1930 Alþingi Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Iceland's parliament at Þingvellir in 930 AD.

The two big bronze doors is the main entrance of Hallgrímskirkja. On the door is a symbol from Christianity and Christian art. The form of the symbol is “four leaves”, which is an important symbol of the whole piece. In the four-leaves-form on the door is the image of Christ on the right and man on the left. A crown of thorns is braided around those forms. In that way the suffering of man is also the suffering of Christ. The crown of thorns ends in the door handle. There the hand of God and the hand of man are united. Inside, the door handle forms a cross.

Part of the four-leaves-form is inlaid with red mosaic, Italian. It reminds us of the blood of Christ, his love and sacrifice. This forms a cross, the classical symbol of the crucifixion, the death of Christ and His resurrection. The four forms on the inside of the door are The Good News – The Gospel and are also the symbol of the church that receives the Word of God. The four archangels; Gabriel, Michael, Rafael and Uriel, have each of their own symbol in those forms.

On the door are the words: “Come to me.” Those are the encouraging words of our Lord Jesus Christ to all men and a promise of His eternal love.

After visiting Hallgrímskirkja, we wandered around the central city for a bit. Below are some photos of the various houses city street sites.  

Now, that is a long word!

Pretty flower planter on the street corner

I just thought this building was cute

Another cute looking building

Next We headed down to Tjörnin.  Tjörnin means "the lake" or "the pond". 

Pretty houses along Tjörnin

You can see the tower of Hallgrímskirkja on the left

Ráðhús Reykjavíkur' (Reykjavík's City Hall). It houses the offices of the mayor of Reykjavík, a café and a large 3D map of Iceland

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Even though it was winter (Iceland seems to only have two seasons:  Summer and Winter). There was still some beautiful scenes along the banks of Tjörnin.

The lake is frequented by between 40 and 50 species of water birds, including the Arctic tern, the Eider, the Gadwall, the Greylag goose and other species of goose, the Mallard, several species of seagulls, and the scaup. 

Random Statues around the Pond:

ÓÞEKKTI EMBÆTTISMAÐURINN  (1994) - Magnús Tómasson

In English, the sculpture is called the Unknown Bureaucrat,  You can find the hard working man in front of the town hall - of course! 

The Spell Broken (1916) – Einar Jónsson

A legend of early christianity in which St. George of Cappadocia slayed a dragon who symbolizes evil and heathen ways of thinking. The sculpture can also be interpreted as an expression of Einar’s desire to shake of orthodoxy and create his own artistic path.

Adonis (1808) – Bertel Thorvaldsen

This is a cast of the sculpture, which was gifted to Iceland on 1974 to celebrate 1100 years of people inhabiting the island. The original is in Munich, Germany. Adonis, had two lovers: Aphrodite and Persephone. Adonis was the God of ground and vegetation and Zeus decided Adonis should be with both lovers. In spring, he would be with Aphrodite bringing the harvest to life. In the autumn, the harvest would die because Adonis would return to Hell to visit Persephone.

Fótboltamaður (Footballer)  - Sigurjón Òlafsson